IN dynamics and design, the first Focus was a landmark car worldwide but not in Australia, forcing even VW to reassess how to engineer the Golf V. But in Australia it was a case of too little, too late. The previous Focus was down on performance and features compared to the segment leading Corolla, Astra and Mazda3/323, and appeared dated because the Focus first appeared in Europe way back in 1998, predating the KQ Laser it finally replaced locally four long years later. But that was all in the past, as the formidable new LS model proves.