THE Focus is Ford's third attempt to sell its "new edge" styling theme to the Australian public. It follows the Cougar, Ka and even the AU Falcon as an expounder of sharp-cornered, curved shapes and replaces the Mazda-based Laser as Ford's front-line small car. In sedan and five-door form it looks pretty exceptional, but in three-door Zetec form it's visually quite outstanding. The packaging is competitive in terms of space, comfort and utility, and standard equipment and safety levels don't leave any unanswered questions. But the 2.0-litre engine somehow fails to deliver what might be expected of a relatively light weight, not underpowered small car.