So you’re looking for a compact car? Ford wants you to know it's got a brand-new option for you. The company's being a tad sneaky, calling it the Ford Focus – a car we’ve known about for well over a decade – but rest assured what they’re offering in 2012 is more than a remix of a familiar tune. A few years back, Europe was treated to an all-new Focus while we were stuck with a lightly massaged version of the old. We’ve finally caught up.

Ford claims a 7 percent carryover figure from the old to the new, with 80% shared content across global platforms, including high-strength steel in 55% of the new Focus’s structure. That’s enough for a 25% increase in torsional rigidity, a characteristic the old Focus wasn’t lacking to begin with. Overall, we’re looking at a 4-door sedan or hatchback that’s 0.5 inches lower and 3 inches longer than the old version, with a 1.3-inch-longer wheelbase. All good things.

Structural concerns aside, what do you get with the new Focus? First, you’ll get a new direct-injected 2.0-liter engine delivering 160 hp and 146 lb-ft of torque. Both figures arrive rather late in the RPM cycle – 6,500 and 4,450 rpm respectively – but after a short lull from a stop, the Focus accelerates briskly, earning every bit of the “peppiness” with which Ford has tried to tag it. There’s even a Sport mode available with the new dual-clutch 6-speed automated manual transmission that quickens shifts up a bit, but you’ll still get the best response from this new engine by simply keeping the revs high. If you want to play a bit but don’t feel like going for the sloppier 5-speed manual, feel free to utilize Ford’s SelectShift feature when the automatic is in Sport mode. That allows you to shift gears manually through a lever-mounted switch, which is awkward to operate at best. Even paddle shifters would’ve been better, especially with the dual-clutch tranny.

Regardless of those issues the Focus offers the most power of all its competitors, although further testing will be needed before we can ascertain exactly how that’ll translate in real-world application. (Less power available more quickly can easily outperform.) Ford is also making the high-profile claim du jour of 40 mpg, although you’ll have to get the $500 Super Fuel Economy package to achieve it, and it’s available only in the lower-level SE trim in Sedan flair. The Hyundai Elantra – which is bested by the Focus in nearly every other aspect – boasts 40 mpg across its trim lineup and does it for less money.

But as mentioned, the Focus does nearly everything right, especially handling. The base suspension offers a justifiable compromise of comfort and performance, allowing you to pick and hold a line almost at will, but the sport suspension available with the 19-inch wheels and performance tires on the Titanium trim really shows how well a front-wheel-drive car can be made to handle. Ford likes to boast this is partially due to its new torque-vectoring system, which allows dynamic torque application to both front wheels during turning. They’re calling it a Dynamic Cornering Control system.

A differential by any other name…

Labels aside, the new Focus may be the best-handling compact in its class. The Mazda3 will certainly offer it some healthy competition, especially considering the added feel you get with its electro-hydraulic clutch, but the fully electric system in the Focus is nearly as good and will only get better as Ford continues to update mechanics and software.

Speaking of software, Ford continues to get it right. The interior of the new Focus received just as much attention as the rest of it, with hard plastics hidden gracefully and soft-touch surfaces dominating, but special mention must be made of the Sync system, which has been called the best in the industry. It’s unavailable in the entry-level S trim, optional in the SE and standard in the SEL and top-tier Titanium trims. You control it through one of two driver input interfaces – MyFord and MyFordTouch, the latter using an 8-inch touchscreen display. MyFord is easier to use with its dual 4-inch screens and traditional button input, although that’s mostly because of the general unrefined bugginess of the MyFordTouch system. Once Ford applies the same resources it did to developing the Sync system, however, the new system could easily become a standard, and continual software updates will ensure it only gets better.

The Focus's major drawback is space. Competitors offer marginally better space in both the back seat and the trunk, the latter hindered further in the Focus by the adoption of intrusive – but cheaper – gooseneck hinges. That said, no competitor offers such a space premium over the Focus that it will really make a difference. The Focus has some visibility issues as well, especially with its thick A-pillars, which result from having such a steeply raked windshield. More high-strength steel applied there would be nice for a thinner pillar, but we’ll have to wait for that.

Speaking of waiting, there’s a high-performance version coming in a year or so that will be called the ST. A bit more horsepower will really wake the Focus up, especially with the sport suspension and some paddle shifters for the dual-clutch gearbox. Until then, the Titanium is a healthy substitute.

The new Focus stands easily side by side with competitors like the Mazda3 and the Golf, it just doesn’t have the brand equity of those imports. Other than that, Ford has done nearly everything right.

Damn that name game.