I was wondering now that we've pretty much all had a chance to see one (except any with leather, that most rarefied of materials that competent Ford has been unable to find), what do we think of its looks?  I have added a poll as well :)

And out of sight of the question at hand, I have to say that I thought it was ugly in photographic form.  But having seen it in the metal, I think it's downright hideous! The photos don't quite demonstrate how foul looking the daytime running lights are, which I have found that Elton John used to wear in the 70s:

And the back looks like a giant has sat on it. Or like a blobfish:

I like it, much better than the mk7.

Reading comments across the internet, I think it could be a marmite car initially, then maybe grow on people, like the Mk3 Focus.

I'm pretty sure they design facelift versions first, then make them worse for the initial release so they've got something to add in a few years time...    I expect the Mk8.5 to be a bit better looking!  

I still don't like the Mk3 Focus PFL, it's 3-6 years old now and it hasn't grown on me, looks really dated already as well, looks older than mk2.5 did when I bought it at 6 years old.  Considering them mainly for the EcoBoost engines which I obviously can't have in a mk2 but every time I see the front end I just... 

to me it looks pretty much like the mk7.5 from the front and side and like a Golf from the back (due to rear light layout).

I don't particularly like it, but then again I don't particularly like the Mk7.5 even though I own one.

It looks alright. Saw one today. With a car you need to have a good look at it to appreciate it. 

i saw one today also. well i saw more than one. 

im not impressed, i prefer the mk7.5.

I still think the mk7 looks like a running shoe. Too wedge shaped.

The changes they've made to the mk8 make it look more car shaped again like the mk6.

Yep, out of mk8,   7.5,  7,  6.5  & 6  I like the Mk6.5 best followed by the 6.

Boring from the back, and then I overtook it and saw the DRLs at the front.  Boak. 

On 07/11/2017 at 1:12 PM, TomsFocus said:

I'm pretty sure they design facelift versions first, then make them worse for the initial release so they've got something to add in a few years time...    I expect the Mk8.5 to be a bit better looking!  

I still don't like the Mk3 Focus PFL, it's 3-6 years old now and it hasn't grown on me, looks really dated already as well, looks older than mk2.5 did when I bought it at 6 years old.  Considering them mainly for the EcoBoost engines which I obviously can't have in a mk2 but every time I see the front end I just... 

I beg to differ. I'm not a fan of the MK2 other than the RS, that still looks amazing (the ST not as much). The new focus was a big improvement that brought it more up to date, but I'd only have the looks of the ST or RS.

Although I was never a huge fan of the pre-facelift fiesta MK7, maybe it's just having a big grille lol.

I love the look of the new ST, You can see the front end looks very similar to a focus RS with the fog lights and other things and I think it looks great.