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2015 Ford Focus update leaked?

The image shows a more rounded bonnet and new front lip spoiler.

Is this image an early look at the 2015 Ford Focus expected to debut at Geneva motor show in March? If so, it means we could also see the popular small car appear with a plug-in hybrid option, according to Auto Express in the UK.

Their image, if genuine, shows a revamp for the Focus -- which Ford announced as the global best-selling car for 2012 (although Toyota countered that its Corolla topped sales if you take all its different names into account).

The changes show the expected adoption of more recent cues, with a wider single-section grille rather than the thin horizontal one with a triptych of intakes below on the current Focus.

That would bring the face more into line with the Fiesta that arrived here in September last year, and the updated Kuga and Mondeo that are on sale overseas. The image also shows a more rounded bonnet and new front lip spoiler, while the interior is said to be getting a less cluttered dashboard.

Auto Express cites an un-named source inside Ford as saying the carmaker wants to give the Focus a more aggressive appearance, and will also dial up the dynamics with improvements to the suspension and steering.

Engines are said to carry over from the current line-up, which in Australia means the continuation of the 92kW/159Nm 1.6-litre petrol four cylinder and a 125kW/202Nm 2.0-litre four, both mated to either a five-speed manual or six-speed dual-clutch auto, the 120kW/340Nm 2.0-litre turbodiesel with the DSG transmission, and the range-topping Focus ST's 184kW/340Nm turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol four and slick six-speed manual.

However a plug-in version is also tipped, using a system borrowed from the C-Max Energi (not sold here) with a 2.0-litre petrol engine and electric motor producing a combined 143kW of power and a 32km range under electric-only drive. Ford is yet to confirm that the image and details are accurate, so it may be a waiting game until closer to Geneva show before we know more.

This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott