The 2009 Ford Focus coupe was revealed this spring on prime time television, on the highest rated show, “American Idol.” American Idol regularly featured a “Ford Video” commercial segment that featured the remaining contestants singing a song together while driving a Ford vehicle of some sort or another around.

Why did Ford debut the Focus coupe on American Idol? It has to do, at least in part, with the much sportier design of the 2009 coupe. Ford redesigned the look of the Focus in 2007 and maintained the design with the 2008 Ford Focus, making the sedan version much more contemporary. The Focus coupe engineering team added front and rear fascias to the mix. The lower front fascia has an open area similar to the design of the new Ford Fiesta subcompact. Fog lamps are now standard, and are better matched into the design of the front fascia. The two-bar chrome front grille is still there, and chrome accents have been made darker to distinguish them. On top of all of that, the 2009 Ford Focus coupe features sporty 17-inch wheels.

The SES package of the Ford Focus coupe features a high-mounted spoiler as standard equipment. The SE package has a decklid spoiler as standard. The SES also features as standard equipment the SYNC system. This system, developed with Microsoft, features voice-activated entertainment and communications and integrates well with Bluetooth devices and MP3 players.

The new Focus doesn’t just look different, though. It adds more horsepower, and features a quicker acceleration rate. You can add electronic stability control to the 2009 Focus, as well.