Focus is definitely not an Escort, which had rounded a bit in later years but was still basically a square car. The change is somewhat like what VW did from the early Rabbit to today's Golf. Sitting in the driver's seat, you can't see the front of the hood because of the downslope. This can be disconcerting at first, but you soon learn where the front of the car is so there aren't major problems. In a couple of later cars that I drove, I also noted that the extreme front end isn't visible from the driver's seat.
Interior room is good for a compact car.
I'll accept the claims that there's more interior room than the Contour. In any case, there was adequate legroom both front and rear. Behind the rear seat was a nice cargo area. Station wagons were the precursor to minivans, so they're quite practical. There wasn't as much room as I had hoped for, but we were able to carry everything we needed.