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Here's a link to the new discussion where we can debate the value of DRLs...
DRLs - Boon or Bane?
Now we can maintain our Focus here
Sounds like a bright idea to me :shades: :sick:
http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews/editors_notebook/1106_2012_ford_focus_se/in- dex.html
A generally negative review of a Titanium over at leftlanenews. This review was sort of the polar opposite of most others I've seen: they're pretty unimpressed with the handling and yet, call the rear seat one of the roomiest in class.
http://www.leftlanenews.com/ford-focus-titanium-review.html
And lastly this: a Motor Trend comparo in which the Focus Titanium finishes FIFTH behind Jetta, Mazda 3, Civic, and Elantra:
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/sedans/1107_best_selling_compact_sedan_compa- rison/index.html
They really did not like the transmission in this review. But I'm still surprised the Focus finished so low, given the generally mediocre comments on many other cars (especially the jetta).
Does my inability to swallow a negative review make me a certified fanboy?
Motor trend HATES Ford right now. I don't know why. Go read the Explorer review and all the flak they got for it. Their reviews of Ford products seem to be 180 degrees from the rest.
The tranny does seem to be a little quirky at low speed but it's not bad.
I'm not sure the U.S. based rags really understand a premium C-segment car.
Now what i did not like was the seating, i thought that seats were too small, same in the back, you can seat there all right, but there's not a lot of space. The whole cabin feels a little cramped. What i also thought the car needed was a little extra ooommppp, just a few more HP. Focus is 8.6 seconds in 0-60, Mazda3 (one with a bigger engine) is 7.7.
I did not buy it because i though it is a tad too small for me, but overall just a really good car.
Thank you.
The Sandman :sick: :shades:
2023 Hyundai Kona Limited AWD (wife) / 2015 Golf TSI (me) / 2019 Chevrolet Cruze Premier RS (daughter #1) / 2020 Hyundai Accent SE (daughter #2) / 2023 Subaru Impreza Base (son)
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THE FOCUS IS A GOOD CAR, NOT A GREAT CAR. The primary people Ford wants to attract is the under 30 croud, and Ford will.
Said it before here and I'll say it again: if you need to drive around in a living room on wheels then this is not going to be your car. I sat in this thing front and back and the roominess fine. I'm just waiting for the ST, which, if priced right and if not overly burdened with techno garbage (prone to breakdown and obsolescence) I will buy.
Not sure about anyone else here, but out of nowhere I got a $750 private cash coupon from Ford good on any car (with some specialty exceptions), and it's $1000 on Lincolns. Expires in Sept. I never applied for a brochure with my address and all, so it caught me offguard to see it in the mail, but since I own a Ford I'm thinking they have access to DMV records for current owners.
I certainly wouldn't consider the Golf or the Mazda3 a "living room on wheels", but they are much more spacious than the Focus. FWIW, I'm an inch or so shorter than you and have the same shoe size, and yet the Focus feels quite confining; more confining even than my 1979 Scirocco (a small car by any measure).
What I do when a car doesn't fit me at all is not buy it and not worry about it. I certainly don't go online and complain for months about it being too small, but whatever floats other people's boat is their thing, I guess. From what I can tell, incessant complaining here is not going to make the backseat any larger on the Focus, and inquiries about cars that fit your needs and comforts (in this case not a Focus, I suppose) are probably going to yield better answers in their respective forums.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/24/business/24ford.html?src=recg
Someone on a Focus forum had severe body panel issues so they sent his car back to the factory (he's close to Wayne) and while it was there they updated his MFT to the latest one due out to the public next month. He says it seems to have totally fixed the stability and delay issues once and for all.
Keep your fingers crossed.
I'm so sick of hearing one, READ THE MANUAL, or two, that anybody over the age of 40 just can't get it or understand it. I understand it completely but don't like it. I just don't need three or four ways to adjust my volume thank you and I really don't want to talk to my car and hope it understands my language/voice. And I shouldn't have to read a manual just to adjust the radio and heat/ac. The more techy it is the quicker it will become out of date like cell phones and computers.
I suppose if I rent a Ford with mytouch it will be mandatory to spend three hours at the rental office reading the manual before I should be allowed to drive the car. KISS has been around a long time and it is very applicable today. Keep it simple stupid or stupid simple whichever you like better.
I'm a bit confused here. MyFord Touch is an option, except for the Titanium. Or are you referring to Sync? I don't believe Sync itself is the source of most of the complaints. Sync was already fairly reliable, as I undersand.
I just think it's too much to play with while driving. People can't even talk on the phone and drive right let alone gawking at all the fine print on all these lcd screens. \\Just my rant.....feel free to ignore.
I could be wrong as I haven't actually used it, but I don't think sync alone (without touch) is particularly intrusive. It's comparable to Onstar. If you don't use it, then I don't think you would know the car even has it. Plus I imagine that problems with Sync are more likely to along the lines of initial setup-- once you get a smartphone synced, I imagine it would work fine, whereas Touch is a pretty expansive system (made by microsoft ) with plenty of opportunity to bug out.
I shop for better gas milage,but a little comfort too. The Focus to me has the best suspension being a multilink but you have to go to a SEL HB or a TI to get a lumbar support, and only the drivers seat cushion is heated.The V dub has muli ti level heated driver and passenger seats and lumbar. There is something about german car cabins and options that Ford didn't get with all that building in Germany.You can make a c class car good on gas and comfortable. The only thing is how do you do it with an I beam?(multilink)
I don't think I'd get sync with its problems ,blue tooth is good enough and a Navi system is a waste of money buy a Garmin or a Nuvi and swap it with cars in your family. I had to get it with my BMW as it came with the car,same with wife's Lex IS.Mazda 3 had a good car until they did away with alot of options on the 148 HP and now you have to jump up to a 2.5 and if you don't watch out ,you'll spend 23or 24K OTD.Crazy.The UK has alot of great class c cars that we will get in 2 years maybe the Skoda or Astra,we are discriminated against when it comes to Ford and GM sending cars across the pond.Can anyone sing second hand rose? :shades:
Regarding the Mazda3, 2011 isn't the model year to buy as the new 2.0 liter SkyActiv-G engine doesn't make its debut until the 2012 model year. Depending upon when "Buy" time comes for me, a 4-Door Golf TDI 6-Speed and the 2012 Mazda3 5-Door SkyActive-G 6-Speed will be at the top of my list. Depending on a few other factors (such as which of our current cars we decide to keep, and whether GM decides to offer a manual transmission in the higher line Cruze models), the Focus and the Cruze may also make my final short list.
So far it's fantastic. It has myford but not MyFordTouch. The left 5-way controls the display in the gauge cluster and the right one controls the one in the center of the dash.
Ambient lighting is ho-hum - guess I was expecting something more dramatic.
It isn't super roomy but I fit just fine in both the front and rear seats and I'm not small. I don't understand all the complaints about interior room. It's a C class vehicle for goodness sake.
The transmission is quirky at low speeds but it's not bad - just different. Put it in S mode without hitting the selectshift buttons and it's more responsive but still shifts automatically. Tried it in manual mode a little and it seems to shift very quickly and crisply as I expected. Much better than a regular automatic.
I may seriously consider a ST next year for myself. I averaged 37 mpg on a short test trip compared to the 17 mpg I get now in my 3.0L Fusion. It's very tempting.
FWIW #1, my own impression of the Focus, the Gen 2 Mazda3, and the Gen 1 Mazda3 (my current ride) is that the Gen 1 Mazda has more head room than the other two (which I could discern no difference between).
FWIW #2, the headroom numbers bear out what I've personally observed:
-- Front/Rear -- 39.1/37.4 -- 2009 Mazda3
-- Front/Rear -- 38.3/37.9 -- 2012 Focus
-- Front/Rear -- 38.1/37.7 -- 2011 Mazda3
So, per the numbers, the Focus has 0.2" more front and rear headroom than the Mazda3. Given that the headroom appears to be generous enough in each of the above cars for all but the tallest of drivers, the headroom number is a bit moot. That said, the legroom numbers (where the Mazda3 has a whopping 3" more legroom than the Focus) are very much an issue for anybody transporting teens and adults for any distance in the rear seats.
As a qualifier for the various statements I've made in this thread, unless otherwise specified, all comparisons between the Focus and the Mazda3 are between "like generations" (i.e. 2012 Focus vs. 2011 Mazda3).
Off topic (sort of), my son managed to not set the parking brake in my car well enough a week and a half ago, and my 2009 Mazda3 rolled away, down a hill, across a (thankfully empty) residential street, down the front yard across the street, and into a rock wall. Not only was the lower grill area obliterated, so too was the bottom of the A/C condenser and the radiator, and the oil filter mount was literally ripped from the engine. Needless to say I'm driving a rental these days. Funny thing, my rental is a 2010 Focus; go figure. :P
No Focus tie in -- Doh!
An upgrade!!
May I ask why the car wasn't in gear as well?
So if the car rolled...the curb would stop it.
Oy vey!
1) There are very few curbs here in New Hampshire, and none where the car was parked, and
2) apparently Driver's Ed no longer covers that subject. In fact, when I first explained to him the concept of turning the wheel he looked at me like I was nuts.
Hopefully I'll get my car back this week so that I can lose the Focus (among other things, I hate driving a car with only two pedals under the dash).
Better??
I was down at a Ford dealer looking at an F150 and saw a very nice Focus hatch. I looked around and couldn't see any others.
When I asked the salesman he said that was it...they can't keep those in stock (as well as the new Explorer).
Not sure if it was just 'salesman talk'
I REALLY like this car as of now. For a small car it has a amazing ride and it is super quiet! I got the SE and they are going o put leather and a sunroof in it next week. I did not need the added options the SEL has and it was cheaper to go this route.
The transmission is a bit funky at low speeds for sure. The steering is pinky simple to turn. I have ran two full tanks of gas through it splitting between city and highway and I am averaging 33MPG.
Is the car small? Well sure it is, it a compact car! I am 6'1 and weigh 270 and have zero issues with this car. I have NEVER owned a car as my DD as I have always had trucks for 25 years. This is a nifty little vehicle to say the least. Ford scores big on this one for me!