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Comments
They have so many other neat options over there for neat hatchbacks and other compacts. Cool little Vauxhalls, peugots, etc, and some really funky little bitty mercedes SUV type bubble cars. They also have our ZX3's kid brother, the Ka! Neat stuff. Interesting color choices, too.
Thanks!
P.S. I've been following these posts for a few days to get some very good feedback on these cars.The recall info was very helpful and I made not of my car's production date of August '00. Hopefully all the bugs are out of mine.
BTW -Dan, I mean damon albarn/abnormal: You might want to put a BLUR sticker on your car. I did. Big Yellow one I got a couple years back. Enjoy!
I ordered mine in the beginning of November and I had hoped to see it by Christmas but now I guess I can only hope to get it by my birthday in January
If there is that much interest in buying Focus hatchbacks (for over 12 months now!), Ford should start building those cars in the other plants(other than Mexican one).
We were all there, it hurts.
On the other hand, if you'll have to wait for it that long it will taste a lot better.
Sad but true... the zx3 saga continues.
Pat
Yes everyone be patient with your mileage, mine has been fairly decent from the beginning though I live in a rural area with little stop and go driving like the bigger cities. But, my mileage is even better since the past few weeks. I'm now getting a steady 32/38 average per gallon.
I have had no problems with this car and continue to enjoy it a lot.
Here are some pretty good American market hatches; Honda Civic, VW Golf, BMW 318, and of course our beloved Focus ZX3.
Good and bad.
High gas prices should turn the interest of the car market towards the hatchbacks, and it can mean only good good good for all of us hatchlovers.
pc2,good luck in the snow.
One of my neighbors just bought Honda's Insight, the gas and electric hybrid vehicle. Is this a fascinating car, or what?
Also, I'd like to get a list of some good sites that have pretty cool aftermarket accessories.Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Muchos Graciasssss,
ZX N TEX
http://www.geocities.com/audiolizard/focusindex/focus.htm
has anybody elso noticed their z's idle sounding not so nice? occasionally, mine -sounds- rough -like a rhythmic pulsing, even when fully warm. idle is still smooth, however, it no longer sounds it.
I drive 55 miles a day, highway only. My average mileage is 25.26 mpg after 5000 miles. For a 2500 lb. car, with a 2 litre engine, it should be doing much better. Had it checked once by the dealer who claimed 32 mpg based on his whatchama-meter. However, I did it the old fashioned way: miles driven divided by gallons purchased.
Any feedback on this subject would be great.
Pat
lousy mileage. i have 5spd.-avg. 28.5 , 80%hwy/20%city. i agree it
should do much better.i havent heard a good explanation for it either.
them to improve the quality.realistically,the z is the first attempt by
a domestic mfg. to build a quality hatch.having said that,the long term
quality remains suspect.
Just filled up tonight. 217 miles since last fill up. 7.4 gallons of gas. = 29.3 miles per gallon. I regularly average between 29 to 30 mpg. 22,000+ miles on the vehicle, about 60 miles per day. This is a varity of open highway at 65+ mph, state highway at 55+ mph and small city 30 mph, hilly terrain overall, with the automatic. Have had winter tires (this always dropped my mileage on previous 4 cyls, but not with the ZX3) for the past two fill ups. Have also noticed that the AC does not decrease the gas mileage. Got better (32/33 mpg) before the injector pressure sensor recall. Took a while to get good the better mileage. Could get better if I babyed it all the time, but I don't. Believe a 4 cyl is meant to be DRIVEN!
I think this being a 16 valve, double overhead cam, cold air injection engine that it is going to use more gas than a 4 cylinder regular engine would. To help off set this, I am running synthetic oil and a drop in K&N air filter. Would like to go to a aftermarket air injector system, but am not convinced of that route yet. Waiting to see what K&N comes up with.
Have to admit that my Escorts sedan and wagen both got better mpg. But they were normal 4 cyl and both lighter in weight. My Nissans also got better, but they were also lighter vehicles. None of them had the get up and go that the ZX3 does. None of them handles as well either! And the ZX3 is a lot more fun to drive. Think I would get a lot better mileage if it was not so much fun to drive. My Ford Ranger gets almost as good mileage, but it can't get out of its own way.
Pat
Went to pick up a new dishwasher and as the guy take it out to my car he says,
"Uh Sir..Did you MEASURE"?
I held out my arms and said "Yes, this wide and this high".
Sure nuff it slid right in.Packaging box and all but had to slide it up onto the rear seats. Cleared the roof by about 4 inches and i closed the hatch with room to spare.
W,
I can fit my mountain bike without taking off any wheels and I can also fit the whole frame of my electronic drum set with minimal modifications.
In fact, all of my passengers prefer sitting in the rear bench due to increased headroom and seat width. Is it me or does the front passenger seat seem slightly smaller in width than the drivers?
HUV (Hatchback the Utility Vehicle), that name would sell the idea of hatchback a lot better.
in the focus review,2 owners had mentioned they were told ford is de-
signing a special brake pad for the focus. obviously have been many owner complaints concerning the abnormal squeaking and pre-
mature wear. has anybody else heard anything?
29.5 mpg in winter months
31.5 mpg in summer/warm weather
-over 26,000 miles since January
-no noticable reduction due to A/C
-usually drive 80 miles/day mix of highway and many traffic lights
-sometimes accelerate off of the lights quicker than needed ;-)
-all time best mpg/tank: 35+ driving from maine to massachusetts this summer (can't remember exact figure, but seem to think it was just a hair below 36 mpg).
Maybe if gas prices go up to about $4 a gallon like in europe then people will start to think about the waste and pollution their SUV's are pumping out.
My attitude towards hatchbacks was shifted in a positive direction after 1) travelling frequently to europe and 2) realizing that no matter how big they made the trunk you can't fit anything in it if the opening is tiny.
Automakers are partially at fault with hatchbacks because quite simply they won't make them since they don't rake in the $$$. GM loses money on every small car it sells but they make up for it in the killing on SUV's and trucks. Before the Focus the Escort was only mediocre at it's introduction and then extremely long in the tooth when it was axed. Chrysler's Neon is waste of metal. Apparently domestic manufacturers didn't care that Honda could get 17k for a civic because they're THAT good...or that Toyota could make tons on their Corolla..... who's laughing now?
The SUV market will eventually plateau and shrink as gas prices will most likely not decline. Cities aren't getting less crowded, parking isn't getting easier to find...the demise is inevitable.
-Frank
Just wanted to get a feel for prices on a K&N air filter I keep hearing about on these boards and some brake pads that have less dust and squeal. Any ideas are much appreciated.
Thanks!
Glad to hear that you're getting good mileage. This is good evidence that it's not something "inherent" with the vehicle. The down side is that Ford isn't too eager to get to the bottom of it.
No! The computer should pickup on this over a period of time and adjust itself. It I were doing a major aftermarket change, such as a different air intake, I would consider it. You got me wondering now. The drop in mpg after the injector pressure sensor. Didn't reset it them and mpg went down. I wonder, just might do it this weekend. Maybe computer does not pickup on the changes as you travel along.
Thanks for the thought.
Pat
Pat
secretary to file and make appointments. whoever said the z wasnt a fun car? you gotta love it,it sure has its special quirks. i must have
purchased the surprise edition without knowing it. i cant get mad, i
just laugh about the situation.this car will make its mark for all the
wrong reasons. despite a flaw here or there, i still enjoy the ride and
quite frankly because of that,im hooked. im especially a sucker for that
stock cd system.i am prepared to tough it out. after all, by the time all
the recalls are completed, it will be a new car again,the way it was intended to be. i hope this has been a hard lesson for fords procurement
of parts division has learned. cheap parts make cheap assemblies no
matter how well they are put together.sooner or later it all comes back to roost.
mileage - there has been legitimate concerns regarding poor mileage
posted by both auto and manual drivers. although i do not get upset by
the 25 to 27.5 i average, it would be nice to get another 5 per. keep in
mind this car exhibits some very strange tendacies in the way this engine performs. im not well-versed in regards to the on-board computer electronics, im still very much old school but if one is getting below 25 mpg. there is more going on then just the driver. the spouses zx2 auto,which i swear is quicker or seems to be, mileage is
on avg. 28 to30 mpg. 33,000 miles, not one recall and runs like a champ. go figure.
a mfg. like ford to splurge on a hatchback such as the z.of course they
didnt splurge on it,but they made a decent attempt to make a somewhat
quality one.certainly,there is more room for improvement.i.e.
engine + trans and other third world sourced components.i know ive
mentioned this before,but the zetec performs better in the zx2 than
the zx3.i cant figure it out yet.
jayoung, 2.0 145 hp from Mondeo sounds like a future replacement for our current 2.0 130 hp.
Ford is claiming that new engine is better in every respect (better fuel economy while being more powerful!?,40lbs lighter ,quieter ,smoother, just better)
Sounds great, but is it really coming here?
Only Ford knows.
Honestly - if I hadn't given my car to my fiancee to drive, I'd sell it and get something without a blue oval attached. It is a neat car, but the build quality of this car leaves much to be desired. She loves it, though, and won't give it up... oh well.
Thanks,
Wilson
'01 ZX3 Yellow
Thanks
My brother had quite a wait before they were able to get the new carpeting for his AC leak. But he told me they did a good job with the fix and installation.
Does Ford stock the rubber mats? I had asked for an accessory catalog once, but the sales manager didn't have any handy and the parts dept was closed that day. I think for winter, and maybe year-round, they would hold up better than the carpeted mats. I like the idea of stock mats because the driver's side locks in and won't slide.
Charlie
If the car DOES NOT come out like a NEW car should (only has 2,000 miles on it after 6 months!) Then the Chit hits the fan! And i really mean that.
-Brakes squeel at times/most of the time
-Drivers door clunks at times
-now a noise under right side dash area
-engine sputters(new word)at steady speeds/under
3000 RPM
-steering wheel vibration
-platic trim pieces laying on the rear seat floor
-VERY hard to shift in first gear/now also 2'nd
As much as i try to be pleased with what the car has to offer i am also worried that if i pile on the mileage and THEN decide to trade the car in then i will take a double wammy!
I paid near retail minus $200 and they gave me peanuts for my trade in.
Not mad nor angry but i am upset that for my first NEW car i was expecting much more peace of mind.
Oh and the remote? HA! another glitch (both keys)
Oh Oh Oh and the A/C problems i have....
Nice car but Quality of build is NOT is no where near what i had expected.
Now if the car comes out from the Ford Dealer running like it SHOULD then i will be a 100% happy customer!
Whyford? Heck after reading the awards i truly thought this was going to be a great automobile.
That's the truth.
good call,there are distinct differences with the
motorcraft filter. there are other motorcraft filters that fit but not properly.i got a heads-up
from a sharp young mechanic who had serviced my
zx2.
suspect the air intake and throttle assembly are
set-up differently.thanks for your response.