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2012 Ford Focus

1316 messages,  Last post on Feb 25, 2013 at 4:53 AM

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What is this discussion about? Ford Focus, Ford, Car Buying, Future Vehicle, Coupe, Hatchback, Sedan, Wagon

Messages Page 37 of 132

#356 of 1316 Re: Fiesta vs the Focus [farout] by creakid1

Apr 24, 2011 (1:45 am)

Replying to: farout (Apr 23, 2011 3:34 pm)
Fit and finish were very good, the dask cover was like rubber...all black looked a little cheap to me. For $ 22,000, both seemed too much to me. If I needed a bigger car I would buy used rather than either of these two Fords.
 
Oh gosh, you nailed it. Back in 2004, every Focus sedan sold in California had std 2.3 engine designed by Mazda, plus decent leg room at low prices. The car had enough low-end torque to run circles around Honda Civic's. But the new Civic Si now has high-output naturally aspirated 2.4 while the new Focus couldn't adopt Mazda3's 2.5.
 
& Ford still thinks such unrefined interior quality is good enough for a $27k car w/ so little rear leg room?
 
I guess, unless it's an efficient company like Hyundai or some Japanese..., stuffing all that high-quality materials w/in a small interior will end up costing this much!

#357 of 1316 Dashboard styling w/o MyTouch [gambit293] by creakid1

Apr 24, 2011 (9:48 am)

Replying to: gambit293 (Apr 23, 2011 7:59 pm)
Did you happen to see a model without Ford Mytouch? I am concerned that the dash for non-Mytouch models will have yawning blank spaces for "non-features."
  
I hate being reminded that I have a cheaper trim by blank buttons and ambiguous empty spots.
 
#349 Fiesta vs the Focus by farout Apr 23, 2011 (3:34 pm)
"Both dash 's looked a like."
 
yawning blank spaces?

a cheaper trim by blank buttons and ambiguous empty spots?
 
& close up

#358 of 1316 2012 SEL test drive by cosanostra

Apr 25, 2011 (7:58 am)

I test drove an SEL stickered $25,340 over the long weekend. The car was fresh off the truck (5 miles on the odometer) and had the MYFORD Touch system, Nav, Moonroof, and the Winter package (a nice plus in the midwest winters). It was a cloudy day, ~55 deg F, and 15-25 MPH winds.
Overall, I liked the car. I wish I'd been able to go a bit longer and try some rougher roads (the potholes are horrendous in my part of town). The handling was good, I didn't feel like I was being buffeted around by the wind. The vehicle had good pick-up - I was able to merge onto the highway twice without having to stomp on the gas either time. Hit 65MPH without any trouble. I liked backy's bulletpoint format above, so I'll copy that here with my (any my wife's) likes/dislikes.
 
Likes:
Fit & finish - The dash was padded and was soft to the touch. Not many gaps were visible on the console/dash area.
Seats - I had plenty of room (5'7"), the seats were firm, but not hard. The side bolsters didn't make me feel like I was being folded length-wise. The seats heated up nice and quick and didn't leave griddlemarks.
Storage - Lots of room in the rear (truck) area, though I do wish the rear seats would fold completely flat.
Ride/handling - As I noted above, it was somewhat windy and I didn't feel like we were being pushed around by the wind. The car felt pretty well planted on the road. We didn't feel every bump/expansion joint as we drove along. I was able to pass a car or two.
(Lack of) Noise - The cabin was very quite during the drive. We didn't have the radio on specifically for this reason. There was some wind noise as we were on the highway, but we could have a conversation without having to yell and turn around completely in the seat to speak/hear the salesman in the back.
 
Dislikes:
Headroom (her) - My wife liked the seats overall, but couldn't figure out how to lower hers so she didn't feel like she was touching the roof with her head(she's 5'9" and no, she doesn't have a beehive hairdo). I didn't have a problem with the headroom and the seats seemed to be the same height (I didn't measure or anything).
Rear seat room (her) - My wife likes to have her seat all the way back, so that left little leg room in the rear passenger seat position. I had the driver's seat about 1/2 the way back and the rear diver's seat postion was cramped - my wife's knees brushed the back of the seat and she needed to do a bit of contorting to get in without smacking anything.
Control complexity - I know the tech is a big selling point and I love me some tech, but even I have my limits. It felt like it took 2 minutes to figure out how to change the cabin temp.
Light colored cloth dash and headliner - They were nice and soft, but I could see them staining very easily.
 
That's about all I can come up with for now. I'm not sure I'd pay $25k for the vehicle, but its growing on me.

#359 of 1316 Re: 2012 SEL test drive [cosanostra] by markus5

Apr 25, 2011 (9:38 am)

Replying to: cosanostra (Apr 25, 2011 7:58 am)
Was this a 5 door?
  I'm sure at this option level the passenger side is hieght adjustable, but it is also possible that Moon Roof option pushes the roof liner marginally lower. This is not the case in my '04 Focus, even when I pump up the seat hieght. ( I am 5'9" ). This may be a deal breaker, because having a moon roof is a nice option even at $400.
 I do not like the feeling of being in a cave. For me, the beltline (windows) need to be quite low as well.

#360 of 1316 Re: 2012 SEL test drive [markus5] by creakid1

Apr 25, 2011 (11:29 am)

Replying to: markus5 (Apr 25, 2011 9:38 am)
I do not like the feeling of being in a cave. For me, the beltline (windows) need to be quite low as well.
 
Then, skipping the moonroof will allow you to sit high & able to see toddlers (or puppies/kittens) around you more...
 
That's exactly what I did when I ordered my Focus ST sedan back then.
 
One time, my car was waiting on a stop light behind an SUV, which was the very first car behind the cross walk. I saw a baby-kitten copy cat (literally) walking slowly following the pedestrians onto the cross walk, then our light turned green.... The SUV sprinted forward & then suddenly stopped (I guess they've heard something unexpected), & my front bumper almost smashed into its rear bumper. The SUV finally took off again (this time, slowly), & there was this poor young kitten (still alive) w/ half of it completely flattened. The girl in my car started calling 911 as I backed up my car to block the traffic behind it, which didn't help. The kitten stopped moving w/in a couple minutes.
 
Sorry for the graphic "educational" ... I know I'm an anti-SUV person, that's why I love the non-SUV Focus for having comfortably high chairs.

#361 of 1316 Re: 2012 SEL test drive [cosanostra] by creakid1

Apr 25, 2011 (11:21 am)

Replying to: cosanostra (Apr 25, 2011 7:58 am)
I had the driver's seat about 1/2 the way back and the rear diver's seat postion was cramped - my wife's knees brushed the back of the seat and she needed to do a bit of contorting to get in without smacking anything.
 
This last-minute change, at least for the U.S.-spec Focus, doesn't look good at all. Looks like Ford better produce an extended-wheelbase version & sell it through Lincoln dealers? Which means using the same platform as the Volvo S80 (The Focus III uses a shortened Mondeo/S80 platform, which is an enlarged version of the "Focus II" C-1 platform also used on the S40/V50 & Mazda3).

#362 of 1316 Re: 2012 SEL test drive [markus5] by cosanostra

Apr 25, 2011 (12:55 pm)

Replying to: markus5 (Apr 25, 2011 9:38 am)
Yes it was the 5-door. Sorry about not putting that in there.

#363 of 1316 Re: 2012 SEL test drive [creakid1] by samm43

Apr 25, 2011 (7:09 pm)

Replying to: creakid1 (Apr 25, 2011 11:21 am)
I thought Ford and Volvo had split?
 
Sam

#364 of 1316 Ford and Volvo had split [samm43] by creakid1

Apr 25, 2011 (9:04 pm)

Replying to: samm43 (Apr 25, 2011 7:09 pm)
So did Mercedes & Chrysler, but what about "the next-generation Mercedes ML platform for all-new Grand Cherokee"?
 
Just b/c Ford improved Volvo's old S40's "Mitusbishi Carisma" platform & old S80's platform by replacing them with the "Focus II" C-1 & enlarged C-1 platforms, respectively, that doesn't mean Volvo or its new Chinese owner can't continue to use this technology or parts supply!
 
Speculators think Ford should worry about their cost-effective high-tech Focus-suspension technology being...
 
Just to give you an idea, (w/in the last decade) VW had to hire the original Focus engineer to design their FWD Jetta/GTI/A3/Passat's suspension w/ the Control Blade mutilinks.
 
& just before that, BMW was considering using Focus' original C-170 platform, but later (according to one of the UK car magazines) designed their own 5-link rear suspension by applying similar principle found in Focus' 4-link Control Blade suspension.

#365 of 1316 Re: Focus SE impressions [gambit293] by steve_rbts

Apr 26, 2011 (6:26 pm)

Replying to: gambit293 (Apr 23, 2011 7:59 pm)
The hatchback I drove didn't have MyTouch and it looked fine...no
blank space that I noticed.

Messages Page 37 of 132

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