OT - Ford Focus Advice

Submitted by jb5O4 on

So I've decided that I am going to get a new car, since most of the good brands are pretty expensive used anyway. I was thinking about a Ford Focus for a while having heard good things about it from a few people who drive the newer models. I saw that they are made in Wayne, MI (on Wikipedia), I assume this is true. Any opinions on the car?

Mitch Cumstein

March 10th, 2010 at 10:32 PM ^

Any American company is made in America. The "made in" label that is used when, for example Toyota says made in the USA really means assembled. In reality the US companies are "made" in the US even if they are assembled elsewhere. They use USA suppliers and all the white collar work is in the USA.

Anyway, I've heard really good things about the Focus. I don't know if you're into smaller cars, but the Fiesta is coming out soon and that is a very popular car in Europe. If you're interesting in waiting a bit for it.

FL_Steve

March 10th, 2010 at 10:49 PM ^

the focus, not to sure about it, but I just bought a new Escape and it is pretty good, granted I used to drive a top-of-the-line 3 series BMW. Ford is putting out a good product and their business reports give consumers confidence that GM cannot. Bottom line...KEEP YOUR MONEY IN AMERICA!!!!!!!!

WichitanWolverine

March 11th, 2010 at 9:46 AM ^

My first car was a Jeep Grand Cherokee, which I never had a single serious problem with. My second was a Blazer, and it was a rolling shitpile. I will never, ever buy another Chevy. Driving the two cars was night and day.

I drive a foreign car right now and I can't wait til my lease is up so I can buy American. U S and A!

Wolverine318

March 11th, 2010 at 10:00 AM ^

My first car was a 96 chevy cavalier. It was a piece of crap. Then I bought a 2001 chevy s10. It was great until my transmission blew out in the middle of a blizzard as I was driving back home for Christmas vacation. Then 50K more miles later the transmission blew out again. I took care of the car well with all of the scheduled maintenance and fluid changes. I then bought a 2001 Saab 93. This thing was a nightmare. I blew one turbo 500 miles after the first oil change after I bought it. Then the throttle body went for no apparent reason. Then my power steering pump decided it wanted to die even though i keep clean fluids in it. When that died it took out my serpentine belt. I hit one pot hole doing 35 mph and it took out the suspension. Then the clips to my driver's window broke and I had to take it in to get the window out of the door panel. Then for some mystery reason, even my mechanic couldn't even figure out (I take my saab to a Saab specialist shop in Ann Arbor) my car wouldn't restart sometimes if the engine was warmed up. Secondly, there is currently a class action against GM and Saab America for covering up a known defect where they placed the carb way too close to the oil pan, making the oil pan basically a croc pot and cooking the oil and creating a massic sludge issue that eventually seizes the engine (which is why my first turbo died).

Yeah, I refuse to support that piece of shit company.

tjyoung

March 11th, 2010 at 12:07 AM ^

great car. i had it for a year and now have a Fusion. the fusion is supposed to be a step-up, but i miss the focus. a lot of things that you don't normally think about are great about it, such as the large view out of the rear windshield - something that is very underrated.

joeyb

March 11th, 2010 at 12:14 AM ^

I had a 2008 Focus. Sync is a must-have IMO. I recommend it to everyone buying a Ford car and no one has complained yet. I would consistently get 35-38 MPG, but I did a lot of highway driving. I never liked the interior design of the car; it always reminded me of Space Mountain. Functionally, the car was fantastic, so as long as you don't mind the appearance, I think it is a great car to get.

jblaze

March 11th, 2010 at 7:09 AM ^

The 2011 Focus is the European version that is supposed to be really good. That means the 2010 will get crushed in resale. I guess if you are set on the 2010, then make sure you get a killer deal.

http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/2011-ford-focus.htm

Also, it's rated #19 of 29, so there are better choices out there.

http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars-trucks/rankings/Affordable-Sm…

Lutha

March 11th, 2010 at 8:26 AM ^

I agree with jblaze--wait for the 2012 euro model that comes here next year. I drove the Euro focus--which is based on the same platform as the Volvo S40--during a summer in London and it is considerably better than the current domestic edition.

http://www.insideline.com/ford/focus/2012/2012-ford-focus-2010-detroit-…

Also, if you're into that kind of stuff, Top Gear did a segment on the Focus RS and absolutely loved it.

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

March 11th, 2010 at 10:34 AM ^

This is an excellent point, but I'd say that if one is looking to get a car as small and inexpensive as a Focus and is looking to have it for a while and get a lot of use out of it, by the time you're ready to sell the difference in resale value will be maybe a few hundred bucks. I'd say, just offset that up front by getting a good deal on a '10.

Blazefire

March 11th, 2010 at 7:42 AM ^

If you have the money for an upgrade in model, I really recommend going up to a Fusion. The focus is very nice, but we own a Focus, and I leased a Fusion for two years. The fusion is just bigger and better.

mikefromaa

March 11th, 2010 at 8:19 AM ^

I'm not sure exactly what the price difference is these days, but there is a certain stigma involved with driving a focus if one has passed beyond his or her college days. The fusion offers a lot more room, still decent gas mileage(although not as good as the focus) and it doesn't look nearly as much like a shrunken minivan.

Wolverine In Exile

March 11th, 2010 at 7:58 AM ^

Love it. Had an Explorer that just topped 200000 miles and then the engine died, luckily for me, it was right when the Cash for Clunker deal was on. Focus handles well, has a little jump when you need it on the highway, and I find the satellite radio controls very easy to use. I actually was really hoping to wait it out for a new Ford Fiesta, but couldn't when the SUV engine went tits up. Am getting about 31-33 mpg in mostly highway driving doing 70-75 mph. If I knock it down to 65 mph, I was getting over 35 mpg. Only drawback is that the trunk space is small enough that I can't fit my hockey sticks back there... they ride on the side of the seats stretching from front passenger door to rear passenger door. Also, the rear seat doesn't have a LOT of leg room.

Suggestion-- find a dealership and test drive both the Focus and Fiesta. Don't bother with the Fusion unless you really want the extra leg room.

Wolverine318

March 11th, 2010 at 8:56 AM ^

I just bought a 2010 Focus SE in December. I love it so far. I was coming from a 2001 Saab 93, which is a POS by the way. The focus has great gas mileage, decent pickup, and alot of the optional safety features on many cars are standard on the focus. The appearance is great, especially after they dumped the hatchback design.

jb5O4

March 11th, 2010 at 9:09 AM ^

I think I want to stick with a Focus. I borrowed a lot of money to attend UofM so I'm going to go cheap on my first car. It was definately worth sacrificing an expensive first car to attend Michigan.

sULLY

March 11th, 2010 at 9:15 AM ^

I purchased a 2010 Focus SES and so far I am very happy with it. I upgraded to the SES package which come standard with SYNC, 17" wheels with nice looking rims and sports tuned suspension, and ambient lighting. More than anything else, the SYNC is very nice. I play all of my music off of a 4gb flash drive. Also, I am getting 29.2 mpg combined, but I regularly drive 80-85 on my commute.

As stated above, the leg room in the back is not great so if you plan on driving 3-4 people often, I would consider looking at the Fusion.

The 2012 Focus is the model that is switching to world standard model to makes parts universal for the Focus globally. They are also putting in a 6-speed automatic which I believe will give it near 40 mpg on the highway.

Conclusion: If you need a solid affordable car now I would get the Focus w/SYNC. If you can hold off for just over a year for the 2012 I may consider getting that.

Vasav

March 11th, 2010 at 9:53 AM ^

Great car, I've already put 24k on it. Like everyone says great gas mileage, high consumer report survey, handles and accelerates surprisingly well for a compact. Also, SYNC is really really REALLY cool. When I got mine that sort of thing was only available in cars that cost close to twice as much.

thekiddet3

March 11th, 2010 at 10:14 AM ^

I work for Ford in engineering, Product Development. You will not be sorry if you buy a Focus, as with any vehicle make sure you change the oil and fluids as recommended and it will last you for years!

Good luck no matter what vehicle you purchase, I hope it will be domestic though.

Wolverine In Exile

March 11th, 2010 at 11:41 AM ^

1) The 2009-on Focus has the highest safety ratings of any small car. Big deal if you plan to have this car through the days you start worrying about that sort of thing.. like when you have kids in car seats in the rear seat. If you're still dating, this can be a big turn on to the chicks ("Ooh, he worries about keeping our future family safe and doesn't feel the need to compensate for his small penis with an expensive muscle car or luxury automobile")

2) I really like the fact that the scheduled maintenance is essentially every 7500 miles as long as you keep using Ford fluids. Most Ford dealerships now (at least where I live) will even take oil change / tire rotation coupons from other places as price matching so the cost difference in going to dealership vs quickie lube is minimal.

HAIL 2 VICTORS

March 11th, 2010 at 2:23 PM ^

If you buy used no matter how good you think the deal might be it is not worth the humilitaion of driving a former Mary-K-Rewards car... Blue, White anything but that Mary-K Pink dude.