Long-Term Road Test Intro
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With a 10Best trophy to its name, the Focus steps up to its next challenge: a 40,000-mile test.
Months in Fleet: 6 months
Current Mileage: 16,113 miles
Average Fuel Economy: 32 mpg
Average Range: 397 miles
Service: $48
Normal Wear: $0
Repair: $0
Damage and Destruction: $1010
It’s been a long time since the Ford Focus was anything we wanted to drive at all, let alone for 40,000 miles. But our initial impressions of Ford’s new no-longer-smallest-but-still-pretty-tidy car in 2011 convinced us we wanted to drive it, and after its performance during our 2012 10Best testing, we concluded that its ratio of how much we want to drive it and how useful and efficient it is to its sticker price was among the 10 highest in the land. After crowning the Focus one of the year’s 10Best cars, we added one to our long-term fleet. Various 2012 Focuses have also proven themselves with three comparison-test wins.
While 2012 Focus sedan pricing starts at $17,295, we prefer our cargo holds large and our back glass embedded in a liftgate, and the minimum investment is $19,095 for an SE hatchback. That nets 16-inch steel wheels, power windows and mirrors, a tilting and telescoping steering column, and keyless entry. To that we added a Convenience package with cruise, Sync, and satellite radio for $1385; a Winter package with heated seats and mirrors for $570; a Sport pack with rear disc brakes—to go with the front discs—sport seats, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, and a few trim changes for $810; and 17-inch aluminum wheels for $495. Subtract out a couple hundred bucks in package discounts, and you’re left with our price of $21,655.
Until the turbocharged ST goes on sale, and excluding the electric model, Focuses are powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder making 160 horsepower and 146 lb-ft of torque. Rowing through our five-speed manual transmission, we managed a best 0-to-60 time of 7.3 seconds. The quarter-mile took 15.9 at 89 mph. While European breeding shows in the Focus’s balanced, confident handling, American litigious paranoia shows in a stability-control system that can’t be turned off, limiting skidpad performance to just 0.83 g. We’ve seen up to 0.88 g from other Focuses, but this car’s 174-foot stop from 70 mph is consistent with other examples we’ve tested.
Hey Y’all, Check Out My Engine
Break-in and testing behind it, our Focus got off to a rocky start. With just 5500 miles on the odometer, the check-engine light came on. Our dealer found a stored misfire code in the car’s memory, reset the memory, and drove around with a scanner attached, but found no further fault. He cleared the code and we’ve had no more trouble lights.
That’s not to say we haven’t had more trouble. While the car was in the shop, the dealer replaced the clips holding the driver’s-side C-pillar trim in place, as the plastic had been loose and rattling. (A staffer who wanted more time with the car and bought one himself noted loose trim in his Focus, too.) Just two days out of the dealership, this was one of several long-term cars caught in a hailstorm. All golf-balled up with dimples and divots, it was—assuming the aerodynamic justification for golf-ball dimpling translates to car-sized objects—probably more fuel-efficient. But it also was less pretty, and so we paid $1010 to get it back into shape. At an average thus far of 32 mpg, it leaves precious little to be desired. Maintenance costs, too, have been refreshingly low. We’ve taken the car in for one scheduled service visit so far, an oil change, tire rotation, and basic inspection that cost $48.
No Kicking Yet, But Some Screaming
There’s much to be pleased about, but the Focus is not flawless. We’re a little worried about our interior plastics, but the greater concern is the learning curve on the interior controls. The layout looks great—one staffer said he felt like he was on the bridge of an alien spacecraft—but the controls and command menus occasionally seem alien as well. And as handy as Sync is, we firmly believe that all voice-control systems should be programmed to recognize red-faced screaming and apologize. And then maybe dispense soma.
But if we’re just driving, the Focus constantly reminds us why we chose it for 10Best, its upscale feel and athletic reflexes impressing even one of our number who owned a previous-generation SVT Focus until recently. In time, perhaps the camp that thinks Ford has gone overboard on interior styling and gimmickry will become more sparsely populated.
Specifications
VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, front-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 5-door wagon
PRICE AS TESTED: $21,655 (base price: $19,095)
ENGINE TYPE: DOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head, direct fuel injection
Displacement: 122 cu in, 1999 cc
Power: 160 hp @ 6500 rpm
Torque: 146 lb-ft @ 4450 rpm
TRANSMISSION: 5-speed manual
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 104.3 in
Length: 171.6 in
Width: 71.8 in Height: 57.7 in
Curb weight: 2982 lb
PERFORMANCE: NEW
Zero to 60 mph: 7.3 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 22.3 sec
Rolling start, 5–60 mph: 8.4 sec
Top gear, 30–50 mph: 13.2 sec
Top gear, 50–70 mph: 13.6 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 15.9 sec @ 89 mph
Top speed (drag limited): 122 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 174 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad*: 0.83 g
*Stability-control-inhibited.
FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway driving: 26/36 mpg
C/D observed: 32 mpg
Unscheduled oil additions: 0 qt
WARRANTY:
3 years/36,000 miles bumper to bumper;
5 years/60,000 miles powertrain;
5 years/unlimited miles corrosion protection;
5 years/36,000 miles roadside assistance
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