Question for Empowuh

[ocnblu]

Hey. How's your Focus running? Had any warranty issues? Any issues with user friendliness? How's the fuel mileage? General observations?

Dealer in town I work in has quite a few SE hatches with manual transmission available for perusal.

[pow]

Hey. How's your Focus running? Had any warranty issues? Any issues with user friendliness? How's the fuel mileage? General observations?

Dealer in town I work in has quite a few SE hatches with manual transmission available for perusal.

All things considered, I'm liking it.

There are some problems that have been with the car since Week 1. I hear occasional buzzes and rattles from the interior when it's cold outside or if I drive on a particularly rough road. The front suspension makes a clomping noise going over bumps that gets louder when there are passengers in the car. There are many other Focus owners experiencing the same problem, but Ford hasn't identified a fix. Customer service promises that they're forwarding our information to engineers and that a solution is coming, but it's been months, and I'm starting to doubt it.

The car was $21K OTD new, but if I were to sell it today, I'd be lucky to get $15K because of the suspension noise and the fact that Ford flooded rental fleets with PowerShift SE and SEL cars. So I'm basically forced to keep this car forever.

On the upside, the noise only seems to only effect "early-build" Focii. Mine was built 11/2011. Also, there are more rebates and discounts on 2013s, so depreciation won't be as bad. And apart from the noise, I've had no other issues. Just an oil change and rotation at 10,000 miles. It now has 17,000 miles and it drives exactly the same as new. Tight steering, tight suspension, smooth and quiet engine.

The car is very user friendly. I don't have MyFordTouch, just normal SYNC, and the controls are very logical once you get used to them. I have manual HVAC controls and I can do everything without looking. Center armrest gets in the way of shifting, so I now open it whenever I drive. Seats are nice. Fuel mileage is good. Averaging 29.2 mpg over the past 8,866 miles, with the highest tank at 35.9 mpg and the lowest tank at 22.8 mpg. I upgraded to 18" Titanium wheels so consumption has probably increased 1 or 2%. My Fuelly account: https://www.fuelly.com/driver/empowah/focus

As far as FWD compact cars go, I still think the Focus is among the best out there. Not perfect, but sometimes I have to keep things in perspective: this isn't a BMW, it's a $21K hatchback. I've driven the latest Civic, Sentra, Impreza, Dart, and 3 and none of them close to the sophisticated driving feel you get from the Focus. The next step up would be a FR-S or 3-series.

Edited February 24, 2013 by pow

[ocnblu]

Thanks for the information. I went to York, PA today to look at some of these, they have several manual SE hatches in various states of MSRP. I've been reading Edmunds owner reviews, and they pretty much lambast the manumatic trans (wouldn't be a problem for me). There are also several mentions of rattles on early reviews. But they universally praise its driving characteristics and nice interior.

Edited February 25, 2013 by ocnblu

[pow]

Thanks for the information. I went to York, PA today to look at some of these, they have several manual SE hatches in various states of MSRP. I've been reading Edmunds owner reviews, and they pretty much lambast the manumatic trans (wouldn't be a problem for me). There are also several mentions of rattles on early reviews. But they universally praise its driving characteristics and nice interior.

Cool. For 2013, the only way to get sport seats, rear disc brakes, leather wrapped steering wheel, and fog lights are with the pricey SE Appearance Package, which also includes 17" alloys and leather. There used to be a less expensive Sport Package in 2012 that had those "essentials" but with 16" alloys and cloth seats.

[ocnblu]

Yeah, the ones I'm looking at have the Appearance Package (I like the wheels and the foglights)... but you also have to buy the Winter Package to get heating elements in those leather seats.

[G. David Felt]

FORD -Fix Or Repair Daily.....