But the hatchback had a more direct feel it was truly zingy, where the sedan was capable but more relaxed. I rather liked the fine-spoked design of the 17s, and the sedan had a more supple ride than that hatchback. The hatchback had the $595 Titanium Handling Package, which brought 18-inch wheels as opposed to the sedan’s 17-inchers. Get thee the manual if at all possible, which Ford offers on even the upscale Titanium, while manufacturers like Honda ban the manual from the upper trims. Miss a beat, and the other drivers in the intersection will fill the gap, and so both Focuses felt slightly hobbled by the transmission’s truculence. It was surprisingly possible to catch the engine freewheeling after the Focus came to a complete stop and then was asked to pick up again. But this automatic is simply too busy around town, and it is slow to come back to first as you hop from one intersection to the next. No problem when you’re up to speed, it kicks right down for passing. On the other hand, the automatic transmission had me wishing for the manual. Note how bare-boned its presentation is, with a prop rod for the hood and no fancy valvetrain cover. It revs freely and sounds happy in its work, with none of the booming of the Corolla’s old mill. The 2.0-liter is a good match for the Focus. As of this December 2014 writing, the EPA has not yet measured the 1.0-liter for mileage, but the 2.0-liter’s 31 mpg overall is competitive with the Toyota Corolla’s 32 mpg and the Honda Civic’s 33 mpg. Ford’s terrific 1.0-liter turbocharged four joins the Focus lineup in 2015, and while it gives up 37 horses, it adds two lb.-ft. Both skipped the standard five-speed manual in favor of the the six-speed automatic, as did the previous Focus Titanium reviewed by .īoth had the only engine offered on the 2014 Focus, a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine that produces 160 horsepower and 146 lb.-ft. For 2015, the Focus gets a schnoz that falls in line with the faux-Aston Martin beak that adorns other Fords.įor this review, we drove two Focus Titaniums – a hatchback in Sterling Gray Metallic… There are a lot of cars under the Focus umbrella, from the sporty Focus ST to the Focus Electric. And just as some distance has been placed between the current models and their lackluster forebears – kids these days don’t know there was even such a thing as a Chevy Citation – the GM recall frenzy keeps the cloud over American brands, and Ford gets rained on as well. ![]() That’s a shame, because the Focus has a lot to offer.įor many, the recent drastic improvements to US small cars are too little and too late. ![]() That general aversion to the Big Three brands – actually the Big Two, now that Fiat has usurped Chrysler – means that good compact cars like the Ford Focus are summarily passed over. Car buyers who have hired me a consultant here in the San Francisco Bay Area have one thing in common: none among them have wanted an American car.
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