gordanij

ditto. I don't want a Camry face.

It's too bad that Ford didn't move the Five Hundred name over to the Fusion line. I've never liked the Fusion name, nor did I ever like the Tempo name (reviving Falcon or Fairlane would have been better). Focus is OK because it's primary buyer hasn't developed primary memories of a car of their own that they trust, yet (and it's easy to say and remember). The Five Hundred name summons thoughts of fast, long distance and durable (Indy 500); everything that a good car would provide. Fusion? Fee you shion? It's not even comfortable to speak out loud nor even think about speaking. Fusion may be a combination of good things, but it just doesn't seem endearing in the library of good car names and long term good memories. Remember when how strong and great the Ford Galaxy 500 seemed to be when you were a kid. That's why Ford needed to bring back the Taurus...a lot of younger people rode around with Mom and Dad in the Taurus. So, it rekindles thoughts of safe, reliable and durable sedans that they can trust to carry their new families in as the generations continue. 'An old formula of naming that still applies. Best regards.

What about this for a steering wheel fix?: Have the Ford Service Department folks order/install an OEM Ford Fusion steering wheel. I'm sure it would cost hundreds of dollars with airbag, but perhaps all control connections and the wheel size would safely fit(?). If it's feasible, that would solve the uncomfortable steering wheel problem. Perhaps the windshield visor problem could be handled this way too. On the way home from work Friday, driving into the sunset, I was admiring how well the windshield visor in my Mazda B2300 ('03) worked and how it's fabric cover and proportional fit to the upper windshield A-pillar was drastically better than the visor in the Focus SES ('08) that I drove previously. I've got a fix for the gas pedal problem that my wife has because of her small feet (ladies 5): a billet aluminum over-shoe sized & riveted onto the current pedal, improving the heel-toe ratio and tailored/smoothed so as not to snag on the floor mat. Best regards.

Nice car; I like that interior color too. I'm glad to see they changed the sunroof controls, added rear seat head-restraints and have installed full ESC. I do notice by your picture the the transmission selector illumination is still too weak when compared to the other interior back-lighting. If Ford keeps tweaking the Focus at this rate, I'll be an owner of one by the new year. Now if they'd just smooth out the steering wheel spoke edges and upgrade the width of the sun visors; I'll have no excuses for waiting. Best regards.

I think they can be slimmed down a little and the edges of the spokes could be rounded a little more on the facing side and rounded a lot more on the back side of the wheel. It's a good looking steering wheel, but it it's not very comfortable on my daily 62 mile leg commute. The leather stitching is too aggressive as well. Don't laugh, but I think the steering wheel in my 2003 Mazda B2300 is a miracle of smooth simplicity and I've had that wheel in my hands for 114,000 miles. Nothing fancy, but long distance comfortable.

I don't mind the close headrests; I'm not an upright sitting twenty year old Marine, so my slouch compensates. IIHS gave the 2008 Focus headrests their highest safety rating for whiplash injury prevention. (Sorry Corolla: yours are poorly rated)

I drove the rental Focus SES from Tehachapi down to Bakersfield again today for shopping with the wifee. More feedback: The driver's sun visor is really really pathetic in the late afternoon sun, and if I buy a Focus, it will have to be replaced with visor from a donor vehicle (I could do better with duct tape, a box knife and a piece of cardboard from a recycle bin behind Kmart! Hello Ford: cheap doesn't need to be ineffective). I still think the steering wheel is uncomfortable because of wide spokes. The high beam headlights illuminate well on the flats, but still seem to be sharply cut-off when trying to view from a valley to a rising grade. The car's standard sound system is quite satisfying with Dire Straits and Jackson Browne CDs. The moon-roof was a pleasure to use below 50mph, despite the stealthy rocker switch. The 2.0L engine and 4 speed automatic still seem to have plenty of zip with smoothness for passing slower vehicles going up the Tehachapi Mountain grade (Hwy 58). For this trip upward, I set the cruise on 65 and noticed 3400 rpm a few brief times as I drove home towards Tehachapi summit ( Bakersfield ~500'MSL, Tehachapi summit ~4050'MSL). During a last minute squeeze-in passing scenario, I tromped the gas and seemed to have plenty of torque/acceleration from 65 to 80. Fuel mileage for this 148.3 mile shopping trip(?): 29.15. New concern: my wife's size 5 foot cannot comfortably operate the accelerator or brake pedal without raising her heel from the floor, hmmm that may be a safety show stopper (her current vehicle is a Chevy Tracker wagon; she doesn't have the same problem with it). Any suggestions for people with small feet? Best regards..

I forgot to add: The Enterprise rental Focus SES I drove for the weekend had just under 14000 miles on the odo. No rattles, no squeaks, only one defect observed: the drivers window gasket, exterior edge, tended to fold up into the window channel in a couple of areas (cosmetic defect, no wind noise from it). Aside from ergonomic glitches I described in the earlier post, the car was tight as a drum and I wouldn't hesitate to drive it to the limit of it's fuel capacity twice a day to get to a destination. It is a comfortable road car. Best regards..

Nickz, Do the outside mirror chrome caps on your Focus blind you with stray sunlight reflections at any given time of the day? I drove a Chrysler Aspen SUV with chrome outside mirror nacelles on a trip last year and the reflections from them were not pleasant. I like the look of exterior chrome except when it reflects at me from my own car while driving. Best regards..

Forum members, I too am interested in the new Focus. I rented a black SES for the weekend and drove it downhill to Bakersfield, up to Lake Isabella, back to Bakersfield, then finally back up to Tehachapi CA. The Focus seems to have enough power for mountain passes; a few of the uphill grades required 3500 rpm to maintain 65 mph, but overall I was pleased with the 2.0L's torque and quietness (note: no extra passenger or luggage on board). Tire noise was evident at times (low profile; great handling on the canyon switchbacks). The automatic did well with engine breaking down through the narrows of Kern River canyon; very little braking was needed with a combination of switching off the O/D and using L. The 235 mile trip gave me a hair over 32 mpg with dozens of stops at the turn-outs for vista photos. The car computer thought I was averaging 36.1: nope. But with my daily commute of 122 miles RT, I'm sure I could get at least 36 mpg at the speed limit (65mph) from TSP to EDW. Now for the ergonomic complaints: The steering wheel spokes are too fat and impede my normal driving style (that bottom key hole cut-out is a bit too sharp to rest/loop your fingers through). The steering spokes at 9 and 3 are too wide to grip comfortably and the cruise control buttons are in the way as well. The door arm rest seems too low for a person 5'9" with 33" sleeves. The center console arm rest was fine (note: I normally drive the open highway with my left arm only, with elbow on the left rest). The textured black dashboard material reflects onto the windshield for your viewing un-pleasure. The sun visor is too small and has a significant gap at the top left when deployed. The O/D off warning light is partially hidden by the gauge area visor (as is the cruise control warning light). The flush mount moon-roof rocker control is difficult to spot and takes my eyes off of the road when on the fly. At night, the high beam headlight setting does not illuminate approaching/rising uphill grades: even on high beam, the beam is focused with a short vertical cutoff and hides what is on the road grade ahead and above (...deer!). The night backlighting on the transmission shifter is much dimmer than other backlights on the dashboard and door controls. I’ve never seen so many blue backlit buttons in a car; seems like overkill and the moon-roof control switch back lighting doesn’t help much; raised rocker switch ends would be more useful for tactile feel of this control instead of looking for it. The auto-dim mirror doesn’t work fast enough at night; it doesn’t seem to work at all against glaring windshields from the car behind you in the daytime (a manual day/night mirror is way more useful to me). Leather seats are sweaty in a black car...even with a/c max setting fan step 2 (step 3 and above gets somewhat noisy/drafty). I did like the shape and the comfortable height of the driver seat. Headroom is minimal with the moon-roof nacelle eating up space. The left dead pedal area isn't well defined/slippery. And no rear headrests?...that’s not a carpool friendly feature to omit. Best regards…