pgagoober

Outstanding. Thanks so much for your help! I'll be sure to post pics asap.

Update please ? VIN : 1FAHP3J22CL109889 If at all possible, an ETA to dealer would be awesome! Thanks a lot cyberdman.

Just for kicks I went through the parts listing and identified parts differences between Titanium and T.Handling to see what the overall parts cost difference would be. Factoring in wheels and tires too it comes out to a raw parts cost difference of $1100 (that's using tirerack's tire costs). So for $595 you get $1100 worth of upgrades. Not a bad deal!!

Thanks!

Aha - thanks for for that!

I know what you mean - it's all too easy to get dependent on voice control if it is available. I first had it on a Honda Accord coupe back in '03 and I loved it. There was something really cool about telling your nav to find the nearest Italian restaurant and off you go Sorry to hear about the Edge - hope she's back together soon!

Cool. It's just a shame that so many of the reviewers seems to be getting that maroon interior color package. Maybe it just doesn't translate well to on-screen images/video but I think it looks a little weird. I sat in a black titanium a few days ago and it looked much better. Just my 2 cents of course.....

Thanks. Good to hear the system is intuitive. I've been reading that it now comes with a 10,000 word speech recogition vocabulary so hopefully that'll help with the voice commands.

VIN : 1FAHP3J22CL109889 Thank you!!

I suspect HID will become available in 2013. My guess is that Ford will try to gradually increase the price of the Focus as right now it is selling at a bargain compared to the european pricetag.

Really depends on the cost. At the right pricepoint it would be tempting.

I ordered the handling package because I prefer to have as direct a handling experience as I can get. I also tend to prefer firmer suspension setup. I would love to know more about the exact differences between the stock Titanium Sport suspension and the handling package version if anyone has that info. Regarding the tires - it does seem wise to swap out the wheels for a winter setup if you need to deal with snow. Here in Arizona there's not much to worry about in that regard (at least in/around Phoenix). It's warm and dry or hot and dry - with an occasional monsoon. Performance tires have been working fine here all year round. One note about the color - don't write off paying a few hundred extra for the metallic tri-coat options. I saw the white tri-coat on a Fusion and it was a dramatic improvement in how the car looked. Your car of course, but for me it was a no-brainer. Good luck!

Wouldn't that be quite dangerous ? Tires heat up and PSI increases as you drive. If you have them already set at or beyond the max sidewall pressure, aren't you risking tire disintegration? I would also expect such high pressure to reduce tire contact patch and braking effectiveness. Obviously it hasn't happened to you and I don't know your driving conditions but I wanted to point out the potential dangers before someone reads this thread and thinks it's a safe thing to do.

Simple plan: Get keys Drive Grin Drive some more Park and admire (while grinning) Drive home

I originally hail from Ireland and my family experience with Ford over there is what has drawn me to the 2012 Focus. Many moons ago my dad drive a Ford Mondeo. I believe the Contour you referred to was the U.S. version of that car. I have never driven the Contour but I can tell you that generation Mondeo was an excellent car. It was a big seller for Ford in Europe and their subsequent generations have done extremely well also. That's high praise given the handling expected of a car in Europe. Later on my dad picked up a Focus. That was one of the best handling cars I had ever driven. To be honest - it still holds a solid place on my list of great cars. He drove that car for several years and only gave it up when his eyesight prevented him from driving any more. My sister has been driving it ever since and it has never given an ounce of trouble. I can also attest to the fact that the road surfaces in rural Ireland are not exactly suspension-friendly so it's all the more impressive how well it has held up. Once I learned about the 2012 Focus and the fact that it was really an evolution of the previous generation Euro car I literally drove straight to the dealer. As it turns out they didn't have one on the lot but within a couple weeks I had an order placed. I firmly believe this will be a very very big hit for Ford.