Dubspeed Driven - 2008 Ford Focus

[Biker16]

Dubspeed

[fbmphil]

<333 Jack Baruth/FSF

[Michael Reynolds]

HA, good ol Leo Capaldi...

 

Anyhow, how can someone like that rolling heap known as the US Focus? How dare someone call the Euro Focus a triflé boring?

 

Seriously, the car aint anywhere as bad as people try to make it out to be. I've yet to drive one but the overall feel, fit and finish of the thing is spot on for an economy car. It has the solid feel of a VW, only alot cheaper to own. Just tweak the styling a little bit Ford, and I think you can make some headway. Then again the Civic sells well and look at it.

[LincolnFan]

Lol, so the BONers prediction has been shot down?

 

SAY IT AIN'T SO. SHIT CALL PCSARIO NOW, CODE RED. CODE RED M()TH@ F@THK@

[Blueblood]

Lol, so the BONers prediction has been shot down?

 

SAY IT AIN'T SO. SHIT CALL PCSARIO NOW, CODE RED. CODE RED M()TH@ F@THK@

 

No, stop sniffing glue..

[SVT_MAN]

Mostly no-brainers here. Ford knows the styling had its shortfalls. I mean, they frantically restyled the front fog lights after its introduction. Ford also knows the engine sucks. But the 2L is probably cheaper to package or something. Who knows. I think their biggest mistake was getting rid of the 2.3L DOHC, but what do I know? That was the oddest move I saw made by them. I mean, a few years ago, they brought out the ST model with the 2.3L Duratec and it made the Focus a decent mover. Now, they get rid of it? Just simply doesn't make sense. Especially with Ford's "low power" stigma they received thanks to models like the Five Hundred ...

[suv_guy_19]

Mostly no-brainers here. Ford knows the styling had its shortfalls. I mean, they frantically restyled the front fog lights after its introduction. Ford also knows the engine sucks. But the 2L is probably cheaper to package or something. Who knows. I think their biggest mistake was getting rid of the 2.3L DOHC, but what do I know? That was the oddest move I saw made by them. I mean, a few years ago, they brought out the ST model with the 2.3L Duratec and it made the Focus a decent mover. Now, they get rid of it? Just simply doesn't make sense. Especially with Ford's "low power" stigma they received thanks to models like the Five Hundred ...

 

 

How many people actually bought the ST?

[silvrsvt]

Mostly no-brainers here. Ford knows the styling had its shortfalls. I mean, they frantically restyled the front fog lights after its introduction. Ford also knows the engine sucks. But the 2L is probably cheaper to package or something. Who knows. I think their biggest mistake was getting rid of the 2.3L DOHC, but what do I know? That was the oddest move I saw made by them. I mean, a few years ago, they brought out the ST model with the 2.3L Duratec and it made the Focus a decent mover. Now, they get rid of it? Just simply doesn't make sense. Especially with Ford's "low power" stigma they received thanks to models like the Five Hundred ...

 

 

Keep in mind that people buy a small car for MPG or Price, not Performance....

 

People here are far too concerned with the numbers game or car y not having car x feature and calling it failure. Its the whole package.

[old_fairmont_wagon]

What? The 2.0L duratec is a bad engine? Uh, maybe in your corner of the universe. Lets compare its contemporary base engines.

 

Civic - 1.8L ~140 hp, similar torque.

Corolla - 1.8L 125 hp (optional engine for next year is the 2.4L from the Camry with a BIG drop in mpg)

Sentra - 2.0L ~140 hp (2.5L optional in two trims, up to 200 HP)

Mazda3 - 2.0L ~150 HP (optional 2.3L with 160 hp)

Cobalt - Whichever ecotec they're cramming in there, with the boosted SS.

etc.

 

The Focus base engine is as good as any other base engine out there for HP and torque. It also, for this year, gets comparable gas mileage to the best in the class. According to most of the reviews that I've read, NVH for the powerplant is among the best in the class.

 

Now, if you are SPECIFICALLY lamenting the demise of the ST, then I'll agree with you. However, I still maintain that they screwed the pooch with the ST by not offering a package with an automatic transmission. Mazda has a 2.3L paired with a 5AT. How freaking hard would it have been for Ford to do a similar package for the Focus (maybe with 5-10 less hp and maybe 5-10 more lbs of torque). I do understand that the engine compartment for the C170 Focus is different from the C1 compartment and that that combo might not have been possible in there.

[SVT_MAN]

I have nothing against the 2L DOHC. My brother-in-law's Focus lasted a LONG LONG time with that engine.

 

I am lamenting the loss of the ST, which qualified as a "performance model." Now Ford only gives one option?

 

I'll agree that the engine is quite comparable to the competition, but people shopping a Focus are probably cross-shopping the Cobalt, a car that spanks it in power. The Cobalt is outselling it too. I know that Cobalt is probably dumped on daily rental fleet, but I see a TON of college-aged kids driving them at my university.

 

silvrsvt : I agree to an extent. If all they cared about was MPG though - they wouldn't care about features like the SYNC which have shown to be a deciding factor when purchasing.

Edited December 5, 2007 by SVT_MAN

[LincolnFan]

No, stop sniffing glue..

 

but it smells so good... you're so mean.

[suv_guy_19]

but it smells so good... you're so mean.

 

 

Hey, leave him alone. You guys always pick on him when he's talking about product.

[Admiral]

What? The 2.0L duratec is a bad engine? Uh, maybe in your corner of the universe. Lets compare its contemporary base engines.

 

Civic - 1.8L ~140 hp, similar torque.

Corolla - 1.8L 125 hp (optional engine for next year is the 2.4L from the Camry with a BIG drop in mpg)

Sentra - 2.0L ~140 hp (2.5L optional in two trims, up to 200 HP)

Mazda3 - 2.0L ~150 HP (optional 2.3L with 160 hp)

Cobalt - Whichever ecotec they're cramming in there, with the boosted SS.

etc.

 

The Focus base engine is as good as any other base engine out there for HP and torque. It also, for this year, gets comparable gas mileage to the best in the class. According to most of the reviews that I've read, NVH for the powerplant is among the best in the class.

 

Now, if you are SPECIFICALLY lamenting the demise of the ST, then I'll agree with you. However, I still maintain that they screwed the pooch with the ST by not offering a package with an automatic transmission. Mazda has a 2.3L paired with a 5AT. How freaking hard would it have been for Ford to do a similar package for the Focus (maybe with 5-10 less hp and maybe 5-10 more lbs of torque). I do understand that the engine compartment for the C170 Focus is different from the C1 compartment and that that combo might not have been possible in there.

 

 

I don't particularly care for the 'new' Duratec four cylinders. There's just something cheap feeling/sounding about them (at least the ones I've driven), that and I've read of a lot more failures (mostly due to oil starvation from oil disappearing/burning up through the PCV system) than the Zetec it replaced. Honestly, I much prefer my Focus' 2.0-liter Zetec (although it's been 'spruced' up a little bit). I think the Zetec is a longer lasting engine too.

[old_fairmont_wagon]

8 HP and 16 lbs of torque does not a "Spanking" make. The base 2.2L engine in the Cobalt makes 148 hp and 152 lbs of torque. The Focus 2.0L makes 140 HP and 136 tq (according to edmunds). The weights are within percentages of each other. Now, what the Cobalt DOES offer is a 2.4L N/A angine that gives 171 hp and 163 lbs of torque. That is a better engine to be sure, however, according to edmunds, it is available only on the SS, and, only with a stick. Same problem Ford had with the ST.

 

As for MPG, the Cobalt and Focus are withing 1MPG of each other with the base engines when comparing like transmissions. The cobalt is a touch better in the city, and the focus on the highway. The bigger engines definitely impact fuel economy for the cobalt.

 

Add to that the fact that the Focus is definitely a much better handler, and, well, I think that you get more with the focus in base and value trim. You want options, well, that's where you go look at the cobalt.