blazerdude20 Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 My link If you believe that driving an inexpensive, compact sedan shouldn't require a prescription for antidepressants, you're not alone. Neither do we. And apparently, neither do Ford and Chevrolet. The all-new Ford Focus and Chevrolet Cruze are the best compact sedans ever produced by the Blue Oval and Bow Tie, each offering more power, more comfort, and more style than their predecessors. Fortunately, both automakers have also seen fit to introduce versions that stand out to drivers looking for more than just a point-A-to-point-B grocery-getter: the Focus Titanium and Cruze LTZ RS. Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/sedans/1104_2012_ford_focus_titanium_2011_chevrolet_cruze_ltz_rs_comparison/index.html#ixzz1JrBlQuGL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moosetang Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 Man, if they bent over backward any further to make the Cruze sound better than it is, they'd never walk again. "In every objective performance category the Focus destroys the Cruze, and at the limit or around town sure the Focus is the clear winner if you're into that sort of thing. But at 6/10ths the Cruze's bad handling is that 'fun' kinda bad that people who don't know what a real car drives like think they like and we're disappointed that the Focus can't lower itself to that experience." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goinbroke2 Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 Ummmm.....car one performs better but we wish it could lower itself to feel the same as a poorer handling car two.....umm...ok...yeah...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MKII Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 I get the impression that Motor Trend wrote the article as they did to leave room for the new Civic to blow both domestic cars out of the water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atvman Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 Ummmm.....car one performs better but we wish it could lower itself to feel the same as a poorer handling car two.....umm...ok...yeah...... I think it's a case of "If we tell them how we really feel, GM might pull advertising dollars." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 Anyone with an open mind who reads that article comes away with the opinion that the Ford trounced the Cruze in almost every department but because the Cruze was shod with inferior all season rubber, Motor Trend then completely overcompensated for their findings and ignore the superiority of the Focus Titanium. Were these guys on crack? How can a car so good and so obviously superior to the Cruse not win by a country mile? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harley Lover Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 Why should anyone pay any attention to anything Motortrend says? That magazine and its car of the year award have been the joke of the industry for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerM Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 (edited) Something I read about the Focus was the compression ratio is 12:1. I might be getting old, but I thought once you got above 10:1, you typically would need a higher octane fuel to prevent predetonation. Is that no longer true (if it ever was)? Regarding the article: I took what they say about the Cruze as being more of throwing GM a bone ("Gee guys, we have to say SOMETHING good") The overwhelming majority of the article was Focus>Cruze, especially given the minimal price difference. Edited April 21, 2011 by RangerM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lost1 Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Something I read about the Focus was the compression ratio is 12:1. I might be getting old, but I thought once you got above 10:1, you typically would need a higher octane fuel to prevent predetonation. Is that no longer true (if it ever was)? Regarding the article: I took what they say about the Cruze as being more of throwing GM a bone ("Gee guys, we have to say SOMETHING good") The overwhelming majority of the article was Focus>Cruze, especially given the minimal price difference. Direct Injection has the effect of cooling down the combustion chamber preventing pre ignition thus allowing higher compression and higher HP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grbeck Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 I get the impression that Motor Trend wrote the article as they did to leave room for the new Civic to blow both domestic cars out of the water. Based on what I've seen of the new Civic (the local Honda dealer had two LX sedans and one EX sedan) and read in the early reviews, it will beat the Cruze, but not the Focus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Something I read about the Focus was the compression ratio is 12:1. I might be getting old, but I thought once you got above 10:1, you typically would need a higher octane fuel to prevent predetonation. Is that no longer true (if it ever was)? IIRC the 05-09 Mustang GT has a 11:1 compression ratio and still uses 87 octane... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 (edited) Something I read about the Focus was the compression ratio is 12:1. I might be getting old, but I thought once you got above 10:1, you typically would need a higher octane fuel to prevent predetonation. Is that no longer true (if it ever was)? Variable cam timing makes a huge change and allows the engine to act like a smaller capacity engine by keeping the intake valve open much later. This would normally reduce the part throttle compression ratio significantly but the 12:1 ratio on the Focus mostly compensates for that.Under full power, the 12:1 is controlled by knock sensors and precise mapping of cam and fuel timing, the cooling effect of direct injection and increased EGR. Edited April 21, 2011 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captainp4 Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Aluminum heads also allow higher compression ratios in addition to everything else mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Aluminum heads also allow higher compression ratios in addition to everything else mentioned. Why? That doesn't make sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 (edited) Why? That doesn't make sense. 20th century technology....somewhere after EFI and before distributorless spark ignition....:shades: Edited April 22, 2011 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captainp4 Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 http://lmgtfy.com/?q=why+do+aluminum+heads+allow+for+more+compression :D Basically, aluminum transfers heat better and allows for a cooler combustion chamber. It can allow for ~1 point increase in compression. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 http://lmgtfy.com/?q=why+do+aluminum+heads+allow+for+more+compression :D Basically, aluminum transfers heat better and allows for a cooler combustion chamber. It can allow for ~1 point increase in compression. Never thought about heat transfer but now it makes sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
630land Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 (edited) To me, the Cruze is too "Buick Century/Olds Ciera", meant to appeal to GM loyalists who liked soft rides, hood ornaments, and velour seats. Focus has more sportiness and modern feel. Edited April 25, 2011 by 630land Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biker16 Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 (edited) Edited April 25, 2011 by Biker16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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