2012 Focus: Almost

[focus05]

I just finished a week with a rental Focus driving over 1,000 miles through Illinois, Indiana and Ohio in snow, rain and sun. My model was an SEL with most of the trimmings (no Nav or MFT).

 

It's a great driver's car. It is quiet. It feels substantial. Road feedback is just about right. I can tell a lot of work went into making it a driving machine. The transmission is different than many automatics, but honestly, it shifted fairly well overall. It could be smoother - maybe the reflash has fixed this? I cannot wait to feel the 1.6EB in this - actually, if there were a 1.3EB, that might actually be the ultimate balance between performance and mileage.

 

While its emotional appeal is clear, the features that will hurt are the practical ones. The rear legroom is too small, the cupholders are not convenient for large drinks, the controls are awkward at best. These won't be killers at the dealership necessarily (the controls might be - you need to find a user experience expert), but they will reflect negatively every time someone goes to use the car in a particular way. I do suspect that the interior room will be a long-term liability for the car.

 

The Focus' gas mileage and performance are not unique. Its composure and refinement might be in more rarified territory in its segment. But I feel like a great opportunity was missed by skipping some functional needs in a space that is continually becoming more competitive - it could have been a homerun. That's what helps you retain the owner. And with the Fiesta and now the Focus coming up short in function, in my opinion, I caution that it's important to know thy customers - not just what they say they like in a focus group, but how they actually use the vehicle day-in and day-out.

 

That said, it has definitely made my shopping list when I return to the US later this year and need a car. But as I weigh functional and emotional needs, and trade-off against upgrading to other vehicles (CUVs) against desire for mileage gains, I must admit, the Focus is not at the top of my list. Perhaps one of the C-Maxs will win even though the package is not quite right? Or perhaps a competitor will actually meet my needs better in the package I want.

 

Just food for thought.

[akirby]

I just finished a week with a rental Focus driving over 1,000 miles through Illinois, Indiana and Ohio in snow, rain and sun. My model was an SEL with most of the trimmings (no Nav or MFT).

 

It's a great driver's car. It is quiet. It feels substantial. Road feedback is just about right. I can tell a lot of work went into making it a driving machine. The transmission is different than many automatics, but honestly, it shifted fairly well overall. It could be smoother - maybe the reflash has fixed this? I cannot wait to feel the 1.6EB in this - actually, if there were a 1.3EB, that might actually be the ultimate balance between performance and mileage.

 

While its emotional appeal is clear, the features that will hurt are the practical ones. The rear legroom is too small, the cupholders are not convenient for large drinks, the controls are awkward at best. These won't be killers at the dealership necessarily (the controls might be - you need to find a user experience expert), but they will reflect negatively every time someone goes to use the car in a particular way. I do suspect that the interior room will be a long-term liability for the car.

 

The Focus' gas mileage and performance are not unique. Its composure and refinement might be in more rarified territory in its segment. But I feel like a great opportunity was missed by skipping some functional needs in a space that is continually becoming more competitive - it could have been a homerun. That's what helps you retain the owner. And with the Fiesta and now the Focus coming up short in function, in my opinion, I caution that it's important to know thy customers - not just what they say they like in a focus group, but how they actually use the vehicle day-in and day-out.

 

That said, it has definitely made my shopping list when I return to the US later this year and need a car. But as I weigh functional and emotional needs, and trade-off against upgrading to other vehicles (CUVs) against desire for mileage gains, I must admit, the Focus is not at the top of my list. Perhaps one of the C-Maxs will win even though the package is not quite right? Or perhaps a competitor will actually meet my needs better in the package I want.

 

Just food for thought.

 

What was it that you found awkward about the controls other than they were different than what you may be used to?

[focus05]

What was it that you found awkward about the controls other than they were different than what you may be used to?

 

Cruise control: it took a while to understand it, and I often hit the "off" when I meant to accel or decel.

 

Climate control: They are in a strange place behind the shifter. It would be ok if the driver never had to reach to the other side where the passenger controls are - but you do as some of the defrost functions are over that way. And in winter, the shifter was often in the way of that. You'd probably get good over time of hitting the right button, but it's annoying.

 

Radio/sync: The navigation of sync via the controls was not intuitive and sometimes just confusing. I stopped for 15 minutes at a gas station to play with it and try to understand it, but then I still continued to encounter random navigation issues when setting up devices, configuring sync, etc. For example, the lower selections in the sync screen didn't seem to line up to anything on the control panel. Bad design. The process of hooking up a device is long in ease-of-use terms. Yes, a couple clicks, but long. And the reality is that you probably go through the process with your phone, and ipod, and your partner's phone, and your mom's phone over time... etc, etc. You eventually get good, but it takes a while. So some of it is ramp. But I think of it like the iPad: The iPad is something that you're not used to, but a 2-yo can be up and playing with it in about 30 seconds. It's complex, but done simply.

 

These aren't major issues - and luckily can be mucked with outside of a major redesign fairly easily. But, they make the car less user-friendly for lack of a better term.

[2b2]

......The rear legroom is too small ... These won't be killers at the dealership necessarily ... but they will reflect negatively every time someone goes to use the car in a particular way. I do suspect that the interior room will be a long-term liability for the car...

...But I feel like a great opportunity was missed by skipping some functional needs in a space that is continually becoming more competitive - it could have been a homerun...

...But as I weigh functional and emotional needs, and trade-off against upgrading to other vehicles (CUVs) against desire for mileage gains, I must admit, the Focus is not at the top of my list. Perhaps one of the C-Maxs will win even though the package is not quite right? Or perhaps a competitor will actually meet my needs better in the package I want.

 

Just food for thought.

I haven't driven one yet but completely agree about the rearseat room - esp. the rear foot room

 

This is by no means unique to the Focus - some others have so little room under the frontseat that my toes were PINCHED in back (TSX) - the Elentra has GOBS of room (and I found the Cruze was better than the room in Focus's rear too)

but Ford had the example of the Fusion - whose rear foot room they developed with engineers wearing size 14 shoes :thumbup:

Another bad spot (again shared with others) is the outer edge of the bottom of the rearseat that protrudes to the door and makes entry/exit more difficult.

And one thing I don't understand is the hollowing out of the back of the front seat - I don't want to seat with my knees tucked together & would MUCH prefer if the outer edges of the frontseats' backs were slanted IN making room for my knees. Add in slightly different frontseat supports & gliders and it'd be a whole different/better situation.

One last thing - why does the dash in front of the passenger stick out? I had to slide the seat several inches farther back than my driving position!

[FordBuyer]

I haven't driven one yet but completely agree about the rearseat room - esp. the rear foot room

 

This is by no means unique to the Focus - some others have so little room under the frontseat that my toes were PINCHED in back (TSX) - the Elentra has GOBS of room (and I found the Cruze was better than the room in Focus's rear too)

but Ford had the example of the Fusion - whose rear foot room they developed with engineers wearing size 14 shoes :thumbup:

Another bad spot (again shared with others) is the outer edge of the bottom of the rearseat that protrudes to the door and makes entry/exit more difficult.

And one thing I don't understand is the hollowing out of the back of the front seat - I don't want to seat with my knees tucked together & would MUCH prefer if the outer edges of the frontseats' backs were slanted IN making room for my knees. Add in slightly different frontseat supports & gliders and it'd be a whole different/better situation.

One last thing - why does the dash in front of the passenger stick out? I had to slide the seat several inches farther back than my driving position!

 

 

What was most disappointing about the leg room in the 2012 Focus is that it's a bit bigger vehicle than 2011 Focus, yet has even less leg room, not more as I thought it would. And I love the looks of the hatch, but the rear window visiblity is about as bad as it gets. Nothing more than very narrow slit out back. For that reason, I would have to go with the sedan even though the hatch looks much better to my eyes. When I first saw the new Focus, I do remember thinking OH, OH as I looked at that pitiful rear leg room. And sure enough review after review mentions lack of rear leg room. Not a deal breaker, but is and will probably affect sales in some negative ways. Not sure why Ford designers didn't get that right as in increasing interior dimensions a bit over previous generation since it's a bigger, heavier vehicle.

[focus05]

Perhaps the thing that bothers me the most is that the Fiesta and Focus, while excellent vehicles for a driver, seem to miss a general consumer trend I see beginning - which is the downsizing to the right-size. But that implies the down-sizing requires reasonable trade-offs in interior space, footprint, mileage and performance. The Fiesta and Focus fail miserably in the interior space trade-off.

 

In Europe this shift has meant the shift from C-cars into B-cars. That shift is nearly complete. And there are B-cars (the Hyundai twins, in particular) who meet the functional needs of the B-class buyer. Even the new Yaris and VW's Polo beat out the Fiesta for interior space. That lack of space means that the C-car buyer can't actually shift as easily into the vehicle. We're not talking about ridiculous propositions about how much legroom and such are available - trading to a B-car for fuel economy and smaller exterior packaging means you are trading off *some* space. But you still need it functional enough to carry you, your partner, and your kid with some luggage/groceries occasionally or perhaps a friend or two from time to time. Using space efficiently in a compelling design will win this downsizing trend. The B-Max will solve this need, but it's bigger, and importantly it will cost and weigh more. Meanwhile Hyundai may have nailed the packaging. Chevy's Sonic is pretty good. The Fit is fairly popular world-wide even given Honda's overall brand performance in Europe. The Fiesta cannot be an easy trade-down from a C-car.

 

A similar thing is happening in the US with trade-down into C-cars. People are starting to shift from CD-buyers to C-buyers. The reason the CD-segment still does so well is that luckily people are shifting out of SUVs and trucks into CD-cars. The Elantra and Cruze, again, get the package down fairly well - the Elantra has just enough space to be called "midsize." They might not be the most engaging cars, but they function really well and, in the case of the Hyundai, cost less. Just like the Fiesta, the Focus cannot be an easy trade-down from a CD-car. In fact, there are B-cars with almost as much room as the much larger footprint Focus. They just lack the width. The Focus does not really have the versatility for a family. Maybe a really young family or a short family.

 

Perhaps I'm wrong about all this overall trend, but I don't think so. The reason that C-cars have become so well designed and contented is that manufacturers recognize that people actually *want* a small car rather than need to get it because it's cheap. But with that shift comes some expectations on functionality and requires manufacturers to think about product planning beyond just what infotainment system they put in. And it pains me to think that Ford might actually be stuck with the current Focus's interior dimensions for 6+ years before the next gen with a modified body and increased room debuts.

 

And while, I suppose, we could hope that emotional reasons for buying might trump practical, the Focus is not a BMW and is not considered in the same way. And even if Ford feels like the choice and long-term satisfaction should be based more on emotional appeal than anything else, I would caution that the brand, sales goals, and product positioning does not reflect that stance. And so product and marketing need to line up really well on this one going forward.

[ehaase]

I hope the next generation Focus, which should be out around the 2016 model year, will have a larger interior. The upcoming Dart, as well as the Cruze and Jetta all have combined interior/cargo space of about 110 cubic feet, and the Focus needs to have the same interior space.

[MKII]

I see the Focus model appealing to a more mature demographic – those wanting to downsize and get the attendant fuel economy but not give up on a premium car experience.

 

Not your typical all-size fits all family sedan type.

Which makes sense in USA market as the sales numbers tend to show that the Fusion size vehicle (midsize) fits the demographics of the American consumers looking for a family sized "car".

 

There is a thread on focusfanatics.com titled "which car did you sell/trade for your Focus" with a surprising number being previous BMW 5 series, Acura TL, etc type customers. Quite an interesting thread to read, and I am in no way using this info as factual stats, but it does make sense to me

considering USA sales of sub-compact, compact, and midsize cars.

 

Here is the thread I mentioned above if interested. http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=269251

 

My own personal opinion on the new Focus cabin space, is that it is no problem for a family with 1 or 2 children/teens.

I really like the package the Focus offers, great drivers car, good looks & economical to run. No it does not offer midsize cabin space, but if it does not fit your needs, Ford does offer the Fusion.

Edited February 21, 2012 by MKII

[FordBuyer]

I hope the next generation Focus, which should be out around the 2016 model year, will have a larger interior. The upcoming Dart, as well as the Cruze and Jetta all have combined interior/cargo space of about 110 cubic feet, and the Focus needs to have the same interior space.

 

I think everyone on this forum and most not on it realize that a C segment vehicle has more cramped interior space, especially in back seat area, but the Focus is so cramped that I would not ask a fairly big adult to sit back there even on short trip. I was hoping that the 2012 Focus would offer enough back seat leg room to make it at least somewhat acceptable in back for short trip, but IMO Ford didn't pull it off. So yes, the new Fusion or even present Fusion is much better fit for me and any passengers. In fact, I'm thinking more and more of buying used 2010 Premier Milan in a few years to replace my Taurus. Good outward visibility, back and front end more tasteful, good fuel mileage, and decent back seat room plus large trunk. And much cheaper than even a base Focus and more distinctive as in Mercury is fallen flag brand.

[Biker16]

I haven't driven one yet but completely agree about the rearseat room - esp. the rear foot room

 

This is by no means unique to the Focus - some others have so little room under the frontseat that my toes were PINCHED in back (TSX) - the Elentra has GOBS of room (and I found the Cruze was better than the room in Focus's rear too)

but Ford had the example of the Fusion - whose rear foot room they developed with engineers wearing size 14 shoes :thumbup:

Another bad spot (again shared with others) is the outer edge of the bottom of the rearseat that protrudes to the door and makes entry/exit more difficult.

And one thing I don't understand is the hollowing out of the back of the front seat - I don't want to seat with my knees tucked together & would MUCH prefer if the outer edges of the frontseats' backs were slanted IN making room for my knees. Add in slightly different frontseat supports & gliders and it'd be a whole different/better situation.

One last thing - why does the dash in front of the passenger stick out? I had to slide the seat several inches farther back than my driving position!

 

the new seat that are being used in the Escape and the fusion are thinner, and alow for more space, the focusand fiesta seats were not designed for small cars IMO.

[Biker16]

I hope the next generation Focus, which should be out around the 2016 model year, will have a larger interior. The upcoming Dart, as well as the Cruze and Jetta all have combined interior/cargo space of about 110 cubic feet, and the Focus needs to have the same interior space.

 

there needs to be a balance between space and weight the cars you mentions weigh alot more than the current car.

 

the dart tips the scales at 3300 lbs. the new fusion weighs 3400.

[akirby]

I'm 5'11" 250. My daughter is short (5'3") and when we take her Focus I ride behind her in the driver's seat. I have PLENTY of legroom. And other room. Now if the seat is all the way back there isn't much room but I'd rather have the styling than the extra room.

 

Which do you think commands more of a price premium? Great styling or an extra few inches of rear legroom? What's the ATP of the competition?

[Biker16]

I'm 5'11" 250. My daughter is short (5'3") and when we take her Focus I ride behind her in the driver's seat. I have PLENTY of legroom. And other room. Now if the seat is all the way back there isn't much room but I'd rather have the styling than the extra room.

 

Which do you think commands more of a price premium? Great styling or an extra few inches of rear legroom? What's the ATP of the competition?

 

new seat could free up 1-3 inches of kneeroom in the back seat.

Edited February 22, 2012 by Biker16