Escape owner rented a Focus Wagon in Germany last week - very similar to my 2013 Escape

[bolt in blue]

My ride back home is a 2013 Escape Titanium FWD 2.0. I was in Europe last week and needed a car for a few days in Germany. I had pre-booked a "Ford Focus or similar" and paid extra to guarantee an automatic from Hertz - didn't want another thing to mess with when it's only my second time driving in Europe. Declined to pay $15/day to guarantee nav and also declined moving up to a guaranteed diesel - more than doubled the rental price.

 

The Focus was the smallest car listed with an available automatic on their site. We mainly hit small towns while we had the car, but started in Frankfurt and ended in Munich so didn't want to have a large car for city driving and parking. I was slightly nervous that the "or similar" could be a WV Golf as some other sites were renting automatic Golfs in the same size class. It would have been tight for three people plus all our luggage. I figured with car preferences in Europe, the Focus would likely be a hatchback.

 

When I showed up at the desk at Frankfurt airport to pick up the car, they gave me the option of two vehicles: a Focus or a C-Max. Desk agent said both had nav (at no extra charge - yay!) and 2.0 diesel engines. Asked what body style the Focus was and he said wagon. Went with the Focus. Glad I did.

 

Car was very nicely equipped and remarkably similar to my Escape. Dual zone automatic climate control (exact same controls as the Escape). Sony radio with nav and sync - not My Ford Touch - not sure it's offered in Europe. Driver display between the gauges same as the Escape but with a different color scheme and a newer version (has the quad display that my Escape doesn't have yet). Easy to change the language to English, which switched everything except the emergency traffic alerts on the radio over. Even had heated seats (cloth) with lumbar support (manual). Audio controls on the steering wheel laid out a little different than the Escape but all other controls in the same places. While the audio/nav system isn't as fancy as MFT, its operation was flawless and it had a nice large display (5-6" range).

 

Engine felt very similar to the EcoBoost engines. Not quite as quick off the line (felt like there was some turbo lag) but plenty powerful for both city and highway driving. We hit 150 km/h on the autobahn when passing with no trouble. Direct shift transmission not as smooth as the 6 speed auto but much smoother than many of the automatics I've had in Europe and in no way a downside to me. True story: the last time I rented a car in Europe, I got out after the first drive and said "now I understand why Europeans all have manuals if these are the crappy automatics they get"). Engine also had great highway fuel economy - I was getting about 4l/100km on the autobahn with an average speed around 120 (75 mph). I believe our trip average was just under 6l/100km but we did a lot of back roads and mountains that cut our numbers. Also liked having an instant fuel consumption gauge in the driver display in addition to the average.

 

We drove around 750km over three days and used about $80 of fuel, paying about 1.41eur/liter when we filled up. We probably could have done it on one tank but we played it safe and had an intermediate fill up, after which the car said it was 980km (600mi) to empty. Wish I could go that kind of distance in my Escape! The diesel lost economy at a much slower rate than my Escape when dealing with inclines or high speeds. One other interesting note: this diesel sounded like a typical diesel when you got into the high RPMs after flooring it but had a very quiet idle that sounded like a gas car (not the typical diesel idle rhythm).

 

The cargo capacity was nearly the same as my Escape. It seemed to be the same distance in all directions and held about the same amount under the retractable cargo cover. The cargo cover on the Escape is easier to use and higher quality. Rear passenger legroom was a hair less than the Escape. Ride and vehicle noise inside was very similar. I think the back window was identical between the cars.

 

I bought my Escape for three features: cargo capacity in the vehicle, 3500lb tow ability, and 30MPG highway. If Ford brought over an Escape Wagon with a diesel that somehow managed to keep a decent tow rating, there's a good chance I'd trade mine in. I don't mind giving up the ride height. With the difference in fuel economy between the lower body and the diesel, it would probably make financial sense even if the not as nice equipped Focus cost the same as my Escape Titanium when you added the diesel.

 

One other interesting thing I'll add: Fords are very popular in Germany, more so than any of the Asian brands or any of the other American brands (Chevy and Opel both have a presence). Virtually all vehicles are wagons, MPVs, or SUVs with small hatchbacks also being popular in the city. I didn't see a single Ford sedan or coupe in Europe and saw a single Focus hatchback despite the Focus being one of the most common vehicles I saw. The only cars that I saw frequently as sedans were BMWs and even there the wagon was much more popular. I also saw a number of Audi R8s flying by on the autobahn but those were the only coupes I saw on the road. I saw more Fords than Audis too.

[MKII]

Great reading your impressions on the Focus wagon. The transmission that is mated to the 2.0L diesel is the wet clutch Powershift (Getrag MPS6 dual clutch), and it looks like

you had a Titanum spec model.

It was good to read that even in a different country you felt comfortable with the familiar interior & controls.

BTW the towing capacity for the Focus 2.0 diesel is 3,300 lbs

Edited June 11, 2013 by MKII

[bolt in blue]

I was ready to take the car home with me! I would take the autobahns too but neither one would fit in my suitcase. Forgot to mention that the Focus had a different keyfob than my Escape and didn't have a power lift gate but it had the keyless ignition and door unlocking that worked just like the Escape - I'm now used to never taking my keys out of my pocket.

 

In a lot of ways it really felt just like driving my car at home which was nice. I had a Hyundai i30 hatchback last year in Greece and while the roads were much worse than Germany/Austria, it was much harder dealing with different road styles and signs while driving an unfamiliar crappy car (I test drove the i30 wagon, sold as the Elantra Touring, a few years ago in the US - not a good car but the one I had in Greece was much worse than the one I drove here).

 

I suspect that if Ford did bring the diesel Focus Wagon to the US, it wouldn't have a tow rating. Our vehicles here consistently have lower tow ratings than their cousins in other countries. None of the US Focus models have any tow rating and it's rare for a midsize car in the US these days to have any tow rating. If they have one, it's usually 1000 lbs.