My comparison: Eleven compact sedans

[DC Car Examiner]

This comparison includes all the compact sedans but the Mitsubishi Lancer -- Cruze, Dart, Focus, Civic, Elantra, Forte, Mazda3, Sentra, Impreza, Corolla, Jetta. In addition to full reviews, there are quick summaries on the introduction page:

http://www.examiner.com/list/comparison-review-eleven-compact-sedans-the-best-and-the-worst

There are also separate ranking orders based on specific areas (for instance, comfort, performance or fuel economy):

http://www.examiner.com/article/comparison-review-eleven-compact-sedans-ratings

And separate rating orders for different types of customers (for instance, someone seeking a basic commuter car versus a fun car):

http://www.examiner.com/article/comparison-review-eleven-compact-sedans-rankings

Feedback welcome as always; folks who followed the last one of these that I post might recognize formatting changes that were suggested here.

[MKII]

How about some proof (pictures) of poor panel interior fittings to back up your observations of the Focus.

Can you not add the MFT (Sony and MyFord Touch Package) to the Focus SE trim.

What if you priority is not family size interior space.

Why did you mention the word bargain so many times regarding the Focus

Are you saying if shopping the other brands you cannot get bargains, no incentives etc.

Edited July 14, 2014 by MKII

[DC Car Examiner]

 

 

I'll handle these in order:

 

"How about some proof (pictures) of poor panel interior fittings to back up your observations of the Focus."

 

I'm limited by the site software to 20 fairly small photos, but I'm happy to provide a couple here that I photographed as part of my own notes:

 

"Can you not add the MFT (Sony and MyFord Touch Package) to the Focus SE trim."

You can, but only when bundled with thousands of dollars worth of other options.

"What if you priority is not family size interior space."

The comparison includes rankings based on varying priorities, with family-size being just one option.

"Why did you mention the word bargain so many times regarding the Focus"

Because it had the lowest price in the comparison.

[silvrsvt]

The fit could be slightly better, but how many times do you hear people say I want to return this car because the dash panels aren't right? I don't see anything that way out of the ordinary unless your being anal retentive.

[DC Car Examiner]

The fit could be slightly better, but how many times do you hear people say I want to return this car because the dash panels aren't right? I don't see anything that way out of the ordinary unless your being anal retentive.

 

It would be certainly weird to return a car over it, but it is certainly not unheard of for someone to choose one car over another in part because of interior quality issues. And speaking as someone who just spent a lot of time in eleven cars in this class, I can say that the Focus's interior assembly is worse than most of its peers'.

 

Which is not to say that it's the most important thing about a car. It's just one of many things, and is given that level of attention within the review.

[jpd80]

Hey Brady,

Did you manage to check out whether other Focuses at the dealership had the same level of fit and finish?

I'm wondering whether that car is indicative of all of them or just a bad example...

 

John

[DC Car Examiner]

Hey Brady,

Did you manage to check out whether other Focuses at the dealership had the same level of fit and finish?

I'm wondering whether that car is indicative of all of them or just a bad example...

 

John

 

I didn't specifically check out others as part of that visit, but it's consistent with others that I've been in.

[ANTAUS]

I still chuckle to think the Corolla has a 28 year old transmission and people have no clue about that...

[akirby]

The question is whether the differences you noted (on all of them) are something a buyer would notice or if it's something that you noticed only because you were looking for differences?

[papilgee4evaeva]

I still chuckle to think the Corolla has a 28 year old transmission and people have no clue about that...

 

See, that's a problem when a car has a component older than a few of the posters here.

 

But hey, "it works, so what's the big deal?"

[DC Car Examiner]

I still chuckle to think the Corolla has a 28 year old transmission and people have no clue about that...

 

 

The Corolla has a CVT that's new for 2014.

 

 

The question is whether the differences you noted (on all of them) are something a buyer would notice or if it's something that you noticed only because you were looking for differences?

 

Well, that's the argument against cross-shopping -- if you don't look at anything else, you can be satisfied with something worse. And if you don't care about panel fits, then that's fine -- just like with any other aspect of a vehicle that some people care about and others don't.

[Deanh]

 

 

The Corolla has a CVT that's new for 2014.

 

 

 

Well, that's the argument against cross-shopping -- if you don't look at anything else, you can be satisfied with something worse. And if you don't care about panel fits, then that's fine -- just like with any other aspect of a vehicle that some people care about and others don't.

isnt the CVT only in the higher end versions....base still has THAt 4 speed if Im correct...

Edited July 15, 2014 by Deanh

[akirby]

Well, that's the argument against cross-shopping -- if you don't look at anything else, you can be satisfied with something worse. And if you don't care about panel fits, then that's fine -- just like with any other aspect of a vehicle that some people care about and others don't.

 

The point is whether the gaps are so bad that the average buyer would notice them (whether they cared or not).

 

It's like saying that on paper one vehicle has 5 more hp than the other one but in the real world one would not really be able to tell the difference.

 

If they're really big and noticeable then that's fine. But if they're not very noticeable then I wouldn't deduct much from the score for that. Likewise with any other differences. A- to B- isn't a big difference to start with.

[akirby]

The Focus lacks physical lock buttons on its doors, instead settling for an electronic-only design that relies on buttons on the instrument panel and keyfob.

 

That's because you don't need a physical unlock button on each door. The front doors open with the handle whether they're locked or not and the rear doors open with a second pull on the handle.

 

If you're going to ding a car for something you should make sure that it's really a deficiency. I would argue this solution is better and simpler.

[DC Car Examiner]

isnt the CVT only in the higher end versions....base still has THAt 4 speed if Im correct...

 

True, the base model has the four-speed. But that's also a car with no cruise control or remote locking -- a car that exists to advertise a low price, not a mainstream part of the lineup.

[Deanh]

 

True, the base model has the four-speed. But that's also a car with no cruise control or remote locking -- a car that exists to advertise a low price, not a mainstream part of the lineup.

and dare I say it, probably a CR top pick because of its simplicity....

[DC Car Examiner]

 

That's because you don't need a physical unlock button on each door. The front doors open with the handle whether they're locked or not and the rear doors open with a second pull on the handle.

 

If you're going to ding a car for something you should make sure that it's really a deficiency. I would argue this solution is better and simpler.

 

Fair, that's worth noting -- though it's a better system still, I would argue, to have a physical lock button *and* the ability to open the door just using the handle. It's clearer when the doors are locked, easier to lock a door, and less of a problem in the event of failure.

[akirby]

I agree it's more intuitive the old way but pulling the handle twice is easier than fumbling with a lock button. I was just doing that yesterday in an Accord and it was a little difficult to figure out which way the button moved.

 

On my Fusion there is a little red LED that tells you if it's locked. Not sure if the Focus has that.

[AlRozzi]

 

On my Fusion there is a little red LED that tells you if it's locked. Not sure if the Focus has that.

Focus has the light. Both our '12 &'13 do.

 

I even wanted disable the auto lock feature as described in the manual (do this on most of my cars) but wife said "no" on the '13.

 

Interior is fine on Focus. I back our neighbor's Civic into her garage every day; Focus is better.

 

Not clicking on these links. Won't add to viewership count.

[RichardJensen]

the rear doors open with a second pull on the handle.

 

Really?

 

I hate that.

[AlRozzi]

 

Really?

 

I hate that.

Richard, the doors do have the "child safety lock" feature which can be set for either door independently and will prevent the door from opening from the inside whether locked or not.

[RichardJensen]

No. I hate the "pull the door twice and it opens" thing, as opposed to "Here's the lock. Here's the handle."

[akirby]

I'm not a huge fan either but it is an alternative to having to unlock the doors electronically as Brady thought.

[AlRozzi]

I took a close look at our Focus' last night and did not see any misaligned interior pieces. I looked at the neighbor's Civic last night too just to compare.

 

I found that the Focus is just superior to the Civic, especially when comparing materials. The Focus has a more upscale feel, as well (ours are SE).

 

I checked out Washington Examiner on Wikipedia and the print edition shut down last year because it had only 45,000 subscribers.

 

Frankly, I think people like that bring articles to forums like this to gin up viewership on their own web pages to enhance advertising cash.

 

Perhaps it is just me but I take offense to this, especially when somebody pastes it on a Ford forum and then slams the brand.

 

Recall he did this with Taurus earlier in the year.

 

Am I making too much of this?

[jeff_h]

Frankly, I think people like that bring articles to forums like this to gin up viewership on their own web pages to enhance advertising cash.

 

Perhaps it is just me but I take offense to this, especially when somebody pastes it on a Ford forum and then slams the brand.

 

Good point - I wonder if there were similar threads started on forums for Honda, Toyota, Chevy, etc etc -- would add up to plenty of traffic from the various references.