Little Ford Focus is all grown up
Luxury add-ons feel at home in spacious cabin with quiet cruising
Study the ads in the Wheels section (we all do that, right?) and you’ll see the all-new 2012 Ford Focus advertised for just north of $15,000. Of course, this figure represents the base S sedan riding on 15-inch steel wheels with a stir-your-own fivespeed stick.
What if you went to your local Ford store and declared, “I want to buy a Focus please, but I’d like to spend about double the starting price. Can you help me?” You bet. I recently tested a Focus Titanium Hatchback loaded with nearly every possible option — it came in at $30,329 before freight and taxes. A lot for a tarted-up compact economy car, yet this Focus cannot fairly be described as such. It’s a little car all grown up. I see this model appealing to a more mature demographic: those wanting to downsize and get the attendant fuel economy without giving up on big car luxury doodads. The new European-developed “world car” Focus, fitted with a 160 hp 2.0L direct-injection four for North America (and built in Wayne, Mich.), has been getting rave reviews. After my first stint behind the wheel I can see what the fuss is about — rock-solid construction, handsome four-door hatch styling (the sedan not so much), sharp steering, crisp handling, a quality and stylish interior, quiet highway cruising and an available six-speed twin-clutch transmission.
This car is leagues ahead of our outgoing Focus, which was as old as the hills (we missed a generation here in North America).
The top-trim 2012 Focus Titanium Hatchback, with a base price of $25,099, comes with the PowerShift twin-clutch tranny, 17-inch alloys, cruise, dual zone climate control, Myford Touch interface with 8-inch screen, Sony audio with subwoofer, heated seats, leather wrapped steering wheel, and heated mirrors with side markers and puddle lamps.
This tester added a $1,400 Style Interior Trend Package (Arctic white/black two-tone leather, door sill scuff plates and premium carpets), $300 metallic paint, $700 navigation, $100 block heater, $500 rear parking sensor bundled with auto wipers, $430 18-inch alloys with sports suspension, $1,200 moonroof, and segment-exclusive $600 auto parking system with rear view camera. You’re not wanting for much here, and the Focus carries itself with a solid European maturity that makes all the luxury add-ons seem at home. Like the smaller Fiesta, Ford has tuned a bigger car feel into the Focus. Much of this comes from a spacious cabin, bragging more shoulder and hip room than the Audi A4. Acceleration from the 160 hp, 146 lb.-ft. direct-injection four is midpack for the segment — the Mazda3 Sport and turbocharged Chevy Cruze are punchier. Fitted with the Selectshift transmission, the Focus hatch is rated at 7.3 L/100 km city and 5.2 L/100 km highway. I saw 6.8 L/100 km over mostly highway and secondary roads. Twin-clutch transmissions are the bee’s knees these days, usually the station of more expensive offerings (although available in the VW Golf and Jetta), so finding one in the Focus (and Fiesta) is surprising.
Unfortunately, this transmission has its issues. We’re used to these things delivering seamless and immediate shifting, but this box feels sluggish. In stop-and-go situations it gets jerky and clunky. There is a toggle switch on the side of the shifter if you want to shift yourself, but the response is slow. The SelectShift is tuned for fuel economy and, in that aspect at least, it delivers.
While the variable-rate electric steering doesn’t quite come up to VW standards with regards to feel, it guides the taut chassis accurately, and cornering is helped by standard torque vectoring on the front wheels — the inside wheel is braked slightly, reducing understeer and helping the car rotate. The optional 18-inch wheels and sports suspension contributed to this Titanium’s frisky nature, but the ride gets pitter-patter busy over less-than-perfect pavement.
The Euro-breeding is also evident on the highway, where it tracks faithfully and quietly.
I’ve experienced the Myford Touch interface in a number of vehicles now and I’m not a big fan. That super-cool ipad-like touchscreen is a pain. It’s slow to react and you need to fire your digits at the virtual buttons with the accuracy of William Tell to get results. On a bumpy road? With gloves on? Fuggetaboutit.
Techno-challenges aside, the overall Focus package is a very good one and in Titanium trim, Ford is broadening its compact’s scope into more premium territory. It appears to be working, as the Titanium currently accounts for one-third of Canadian Focus sales. Peter Bleakney reviews cars for Toronto Star Wheels. Contact him at: