Inferiority of Ford Focus

[jherbert]

Hi. I am a Toyota Corolla owner. I recently went through a month long process of choosing and buying a compact car. I did a lot of research. I started off with an inclination to buy a Focus. I have a soft spot for Ford as my Dad always drove Fords. I love that blue insignia.

However, all my research indicated that the Focus is a poor car. In terms of reliability, it has been panned by numerous non biased groups, such as consumer reports and JD Power Rankings.

Thus I did not carry through with my inclination to buy a Focus.

I quickly realized that the two best cars in the class were the Civic and the Corolla. I bought a Corolla.

Given the objective evidence of the superiority of the Japanese manufacturer, I am curious as to why anyone would buy a Focus. Or any North American car for that matter. There is not much of a price difference, but there is a great quality difference.

Please enlighten me on this issue.

[zx2srdotnet]

cuz civics are everywhere, people like to buy domestic if they can, apperance, and good incentives. i talked my mom out of a focus and into a civic lol dealer was almost begging for me to get one, after seeing te reviews im glad i didnt thought. Realy nice platform though

[focusfreak]

Don't hate on domestic cars. Ford is and always will be better than any import manufacturer. Everyone has a corolla (no power, looks like shit) and a civic (like ants or mosquitos, everyone and their grandmother has one). The focus is not a bad car, just because consumer reports or jd power rankings said they suck, does not mean that they do. If these magazines said that the Dodge Viper had less power than a Mazda Miata, would you believe it? Why not test drive one yourself and see how you like it before bad mouthing it.

[jherbert]

Originally Posted by focusfreak

Don't hate on domestic cars. Ford is and always will be better than any import manufacturer. Everyone has a corolla (no power, looks like shit) and a civic (like ants or mosquitos, everyone and their grandmother has one). The focus is not a bad car, just because consumer reports or jd power rankings said they suck, does not mean that they do. If these magazines said that the Dodge Viper had less power than a Mazda Miata, would you believe it? Why not test drive one yourself and see how you like it before bad mouthing it.

Hey dude! I did test drive the Focus and liked it. Based on driving alone, I would have bought it. A nice sporty feel. But I was too worried about reliability.

[beyondloadedSE]

I leased a focus for year and it was a great car. Never had any problems with it. I especially like the new 2005 focus! Reminds me of a mondeo from the front.

[focusfreak]

The longer the Focus is out, the less kinks it has in it. By now the Focus is a great car. Easily comparibly to a Corolla and Civic. Actually I like the styling of the Focus the better than the Corolla and Civic.

[zx2srdotnet]

um teh focus actully almost LOOKS like a civic

[TakaCar]

I think the focus looks more like the corolla, well the front does, and the rear looks like the rear of the civic. Lol. So maybe ford tried to combine the looks of both the corolla and the civic. I like the look of it anyways. I live in Montreal and there seems to be quite a few focuses on the road. The civic and corolla remain to be the top selling cars here though. I wouldn't buy a used focus after hearing about all the problems the older models had. I would buy or lease a new one first and try it out. And hey! you forgot to mention the Sentra to! Thats also a great reliable car.

[jherbert]

the Sentra has the reputation as being a less reliable car than either the Corolla or Civic.

Toyota and Honda are the "first tier" Japanese carmakers and Mazda and Nissan are the "second tier". At least that is my impression.

[fordesigner]

The Focus has a superior suspension design than either car. Engine not reliable??? False. The motor has been in service for years. Funny thing is, the Zetec motor is much loved in the UK and Europe. So why hate it here??? The Zetec is held in almost the same favor as the Cosworth. It is the perferred motor when doing engine swaps. The Focus HAD minor problems the first two years, but since we're past those years the issues are not valid. If your buying used it would be 2000,2001 to avoid. But my 2001 has had 0 issues and been recalled 0 times.

Why would I buy one.
1. The suspension/handling is the BEST in class. And better than some of those costing twice the price.
2. Motor is rock solid, dependable.
3. I actually like the interior. Although I do not like the new interior. The old interior had personality.

The only drawback I've found is the engine computer that is almost self-aware. If you try to do certain engine mods, it can figure out what you've done and eliminate them. It "corrects for error". No way to easily change A/F ratios.

Why buy a Honda or Toyota and take a step or two backward in suspension design???

That said, I'm what you'd call a truck person. This is the first car I've owned in 20 years. I'm also a chassis/suspension designer.

[focusfreak]

Thank you fordesigner. You took the words right out of my mouth.

[landyacht]

Not to mention that the Focus has been on the Ward's auto world 10 best list since it was introduced. That means it's awarded a BEST award against cars like the Corvette Z06 and the BMW M5.

The Focus is the only car in it's class i can sit in, and have room in all positions front and back (i'm 6'4'').

It has the best ride and handling of ALL compact cars on the market, i drove them ALL.

The engine has been in use for 15 years, came right out of the escort whcih was the indestructible throw-away car. You couldn't kill them.

The ergonomics are the best in class. You say the Honda has superior quality? Try turning on the heater without hitting 5 stereo buttons at once when you have your winter gloves on.

The Escort was the best car you could own when it came to compact cars in the snow. Again, i tried them ALL. The Focus is better then the escort thanks to it's superior suspension and electronic traction control.

Name another compact car in it's price point that will give you heated seats, traction control, and fail-safe cooling sytem. NONE can give you that combination. (Fail safe cooling is a motor system that uses 2 cylinders to run the car and the other two fill with air to keep the engine cool. When the running cylinders are two hot, they switch with the air filled ones. The Zetec motor does this in case of a total loss of coolant from a semi-major impact...no other car in the class has it)

You say you bought the superior car? The Focus is the best in it's class for safety and driving performance, and for the reasons listed and it's price point, not only is it the best value but you get the most stuff for your money in a superior vehicle.

Stop reading lemon-aide books and consumer guide and look at all the factors of a car and talk to people that actually owned it and the guys that work in the service department of a dealership. Then look at the real deal.

You cheated yourself out of a superior car by not looking at everything you should have.

PS: I'm in the car business as a career, it's my job to know what's good.

[zx2srdotnet]

svt focus= 18k new .92g skidpad 15.4 1/4
zx2 s/r = 16k new .95g skidpad(and doesnt have 17in rims) 15.4 1/4 where does the other 2k go? stock rice?

[redturbo66]

The focus has a dependable engine. That's the only thing dependable about that car. I had a 2000 zx3 focus for 3 years until I finally got rid of that piece of shit. Dependable, my ass! The doorlocks broke on me 3 different times! The brakepads were replaced 5 times within 3 years. The interior panels came loose after time and eventually started creeching and making annoying noises. that's not reliability. I took good care of that care and it was much less than reliable. These cars are disposable. I traded that POS in for a 2000 Maxima. Now I'm happy.

[jherbert]

Originally Posted by landyacht

Not to mention that the Focus has been on the Ward's auto world 10 best list since it was introduced. That means it's awarded a BEST award against cars like the Corvette Z06 and the BMW M5.

The Focus is the only car in it's class i can sit in, and have room in all positions front and back (i'm 6'4'').

It has the best ride and handling of ALL compact cars on the market, i drove them ALL.

The engine has been in use for 15 years, came right out of the escort whcih was the indestructible throw-away car. You couldn't kill them.

The ergonomics are the best in class. You say the Honda has superior quality? Try turning on the heater without hitting 5 stereo buttons at once when you have your winter gloves on.

The Escort was the best car you could own when it came to compact cars in the snow. Again, i tried them ALL. The Focus is better then the escort thanks to it's superior suspension and electronic traction control.

Name another compact car in it's price point that will give you heated seats, traction control, and fail-safe cooling sytem. NONE can give you that combination. (Fail safe cooling is a motor system that uses 2 cylinders to run the car and the other two fill with air to keep the engine cool. When the running cylinders are two hot, they switch with the air filled ones. The Zetec motor does this in case of a total loss of coolant from a semi-major impact...no other car in the class has it)

You say you bought the superior car? The Focus is the best in it's class for safety and driving performance, and for the reasons listed and it's price point, not only is it the best value but you get the most stuff for your money in a superior vehicle.

Stop reading lemon-aide books and consumer guide and look at all the factors of a car and talk to people that actually owned it and the guys that work in the service department of a dealership. Then look at the real deal.

You cheated yourself out of a superior car by not looking at everything you should have.

PS: I'm in the car business as a career, it's my job to know what's good.

I readily admit that I do not know much about cars. I rely on secondary sources. But how can you overlook the record setting number of recalls. Look at the post two or three below yours. Mechanics have told me that Honda and or Toyota are the best.

I suspect that the '04 Focus is actually on a par with the Corolla. Ford worked very hard to improve it. But surely you admit that the early Focus was inferior to the contemporary Corolla.

If you could have a 2000 Corolla or a 2000 Focus, both with 150 k, which would you choose. Be honest.