[car fanatics]

Car Fanatics
Photo: Copyright 2012 Vic Handa / Car Fanatics Forum
May 23, 2012
By: Michael Stuart

After having tested the Cruze a few weeks ago, I was keen to see what Ford had to throw against what I felt was a very, very good compact car. On a beautiful Monday afternoon, I said goodbye to the Taurus SHO and stopped in at the office to pick up the Focus. Unfortunately, the Titanium wasn't available for us, but they did have this SE sedan with a 5 speed manual. As fully admitted in an earlier thread, I was a bit rusty with my manual skills and the office where I picked it up is in a really busy area, but I dutifully made it out in one piece, without stalling, and began a very pleasant 8 days and 1,000 km with this also very, very good compact car.

I'm more of a fan of the Focus hatchback, but after a while with this car the styling of the sedan grew on me. It has a sleek 'fast' look to it, but they've lost me with the rear end. The best part of the car is its aggressive front end and the 17" black rims which gave it a sporty overall look. For styling, I'd give a slight advantage to the Cruze.

Interior

While obviously not as nice as the Titanium interior, this one was pretty good. There was a bit of a 'sea of grey' theme going, but all materials and controls were of good quality and the display screen was certainly better than the Cruze's IBM green display screen.

The sync system worked fine for me and the stereo was good with clear sound, though there was a bit of bass distortion. The ipod did shut off once and had to be 're synced' but I can't say what actually caused that - the ipod or the car. That was the only hiccup I encountered. I didn't get a chance to sample the voice commands except by accident, but as with the Taurus I'd say dealers and customers should spend some extra time at purchase teaching/learning how to use this system.

The steering wheel has a similar setup to the Taurus with buttons to navigate the driver info centre, hands free phone, radio functions cruise control etc, The one ergonomic issue I found was trying to push the top of the round controllers - you really had to reach around with your thumb or take your hands off the wheel to select the 'up' arrow. Cruise control is set and adjusted with a large 'toggle' on the left side of the wheel and has a paddle at the back for the 'cancel' - very easy to use. As with the Taurus, once the cruise is set a small digital display indicates the speed you have set.

The trunk is very large and deep and should easily swallow up the cargo/luggage you need for a vacation or golf outing. The rear seat is a single fold down. Not as versatile as a 60/40 fold down, but better than a 'pass through.' A split folding rear is optional on this model and standard on the SEL and Titanium.

The biggest drawback I found was the tightness of the interior overall. This car had the sunroof, which cuts down on headroom, but the driver's right knee will be hitting the centre console no matter how big/small he/she is. You'll also be giving your passenger an elbow worthy of the NHL if they try to rest their arm on the centre console while you're rowing through the gears. Given the external dimensions, I was surprised how cramped the interior felt. Not that the Cruze was much bigger, but it definitely was a bit more comfortable for me. I'll call it a draw since I'd really need to sit in a Focus without the sunroof to make it a fair comparison.

Performance

There's good and not so good in this story. The good is clearly the engine. The 2.0 naturally aspirated engine is rated at 160 hp (at 6500 rpm, which is redline) and 146 lb/ft at a fairly high 4,450 rpm. Paired with the manual it made all the right sounds and pulled strong and smooth right up to redline. While it may not be a rocket (the Titanium with the 6 speed tranny runs the quarter in just over 16 seconds) you really feel like you're flying when you get the chance to rip through the gears and wind it out. Small cars really are a lot of fun to boot around in.

Also very good were the handling and braking. The steering was weighted heavier than the Cruze and was more to my liking, though it was slightly 'darty' and also needed more correction during highway driving. The car cornered flat, held its line well but didn't seem to have quite as much stick as the Cruze I tested, which was an RS model. The brakes gave total confidence and were easy to modulate.

The 'not so good' is the transmission. I have to say I don't understand Ford's strategy here. For the Auto tranny cars they went with the 'auto shift' (Dual Clutch) 6 speed, and for the manuals, the only option is a 5 speed. The dual clutch automatics have had significant and well publicized teething problems (one mag simply said don't buy it - get the manual) and in my opinion the 5 speed doesn't offer enough gearing to truly get the best of both the engine's power and its potential fuel economy.

GM and Ford co-developed the 6 speed automatic used in Taurus SHO as well as the Cruze. Why Ford is not using it in this application is a mystery to me. If it were up to me I'd offer the 6 speed auto as the mainstream transmission, a 6 speed manual for those who want to row their own, and save the 'auto shift' dual clutch transmission for the upcoming ST. If they offered the above including the same system as the SHO with the paddle shifters on the wheel and excellent shift calibration, they'd have an absolute home run on their hands in my opinion.

With just the 5 available gears, highway cruising at real highway speeds of around 70 - 75 MPH had the engine turning at 3000 rpm or more. A sixth gear could have made it a more relaxed highway cruiser and would have yielded better fuel economy than my best observed 6.7 litres/100 km or just over 35 MPG during a 300 km run of mostly highway driving.

That being said, the 5 speed manual was fun to drive, and the only fault I could really pin on it was a clutch pedal that had more travel than it needed.

This one really has to come down to a draw - the Ford is a smoother, more powerful performer than the Cruze, but due to the transmission choices, couldn't match the efficiency of the Cruze. This is critical in this segment. None of this is to say that the Ford was bad, I just always look at things like this and think 'they had all they needed to make it better...'

Conclusion

Having spent time in Ford and GM's latest versions of the 'compact' car, I have to say that there really never has been a better time to be driving a car in this class. The stalwarts from Honda and Toyota are facing significant challenges from the D3, particularly with the upcoming Dodge Dart. The Focus is a sales success and a great performer and the challenge for Ford is exactly the same as the challenge for GM. The as tested price of this car (Canadian figures) was $25,179 which puts it on par with the Cruze RS manual. They will need to work at making sure the car stays relevant by keeping it updated - in Ford's case there is some work needed on the transmissions and perhaps for the interiors on the 'non premium' versions of the car. A few tweaks would lead to better fuel economy, more buyer satisfaction and would give Ford a shot at the sales crown for the segment.

[G8mike]

One thing I should have mentioned in the review - hopefully we can post a picture of it, is the convex mirror within the side view mirrors. It allows you to see a wide angle around the car - 2 or 3 lanes out and helps with awareness of what's going on out there.

[lengnert]

Yeah that addition has been on most Fords for quite some time. I have appreciated that addition.

Good sum up. Surprised myself about the 5 speed as opposed to 6 speed manual. More than likely will be rectified.

As a side note, I can't believe we are talking about how behind the times a 5 speed manual is. The first car I learned to drive a manual on was a 3 speed '72 Nova.

[G8mike]

^^ A '3 on the tree'? You're right though, 4 speed was all there was when I got my licence. Sure was easier with those - since there's no chance of missing that 2 - 3 shift.

Biggest thing I found was you have to just relax - if you try to muscle the shifter in any manual, you'll screw it up.

[G8mike]

Ah, there we go - got the mirror in there now!:2thumbsup:

[G8mike]

You'll note from one of the top pictures how flat that front seat cushion is, you'd think it wouldn't be very comfortable but it was. I was pleasantly surprised.

[lengnert]

G8mike;207434 Wrote:^^ A '3 on the tree'? You're right though, 4 speed was all there was when I got my licence. Sure was easier with those - since there's no chance of missing that 2 - 3 shift.

Biggest thing I found was you have to just relax - if you try to muscle the shifter in any manual, you'll screw it up.

Yeah, Mikey, relaxing and getting a good feel for each car's 'manner's' is pretty key.

I do remember my sister had a Mazda 323 (the first model year after the discontinued GLC) with a 4 speed. I remember that being very buzzy at highway speeds. Lots of torque available to pass at speed though! LOL

[G8mike]

lengnert;207439 Wrote:

G8mike;207434 Wrote:^^ A '3 on the tree'? You're right though, 4 speed was all there was when I got my licence. Sure was easier with those - since there's no chance of missing that 2 - 3 shift.

Biggest thing I found was you have to just relax - if you try to muscle the shifter in any manual, you'll screw it up.

Yeah, Mikey, relaxing and getting a good feel for each car's 'manner's' is pretty key.

I do remember my sister had a Mazda 323 (the first model year after the discontinued GLC) with a 4 speed. I remember that being very buzzy at highway speeds. Lots of torque available to pass at speed though! LOL

Oh yeah, 4 bangers are great at those speeds - the Astra is the same, really wants to pull hard at about 80 MPH, but of course, that will get you into heaps of trouble.:sad:

[Thed]

I honestly don't mind the 5-spd.

It'd work for me, all I do is city driving.

[MOPAR74]

[G8mike]

Thed;207500 Wrote:I honestly don't mind the 5-spd.

It'd work for me, all I do is city driving.

Definitely o.k. for that, though I also think it would be more fun with a 6 speed - they could keep the ratios tighter for 1 - 4 and leave 5 - 6 for loafing. Would therefore likely be both faster and more fuel efficient.

[kamikazeKID]

Man, Ford can't design a decent looking wheel even if their life depended on it.

[Gixser995]

I think the rims look good, but they are about an inch too small and wrapped with too fat of a sidewall. That design is too radical to have 50 series tires on it and only be 17s.

Still, great review, and great pics!

I like the Focus sedan in that color, and the spoiler really sets off the rear. It doesn't look as unfinished as the sedan usually does. I'd prefer the hatch, though. Better looking, and more versatile.

[greyhairedpete]

kamikazeKID;207921 Wrote:Man, Ford can't design a decent looking wheel even if their life depended on it.

What the fuck are you talking about? What's wrong with the steering wheel?

[kamikazeKID]

greyhairedpete;207924 Wrote:

kamikazeKID;207921 Wrote:Man, Ford can't design a decent looking wheel even if their life depended on it.

What the fuck are you talking about? What's wrong with the steering wheel?

Slow your roll Koolio. I meant wheels.

They look tacky imo.