Faults:

Ford uploaded a new program to the transmission. I never had a problem with the old one, but they sent me a letter, so I let them do it.

General Comments:

I was wanting a vehicle that could do it all. Comfortable enough for long trips, great gas mileage, ability to carry larger objects. I am a member of the SCCA, and needed my car to also perform well at autocross events on weekends. I checked out a number of small hatchbacks, and the Ford Focus Titanium blew me away. Having now put 5,000 miles on it, I know I made the right choice.

While it does not have the HP of the Mustang (or gas bill), it is quick enough in straight lines to allow me to pass or merge in traffic without issue, and be a fun car to drive. Take a corner though, and this car starts to show off.

The cornering is very precise and predictable. The modest horsepower means you can be sloppy with throttle control and still not get into that much trouble. Get really silly and the computer will jump in and help out. While many people complain about that, I have to admit, every time I have hit the brakes only to find them already applied, the car has been right. "Yeah, I should have hit them back there."

At autocross events, I am often asked by sports car owners that can't catch me, "What mods did you do to it?" Got a second set of wheels with some performance tires is all. It is FWD and it will push, but I have yet to feel any torque steer, and it is far more balanced than any other FWD I have driven.

Trying to find a Titanium with a manual trans was like looking for Bigfoot, so after a "spirited" test drive in the automatic, I decided to take a chance and go that route. Glad I did. Put the trans in Sport mode and it lets me run clear to red line in any gear. Need more power coming out of a tight turn, I can hit the minus button and drop down a gear.

The transaxle is a basically a dry clutch manual that is shifted by computer. The shifts are quick (faster than a human can shift) and barely noticeable, but like anyone that has ever driven a manual knows, sometimes at slow speeds you will feel a shift. People that have only ever driven slushy automatics have be bothered by that.

Went from my home in central Kansas to Colorado, and all the way to the top of Pike's Peak, and never complained about comfort. Was able to pack anything we wanted, and knew it would fit.

If I watch my driving style, I average 29-30 MPG and can get 35-41 on the highway doing 75mph; wind being the variable. Poor planning on my part left us desperate for a gas station once, so I dropped it down to 65mph and stayed behind a truck, and it stayed around 50 MPG.

When I sat down in the Focus and hit the start button (keys are so old fashioned) and saw the 4" screen light up in the middle of the gauges and the 8" touch screen come alive in the dash, I actually said, "Wow". The voice activation is not perfect, but works well enough in most cases.

If my Focus got totaled today and I needed to buy a replacement, I would be right back at the Ford dealer to get another one.

Faults:

I leased this new 2012 Focus 5-Speed with 95 miles on it.

At 135 miles, the A/C compressor seized up due to no PAG oil being added at the factory and had to be replaced. Covered under warranty.

At 935 miles, I had to get a PCM (computer) software update to get rid of a rough idle on a cold start... which is still there and has not been resolved. Covered under warranty.

And most recently at 1,435 miles, I developed a clunk/knock in the front end when braking and going over bumps. Turns out that Ford issued a TSB stating that redesigned front struts, mounting plates, coil springs, and hardware is available to resolve this issue. So I need a complete front end rebuild at under 1,500 miles. Also, the car is in the shop for a recall notice, another software update for the PCM, and the rough idle on a cold start.

General Comments:

The new Focus is a very nice looking car. I bought the Sedan instead of the Hatchback.

The interior is very nice, all controls are laid out well and are within reach very easily.

It handles very, very, well for a compact car.

Fuel mileage is excellent. About 28-30 MPG city and 36-38 MPG highway.

The 5-speed manual transmission shifts effortlessly with one finger, and the clutch feels great (not too soft or too hard).

The new 4-Cylinder is a 2.0L with Dual Over Head Cams, 16-Valves with Direct Injection and Variable Valve Timing that puts out 160 horsepower and 150 Ft. Lbs. of torque. The engine is more than adequate for around town driving, but get up on the highway and the engine becomes lively above 4,000 RPM's. It seems you kind of have to wind it out a little bit to get the best usable power out of it.

Faults:

None.

General Comments:

I have the sedan. It looks good, handles great, and gets great gas mileage. I had a Focus wagon before, but didn't need that much room anymore, so went for the sport sedan.

The only dislikes so far are the quirky transmission (which has trouble finding shift points), and the lack of little storage nooks! There is no place to put anything; there's a cup holder, but the bottle holder in the door is gone!

I love the stereo, bluetooth and Sirius radio!