SMH Small car review - MISLEADING FOCUS INFO

[Stugots]

From the Sydney Morning Herald.

The reviewer is obviously an anti-Focus moron.

Small gathering

Ford Focus

The Ford Focus is one of Europe's top-selling cars but, when introduced to Australia to replace the diminutive and much-loved Ford Laser in late 2002, the car got a lukewarm reception.

The new name and new look didn't catch the attention of buyers and the first-generation Focus tallied modest sales. When the all-new, second-generation Focus was released locally in mid-2005, Ford Australia renewed its efforts on its struggling small car. Sales of the new model surged by 63 per cent between 2005 and 2006 and the Focus continues to sell well. Sales are up 18.7 per cent in the first four months of this year compared with the same period last year.

The appeal? Unique styling, a roomy cabin, generous cargo space, reasonable fuel economy and secure handling.

For those who want to make the most of the Ford's 107kW of power, it is one of only four cars in this group with an automatic transmission with manual override (the others are the Kia Cerato, Mazda3 and VW Golf 1.6).

But, for all its attributes, the Focus isn't perfect. Despite having more power than all but one rival, its acceleration was near the back of the pack. In our laden uphill 0 to 100kmh test, the Focus stopped the clock at 17 seconds. Only the 1.6-litre VW Golf was slower.

The secure grip in corners comes at the expense of ride comfort; the Focus transmits bumps more than other cars in this class and the suspension and tyres are comparatively noisy. Only one child seat anchor bracket is fitted standard (in the middle of the back seat) but there is provision for the fitment of three child seat anchor brackets - the customer can purchase additional brackets if required. The spare tyre is a skinny space-saver.

Some interior materials, such as the dash, are soft to the touch and have a quality feel, while other surfaces have the same grain yet are made from hard plastic and feel cheap.

Headroom for rear seat passengers is relatively tight but leg room is good. Minor annoyances include the fiddly wiper controls and, while the Ford deserves a tick for having convex mirrors on both sides, the mirrors themselves are quite small. The audio system has no auxiliary input and the crease in the dash reflects badly in direct sunlight. (WTF?!)

However, the lack of important safety equipment weighs most heavily against the Focus. It scores five stars out of five in independent crash tests by Euro NCAP, when the car is equipped with six airbags. In Australia, though, standard equipment on the base model Focus includes only two airbags. Anti-lock brakes (standard on most rivals) and seat-mounted side airbags are a $1290 option pack and head-protecting curtain airbags and stability control are not available locally. Trivia: the Focus was designed and engineered in Germany but the funny Ghost-inspired Ford ad doesn't tell you that the standard Focus is made in South Africa.

If you read the rest of the article, you will realise how crap it all is.

Which is dissapointing, because SMH seem to be more level with their reporting as opposed to the Daily Telegraph hype machine.

I dropped a nice message on http://www.smh.com.au/contacts/readerlink/

I mean the Mazda 3 with the same engine and gearbox, how can it have more than 3 seconds different 0-100?

And it should be noted the Corolla and the Golf tested also come from South Africa.

They blast the crap out of the Foc about safety, but its equipment spec matches the rest of the cars they tested. Plus I'd rather an accident in a Focus with 2 airbags over a Kia Cerato with 10 airbags.

[Lagom]

Originally Posted by Stugots

Trivia: the Focus was designed and engineered in Germany but the funny Ghost-inspired Ford ad doesn't tell you that the standard Focus is made in South Africa.

Trivia: The Ghost-inspired Ford ad is for the German built and designed Ford Fiesta, not the Ford Focus

[Stugots]

Thanks Chris. I sent this:

Joshua Dowling's review on the Ford Focus claims there is no auxilary input to the audio system when in fact there is.

Also this:
"funny Ghost-inspired Ford ad doesn't tell you that the standard Focus is made in South Africa."
Please let Joshua know that the ad he is referring to is solely for the Ford Fiesta and nothing to do with the Focus.

Thank you

Pretty sloppy, Josh :

[Stugots]

I wonder if Ford Australia would be all over this review. I hope so.

I don't think there would have been anything wrong with the test car, it's pretty clear the reviewer has a chip on his shoulder and a very ignorant attitude when it comes to Ford.

Hopefully ford won't waste their time giving this prik the keys for a Mondeo when it gets here.

[pertuan]

Fiddly wiper controls?!?! What's so fiddly about them? Push up for front wipers, pull back for rear. Is the reviewer so uncoordinated that he can't work the wiper controls and drive at the same time????

[jd dad]

How much better are the newer model Focus than the original? We have a late 01 KQ GLXI Laser and comparing it to the first model Focus was chalk and cheese- Laser everday and twice on Sunday. We had a Focus as a courtesy car whilst our XR8 was being looked at for a few days and it to me was very ordinary. Had thought about updating to a Focus but havent driven one to see if they are at least upto the same standard as the Laser. At the moment we have a new model Corolla as a loaner and it to me isnt anything startling either, over bright dash lights, harshish suspension, takes for ever to go into overdrive and you cant see the front of the car when parking unless you really sit up in the seat.

Best thing to do is go out there and test drive one. The current Foc has the same platform and drivetrain to the Mazda 3, which replaced the Mazda 323/Laser

[zetec]

Originally Posted by jd dad

How much better are the newer model Focus than the original? We have a late 01 KQ GLXI Laser and comparing it to the first model Focus was chalk and cheese- Laser everday and twice on Sunday. We had a Focus as a courtesy car whilst our XR8 was being looked at for a few days and it to me was very ordinary. Had thought about updating to a Focus but havent driven one to see if they are at least upto the same standard as the Laser. At the moment we have a new model Corolla as a loaner and it to me isnt anything startling either, over bright dash lights, harshish suspension, takes for ever to go into overdrive and you cant see the front of the car when parking unless you really sit up in the seat.

For everyday user friendliness the Laser was a great great car, had a good reputation for a reason. The original LR focus wasn't known for its performance or conservative styling in lower models, unless you looked at the sportier 2.0 litre Zetec models and above. That's where the Zetec won HANDS DOWN over the equivalent Laser SR2. But for all other models, the Laser was probably better car in the areas that most people were looking for. The Focus was safer than the Laser and handled like it was on rails on all models, but the average punter wasn't too fussed about that.

Newer model Focus is chalk and cheese to the old model. More power, more economical, more space, more safety, more features, cheaper price, better in just about every way... a beautiful car that's spritually very similar to a Mazda3.

Well worth a drive of a new model, it should suitably impress just about anyone looking at a similar vehicle. The Corolla is utter horse **** and to be honest, the new model looks not much better from the reviews I've already read..

[MeestaNob!]

Originally Posted by pertuan

Fiddly wiper controls?!?! What's so fiddly about them? Push up for front wipers, pull back for rear. Is the reviewer so uncoordinated that he can't work the wiper controls and drive at the same time????

If Josh is confused by the Focus' wiper controls then god help the boy if he gets in a Vectra.

He might never figure out how to even start it.

[More revs]

Dont speak of the Vectra... the only car I ever wanted to kick the doors in and smash over a kerb at speed.
I HATE THE VECTRA !

[Bucket]

Originally Posted by BlackLS

Best thing to do is go out there and test drive one. The current Foc has the same platform and drivetrain to the Mazda 3, which replaced the Mazda 323/Laser

Slightly Different...Different Engines (Ford Has Twin Cam but not VVT...Mazda has VVT as well) Ford also use a Different Manual Gearbox I believe (Shared with Mondeo and Jaguar). The Auto's are the same in hardware spec but run different software. The rear suspension is also different. Ford use their patended mult-link (Control Blade) set up while the Mazda is different again. Essentially, only the Initial platform and basic engine are th clearest common link. The Platform is Called the C30 Platform. It's shared with the Volvo S40, Mazda 3 and Focus.

[zetec]

Slight correction - C1 platform

[MeestaNob!]

Originally Posted by More revs

Dont speak of the Vectra... the only car I ever wanted to kick the doors in and smash over a kerb at speed.
I HATE THE VECTRA !

A mate of mine had one has a run abour company car... he reckons he just ended up careering down the freeway indicating side to side endlessly, he just couldnt get the hang of the insane indicators. "WHY WONT YOU STOP FLASHING!!!"

[pertuan]

Originally Posted by MeestaNob!

A mate of mine had one has a run abour company car... he reckons he just ended up careering down the freeway indicating side to side endlessly, he just couldnt get the hang of the insane indicators. "WHY WONT YOU STOP FLASHING!!!"

Controls on the Astra are just like that. I test drove one before buying my Focus just so I could say that I drove all the ones in the small car class. When I got annoyed and couldn't stop the indicators from flashing, the salesman from the back seat said it was a "feature" in that it was an upmarket "touch indicator".

[Piotr]

I love the indicators of the focus. Light touch and they go on just long enough to change lane, great

[kiwijohn42]

They only flash 3 times in the Fez. How long do they go for in the Vectra?

[More revs]

They flash 3 times in the vectra too.... if you TAP them to their first resistance points, go too far and its flash flash flash left right left right until you crash by the distraction at trying to turn the things off.

Then theres the gearbox full of neutrals I counted 4 on the wifes auto Vectra that appear when you enter a road from a stop sign or enter a roundabout, then theres the hunting cruise control that drives you over the speed limit just as you drive past fixed speed cameras. Then theres the unexplained drop in engine oil level - NFF of course.

It's a long long list of crap ergonomics and faults and without a doubt THE most dangerous car I've ever driven.

I better go and have one of my pills now......

[Stugots]

Reminds me of a 1997 Astra I took for a test drive earlier this year for a friend on her L's. It was dead set atrocious. Engine light came on, Engine started doing weird things (revving by itself, then dropping, revving, dropping..), Horrible pedals, shabbily constructed and very ugly. I was very uncomfortable and nervous driving it.

Then we tested a 2001 Barina. Talk about your pieces of crap! Their shift pattern has a weird thing for selecting reverse so I was freaking out trying to find reverse.

Worst thing was both cars were massively overpriced in their advertisments.