Back In Focus!

[In Focus]

Picked up a demo 2019 Ruby Red Trend today.

Really impressed so far, and I'm nowhere near working out everything it can do. It's not supposed to have any of the optional packs, but it has active cruise control and lane keeping assist, so maybe Ford upped the equipment level in this update (19.75)?

Haven't had a chance to take any pics - it's a very impressive colour - but here's a link to a similar car.

https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/det...17469468/?Cr=4

[kevino]

How much did you get it for. It is a nice colour. Don't particularly like the Trend grille but the car itself is great.

[In Focus]

$23k. It had about 5000km on it. I think the MY 19.75 version must have had the Driver Assistance Pack (originally a $1250 option) fitted as standard as everything in that, including rear cross-traffic alert, is present.

The auto wipers seem well calibrated, because I haven't had to override them manually when the rain comes and goes. The same applies to the automatic headlights.

The engine has enough power for me (and I'm coming from a light hot hatch), and the gearbox always seems to be in the right gear. You've got 8 gears, so that shouldn't be surprising, I suppose!

Overall, very happy so far!

[Franco Cozzo]

I had a loan car of one of the ST line variants of these earlier in the year, the thing that stood out to me was how nice the steering wheel felt in your hands

[Envi_XR8]

Great colour, I got mine ceramic coated and has really gave it more depth, constantly get comments on how nice of a colour it is the by people
Also not sure on the trend models if the chrome on the grill goes all the way across behind the number plate attachment thing but first thing I did was remove it and fit a slime line number plate changed the whole look of the front end

[asagaai]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

I had a loan car of one of the ST line variants of these earlier in the year, the thing that stood out to me was how nice the steering wheel felt in your hands

When I serviced my Falcon FGX XR8 my dealer gave me various day cars, first was a Mustang, then a Ranger. Neither did anything for me.

Then they gave me a Focus ST line hatch, and I loved the steering and general handling, and like In Focus said, the engine felt strong and I thought it was a 2 litre turbo.

Liked it so much that when I found out I could buy a smaller car with same engine and hotter tune with 6 speed manual- could not resist getting a Fiesta ST.

Ford has done a good job with the Focus/Fiesta range

[In Focus]

Originally Posted by Envi_XR8

Great colour, I got mine ceramic coated and has really gave it more depth, constantly get comments on how nice of a colour it is the by people
Also not sure on the trend models if the chrome on the grill goes all the way across behind the number plate attachment thing but first thing I did was remove it and fit a slime line number plate changed the whole look of the front end

If you don't mind saying, how much was the Ceramic Coat? I'm up for washing, polishing and waxing, but I've noticed a few stone chips. Coming from a VW group car, that wasn't a problem, but all of the Focuses we've had (LV, LW and now, it seems, SA) seem to have soft paint. If any of these coatings add a little extra protection, I'm definitely interested.

[Envi_XR8]

Originally Posted by In Focus

If you don't mind saying, how much was the Ceramic Coat? I'm up for washing, polishing and waxing, but I've noticed a few stone chips. Coming from a VW group car, that wasn't a problem, but all of the Focuses we've had (LV, LW and now, it seems, SA) seem to have soft paint. If any of these coatings add a little extra protection, I'm definitely interested.

I got it done at Whitworth’s automotive polishing,they uses a product out of the states called SystemX cost me $1200
It’s the first time I’ve had a car done, can’t really say if it helps reducing stone chips
I can say the car never really looks dirty and washing and drying takes half the time it did on my previous focus and best thing I never need to polish and wax again 👍🏻

[In Focus]

Finished the novel, I mean owner's manual, over the weekend all 400+ pages of it. Fortunately, I was able to skip a few things that weren't relevant, such as setting up kids' seats and stuff about diesel engines and so on.

Tried the lane keeping assist out when I alone on the road, works quite well, not too "jerky", though it maybe waits until you are too close to the line.

Haven't tried out the AEB for pedestrians yet - anyone want to volunteer to be the pedestrian?

[White turbo]

I said farewell to my FGX Turbo, and now in a Ruby Red SA Focus, St Line wagon, truly amazing!!!! Great handling, the 1.5 Lt is sensational and the 8 speed transmission is awesome. Great finish The technology is simply amazing. I got the Moon Roof option.

[In Focus]

Originally Posted by White turbo

I said farewell to my FGX Turbo, and now in a Ruby Red SA Focus, St Line wagon, truly amazing!!!! Great handling, the 1.5 Lt is sensational and the 8 speed transmission is awesome. Great finish The technology is simply amazing. I got the Moon Roof option.

Excellent.

I can't believe Ford struggles to sell these cars.

[In Focus]

Anyone found any scuff/sill plates? Not interested in illuminated ones, just stainless steel or even plastic - something to stop scratches and scrapes for people getting in. I've had the touch up paint out already for something that was present at time of delivery, but don't want to be doing that all the time.

I saw some from a company called Lockwood in the UK which look good, but it was double the cost to freight them here as the cost of the actual product.

[In Focus]

It seems like I do have the Driver Assistance Pack as the 20.25 version of the Trend didn't have it included as standard, and I have everything in it (including folding mirrors with puddle lights).

I'd definitely recommend the extra outlay if you are picking up an ST-Line or Active (or looking for it on an existing Trend). The lane centring is amazing: in the right conditions the car will steer itself, even around curves.

The adaptive cruise is good as well: you can adjust its setting for following distance. The lowest setting is about 2 seconds and puts the wind up people you are following at 110kph.

Stop and go is OK. It will only stop the motor for a minute without further input. If you are light on the brake pedal, it doesn't stop the motor at all; push harder, it goes off. You can turn the system off with the push of a button, and it doesn't activate using sport and/or manual modes.

[In Focus]

Does everyone else leave rain sensing wipers on all the time? I was doing this, but the car started to do a couple of sweeps on dry windows after starting up. I understand the system works on light being dimmed over the sensor. I think the system might be getting confused if there was rain at the time of prior switch off.

[KosCo]

Originally Posted by In Focus

Does everyone else leave rain sensing wipers on all the time?

Yes, I do. I have never had any problems after starting the car but occasionally I have been driving along on a fine day and suddenly the wipers will do a sweep or two. Presume this is a reaction to something like a shadow passing across the windscreen that activates the wipers. Certainly doesn't happen enough for me to want to turn the wipers back to manual operation.

[In Focus]

Thanks for the reply. It seems to have stopped. I think it must have been happening if it was raining when I pulled into my garage - maybe the comparative darkness inside the garage on restart confused the system? I will monitor and see if I can pinpoint the reason.

In other news, I have finally worked out the stop-start system will stop the motor for for a maximum of sixty seconds if you have accessories such as climate control on. If you don't have anything on, it will go longer - long enough to get you through every traffic light round I've experienced.

[In Focus]

Still getting random wipes when I start up. Can't figure out why one time and not the next. If anything, it might be more common if I'm parked in shadow (under a tree, in a garage), but it doesn't happen every time, and also occasionally does it in full sun, so diagnosis remains elusive.

Not a major problem, just a minor annoyance.

[Envi_XR8]

Mine was occasionally doing the wipe on start-up found an option in the menu called courtesy wipe I turned it off and the car hasn’t done it since

[In Focus]

I'll give it a try, thanks.

[In Focus]

The random wipes are still happening, on and off, but leaving the courtesy wipe off has reduced the number of incidences. Just one of those things, I suppose.

On a more positive note, the car is very quiet on the move. You can still hear the engine note under acceleration (quite a gruff warble), but it's muted. I did a comparison with the wife's LW, and there is a lot more sound deadening rubber around the doors.

There is also additional welded strips here and there around the body, presumably for reinforcement. I seem to remember reading that this model was a fair bit more rigid than the previous one.

Oh, and during an under bonnet inspection, I decided to pull the air filter out for a look. Undo two clips and out it came, a panel type job. Took almost as long to decide it was clean as to put it back. You could change it in 30 seconds - a big contrast to the previous cylindrical model on LV through LZ range. The dipstick is flimsy, though, but at least the car seems to be using no or very little oil.

[In Focus]

A couple of new observations...

Whilst doing a check of indicators, lights etc I noticed the front fog lights dim on either side when you turn the steering wheel left or right. Obviously the DRLs also dim when you use the indicators in a similar manner.

Secondly, whilst going through the settings menus I found an oil life indicator. Not sure if that's actively monitoring the quality of the oil, or merely using a time setting since last service. In my case it says "99%", which is just as well as the car was serviced last week...

[red_october]

Just traded my long suffering 2003 BA wagon for an ex-demo 2019 Focus Trend hatch. Big learning curve coming up!

[marg99]

But way easier to park in small spots!

[red_october]

Originally Posted by marg99

But way easier to park in small spots!

That is so true!!!

[Fast Eddie]

And it's a corner carver too in comparison, even in standard spec too, red_october.

[In Focus]

I'll put this here, because I don't want to panic anyone unnecessarily: a recall on 1.5 Ecoboost 3 cylinder "Dragon" motors in the US.

https://fordauthority.com/2022/04/fo...se%20a%20fire.

I would have assumed it's just US/Canadian models, but I'm seeing a few UK owners saying their factory ordered 1.5L Puma ST (with more or less the same motor) models are being held up for some reason, although there is no official recall in the UK yet.

Again, this may not affect us in German-built Focuses (or Fiestas), but worth keeping an eye on.

[stefcio007]

Picked up the car a week ago, so far so good.
Loving the steering feel and handling compared to other cars.

Did Ford also include “business card” holder again just below the Drive Mode / TCS Off / Auto Start-Stop Switches?

I’m guessing the heated sets buttons must go there on the Titanium models and business card holders are their go-to blanking plate.

The 180° camera was great during my drive down the Great Ocean Road where you need to front park everywhere.

[In Focus]

Yes, I have the "credit card holder"* - the whole bottom half of the blanking plate is empty of buttons apart from the slot. It doesn't look too bad compared to some "button deletes" I've seen in other cars. I believe one of the extra buttons that could be there instead is the automatic parking option that came standard in the Titanium.

* I did an experiment with an ATM card, and it all but disappeared without encountering any restriction, so I wouldn't recommend anyone letting go of any card they happened to insert in the slot!

[Focmachine]

I hope you've been out carving some corners up!

[stefcio007]

Is the exhaust on the st-line all black or did the previous owner paint it? I can’t find any stock pics of the exhaust online. Just curious.