2008 Ford Focus Coupe: Long Distance Drive

31 mpg isn't very good fuel economy for such a small vehicle.

Really? I'd say that 31 mpg is average in the class in real world driving; especially amongst the lead footed Edmunds staff.

Sodaguy come on now....31 mpg is very good for a econmomy car with a (dare I say it) 4 SPEED AUTOMATIC...That just shows how everyone is always doging this Focus when in reality it IS NOT the worst car ever believe it or not...and the styling is not all that bad!!

Oh come on Ford! No rear head rests?!

31 mpg is pretty good, especially with the edmunds leadfoot staff/engine-that-needs-flogging-to-get-up-to-speed combo.
 
I don't get how Ford can get sync right...it seems pretty cool...but then not put rear head restraints in the car. The lights are on at Ford, but nobody is home.

31 isn't bad.
 
And I wholly agree with Zach. Aren't headrests required!? There's not even a bump. Completely unacceptable.

31mpg is great for a small car sodaguy, and if you want something higher get a Prius.
 
Nice to hear the car did the job well, but it's kind of funny to consider the previous Focus having a telescoping steering wheel and this one lacking it.

Apparently the 2009 Focus will have rear head restraints.

Looks like a lot in the Focus could be improved by simply adding another gear to the transmission. Can't be that much more expensive, can it?

I have a 96 Saturn SL2 Auto that easily hits 34 or higher on a highway trip. I would expect a newer car in the same class to do much better.
 
I think you folks are forgetting about the long-term Camry that Edmunds had in its fleet. During the road trip from Detroit back to California, the driver averaged over 30 mpg on most tanks. The Camry has nearly twice the power as this car and is a much larger vehicle.
 
I agree that a six-speed auto could help with efficiency here. GM is adding a six-speed automatic to the four cylinder Malibu, and the EPA rating of this new combination is 1 mpg higher in both the city and highway tests compared to the four-speed.

Lol firstwagon you mean 75mph, averaging 75mpg on a trip would be awesome!

I would say 31 mpg is good for Edmunds, as they tend to lead foot it a bit. They generally hit right around what the new EPA test says they should. When I drive carefully, I find I have no problem beating the new EPA standards. If I take it easy, my Cobalt hits 28 mpg in stop and go traffic - on hills no less.

Whatever happened to that gawd-awful & ugly Compass?

Ford Focus is still a Ford . . junk!! Further, Ford is going down the tubes so fast, ANY warranty they promise you is worthless if there is no Ford in a couple years!! Look for yourself at record LOW stock price of $5.40 in Jan 2008 and today 3/11/08 it hit $5.64 . . ouch!!
 
For California, I would ONLY own a Honda Civic GX (dedicated cng) as it is perfect commuter car (access to HOV lane), 35 to 40 mpg on highway, and besides cng is much cheaper than petrol!! Just need to pipe over some of that $0.64 per gge (gallon) cng from Utah!!!

"Whatever happened to that gawd-awful & ugly Compass?"
 
My guess is sitting in the corner of the garage collecting dust. Look at whats in the fleet right now, would you sign out the Compass?

"would you sign out the Compass?" I always tried to avoid it at all human costs. Segway, 18th century Chinese rickshaw, anything else.
 
In all seriousness, we sold it as it had come to the end of its year. A long-term wrap will come eventually.

31 MPG is a lot better than what the Lancer has been averaging.

"31 MPG is a lot better than what the Lancer has been averaging"
 
True, but 31 mpg and even with the SYNC are not enough to offset the ugliness of this car inside and out...

Sadly, the 4-speed auto in the Focus is NOT a "throwback", and that is one of the problems with shopping for small cars today. As of the 2008 model year, the only 4-cyl cars that I can think of in the U.S. market that offer something other than a 4-speed auto are the Versa/Sentra (CVT optional), Mazda3 (5AT) and Civic (5AT).
 
For 2009, the Matrix/Vibe (and presumably Corolla) are offering a 5AT with the 158hp engine. I haven't heard whether the Scion xB with the same engine will be getting the 5-speed too.
 
That means small cars from GM, Ford, Toyota (Yaris & Scions), Subaru, Hyundai, Kia and Suzuki are still available with nothing better than aging 4-speed autos, even when they offer more efficient tech in their "nicer" cars.
 
The lack of rear head restraints is also all-too-common. I'm thinking Fusion/Milan and Impala, off the top of my head...

"In all seriousness, we sold it as it had come to the end of its year. A long-term wrap will come eventually."
 
And by "sold it" you mean "drove it off a cliff"?
 
The 18th century Chinese rickshaw in your LT fleet probably has better materials quality than the Compass.

"True, but 31 mpg and even with the SYNC are not enough to offset the ugliness of this car inside and out..."
 
actually the inside isnt that ugly. I like it better than the Civic's ugly interior.
 
Those knocking the 4 speed should note that the best selling small car in the US has a four speed auto. I dont think its a major consideration for most buyers of $16k cars.

Yet another uninformed post from kscng. While Ford's cash flow problems are real (and exacerbated by the binge-buying the company engaged in during the previous decade), the cars themselves are not all "junk." Some, like the Fusion, are receiving excellent reviews even from (allegedly) pro-import auto journalists. Yes, the Focus is outdated and dull, but the same can be said of the Corolla (even the '09) and many other competitors. And if you think a Civic GX is the only commuter option worth having, I pity you and your remarkably narrow and joyless worldview.

Sodaguy your 96 Saturn SL2 is a flyweight and would never pass modern safety/crash regulations. This, along with all the modern gadgets, is the reason for the ever increasing weight problem with cars.
  
Also, "my car did x on x day" doesn't have much validity. Different roads/weather/traffic/driving style on different days produces different results. Which is why I like that Edmunds tracks lifetime averages very well and I do the same for my vehicles.

So do I, lvranger. And my numbers are consistently quite a bit higher than Edmunds' numbers.
 
That doesn't mean much, becuse, as you quite accurately pointed out, different days/roads/weather/traffic/driving styles make it nearly impossible to directly compare, other than to make a (again, perfectly valid) statement that Edmunds' numbers tend to be far below my own, regardless of the vehicle in question.
 
Then again, that was the point of EPA estimates- NOT to provide what any single person would get in actual operation, but to provide a level field of comparison for all cars, using a standardized routine in standardized conditions.

"Sodaguy your 96 Saturn SL2 is a flyweight and would never pass modern safety/crash regulations. This, along with all the modern gadgets, is the reason for the ever increasing weight problem with cars."
 
A common excuse but not true. Good engineering doesn't have to be heavy and safety features don't weigh that much. Look at the Smart, it's almost 1000 lbs less then the Focus and passes safety tests with ease.
 
Cars have gotten heavy because people want bigger and bigger cars (with too many options as well).... and car makers build what sells.

I agree, jerrywimer, the EPA estimates serve a great purpose for comparison. Lately they have been a hassle though. I work for a used car dealer and I don't know how many times i've had to explain the 08 changes. People act like you are somehow taking their mileage away!
  
You are right, firstwagon. That is a bit of a copout but I still don't think that it's fair to compare older cars mileage to new. They didn't have to meet the same regulations and while some got better mileage they generally are spewing out more emissions.
  
I was originally excited to see what the Smart could do but its efficient structural design is marred by a underperforming powertrain. 36MPG is great but the level of sacrafice the vehicle requires is a tough sell. Maybe I wasn't realistic but I expected better mileage.
  
I'm new to Edmunds. Do these comments generally get wildly off topic? And do most discussions turn into a domestic/import slugfest? :)

lvranger: The answers to your questions are Yes and Yes. :P
 
But this place is a lovefest of like-minded intellectuals compared to the old Autoweek forums!