Its pretty clear that the biggest draw of the Ford Focus is its affordability. As I tooled around town in the coupe this weekend, I mused for the thousandth time, "This car is the opposite of exciting, but it delivers lots of features for very little coin."
I came across a news story that pointed out that the Focus can save you money in accident situations, as well. In recent crash tests, IIHS concluded that the Focus had the lowest repair costs of the 20 compact cars tested. The Focus sustained two-thirds less damage than the Toyota Prius and the Volkswagen Rabbit, which both logged more than $4,000 worth of damage in a single crash test. IIHS credits the Focus' bumpers for this achievement, saying that they do a great job of protecting sheet metal and other expensive parts from damage.
Warren Clarke, Automotive Content Editor @ 20,846 miles
adavis2493 says:
04:16 PM, 06/ 8/09
Ford has been praised with their bumpers numerous times. They did this one test with SUV Bumpers lining up with that of a car. The Explorer was the only car they tested that passed.
pengwin says:
05:02 PM, 06/ 8/09
keep in mind if a VW Rabbit slammed into a focus I would much rather be in the rabbit, 10 times out of 10.
roadburner says:
07:21 PM, 06/ 8/09
So... if you are the type of driver who likes to ram other cars-but still wants keep repair costs low-the Focus is your car...
firstwagon says:
08:09 PM, 06/ 8/09
Or if you just want to keep your insurance costs low.
mohaji says:
08:39 PM, 06/ 8/09
and how will that change when the euro focus finally gets here with all the european doo-daas and thingamagigs?
dougtheeng says:
06:01 AM, 06/ 9/09
^^ when the euro focus gets here, everyone will whine that its too unusual and too expensive and we'll have an Astra-esque sales boondoggle.
I could just be pessimistic, but we'll see.
roadburner says:
07:02 AM, 06/ 9/09
"I could just be pessimistic, but we'll see."
If Ford sells a true RS Focus-and doesn't water it down to suit mediocre American driving tastes-they could have a winner on their hands.
milt721 says:
09:02 AM, 06/ 9/09
Oh, how I miss bumpers. I may be showing my age, but it wasn't THAT long ago when you could ram your buddy's car a red light and have no damage to either vehicle. Has the loss of decent bumpers contributed to out sky-high insurance rates?
aspade says:
10:01 AM, 06/ 9/09
Even the "best in test" Focus still took over $500 in damage from every tap.
Yeah the other cars did even worse, but calling that great - or good, or even acceptable - is really stretching your definitions.
greenpony says:
04:50 PM, 06/13/09
milt721: Seems to me that the 5 mph bumper standard was relaxed to 2.5 mph in recent years.