When I left work last night, I needed to make a quick stop off at the grocery store to get a few things for dinner. I was hurried and our long-term 2008 Ford Focus didn't seem to mind that.
You're undoubtedly aware that an electronic throttle ("drive-by-wire") replaced the throttle cable in the partial 2008 redesign. Yet, off-the-line response is still quite good in our long-termer --certainly by economy car standards and certainly compared to some of the newer cars I've driven that are calibrated to scrimp on fuel to an excessive degree.
I've complained mightily about the four-speed automatic transmission in our Focus, but even that deserves some credit. It's more decisive with shifts than many of the easily befuddled six-speed automatics I've sampled recently.
stovt001 says:
01:42 PM, 07/31/09
And given the Focus's fuel economy, they didn't seem to take much of a hit with that calibration either. This LT test really is shaping up to be pretty interesting, since a car that was dismissed by so many is now apparently finding a fair amount of favor too. Now these are LT updates I can get on board with.
empowah says:
03:33 PM, 07/31/09
And apparently IIHS recently crash tested several small two-doors - Focus, Cobalt, tC, Civic, and C30 - and it and the Volvo were the only two that earned a Top Safety Pick:
http://www.iihs.org/news/rss/pr072109.html
Good ratings front, side, and rear + available stability control
bodyblue says:
03:43 PM, 07/31/09
It was a great car of the week....lots of good posts and responses....it is nice to talk about a car that one can actually afford. Please keep testing affordable cars. Do you really need 2 or more BMWs??
hybris says:
07:41 PM, 07/31/09
I agree with bodyblue while its nice to see you guys test out the high end stuff its even better for you to test out the stuff on the lower end of the scale.
otaku says:
08:17 PM, 07/31/09
I've been saying this all along. While the Focus is by no means a muscle car, it has a pretty favorable power to weight ratio and the engine delivers good low-end torque, especially compared to other small engines which constantly need to be winded out practically to redline for any kind of decent acceleration.
Most of the four cylinder automatics I've driven try to upshift too soon for improved fuel economy, which is fine for when you're just cruising around. What I like about my '08 Focus is that it can be driven smoothly when you don't need a lot of speed, but it will also hold onto a lower gear whenever you need some extra acceleration without any complaint or manual-mode shifting theatrics.
For the last two months I've enjoyed the best of both worlds from this powertrain setup and I can honestly say that I can't imagine needing more power than this for my daily driving. All this and, at last check, I'm still averaging 35.4 mpg in a roughly 60 percent city/40 percent highway mix of driving.