2008 Ford Focus SES Coupe: Open Thread

I drove one last year and it was stunningly poor. How anyone would buy this car over a Civic or a Golf is beyond me.

WHEN DOES THIS CAR GO AWAY? I don't want to see it or hear about it ever again.

I drove a spanking new rental Focus sedan on my recent trip to Chicago and must say that its an entirely decent car. The seats were decent, power was satisfactory, handling and ride were pleasant, plenty of room for a small car, with decent materials. And not so tiny a car that it didn't have some presence on the road. Certainly dull-looking, and I've yet to see a Focus with a decent paint job (they look they're matte finish sometimes). All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by it. It was leagues ahead of my last 2 rentals: Jeep Compass (ugh), PT Cruiser (sorry). A perfectly credible small American car.

A while ago I had a 2008 Focus SE sedan with about 3,000 on the odometer for a rental, and for a small car, I really liked it! Power was adequate for a little four-banger, ride was comfortable, and even for a plastic filled interior, it really did feel solid. None of the components felt overly cheap; in fact, the build-quality felt quite solid all the way around. Over-all it was a fun little car to drive. Would I buy one? Yes, if I HAD to buy an econo-box. I'm not a very big person, but I'm just not comfortable driving a small car. Smallest I would go car-wise is a Fusion.

I'm out of town right now and I have a rental Camaro. They gave me one for the same price as a midsize sedan so I said, eh, why not? Other than the 3.6L DI powertrain, I hate it. Horrible fit and finish, hard a** plastics, crappy standard radio, etc.

Thank you audisport, but we're talking about the Focus.

What do you guys think about leasing one for say 4 years? You don't care about the depreciation, and you aren't paying much for a car that will always be under warranty. My girlfriend is looking something newer than her old Accord, and these threads have got me thinking about the Focus. She is also looking at the new (smiley-faced) Mazda3.

Thanks.

My question is...

Out of all the IL editors, is there anyone who would choose to buy this (with their own money) over a Kia Soul/Nissan Versa/Honda Civic? Or even a larger sedan, like a Kia Optima?

The other day I watched Top Gear's test of the Focus RS, and I wondered once again why the US has to put up with this half-arsed lump of garbage. Ford has really been stepping it up lately with the refreshed Fusion, new Fiesta, and the new Taurus, but the Focus really lets the side down, doesn't it?

"I drove one last year and it was stunningly poor. How anyone would buy this car over a Civic or a Golf is beyond me."

Stunningly poor....here we go again...
The Civic is stunningly expensive for its equipment level and the Golf is stunningly unreliable for its reputation.

In four days last month I drove a new Focus, Caliber, Rabbit and Mazda 3. The Caliber had some neat features but was loud and rough sounding....Rabbit was nice but kinda cold and stark inside. The Mazda and the Focus were the nicest out of all of them. Dealers were really slashing prices on the Dodge but not so much on the others.

bodyblue,

The new Rabbit has done quite well reliability-wise, earning an "above average" (4 out of 5) reliability rating from Consumer Reports. The advantage that the Focus has over the Rabbit is fuel economy, not reliability. The Focus is very thrifty with fuel, whereas the VW 2.5L five-cylinder definitely isn't (at least for this segment).

Bodyblue -

Why are you criticizing personal opinions? Seriosuly. If someone has driven one, that is their opinion.

I've driven and spent significant time in several focuses and I consider them to be piss-poor in their market segment for a whole variety of reasons I spelled out previously.

But if a family member with no care about how a car looks/feels/drives came to me and said "I can get a brand new focus for $13,500 with XXX equipment. What do you think?" I'd say go for it.

It's a cheap car, yes. I picked up an '07 SES for $13k brand new. But I needed a cheap commuter car for my 45 mile one-way commute. Even after two years its handling is still as nimble and steering as precise as day one. No repairs have been required, and gas mileage has been averaging around 35 mpg (lower in winter, higher in summer). I also considered the Hyundai Accent, Honda Fit, and Chevy Cobalt, but I found that for the features I wanted, the Focus represented the best value.

It is called exageration for a reason. "Stunningly poor" is just as stupid as "stunningly expensive and "stunningly unreliable". What is wrong with calling someone on the BS? If something was "stunningly" bad then Ford would not have sold the thousands that they have. The market usually takes care of "stunningly" bad products.

to all the people that ask why buy this over a civic, mazda3, kia soul, and others... the civic is way too overpriced and some features, like bluetooth, some at a very high price point. the civic with all the features i wanted was well into the $20k's and didnt even have leather and a poor ipod interface. the vw rabbit is also overpriced and although it felt like a tank which is good for a feeling of safety, its just too much money. yes they include a lot of nice features but still. the mazda3 is better than the focus, but the margin is not as big as you might think if you drive them back to back. the mazda3 felt a bit more sophisticated but the mazda3 is also a premium compact car offering features like hid headlamps, keyless go and in dash navigation. the kia soul has a horrid clutch/gearbox combo and is pretty dumb, its only saving grace is a nifty interior and a cool design. with all this said and done, as an educated buyer (what with having test driven over a dozen vehicles in this class) i gave the focus a shot and so far for the 12,750 miles it has been a FANTASTIC ride that i take my hat off to ford for :)

@fuhteng, Who pissed in your wheaties this morning? I'm sorry that my two sentances on something other than your beloved Ford Focus leaked onto this discussion.

The Focus is far from stunningly poor. Would I get one over a Golf Mazda 3? Probably not. The Civic, having driven one, is an entirely different story. It has the edge over the Focus in terms of overall refinement and handling but the price difference deems the Ford more attractive(out the door that is).

The Focus handles better than most cars in it's class, has very decent crash test ratings, is reliable, the seats are OK, SYNC is a plus, is OK looking and the interior is assembled fairly well. It is at best an average car with an attractive price tag. Something that most buyers can appreciate.

I find my 08 focus coupe to be every bit as good as my 08 civic, with a equally impressive yet different set of attributes. The built quality is equivalent, but I find the focus to be more feature rich, has a more luxurious ride, and costs more than 4k less at 13,700(with Traction control/ABS/Sync/Alloys/Autodim/Bluetooth/indash changer etc. The civic is a better handling car, but this comes at the expense of howling tire noise and a choppy ride. At 18,000, this civic has little by way of creature comforts.

My wants are few with the focus. I think more side bolstering on the seats would be nice. Rear disc brakes sould be standard, and the headliner and visor materials could be of nicer materials.

P.S. For those who bemoan the "hard surfaces" that are found in the Focus, try looking at some Jetta, Golf, or Audi models with more than 3 years on them. All of those luxurious "soft touch" switches peel horribly, leaving the interior a cheap looking mess. I surmise that both my civic and focus will have more intact interiors in ten years that my jetta had at the end of a three year lease.

audisport, apology accepted.

That is a good point stuckinneutral. I hadn't thought about how the soft material will wear. The hard stuff gets scratched of course, but that isn't necessarily ugly, just well used.

It has been mentioned before, but I wonder how long it will be until a new platform comes out for the Focus.

@ fuhteng... we get a suspected "updated" C1 platform when the 2011 focus goes on sale sometime in 2010

The next Ford Focus will not be on an updated C1 platform, as it will ride on a C2 based platform.

My experience was with a 09 rental Focus SES going from KC to St. Louis and for the price its surprisingly a decent long range cruiser with good milage and good seats.

It's a car in the average to just above average range and for many people that's all they need\afford and it's different from the crowd who buys civcs and other various imports so you stand out if you feel like that's a need.