2008 Ford Focus: Would I Make Room in My Own Garage?

@stephen987: I drove a 2007 Elantra. On the whole, it's a fine car. But I find it pretty dull to drive. The Focus, for all its faults, is a little more interesting to me, esp. with a manual gearbox. As are the others I listed.

What about a Jetta S? Those are like $18,000

Ooo! I'm famous! Thanks Erin.

Since you're reading this, how about the Kia Forte? I would imagine its lousy engine and tranny (I read the IL review of it earlier today actually) keep it off your list?

@asdf9036: The fuel economy on Jettas with that 2.5-liter inline-5 is not good at all -- defeats the point of buying an *economy* sedan IMHO.

@fuhteng: You are correct. No Forte for me.

And you guys thought that there was no interest in the Focus for COTW.....There is just as much interest if not more for regular cars than exotic ones.

Even if the Focus is competent enough, I wouldn't take it on principle. Ford should not be rewarded for selling its old rejects in the USA. Give me the Hyundai.

So you would take a Cobalt over the Focus?

I'd rather wait for the Ford Fiesta or 2011 Focus based on the European versions.

"Even if the Focus is competent enough, I wouldn't take it on principle. Ford should not be rewarded for selling its old rejects in the USA. Give me the Hyundai."

Where is the logic behind that? What you're saying is that you wouldn't take the older platform due to the fact that it's old, and nothing else? That sounds like a very uneducated purchase decision. Just because something is new doesn't make it better.

I'm a big fan of the Mazda3 myself.

I own a non-smiley Mazda3 with the 2.0L engine and automatic transmission, and I absolutely love that car. It never feels weak or underpowered, and it has as much personality as I've ever encountered in a front-wheel drive car with an automatic transmission. (I've also driven a Mazda3 with the 2.3L engine and 5-speed stick, which was even better.)

As goofy as the smiley faced Mazda3 may look, I wouldn't hesitate to replace mine with the newer generation.

even from my perch far far away I can hear the crowd chanting Mazda 3, Mazda 3, Mazda 3!!

If I were looking at comparables, I'd consider the Focus, Cobalt, Sentra and Civic. I've a feeling the Civic would price itself out of the game.

The Mazda 3 is a neat little car, but it draws a different crowd, so I don't consider it a comparable.

I don't trust Nissans, Hyundais, or VWs so they're out.

Corolla? I suppose it would qualify, but...

"What you're saying is that you wouldn't take the older platform due to the fact that it's old, and nothing else? That sounds like a very uneducated purchase decision. Just because something is new doesn't make it better."

But it's not better than the world Focus, it's much worse. So why would I buy it when I know Ford could do better, but decided I didn't deserve it? No thanks.

"But it's not better than the world Focus, it's much worse."

Define worse. It's less expensive and likely more durable. According to Edmunds, it's also the least expensive coupe to insure. I don't have the numbers, but I suspect it's roomier too.

There are always more exciting cars, but that doesn't make them better for everyone.

I'd definitely be temped by a Subaru Impreza 2.5i or a Honda Civic EX, but if i had to have a Focus it would have to be the Sedan SES with Moon and Tune Package, ABS, and 5 speed manual tranny. The problem is though i'd rather have a Mazda 3 hatch and if money was a problem, i'd much rather buy a used Mazda 3 hatch than a new ford focus.

The Mazda3 is a car I'd buy for myself in a heartbeat (if I were held to this class/budget), but I'd only recommend it to a subset of my friends.

I don't think I understand either how people are evaluating the redesigned Focus or what kind of expectations they have of it. Over the years I remember hearing lots of wonderful things about the 2000 to 2007 models (once all the initial bugs were worked out), but I never wanted to own one because, regardless of all the available body configurations or how nicely they supposedly drove, I thought they were all downright ugly.

I'm sorry, I realize styling is a very subjective thing and I guess I’m in the minority on this, but to me those front ends looked like some unholy insect/fish hybrid (and not in a good way). Also, I never cared for the exaggeratedly flared wheel arches that were trying hard to distract you from the tall proportions. Even the 3-door hatchbacks with their oddly high mounted taillights (I mean, why put them there and just leave the rest of the tailgate as a blank slate?) and C-pillars that seemed to widen as they approached the roofline, struck me as being very aesthetically challenged. I just don't get European fashion, but I digress...

In any case, now that the engineers have taken this 'once great' platform, reinforced the structure while reducing some weight, added insulation to quiet things down, installed side airbags and more comfortable seats, smoothed out the ride/handling equation, and improved the base engine so it's quieter, cleaner and more efficient, I'm supposed to believe that somehow it's been transformed into a cheap vehicle that's terrible to drive and can't compete with anything else on the market.

Well, I just don't buy it. I did, however, buy myself an '08 Focus SE Coupe after test driving one a couple months ago. I think it's a great little economy car that does everything I need it to do without breaking a sweat. Then again, my comments may be invalid since I drive in a city and not on a racetrack. The Focus may not be the fastest or most furious vehicle out there, but, in my experience, it still manages to keep up on the open road with all of the competitors that Ms. Riches listed above while delivering comparable or slightly better fuel economy (as long as you’re not a leadfoot).

I’m not sure if I’m qualified to debate the subjects of either engine refinement or steering feel (perhaps I’m just not overly concerned enough), because when I’m in the driver’s seat of my Focus I don’t hear much engine or exhaust noise and I can’t literally feel the road via the steering wheel (not sure I would want to).

What I CAN tell you is that my car is equipped with an automatic transmission, which IMO is a good match for the torque characteristics of the engine. With the windows either up or down, I don’t hear much noise coming from the engine bay and the interior never rattles upon acceleration, but since the vehicle is not that heavy and, more to the point, I don’t drive like a maniac, the engine doesn’t really need to spend much time in the upper RPM range to move things along at a pretty good pace (not sure I’ve ever even needed to take the tach beyond 3500). If you prefer the manual transmission and like to redline the engine before each shift, you might want to pop the hood and try balancing some champagne glasses on the block to better test its vibration levels.

As far as I’m concerned, the steering wheel feels good. It does a great job of telling the front tires to turn either left or right whenever necessary. Actually, I think it might be the most responsive component in the whole vehicle and certainly adds to its fun-to-drive nature. If, like me, you enjoy taking turns with some precision and prefer to make an extra effort to avoid bumps and potholes during your commute, the steering on the Focus should not disappoint.

While I’ve never had a bunch of money to just throw around, I have always opted to purchase my cars outright rather than lease. I just don’t like the idea of paying to insure a car that isn’t officially mine to do with as I see fit. Nevertheless, based on the advertising I’ve seen, I suspect anyone could find a great deal (if you don’t require every single option known to man) to either buy or lease a new Focus for a lower out the door price than most of the competition, especially now if you can take advantage of the “Cash for Clunkers” discount program. Of course, if you're THAT worried about Ford’s depreciation rate, you could always do what I did and use it to your advantage by bargain hunting a quality pre-owned model instead.

If I had to pick, I'd go with the Mazda 3. The best looks of all of them, plus fun to drive for an economy car. I talked a friend of mine into getting one a couple years ago and she absolutely loves it. The Focus is just too ugly to tolerate (they need the Euro version here). I love what Ford's done with the Sync though.

bodyblue - you're right. I would be that with all the posts from the IL staff, and all the posts from us mere mortals, there has been more action for the Focus than any other car in the fleet. And it is only Wednesday morning.

Thanks so much guys (and Erin too) for the replies. I am passing this information onto the girlfriend (who likes Fords anyway) and I think a lightly used Focus will be in her future. She loves SYNC, which is why it was even on the radar to begin with.

Thanks again!

"f I had to pick, I'd go with the Mazda 3. The best looks of all of them, plus fun to drive for an economy car. I talked a friend of mine into getting one a couple years ago and she absolutely loves it. The Focus is just too ugly to tolerate (they need the Euro version here). I love what Ford's done with the Sync though."

I agree 100%

It never fails. Every thread or topic related to the North American Focus has to include something related to the global version of this vehicle.

Why? Get over it already. Come 2010 there will be a C2 based Focus stateside (for the 2011 MY). Makes me wonder what folks will gripe about then.

Just get her a 2010 Mazda i sedan.. best of the bunch.

Wow, I must be the only guy on the planet who thinks the Mazda 3 (sedan or wagon) is kinda dumb looking. Maybe it's just that anything with four or five doors to me spells boring/anonymous. I'm sure it drives great, but if it's supposed to be so sporty, why doesn't Mazda offer a two-door or three-door hatch back version? Seems like they conspired with a few of the other car companies to kill off all the inexpensive coupes.

Whatever. To each their own. For the record, while I don't think my silver '08 Focus Coupe will win any beauty contests, I much prefer its more conservative chunky, angular styling (which reminds me of its big brother Ford Fusion) to the weirdly organic looking 2000 thru 2007 models.

Because, who's going to buy a cheap 2 door? As evidenced by the Focus, not enough people. Even the McCivic coupe sells in low volume compared to the sedan. They we're able to do whatever they wanted with the 2008-2010 or whenever they're getting the new way better Euro Focus.

No otaku, I agree that it is a little silly, but at least it isn't ugly like one of the Infiniti baby-eating SUVs. She thinks both are 'cute' so it doesn't really matter that much to me.

LOL, nice calling yourself out on the disc bias, I agree!

I've learned recently with my own brake woes just how much more expensive rear disc brakes are from a design and manufacturing perspective.

My Sentra uses what was described to me as the old way of doing rear disc and accommodating for the e-brake (the big dilemma). The piston incorporates some sort of threading to allow the e-brake cables, when pulled, to twist the piston out against the pad/rotor.

The cable cannot activate the hydraulic system, so e-brakes are traditionally purely mechanical, which is a natural environment for drum brake operation. The method used in my car is no longer favored because those types of calipers and e-brakes tend to be problematic. Now, I'm told, most cars with rear disc use small/cheap/light duty drums exclusively for the e-brake.

And these push button e-brakes, which I initially resisted and wrote off as more appliance making nonsense, actually help simplify things. I think they use an electric stepper motor to push the piston(s)?