Ford Confirms Manual Transmission for Ford Focus Titanium

Now that Focus is not selling the way Ford thought it would, and the press hasn't been glowing either, time to listen to The People, and not the beancounters.....
BD

About a year and a half ago, I was eagerly awaiting the new Focus. Then Ford released the final specs for the car. I immediately looked up the Titanium hatchback model and found the manual transmission not available. I checked the SEL model and found the same annoying lack of transmission choice. The next weekend, I bought a loaded Mazda3 Grand Touring hatchback with a manual tranny. I guess I am one of those lost sales that prompted Ford to finally offer the manual on the Titanium. Too late... but I'll take a look at the ST when it comes out later this year. If it's less aggressive than the Mazdaspeed3 (ride not as harsh; "normal" clutch operation), I just might take one home.

Why a 5 speed for the top model but a 6 speed for the lower trims?

felonious +1

If I had a budget of around $20k to spend on a new car tomorrow, it would be a Focus SE stick with sport pkg, cold weather pkg and 17" wheels. So equipped, it stickers for a tick over $20k and then you get your discounts.
Instead of paying for a Titanium, I think I would go for the ST. Hopefully it won't be standard with MyTouch, which seems to be this generation's version of iDrive.

@afty: There is no 6 speed manual in any Focus trim level.

I have determined that a Cruze is a better deal than the Focus.

Too bad that manual tranny for the Ford Focus is not all that great. The transmission (whether the manual or the dual clutch) is really the only glaring weakness on an otherwise excellent car. No matter what, just avoid the gawdawful MyFordTouch package, and it's a worthy contender.

The SEL had the stick from day one ... in Canada. Titanium? Too pricey, and mandatory MFT.

The SE 5-door with sport pkg is the one to get ... IL, long-termer please?

I spent Friday afternoon at the Philadelphia Auto Show. Here are my thoughts on Ford and others:

1. The new Focus does look nice; I think a CVT makes the most sense for this vehicle.
2. The new Escape is ugly, but not as ugly as I was led to believe from the pictures.
3. The new Fusion actually looks better than the previous generation; so Ford's styling is not totally in the toilet.
4. The Mitsubishi Outlander Hybrid and the BMW i8 were NOT at the show; what a disappointment!
5. I liked the style of the GMC Terrain and its easy of entry and egress, but the drivetrain is abysmal, and the gas cap is on the wrong side.
6. The Mazda 5 is a practical, stylish vehicle, but the gas cap is on the wrong side. And you cannot get AWD with it.
7. The VW Tiguan has great build quality, but the cargo capacity is nil, and--you guessed it--the gas cap in on the wrong side.
8. The interiors of the Mitsubishis displayed are drab beyond belief. I did like sitting in the Evo, however, and I really like the All Wheel Control system!
9. The Infinity M56 also had a disappointing interior. I did like the MB S-Class, however, of course. I couldn't see out of the Cadillac CTS-V coupe. The Bentleys, Rolls, Lamborghinis, and Maseratis were all roped off, and I couldn't even sit in them. Damn!
10. The German SUVs all had humps in the rear floor, including the Audi Q5 and Porsche Cayenne--disappointing.

My 2008 Mercury Mariner Hybrid AWD is still best for my purposes (efficiency, cargo space, visibility, off-roadability when necessary). I hope that the forthcoming Outlander Hybrid has a decent interior.....

*Sigh* Ford if you're going to offer a manual, then please offer a proper manual. What does the competition offer? Right, 6 speed manuals. This is just embarrassing. Do they even pay attention?

Good call Ford! I'm surprised it's not a 6-speed, but it's a big step in the right direction. Remember when manuals used to be the "standard" transmission, and automatics were an extra cost option? Now it seems like the cheaper domestic cars have all but given up on the "standard" transmission, and it's the more expensive foriegn cars that still rock the stick in all it's glory.

@transpower: If the gas caps you saw were on the right side, that is the correct position. This avoids other cars sideswiping the road side of the car and causing gas spillage, which could lead to: FIERY DEATH!

I had no real problem with the 5 speed manual in the Focus SE, but it isn't anywhere near as good as the 5 speed in my Outback. Of course, the Focus' shifter might break in. Hard to predict.

I test drove a new Subaru Impreza, with a 5 speed manual. It worked OK, but the engine sounds like a window fan until you get up to the higher rev levels. Then it sounds more like a boxer. Anyway, I thought the Impreza was kinda cheesy, and didn't offer anything more (except the AWD, of course) than other compact cars.

Just to see if there was any improvement to the six speed manual in the Outback, I drove one. The transmission is a lot better-- you don't get hung up or miss shifts. The main problem is that the gear ratios are terrible. The 5th and 6th gears are only useful on the highway, and the Outback STILL has 3,100 RPMs at 70 MPH. Unacceptable-- especially in a six speed. The topper is that it is the slowest, by far, of all the cars I have test driven. Off my list, which is a shame.

Obviously, Subaru is trying to get customers off the stick. They are doing a good job of it so far.

woochifer says:
04:33 PM, 02/ 3/12

"Too bad that manual tranny for the Ford Focus is not all that great."

I don't know, the one I test drove was pretty good--kinda snicky, not much vagueness, wasn't too rubbery--but I also didn't go into it expecting it to be of nineties-Honda or BMW quality. I purposefully took it to a nice twisty stretch that begins with a sweeping left, continues through a nifty downhill "S" with an intersection stoplight at the bottom (BOO!), then travels uphill into a looong left sweeper, on into a even longer right sweep and then through a few really tight twists (and two more recently added lights :(). It handled all of that with aplomb, at a rate of speed high enough to seriously alarm the car salesman, and the clutch/tranny combo never let me down and proved extremely user friendly.

Of topic, but - I'm not usually a fan of black, and it could just be the picture, but this car looks great in this color......

5 speed manual? I thought only Subaru was this dumb. Weird.

ed124c: I don't like walking around the car to get to the gasoline filler cap. Similarly, I don't like garages on the left side of houses; you have to walk around the car to get into the house. It's just a waste of time. I think the probability of a side swipe on the left side causing a fire is de minimus.

@de minimus: Oh, now I understand.

WTF? Really, people fret about the gas cap location? Seriously. Can't recall having a car with gas cap on the driver's side. Probably have. Wouldn't matter.

Garage location? That's a joke right? If it's that much of a worry...back in.

@ed124c

My 2010 Sienna fuel filler is on the driver's side.
1997 Town Car, driver's side.
2001 Park Ave, driver's side.
2007 X3, if I remember correctly, driver's side.
2002 ML, if I remember correctly, driver's side.

Oh wait, on our 560SL I think it was on the passenger side, so maybe you're on to something.

@ed124c

My bad. The fuel filler on the X3 was on the passenger side. The 560SL, ML500 and the others were all on the driver's side.

@ed124c

Correction. The fuel filler on the X3 and the Mercedes were on the passenger side. The others were all on the driver's side.

While a step forward...

+1 to all folks looking for all folks seeking a 6MT in a Focus. Come on Ford, you can get a 6MT in a Sonic or Accent!

agnh, really? An available MT, handling, engine, practicality, gas mileage, interior, etc., are much higher on my list.
If you are married, are you a gentleman and let your wife sleep on the bedside closest to the bathroom?
;-)

@joemt
I actually don't care which side of the car the fuel filler is on. I haven't said otherwise.

@agnh

My apologies; I should have tweaked transpower.

Wow. Before reading this thread I never knew people cared, let alone had a clear definition of which side is "correct", about the location of the fuel filler door!

And, seriously, FIERY DEATH??? That only happens when the NHTSA side-swipes your car in a government test and leaves it in storage for weeks without cleaning up the mess.