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New 2015 Focus

It looks better then the current version.

I wonder what the Focus ST is going to look like. Maybe they will change the dam seats. I was close to buying one but the seats did not work for me.
 
I don't understand why a lot of people here seem to like Focuses. They're ugly

Edit:

I assume it was a lot of peoples first cars? I dunno I just never liked them :|
 
Last edited:
nice. predictable. but nice. All manufactures have a family language, the focus is just falling in line with the current fords.
 
BlitzPuppet said:
I don't understand why a lot of people here seem to like Focuses. They're ugly

Edit:

I assume it was a lot of peoples first cars? I dunno I just never liked them :|
Click to expand...

It's not a mystery if you drive one back to back with say a Corolla or Civic.

cliffs : reliable, great features/mpg, they drive well, $ for $ they are a great choice.

The Focus really has several different eras :

Early Years with the SPI and Zetec motors, sort of mediocre. Great chassis, light, but really let down by the 4-speed auto and kind of blah motors. They had an SVT version that put down better slalom times than same year Z06/Boxster (mainly due to being well under 3,000lbs in the MK1/MK1.5 variants).

Midrange Years (05-11), dramatically improved motors, updated features, but same light chassis. Only dark spot was that damned 4-speed auto. In 5-speed manual form they were awesome cheap little cars. For less than a Civic/Corolla, you got something lighter with more HP/TQ, equal or better fuel economy, and extremely reliable. However, they were entry-level cars and it showed. The carpet was cheap, the styling was blah, etc. It was a value proposition. The kind of car magazines can nitpick (no passenger side pillar handle inside!! there's PLASTIC inside the car!! there's no backup camera!!), but is a great simple 'get it done' vehicle.

New Years (12+). Substantially upgraded interior/exterior, more advanced features, just overall a completely different type of car. They got a lot more expensive as well on average, as the 'entry-level' Ford was replaced in the Fiesta line, moving the Focus up a rung in the ladder. As opposed to the previous gens where it was comically easy to get a basic stripped commuter version for $10k or not much more, these are usually fairly loaded, with even more basic ones starting at $16k+.

Would I buy a Focus if in the market today for a compact i4 vehicle? Meh. I would certainly buy one over a Civic/Corolla, but I don't really get the appeal of spending a ton of money on what I view as an economy segment. I'd be much more likely to want a midsize car for that kind of cash, and if dead-set on a cheap compact, just go with a 2.0 Mazda3i or Hyundai, something that is more focused on cheap reliable transportation than extra gizmos that I don't give a crap about, or badge tax.

A great comparison :

2014 Civic LX Sedan
1.8L i4, 143hp/129tq, 5MT
28/36MPG
$18,390 MSRP, TrueCar $18,603

2014 Mazda3i Sedan
2.0L i4, 155hp/150tq, 6MT
29/41MPG
$16,945 MSRP, TrueCar $16,531

I certainly wouldn't pay more for less.
 
We have a '13 focus titanium auto.

Nice but is having transmission issues and gas mileage problems. Also ford touch imo is heavily designed around visuals rather than function, almost a hazard while driving.

Going to the dealer, they said shuddering of transmission from first gear is becoming evident. They said it might need to be reprogrammed or a new clutch. Only 5000 miles on it too. 24mpg combined since day one.
 
cr2250 said:
We have a '13 focus titanium auto.

Nice but is having transmission issues and gas mileage problems. Also ford touch imo is heavily designed around visuals rather than function, almost a hazard while driving.

Going to the dealer, they said shuddering of transmission from first gear is becoming evident. They said it might need to be reprogrammed or a new clutch. Only 5000 miles on it too. 24mpg combined since day one.
Click to expand...

I had a 2010 Focus for a while and wasn't all that impressed with the mileage as that is what I bought it for. I thought the newer ones were a big step up but doesn't sound like it.

I didn't have transmission issues, but I only got maybe 30-34 highway (depending on traffic) and that was the majority of my commute.

Even my v6 Mustang gets about 22 city right now... it got 31-33 hwy on a long trip I took it on. I'm way more impressed with the Mustang MPG given the much higher power.
 
I had a 2012 Titanium automatic. It was a great car but the transmission also scared me. I didn't have any MPG issues but the shuddering was there along with grinding noises (most prominent when going from first to second).

Even traded it after a year for a 2013 SE 5 speed and it was a great decision. It's a pretty fun to drive car while still getting decent fuel economy. It would really benefit from a 6th gear though. I can't believe they aren't updating that for the 2015 model.
 
Ford tried getting too fancy too fast with tech and gizmos. The powershift DSG tranmission is a terrible driving experience and to add insult to injury it's an unreliable one as well. My Ford Touch was mostly panned and hated by people.

I think if they had just stuck with a basic 6 speed conventional automatic in there it would have significantly helped their sales and reviews. Same with the touch stuff, some basic touch screen is okay. But a lot of it is unnessary fluff that actually takes more attention than basic buttons/knobs. I also do not need to reboot the dial that controls my HVAC fans or temps.

I took advantage of the fire sales they were having on Focus's last year. I got almost $6000 off mine. A $24,000 car for a little over $18,000? Sure. It's a sharp looking little critter, has heated leather seats, a deceptive amount of punch above 4,000RPM and is fun to drive. If I had skipped the leather package I could have got it for around $15,000. That's a pretty decent value in it's self as well for an SE hatch with power everything and a decent phone integration. 🙂
 
MajorMullet said:
Even traded it after a year for a 2013 SE 5 speed and it was a great decision. It's a pretty fun to drive car while still getting decent fuel economy. It would really benefit from a 6th gear though. I can't believe they aren't updating that for the 2015 model.
Click to expand...

What kind of milage does your '13 5MT get? I have never broke 400 miles on a tank with mine. I've never got better than 34MPG.
 
vi edit said:
What kind of milage does your '13 5MT get? I have never broke 400 miles on a tank with mine. I've never got better than 34MPG.
Click to expand...

I'm getting ~32. This is a mix of highway and city driving. I don't baby it at all though. I got 35 on a road trip once when I was trying to be conscious of it. The gas tank in this car is pretty small though - even though it gets decent gas mileage if feels like I'm always stopping at the gas station.
 
cr2250 said:
We have a '13 focus titanium auto.

Nice but is having transmission issues and gas mileage problems. Also ford touch imo is heavily designed around visuals rather than function, almost a hazard while driving.

Going to the dealer, they said shuddering of transmission from first gear is becoming evident. They said it might need to be reprogrammed or a new clutch. Only 5000 miles on it too. 24mpg combined since day one.
Click to expand...


I have a 2012 Titanium - 39,500 miles after 25 months of ownership -
Clutch always shudders at low speeds, slight uphills - I have the latest software and dealer says no issues. 32.6mpg since inception.

After 20K miles on the car the fuel economy picked up, at 30K miles it picked up some more.

I like the technology and the comfort. Did a nice overnight for 4-people this wekend and had plenty of room in the hatch for luggage & cooler plus comfortable interior and great gas mileage.
 
Glad I'm not the only one noticing these issues. It's my mom's focus, she upgraded from an 08 but it seems the '13 gets worse gas mileage and already has issues the '08 never had.

I agree, the auto trans seems very reluctant and I'm a little afraid for the reliability of this car. It only has 5,000 miles and ford is already talking about replacing the clutch.

Wonder when the lemon law will kick in...

I would be ok with the gas mileage if ford hadn't exaggerated the mpg, 27 city, 38 highway. We have been averaging 24. That's with mixed driving and in non sport mode.
 
MajorMullet said:
I'm getting ~32. This is a mix of highway and city driving. I don't baby it at all though. I got 35 on a road trip once when I was trying to be conscious of it. The gas tank in this car is pretty small though - even though it gets decent gas mileage if feels like I'm always stopping at the gas station.
Click to expand...

Yeah I had that same impression. Even though I was consistently averaging 30mpg, I was still stopping for gas on average more than once a week.
 
cr2250 said:
Glad I'm not the only one noticing these issues. It's my mom's focus, she upgraded from an 08 but it seems the '13 gets worse gas mileage and already has issues the '08 never had.

I agree, the auto trans seems very reluctant and I'm a little afraid for the reliability of this car. It only has 5,000 miles and ford is already talking about replacing the clutch.

Wonder when the lemon law will kick in...

I would be ok with the gas mileage if ford hadn't exaggerated the mpg, 27 city, 38 highway. We have been averaging 24. That's with mixed driving and in non sport mode.
Click to expand...

Lemon laws probably don't apply if you're already 5k in.

But yeah, when I was looking for my wife's last car I really, really wanted to like the Focus. But A) the transmission was terrible, even on the short test drive and B) the dealer was awful. We ended up with a Mazda 3 and are happy with it.
 
vi edit said:
Ford tried getting too fancy too fast with tech and gizmos. The powershift DSG tranmission is a terrible driving experience and to add insult to injury it's an unreliable one as well. My Ford Touch was mostly panned and hated by people.

I think if they had just stuck with a basic 6 speed conventional automatic in there it would have significantly helped their sales and reviews. Same with the touch stuff, some basic touch screen is okay. But a lot of it is unnessary fluff that actually takes more attention than basic buttons/knobs. I also do not need to reboot the dial that controls my HVAC fans or temps.

I took advantage of the fire sales they were having on Focus's last year. I got almost $6000 off mine. A $24,000 car for a little over $18,000? Sure. It's a sharp looking little critter, has heated leather seats, a deceptive amount of punch above 4,000RPM and is fun to drive. If I had skipped the leather package I could have got it for around $15,000. That's a pretty decent value in it's self as well for an SE hatch with power everything and a decent phone integration. 🙂
Click to expand...

Don't forget to mention it drinks coolant and ford's stellar customer service.
 
Arkaign said:
It's not a mystery if you drive one back to back with say a Corolla or Civic.

cliffs : reliable, great features/mpg, they drive well, $ for $ they are a great choice.

The Focus really has several different eras :

Early Years with the SPI and Zetec motors, sort of mediocre. Great chassis, light, but really let down by the 4-speed auto and kind of blah motors. They had an SVT version that put down better slalom times than same year Z06/Boxster (mainly due to being well under 3,000lbs in the MK1/MK1.5 variants).

Midrange Years (05-11), dramatically improved motors, updated features, but same light chassis. Only dark spot was that damned 4-speed auto. In 5-speed manual form they were awesome cheap little cars. For less than a Civic/Corolla, you got something lighter with more HP/TQ, equal or better fuel economy, and extremely reliable. However, they were entry-level cars and it showed. The carpet was cheap, the styling was blah, etc. It was a value proposition. The kind of car magazines can nitpick (no passenger side pillar handle inside!! there's PLASTIC inside the car!! there's no backup camera!!), but is a great simple 'get it done' vehicle.

New Years (12+). Substantially upgraded interior/exterior, more advanced features, just overall a completely different type of car. They got a lot more expensive as well on average, as the 'entry-level' Ford was replaced in the Fiesta line, moving the Focus up a rung in the ladder. As opposed to the previous gens where it was comically easy to get a basic stripped commuter version for $10k or not much more, these are usually fairly loaded, with even more basic ones starting at $16k+.

Would I buy a Focus if in the market today for a compact i4 vehicle? Meh. I would certainly buy one over a Civic/Corolla, but I don't really get the appeal of spending a ton of money on what I view as an economy segment. I'd be much more likely to want a midsize car for that kind of cash, and if dead-set on a cheap compact, just go with a 2.0 Mazda3i or Hyundai, something that is more focused on cheap reliable transportation than extra gizmos that I don't give a crap about, or badge tax.

A great comparison :

2014 Civic LX Sedan
1.8L i4, 143hp/129tq, 5MT
28/36MPG
$18,390 MSRP, TrueCar $18,603

2014 Mazda3i Sedan
2.0L i4, 155hp/150tq, 6MT
29/41MPG
$16,945 MSRP, TrueCar $16,531

I certainly wouldn't pay more for less.
Click to expand...
With Honda you get Honda reliability and resell. I have a 08 civic with 80k+ miles and it still blue books for 12k. A focus under the same circumstances is likely worth 5 or 6k.
 
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