Seventh day of April, I decided to make the trip to the local Ford dealer and take a look at some potential hot topics for my next article. The one car that stood out was obviously the new 2008 Ford Focus. It was the one car that I have been used to seeing in the same body style for almost the last eight years, it was a sigh of relief to see a refreshed incarnation of Ford's breakthrough small car. From what I did see, the car received my approval for some good copy, so I'll take a quick look at the Focus and find out exactly what it wants from the small economy market.
Starting out, the Focus' outward looks were starkly similar to what I had driven as a rental the last number of years. Not very encouraging news for Ford, nor for the shoppers looking for different pastures. I found the styling to be ultra conservative, a should have been Focus in 2003 as opposed to today as this segment has a lot more attractive vehicles for the money. The overall impression however, is one of middle of the road, the exterior quality was just good enough for me. The rearward fascia is more noticeably different in contrast to it's predecessor. I thought Ford could of spent much more time at the clay mold to make a much more radical design. Ultimately, I could see about 700 of these at the airport terminal rental car depot on any given day.
The interior landscape was no less different than what was outside, and I was further disappointed at the lack of creativity and craftsmanship. Seating was pseudo-comfortable, if not stiffer than I liked it. Just imagine sitting in a folding card table chair, consumers will want to get up every 15 minutes to stretch. Controls were easy to use and required very little automotive education to get the general idea of the layout, it was smart simple. I give strong kudos to the Sync system, this a slick piece of hardware for the radio, one I've been especially looking forward to in automobiles. If consumers ever consider the Focus, try out the Sync, it's incredible! My cheap test model had the crank windows, automatic transmission, c/d player w/sync, a wide array of cup holders and power outlets. It was decently equipped for the money and had everything that a commuter looks for in this class. Rear seating was taught, not suv in space, but was good enough for medium sized car poolers. In the end of my interior visual inspection, it was bargain based in design with an extra surprise element that had no added elaboration.
Lastly, overall performance for the California freeways was a little too average for my tastes. The powertrain seemed like it had to work harder for me than some of my other small cars I've driven lately. The recently reviewed 2008 Hyundai Elantra felt more rigid and powerful in my interstate testing. Pricing for this model is market competitive, but only if consumers were just looking at the Focus. My test mule rounded out at just under k with the specified equipment. And expect anywhere from 0-900 between invoice and MSRP, but the end product will leave buyers wanting more. It was difficult to leave the Ford lot disappointed, especially when I expected such huge things for the auto company. It's a good car in need of market attention, the 2008 Ford Focus will find it's buyers no problem. I would hope Ford will not give up on a segment that sells so many cars with the gasoline situation, it is just too crucial to have a competitive economy car.
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