2008 Ford Focus Just Plain Awful By 4tyGames on - Updated Oct 15, 2011
After test driving the new Ford Focus, I have come away severly disappointed. The new Focus has no appeal. The car feels extremely cheap from the plastic interior to the faux side accents that make the car laughable. Look around at the body at the weird edges and angles. Grasp your hand around the cheap plastic door handles. Performance is just average and it is not as fun to drive as a Mazda 3 or Honda Civic. The Microsoft Sync system works well, but this is the only thing that seperates this car from the other economy cars. The Sync system is also optional equipment even though it is the only thing Ford advertises with the Focus. For fuel economy, I observed around the mid-20's from mostly highway driving, which is a far cry from Ford's stated 35 mpg. When the Ford Focus was released in 1999 it was a far departure from the bland Ford Escort and brought many new advances in economy cars. Also it was fun to drive. This model goes back to being bland and boring like the Escort. There are much better choices out there for economy cars like the Mazda 3, Honda Civic, or the new 2009 Toyota Corolla.
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Ford Focus
That's too bad that the Focus disappointed you-whenever I see the commercials for the car, they always focus on the Microsoft Sync system so I just assumed everything else was pretty sharp!
Interesting comments on the cheapness of plastic, etc. Thanks for the heads up on this vehicle.
I actually get an easy 33 to 35 mpg on the highway with my 2007 Ford Focus, and I've taken it on several long-distance trips now ranging from 200 to 800 miles. I'm surprised that you only observed around the mid-20s in highway mpg from your test drive of the 2008 model. Could that be due to the new Sync system that I don't have?
I have a 2001 Ford Focus that I bought new, and I think it's a piece of junk. I get maybe 20 mpg in town, 23-24 on the highway -- and I don't have the opportunity to drive on the highway that often. It's hard to get in and out of, there's no headroom, and the backseat is a joke. You're right!