As much of the attention of the Ford Motor Company turns toward the 2013 model year, the 2012 model year does offer a nice little gem — the Ford Focus, my tester for the week.
This little compact comes in four trim lines, S, SE, SEL and Titanium. My tester was the SEL 5-door (hatchback).
The redesigned Focus has looks that are conducive to a hatchback, although the 4-door sedan is equally handsome. An elongated front end gives way to a squatty, sloping rear.
Inside, the Focus really impresses. For a compact car, cabin room and even back-seat room is more than adequate. Driver and front passenger won’t bump arms or feel like they’re on top of each other, as is the case with many other compact cars.
The 60/40 rear-split seats offer up 23.8 cubic feet of trunk-area space in the SEL hatch. Fold down the entire second row and enjoy a cavernous 44.8 cubic feet of space, which makes the 5-door Focus more useful than other trims.
Technology is prevalent inside the Focus, which is unexpected for an economy-level, compact vehicle. New this year is a rearview camera and Ford’s Automated Parking Assist, which helps drivers parallel park the car. It employs ultrasonic sensors to assist in the process. Additionally, Ford has given a much-needed update to their Sync technology. A new touchscreen system provides technology at the driver’s fingertips, allowing control of the entertainment, environment and hands-free phone and voice commands.
Updates like this help keep a vehicle relevant and more appealing to youthful buyers.
Ford installs a new, spunkier engine in the Focus. The 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine has 160 horsepower. It’s fast enough to get out of its own way but requires a little patience as it gets up to highway speeds.
Because of its small stature, the Focus is spry. Steering is firm and braking is solid. The Focus would excel in an urban environment as this compact car is best suited for lower speeds.
A five-speed manual transmission is standard for the S and SE models. My tester, the SEL and the top-of-the-line Titanium trim, come with a six-speed automatic transmission.
I found the transmission to be efficient and well-tuned, throwing smooth, seamless shifts at just the right times, which is probably why the Focus sips the gas.
Rated at 27 city and 37 highway, the Focus offers fewer trips to the pump. In a week’s worth of mixed driving, I averaged 35 MPG.
The base S model is competitively priced, starting at $16,500. SEL has an MSRP of $21,300. With several upgrades and options, my tester came in at $24,530.
With a competitively priced, fun-to-drive, chock-full-of-technology compact car, Ford has brought some competition to the entire compact car segment and it’s all coming into Focus now.
Jimmy Dinsmore is the Wheels editor at the Dayton Daily News and may be reached at (937) 225-2115. Follow him on Twitter @wheelseditor