mkaresh's Full Review: Boston Acoustics TVee Model Two TV Speakers
The #1 thing I look for in a car, before horsepower, quality, or anything else, is a chassis that entertains in everyday driving. Over the last decade Ford's European subsidiary has developed what are arguably the best-handling front-wheel-drive cars in the world. My current car is a 1996 Contour SE, which was developed by Ford of Europe. I always look forward to driving this car, even if it's just a run to the store. Well, the Contour is gone (though Mercury may get a version of this car back in the future.) But the Focus, developed by the same organization, continues to be sold in the U.S. It has been selling much better than the Contour did. Much more adventurous styling has probably made the biggest difference. But I've also read that the Focus handles even better than the Contour, and this can't hurt.
Drawn by this reputation for excellent handling, I've been intending to review the Focus for a couple of years at this point. I actually test drove one over a year ago, but felt that I didn't get a thorough enough sense of the car to review it. I was helping my sister look for a car at the time, so I test drove an automatic. With four adults in the car. And the A/C on. Over hilly roads. Suffice it to say I didn't think this was a fair test.
After this initial drive, I kept putting off a second test drive due to news that this or that sport package would be available in "a few months," culminating in early releases about an SVT model. SVT, a Ford unit that tunes select models for top performance, could be expected to get the most out of the Focus. So I decided to wait. Initially the SVT Focus was going to be introduced in November 2001, but didn't actually appear until spring 2002. When it did, I was there.
Ford Focus Reliability
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Styling and Accommodations
I won't even try to describe the Focus's styling. It's so unique, I suspect virtually everyone is familiar with its complex blend of edges, character lines, and curves, and either loves or hates the overall effect. Actually, I'm a bit on the fence, but inclined toward the "love" camp when the car is fitted with alloy wheels, especially the thick-spoked sixteen-inchers. The SVT has even larger wheels, but with their thin spokes they are less distinctive. As for body styles, the round front end works best with the hatchbacks, okay with the sedan, and clashes with the boxy rear of the wagon.
The interior styling is nearly as unconventional. Initially the ZTS model included woodgrain trim, which was very out of place. I hope this had changed. The SVT, thankfully, includes fairly subdued trim pieces. The basic design is wild enough without "help."
The major problem I had with the interior was the poor fit of the power window buttons and a piece of window trim on the driver's door. From what I've read, the Focus has had a number of quality problems, and, judging from the car I drove, these seem to be continuing.
Update: The reliability of the Focus actually took a sharp turn for the better in 2002, based on the information currently available.
The best thing about the Focus's interior are the seats. In the SVT, these have nice-looking blue cloth down the center--I suspect to hold the driver in place better than leather would--and black leather on the bolsters. The front seats are very comfortable and supportive, though I personally would not mind even more aggressive bolsters. Rotary adjustments are provided for lumbar and recline on both front seats. These might be more awkward to use than levers, but they allow you to get the setting exactly where you want it. Lack, rubber ringed knobs don't hurt. The driver's seat has a single electric adjustment, for the height of the rear of the cushion. This adjusts the tilt of the seat cushion even more than it affects seat height.
My father, along for the test drive, noted the perfectly placed grab handles on the doors. Once the driver starts doing crazy stuff the front passenger is going to appreciate the bracing these handles enable. I drove a Pontiac Vibe immediately after driving the Focus, and its doors included no such handle, only an indent in the armrest too shallow and too far to the rear to do any good. My father felt this was inexcusable.
Forward visibility is excellent, largely because the seating position is a few inches higher than in the average car. Visbility to the rear is somewhat obstructed by the dipping roof and pinched rear window (courtesy of those snazzy high-mounted taillights). A wheel that both tilts and telescopes (without detents) combines with the seat adjustments to permit just about anyone to find a perfect driving position.
The Focus, especially in hatchback form, is not a large car. At 168 inches in length, it's about 20 inches shorter than they typical family car. The amount of legroom and the general comfort of the rear seat thus come as a great surprise. Even with 43 inches of front legroom, two more than the typical car, there are 37.6 inches of rear legroom. This is just a couple tenths shy of the much larger Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. In terms of total legroom, the Focus beats those cars. "Compact?" In terms of shoulder room, yes, but four adults will be happy here.
Sometimes rear seat room is cheated by positioning the rear seat low to the floor. Not in the Focus. The rear seat is high enough to provide good thigh support to average-sized adult men, something that cannot be said about many larger cars.
This rear seat room does have a minor price. The optional sunroof ($595) is fairly small so that it doesn't reduce headroom for rear seat passengers. The price isn't bad, but it's so small that I'm not sure I'd spring for it.
Cargo room is a mixed bag. Especially with the rear seat folded, cargo space is generous. That is, unless you need to carry a longish object (a double stroller in my case) across the width of the car. Even without the 8-inch subwoofer that comes with the $675 Audiophile package, but especially with it, the cargo area is narrow. Minimal rear overhang permits this 168-inch car to have a 103-inch wheelbase. This long wheelbase is great for passenger room and chassis stability, but means that the rear wheelwells intrude into the cargo area all the way to the rear of the car. In the longer sedan the trunk extends past the wheelwells, so more width is available. Sadly, the SVT comes only as a two-door hatch for now, and while the salesman said a five-door hatch SVT should be available next spring an SVT sedan doesn't seem to be on the boards. This makes a great deal of sense, as the hatches are by far the sportiest looking Foci, but people who need to carry long objects without folding the rear seat (i.e. people with young children) better just forget about the SVT.
On the Road
The SVT's most apparent difference is its powertrain. Although the engine is no larger, variable valve timing is employed to boost horsepower from 130@5300 RPM to 170@7000. Torque gets a smaller boost, from 135@4500 to 145@5500. These numbers tell much of the engine's story: you're going to have to work it to extract any power, and, with the redline at 7200 RPM, you're going to have to shift soon after hitting the power peak, dropping you back to about 150 horses. Power delivery is very linear, with no obvious surges or dips due to alterations in the intake or valve timing. During my test drive the engine never felt weak, but it never felt all that powerful either. Generally it makes just enough power to be entertaining. This isn't necessarily a bad thing: this level of power, just enough to have fun, tends to make a car fun to drive at legal speeds.
The engine does make nice noises for a four. At least you'd better like them, because even when cruising down the street you hear this engine. It's not obnoxiously loud, but it's never silent. At 70 in sixth the engine is turning 3000 RPM.
The SVT includes a unique six-speed manual transmission. (An automatic is not available.) Unique among Foci in offering six speeds. Unique in general in that these six speeds are obtained by using two final drive ratios. I don't quite understand how this works, but it does. Even though you're effectively shifting two gears with many shifts, this shifter was flat-out excellent. Effort is fairly light, but notchy enough to provide the clear sensation of shifting real gears rather than playing a video game. I cannot recall a better-feeling shifter in a front-wheel-drive car. The clutch is also excellent. Together, they combined to provide effortless smooth shifts. With many manuals (even excellent ones like in the 2003 Acura CL-S) I have had to drive the car for a while before I learned how to modulate the clutch and throttle to get seamless shifts. Not here.
I wasn't as impressed with the shifter on subsequent test drives. It can be overly notchy. My first test drive might have been in a car with an especially good shifter.
Now we get to that area of the car I'm personally most interested in: handling. Even with my high expectations, the Focus SVT surprised me. The steering is perfectly weighted, quick, and amazingly sharp. I felt directly connected to the road through this wheel. (Perhaps a bit too directly: in the car I drove the wheel vibrated back and forth at highway speeds--hopefully rebalancing the wheels fixes this.) I recall similarly sharp steering only in sports cars such as the Mazda Miata and BMW M Coupe. This steering makes the Focus feel even smaller than it is. A go-kart comes to mind.
Sharp steering is only the beginning of the handling equation. For a front-wheel-drive car the Focus SVT has an extremely balanced chassis. Despite the aggressive tuning this chassis feels very stable. Understeer is minimal. A very welcome surprise: torque steer is absent. I accelerated hard with and without the wheels turned, yet never felt the engine tug the steering wheel. Despite the tall body, lean in turns is minimal. The 215/45-17 tires grip the road strongly. All of these elements come together to yield a car that is both safe and entertaining to drive aggressively.
The SVT has larger brakes than pedestrian Foci. They provide excellent feedback and a great deal of stopping power.
Alas, all is not perfect with this chassis. The sharp responses and minimal lean come at a price: the ride is awful, perhaps the worst of any car I've reviewed. Once again the Miata and M Coupe come to mind as the only real competition. You feel and hear every expansion joint. Larger road imperfections sometimes cause the front suspension to sharply react. A very solid-feeling structure compensates a bit, but not enough. A little rearward compliance would be helpful here. As it stands, I'm not sure I could deal with the Focus SVT as a daily driver. The SVT's chassis has been tuned for those who want the sharpest possible handling, no matter what this costs in terms of ride quality. Be sure to try thoroughly before you buy. A non-SVT Focus, with higher profile tires and more suspension compliance, will be better suited to the great majority of people.
Pricing
A base Focus SVT stickers for $17,995 (all prices with destination charge). Even fully loaded like the car I test drove it only runs $19,660. If you're looking for a high-performance car that can hold four adults, and either don't care about ride quality or only drive on smooth roads, then this price is a bargain for what you get.
A similarly equipped Sentra Spec-V comes close at $18,288 (with ABS and side airbags--standard on the Focus SVT), but is a more juvenile package that I suspect does not approach the handling finesse of the Ford. A Civic Si, with less power and 15-inch wheels--but with a standard sunroof--runs $19,710. A GTI 1.8T offers much more mid-range torque and a nicer interior, but soggier, less stable handling, for $19,860 (with 17-inch wheels).
Compared to a regular Focus, the upgraded engine, suspension, and seats of the SVT package cost $2,000. Not pocket change, but a more than fair price is you're into the tradeoffs involved.
Last Words
The Focus SVT surprised me in many ways, most good, some not so good. Overall, it offers a unique driving experience, a highly tuned car right out of the box. As I'd hoped, handling is excellent. Unfortunately, the price for this handling includes a ride so bad I'm not sure I could personally live with it, at least not on Michigan roads. If you want the sharpest handling practical hatch, period, then this is your car. If you care at all about a smooth ride, you'll probably be happier elsewhere, either in a regular Focus or a VW.
To learn more about my reliability research and sign up to participate in it, or to perform thorough, up-to-date new car price comparisons, visit www.truedelta.com. A link to this website and alphabetized links to my other vehicle reviews can be found on my profile page.
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