Is the latest shape Ford Focus a quality car?
Discussion
...I sell tons of the things at work and am amazed how especially (to my eyes) the Zetec S trim makes it look rather handsome.
The doors 'thunk' just like any other car I sell (certainly including the Golf), feels well made and the spec for the money seems fantastic.
But are they any good?
The doors 'thunk' just like any other car I sell (certainly including the Golf), feels well made and the spec for the money seems fantastic.
But are they any good?
My Mrs had one as a company car for a while, actually a couple of them. They were in Titanium trim. They were quite good to drive, better than the previous Audi and later Mini Countryman. Both were exchanged with the lease company because the keyless start kept failing - given the same problem happened to two of our cars (within 2 months of them being delivered with almost zero miles) and it is reported on the internet by others, it seems to be a common fault with this car. The internal quality in terms of build quality was poorer than the Mini and the Audi especially, but not especially poor. The design of the interior I found to be too fussy and confusing. You got used to it after driving for a while, but I remember the first time I sat in it beginning to feel stressed simply by the ridiculous number of buttons on the steering wheel alone.
I would say aside from the keyless go problem (which sounds silly, but meant the car literally could not start for no explicable reason and completely at random and hence was totally useless as a reliable means of transport) it was a OK car. I'd not describe it as 'quality' especially though. Pretty run of the mill in those terms, I would say.
I would say aside from the keyless go problem (which sounds silly, but meant the car literally could not start for no explicable reason and completely at random and hence was totally useless as a reliable means of transport) it was a OK car. I'd not describe it as 'quality' especially though. Pretty run of the mill in those terms, I would say.
It's a white good, and as such, it reaches an acceptable level of 'quality' to the vast majority of the buying public - enthusiasts like us make up only a very small proportion of those that buy them.
If you look at 'quality' purely from a reliability perspective, Focus is about average.
If you look at 'quality' purely from an aesthetics perspective, IMO Focus falls way short - the interior (even the revised version announced this week) is low-rent and very dated. The exterior is average at best. I don't like Ford's current style - but that's a personal observation only and totally subjective.
If you look at 'quality' from the driving experience, Focus is at, or very near to,the top of the pile. Way above average.
I think, however, given your comments about door thunk, etc, that you're talking about perceived quality - does the Focus exhibit all those characteristics some objective, others subjective (and some very hard to define) that go together to make it a 'quality' car? I'd say no, it doesn't.
But then it doesn't have to - it's designed for the masses, a 'lowest common denominator' type of car, chasing volume sales - and that it does very well. It achieves the kind of perceived quality its target audience (the average man in the street if there is such a thing) expects. The kind of automotive equivalent to Tesco, if you will.
If you look at 'quality' purely from a reliability perspective, Focus is about average.
If you look at 'quality' purely from an aesthetics perspective, IMO Focus falls way short - the interior (even the revised version announced this week) is low-rent and very dated. The exterior is average at best. I don't like Ford's current style - but that's a personal observation only and totally subjective.
If you look at 'quality' from the driving experience, Focus is at, or very near to,the top of the pile. Way above average.
I think, however, given your comments about door thunk, etc, that you're talking about perceived quality - does the Focus exhibit all those characteristics some objective, others subjective (and some very hard to define) that go together to make it a 'quality' car? I'd say no, it doesn't.
But then it doesn't have to - it's designed for the masses, a 'lowest common denominator' type of car, chasing volume sales - and that it does very well. It achieves the kind of perceived quality its target audience (the average man in the street if there is such a thing) expects. The kind of automotive equivalent to Tesco, if you will.
^ It probably ticks more of your quality points than an 'enthusiasts' car would, but then people would class those as 'having character' on something without a Ford badge. I would say it's as good as any other car in its class, better than a good few of them too.
I know I'm in a minority, but I really think the mk3 Focus is on of the best looking cars around - I'd even say it's stunning at the right angle.
I know I'm in a minority, but I really think the mk3 Focus is on of the best looking cars around - I'd even say it's stunning at the right angle.
I have a zetec s and I think it's great! 
I like the styling, I'm not confused by the interior, nothing has fallen off it, nothing has broken, it's never missed a beat! It goes plenty quick enough, handles very well, stops well, it's comfortable, you don't lose teeth going over bumps.
I've previously had a Focus ST and the zetec s I would say is better with the exception of noise and outright power, just.
I've driven a couple of Golfs and A3s, I hand on heart wouldn't have one over my Focus.
If you really doubt the Focus, Enterprise hire them, get one for a weekend, I dare you!
That said, ours is on its way to make way for a Kuga, I will be sad to see it go.
I like the styling, I'm not confused by the interior, nothing has fallen off it, nothing has broken, it's never missed a beat! It goes plenty quick enough, handles very well, stops well, it's comfortable, you don't lose teeth going over bumps.
I've previously had a Focus ST and the zetec s I would say is better with the exception of noise and outright power, just.
I've driven a couple of Golfs and A3s, I hand on heart wouldn't have one over my Focus.
If you really doubt the Focus, Enterprise hire them, get one for a weekend, I dare you!
That said, ours is on its way to make way for a Kuga, I will be sad to see it go.
Leicesterdave said:
...I sell tons of the things at work and am amazed how especially (to my eyes) the Zetec S trim makes it look rather handsome.
The doors 'thunk' just like any other car I sell (certainly including the Golf), feels well made and the spec for the money seems fantastic.
But are they any good?
So you sell them and you're asking us if they are any good? I'm confused...but admittedly it doesn't take much. The doors 'thunk' just like any other car I sell (certainly including the Golf), feels well made and the spec for the money seems fantastic.
But are they any good?
I had a 13 plate 1.6 diesel as a hire car a couple of weeks ago.
There were no squeaks and rattles whatsoever and it seemed to be well screwed together. The gearbox and clutch combo in particular were very slick and light to use. The power, while not going to set your world on fire, was perfectly adequate.
I echo the point about too many buttons mentioned earlier though.
I only noticed a couple of things that I didn't like:
The brakes were massively over assisted for my taste.
There was some sort of power limiting in 1st gear, which made it rubbish at quick pull aways. Other than that, overall a nice car.
There were no squeaks and rattles whatsoever and it seemed to be well screwed together. The gearbox and clutch combo in particular were very slick and light to use. The power, while not going to set your world on fire, was perfectly adequate.
I echo the point about too many buttons mentioned earlier though.
I only noticed a couple of things that I didn't like:
The brakes were massively over assisted for my taste.
There was some sort of power limiting in 1st gear, which made it rubbish at quick pull aways. Other than that, overall a nice car.
I've had one for over a year now and nothing has fallen off or broken (apart from a door edge protector thingy but they are sacrificial anyway and cost less than £20). No squeaks and rattles and feels quite refined when pootling along.
Interior wise is where you can see a bit of penny pinching like using heater controls from the mk2 and some rockhard plastics. Top of the door is hard, nasty feeling plastic but has nice fabric material by the interior door handle. Why oh why didn't they do it the other way around?
This is the main difference between shopping cars like these and their so-called prestige competitors. (Well apart from branding and marketing claptrap). Audi, VW, BMW, etc all try and do nice interiors and make them feel expensive when the gubbins underneath are no better than Ford, etc.
Interior wise is where you can see a bit of penny pinching like using heater controls from the mk2 and some rockhard plastics. Top of the door is hard, nasty feeling plastic but has nice fabric material by the interior door handle. Why oh why didn't they do it the other way around?
This is the main difference between shopping cars like these and their so-called prestige competitors. (Well apart from branding and marketing claptrap). Audi, VW, BMW, etc all try and do nice interiors and make them feel expensive when the gubbins underneath are no better than Ford, etc.
valiant said:
I've had one for over a year now and nothing has fallen off or broken (apart from a door edge protector thingy but they are sacrificial anyway and cost less than £20). No squeaks and rattles and feels quite refined when pootling along.
Refreshingly sensible price for a spare part there! Good thinking from Ford.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff