Features of Ford Focus 2012. How do you find it?

[AG4]

saw one kanina sa global city. black hb na trend. parang masikip sa loob. ganda ng dashboard. yung fuel lid wala lock parang sa fiesta. may mic sa ceiling parang rio hb. yung ambiente may hill start assist. meron din ebd ba tawag dun

I didn't ask, but I think the fuel lid locks with the doors like the outgoing model. Unlike the Fiesta, the new ASEAN Focus has no EasyFuel system.
I like the damped glovebox door, it doesn't just drop open and it also comes with a glovebox light.
The Trend now has 2 dome lights too (front and back).

*eido, Is the mic for the Ford Sync system the plastic panel between the visors? I didn't really look at the ceiling, but I did notice there was something there.

[cyplanr]

na try ko yung active park assist sa filinvest mall, naka 3 tries ata ako bago ko napagana yung fuel lid locks with the central locking system tuland sa MK2, hindi nga lang capless easyfuel. mic nga yung nasa plastic panel between the visors. feel ko lang na mas maliit sa loob compared sa MK2 at kahit tingnan sa labas eh mukhang maliit kung di man pareho lang siguro. baka dahil sa curves/lines kaya ganon. yung trend, may front and rear fog lamps pero walang rear parking sensors. yung license plate light, integrated dun sa trunk switch (electronic pa rin yung lock). may engine undershield at hood insulator(?) pero walang engine cover. all-new pero ginamit pa rin door handles ng MK2

[cyplanr]

iba na nga rin pala yung wipers, pareho na ng Honda Civic na pa-outward ang wipe. yung pivot ng wiper arms nasa sides na.

[eido]

Bat sabi nung kausap namin na sa hindi daw nag lock yung sa fuel lid hehe hindi ko na din kse ni try

[basti08]

AM/AG4, were you able to check if the Trend really has the more traditional Hydraulic Power Steering? Because on their brochures, it is indicated that the base Ambiente has Eletric Power Steering, same as with the Titanium + and Sport + models. The Trend though has a rather odd set up of the Hydraulic PS.

[AG4]

AM/AG4, were you able to check if the Trend really has the more traditional Hydraulic Power Steering? Because on their brochures, it is indicated that the base Ambiente has Eletric Power Steering, same as with the Titanium + and Sport + models. The Trend though has a rather odd set up of the Hydraulic PS.

I noticed that too in the brochure e-mailed to me, I was wondering if it was a typo.
That was one of the questions I was supposed to ask, but totally forgot some of the questions when I saw the car. :bwahaha:

I took a peek inside the lower grill of the Focus Trend and it looks like it has active grill shutters inside, but in the brochure its listed only for the top trim levels.

[basti08]

I noticed that too in the brochure e-mailed to me, I was wondering if it was a typo.
That was one of the questions I was supposed to ask, but totally forgot some of the questions when I saw the car. :bwahaha:

I took a peek inside the lower grill of the Focus Trend and it looks like it has active grill shutters inside, but in the brochure its listed only for the top trim levels.

:bwahaha:

You also go gaga on the showroom like me.

Anyway, they also emailed me a brochure and emailed back that question. I still haven't got a reply.

Still, can't get over the Titanium Plus sedan which I think now looks better than the hatch counterpart.

[AG4]

:bwahaha:

You also go gaga on the showroom like me.

Anyway, they also emailed me a brochure and emailed back that question. I still haven't got a reply.

Still, can't get over the Titanium Plus sedan which I think now looks better than the hatch counterpart.

Couldn't help it. :D

Same here, the sedan looks great, but the hatch is kinda growing on me too, its only the Trend sedan that i've seen in the metal though.

Titanium +


Sport +

[eido]

Mas gusto ko din sedan kesa sa hb. Hb yung naka display sa global

[jut703]

Checked out the Focus today. I first got to try out the Titanium+ in Ford EDSA (it was their only display unit), and it came in Lunar Sky (exclusive to the sedan, brownish-grey color).



The dash and instrument panel cluster are just downright beautiful. The TFT LCD of the MID in between the gauges offers a wealth of information. It displayed fuel economy in L/100km though, which I don't find very amusing. Not sure if it could be converted to km/L. The sound system works really well, offering sound quality that sounds closer to the audio units in the midsize sedans than in an ordinary compact. Defnitely blows the Altis' sound system out of the water. One weird thing though, spec sheets say it's got 9 speakers, but I only saw 6.



Exterior-wise, the color's great, but I'm not that much of a fan of the sedan. For one, the rear looks a tad long - not exactly ugly, but the Focus looks more natural in hatchback form. Second, there's the rims - 16" is just so-so in the Focus, so the Titanium doesn't exude much of a TOTL aura with the small-ish rims. Third, the side skirt actually makes a difference, and unfortunately only the Sport+ has it. Other stuff to note is the fact that the 2.0 models come with engine covers, while the 1.6 variants don't. Also, the fuel lid isn't locked (yes, you just flick it open and it's there). I couldn't pry open the actual gas tank cover though, so I guess it'll still need the user's permission before you get to pump in (or siphon out) gas.



If there's one thing you could take against the Focus though, it's space. To be honest, I was expecting much more rear legroom since this is a new compact based on a new platform. Lo and behold, it's just about an inch more expansive than what my 3-year-old daily drive has. Aside from that, because of the dashboard's design, even the front passengers don't have an aura of space. This is somehow mitigated by the fact that the car's pretty wide, but admittedly it's nowhere near class-leading when interior room is concerned. Thankfully, the trunk's pretty good - it's deep and moderately wide, though it's not that high. Loading bags of groceries won't be a problem, but stacking luggage on top of each other might be. Again comparing to our Altis, which I find to have enormous trunk space, the Focus trades height for a bit more depth.



Among my other nitpicks is the fact that the glovebox is pretty tiny. I don't know why the aux/usb enclosure has to take so much space, but it does. The housing for the rain sensors and god-knows-what-sensors is pretty large, too. It's not distracting though, since no-one really looks at the top-middle portion of their windshield.

There's not much to note about the moonroof, except that it's there. It's not panoramic or anything, just your run-of-the-mill power moon roof. The microphone which allows for voice control is conveniently placed by the map lights. Overall though, I prefer the interior of the Sport+ over the Titanium+ even if the former doesn't have leather. Black trumps beige for me anytime.

[jut703]

After fiddling with the Titanium+, I headed over to Ford Global City to check out the hatchbacks in person. They had a black Trend HB, a white Trend HB, a lunar sky Titanium+, and a white Sport+. I find that both black and white suit the Focus well. The black one looks sleeker, but it does take away the contrast that the black grille inserts give.



As I checked out the rear of the Focus Sport+, it was evident how much more handsome the hatchback was compared to the sedan, at least to me. The ST spoiler goes well with the larger 17" rims and the more defined side skirt. The abundance of curves in the hatch's design hide the rather chubby rear - definitely more svelte than the Mk. II Focus.



More than the what the brochure says and what the pictures show, the Focus is really something special. The doors are very Teutonic in feel (though the thud when you close it isn't as classy). The seats hug you very well, but aren't rock-hard (unlike the FD Civic). The leather on the steering wheel is just lovely to touch, probably a sign of all the fun you'll have fiddling with that tiller on twisty mountain roads.

Long story short, I've fallen for the Focus. No other compact is this good on a standstill. Hopefully it drives better than the others as well, but it looks like I won't be able to find out unless I get one. Units are scarce and the only test drive you'll get is a controlled environment to show off its electrical nannies. Heck, not even LTO comes free with this car.

Now where's 1.2M when you need it...

[AG4]

The sound system works really well, offering sound quality that sounds closer to the audio units in the midsize sedans than in an ordinary compact. Defnitely blows the Altis' sound system out of the water. One weird thing though, spec sheets say it's got 9 speakers, but I only saw 6.

Each of the 4 doors contain 1 main speaker and 1 tweeter, the 9th speaker is on the center top portion of the dashboard.
The front tweeter is on the inner side of the side mirror base, the rear tweeters are located infront of the inside rear door handles.
(It's actually slightly visible in your photo)

Clearer image


Speaker on the dashboard

4+4+1= 9

Also, the fuel lid isn't locked (yes, you just flick it open and it's there).

The fuel lid is connected to the central locking system just like the outgoing Focus.

If there's one thing you could take against the Focus though, it's space. To be honest, I was expecting much more rear legroom since this is a new compact based on a new platform. Lo and behold, it's just about an inch more expansive than what my 3-year-old daily drive has.

The platform is not all-new, its a modified (improved) version of the C1 platform which is/was shared with the Mazda 3 and Volvo S40/V50/C30/C70.

[numbah5]

So, there is no subwoofer and amplifiers installed on the Focus?

[jut703]

Each of the 4 doors contain 1 main speaker and 1 tweeter, the 9th speaker is on the center top portion of the dashboard.
The front tweeter is on the inner side of the side mirror base, the rear tweeters are located infront of the inside rear door handles.

Sneaky layout for the speakers, eh. I was looking in the wrong places, searching for two more full-size speakers on the shelf behind the rear seats and a subwoofer either under one of the seats or in the trunk. Either way, the sound was pretty good - not tinny (despite the 4 tweeters) and has a fair amount of bass even without a sub.

The platform is not all-new, its a modified (improved) version of the C1 platform which is/was shared with the Mazda 3 and Volvo S40/V50/C30/C70.

Sorry for the confusion, this is what I meant - that the Focus is running on the newer, updated "Global C Segment Platform" as opposed to the current Mazda 3 which was built using the older C1 (like its predecessor).

[numbah5]

Because the sound system is made by Sony kaya maganda ang sound quality. Meron kayang amplifier ang sound system ng Focus?

[basti08]

I think the hatch has one. Saw it in the special car feature of one magazine brand.

[numbah5]

If wala pa, there's your friendly neighborhood audio shop where you can buy and install an amplifier and a subwoofer.

[AG4]

If wala pa, there's your friendly neighborhood audio shop where you can buy and install an amplifier and a subwoofer.

Wouldn't that void the warranty or at least the warranty of the stereo system?

The USDM Focus Titanium has 10 speakers, the 10th is the subwoofer in the trunk (right side).


Looks like the ASEAN version doesn't have one based on the specs and photo of jut703.

[jut703]

No subwoofers for us, even in the hatch version. I just realized today that I wasn't able to take a picture of the hatch's cargo area.

Basta it's not as deep as the sedan's (~20 cm shorter goes a long way in cargo depth), but of course it's higher (as long as you remove the cargo cover). It could definitely fit a family's weekend worth of bags.

I was browsing through the brochure they gave me, and an explanation for the smallish passenger space is that it's only got a 2648mm wheelbase. That's about 5 cm shorter than the Elantra's, and it shows. Only the Lancer EX gets away with having a fairly small wheelbase (2635 mm) but still has generous rear passenger space.

[Nico Ylanan]

I was able to see the sedan variant in the flesh in Festival Mall. Also was able to test out its features. (Except for Blind Spot Information System)

Ford Focus Experience -> View #197Enrico Antonio Ylanan

The tech, for its class, definitely deserves some high marks. It is well equipped for the price, but really was hoping to see the Duratec released at the same time. My only complaint is the leg room for the rear passengers; 3 people at 5ft 8in will be a tight fit. On a plus side, visibility is good all around (despite my height at 6ft flat) and the steering was good (not really able to test due to parking lot speeds).

In my opinion it's a definite winner versus its rivals (Civic, Elantra, etc.) in terms of looks, dynamics and technology. But in size, it kinda falls short...