Boston Acoustics TVee Model Two TV Speakers

The day I brought my BMW in for an over 4 hour servicing I was leant a car. The car I got was a 2002 Ford Focus Sedan with 13, 701 miles. I am writing this review as a lay person. I am not a car salesperson, mechanic or expert.

The car?s features:

The car I drove was a 4 cylinder, 2 litre engine, automatic transmission with front wheel drive Focus. A 5-speed manual transmission is standard in this car. Standard also means no power windows and side mirrors although I found the side mirrors very easy to move from the inside. This is a 4-door car and a 5 seater with 3 seats in the back. I will tell you about space in a moment.

It comes with an am/fm cassette stereo. The radio played really, really well. There are 4 speakers and the sound was nice.

Standard also are 14-inch, steel rims, all season tires (P185/65TR14) with a steel spare tire.

Inside:

What I found were 2 good-sized cup holders in the front, a map pocket on each side of the door, a cup and change holder in the back (only one cup holder ? I guess the other people in the back hold their drinks on their laps.), a large pocket on the back of the passenger seat and an arm rest.

I found the armrest in the front in between the 2 seats was not all that functional. It didn?t come down the length of my arm so it is only a partial armrest, really. There is a bit of space inside this armrest for items.

I could see the clock even during the day.

The air conditioner worked very well. It was a hot day and I had no problem cooling off the car. Air conditioning is not standard on the Focus LX.

The front of the car was quite comfortable. It has 2 front headrests and the cloth seats moved up and back easily and manually. I found that the seats do not lie down all the way as in some cars in which I have been. This would not be a great car in which to pull over and sleep.

The inside cloth colors are either graphite (gray which I had) or charcoal.

The back is also roomy. It would be fine for 3 adults as long as none of them were 7 feet tall. I did find plenty of legroom both in the front and the back. The car?s back is considered a bench with split fold down seats. My car has split fold down seats and I can easily fold each one down or both. I could tell by looking at the good sized trunk that the bench split. I could not budge it. I pushed what looked like buttons; I pulled what looked like pulls. Nothing happened. I guess it is possible that they have never been moved so they were tight and hopefully that eases up a bit after using that feature a few times!

I thought the interior of the car had a plastic feel to it. The automatic gearshift moved easily but it was hard plastic as was the rest of the car. I am comparing that to the Grand Am we rented on Oahu (I have not reviewed it yet.) and the stick in that car was the softest I have ever felt.

Outside:

The car I drove was blue. It looked so much like a Saturn or Dodge Neon that every time I parked in a parking lot I really had to look for my car. There are a lot of blue Neons and Saturns around. The other colors are: Silver and Gold Metallic, White, Black, Red, Green. "Note: The colors displayed are not exact due to technical limitations, and are based on content available at the time of publishing. Colors may change without notice. Please consult brochure for additional information. Two-tone colors are
displayed only as their primary color. "(http://www.edmunds.com/new/2002/ford/focus/lx4drsedan20l4cyl5m/colors.html?id=lin0016)

It takes regular, unleaded fuel and gets about 28 miles to the gallon in the city and 36 on the highway. The fuel tank capacity is 13.2 gal.

Handling:

This car surprised me and I am glad I didn?t judge it without giving it a chance. I grew up with parents who, for some reason, did not like Ford cars. We never had one. I have never owned one. This car drove really nicely considering it is a small car that sells for a base price of $12,171. It didn't feel at all tinny. In fact it held the road well and felt strong.

I thought the ride was very smooth. I thought that it was a bit noisy, although compared to the Chevy Metro it was noiseless!

I wondered if the noise was coming from inside and knowing I would be reviewing the car shut off the air conditioning and radio to see if the noise was coming from either of those but the noise was coming from outside. It was minor, though, I could hear the radio with no problem.

It maneuvered extraordinarily well. Again I was shocked. There was a man on the side of a road I was on and I had to swerve a bit so I wouldn?t hit him and the car swerved easily and smoothly. There was no jerkiness at all.

In Massachusetts we have what are called rotaries. They are circles with streets coming off of them like spokes in a wheel. I am going into depth here because I have met people who never heard of rotaries. In any case they have to be driven with caution and being able to slide into an opening or get out of the way of the person heading to the road you are next to is crucial. I had no problem maneuvering the Hyannis rotary. The car handled it so well. I was really impressed.

Another surprise was the pick up. I wasn?t on a highway but I was on a main road and was able to get up to 50 miles an hour (ok that was over the speed limit) with no problem and quickly. It stopped on a dime and handled corners very well. I didn?t feel as if I were tipping over with the car.

Warranty:

The Ford Focus has a basic warranty: 3 years of 36,000 miles for bumper to bumper coverage; 5 years or 50,000 miles for the safety restraint system; 5 years or unlimited mileage for corrosion (perforation only).

How does it fare in a crash?

It actually fares well.
"Crash Test Results:
? Passenger: Good
? Driver: Good
? Side Impact Front: Average
? Side Impact Rear: Good
? Crash Offset: Good
? Bumper Bash: Marginal
Rollover Rating: Good"
http://www.edmunds.com/new/2002/ford/focus/lx4drsedan20l4cyl5m/specs.html?id=lin0018

My final thoughts:

While I was driving the Ford Focus and looking for it in parking lots I gave a lot of thought to whom I would recommend it. There are groups I don?t picture driving the car either because of the size or the lack of a sporty look although it is a cute car. (The picture does not do this justice, though the spoiler does add a sporty look.) I don?t see a teenager or 20something driving the car (let me add that I was told in the comments sections that there are a lot of teenagers driving this car. Due to the price and the fact it is cute, especially with the spoiler, I can understand why) nor do I see elderly people in it. I see this as a great second family car and I would recommend it to a young couple with 1 or 2 children.

It handled much better than I expected, the crash data is good as is the fuel consumption and the price is right.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment. The specs are below as are links to sites that will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about a car.

http://www.edmunds.com

faceoff.intellichoice.com/FaceOff/Sponsors/national/SelectionFrameset.asp?spon=national

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/testing/NCAP/

http://www.hwysafety.org/vehicle_ratings/ratings.htm (See comments)

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Specifications

Dimensions
Exterior:
? Length: 174.9 in.
? Width: 66.9 in.
? Height: 56.3 in.
? Weight: 2604 lbs.
? Wheel Base: 103 in.
Interior:
? Front Head Room: 39.3 in.
? Front Hip Room: 49.4 in.
? Front Shoulder Room: 53.7 in.
? Rear Head Room: 38.5 in.
? Rear Shoulder Room: 53.7 in.
? Rear Hip Room: 49.5 in.
? Front Leg Room: 43.1 in.
? Rear Leg Room: 37.6 in.
? Luggage Capacity: 12.9 cu. ft.

Performance:

? Base Engine Type: Inline 4
? Horsepower: 110 hp
? Max Horsepower: 5000 rpm
? Torque: 125 ft-lbs.
? Max Torque: 3750 rpm
? Maximum Towing Capacity: 1000 lbs.
? Turning Circle: 34.3 ft.

Safety Features:

? Anti-Lock Brakes: Optional
? Four Wheel Anti-Lock Brakes: Optional
? De-Powered Airbag: Standard
? Passenger Airbag: Standard
? Head Airbag: Not Available
? Side Airbag: Optional
? Child Safety Seats: Not Available
? Traction Control: Not Available
? Stability Control: Not Available