The 2009 Hybrid Ford Focus

Buying a new car is not something I take lightly and during tough economic times I wasn't planning on buying anything.  Unfortunately my 10 year old Pontiac Grand Am (126,000+ miles) was going to need about $1,000 to pass inspection.  With a trade-in value of $1,250 I decided to get the trade-in value now.  The good news for me is I had spent the last three months researching all the cars in my price range (under $15k). 

My Short List (alphabetical order)
Ford Focus
Honda Fit
Nissan Versa
Toyota Yaris

Interesting Side Note
Since I was a young boy my father always bought either a Pontiac or Chevy.  My first two cars were both Pontiac's and my wife currently drives a Pontiac.  Add to the fact that I have a GM credit card with an additional $3,000 rebate on any new GM car and you can understand why GM is on the verge of bankruptcy.  Here is a company with a lifetime customer and giving me $3k on top of all other incentives and not one of their cars is on my short list.  Not the Aveo, Cobalt or G5.

Test Drive
After test driving each car rated each car in this order:
1) Focus
2) Fit
3) Yaris
4) Versa

I would have bought the Fit, but its increased versatility and being a hatchback (both big positives) couldn't make up for its $15,200 MSRP - no discounts, two dealers who wouldn't budge on price, no keyless entry, no aluminum wheels, poor radio, relatively louder cabin noise, and lower MPG estimate. 

Ford was giving out $2,500 in rebates, and I got the car for $14,200.  Drop another $1,100 for my trade in and my pre-tax cost was $13,100.

RIDE
The Focus is NOT a typical small car.  It handles precisely - but it will not be confused as a sports car, and is relatively quiet.  Suspension is firm and comfortable.  The 5 speed manual shifts smoothly and precisely. 

INTERIOR
The cloth seats are remarkably slick.  If you put a briefcase on an empty chair and take a sharp turn, expect it to fly off.  My previous cars had almost a rug like cloth that added significantly more friction to items placed on them.  This little issue does not effect passengers.

The interior plastic feels nice and the instrument layout is very good.  I do NOT like the boyish racer red font on white background rpm and speedometer.  Nor do I like that the speedometer is marked for every 20 mph instead of every 10 mph.  It would also be nice to turn off the annoying "Shift Up" light.  They created this when they saved money by removing the RPM meter - but this car has an RPM meter so at least allow the consumer to shut the stupid thing off.

Two 12 volt outlets are available to the front occupants right at the bottom of the center dash panel.  They are easily accessible and there is plenty of space so they won't get in the way of anything you're plugging in.

A little area where Ford should not have saved money was omitting a trunk release latch.  Thankfully it can be done from the remote for the keyless entry.

I especially like the cup holders being behind the 5 speed manual transmission.  It was quite frustrating to constantly smash my knuckles into my coffee mug each morning as I put the Grand Am into Park.  A third cupholder is available in the center compartment in front of the rear seat occupants. 

I also like the information center - it can be cycled between Average MPG/Total Miles : Instant MPG Meter : Trip A Odometer : Trip B Odometer : BLANK (which is a nice option most cars omit).

At night, everything lights up in blue - which I guess is the new "in" color.  My kids love it, but all I care about is the back illumination is very good - no problem making out a button or dial at night.

The drivers seat has a very nice manual latch to raise or lower the seat.  Consumer Reports found it cumbersome to use, but its actually very simple - lift it UP to move the seat UP, push it DOWN to move the seat DOWN.  It's located next to the drivers left hand, but doesn't interfere at all with the drivers sitting location.

The rear seat is good for averaged sized adults (5' 8") or children.

Sound System
My original idea was I would put in my own car stereo in my next car.  While the Focus' sound system isn't the best, it is significantly better than the one in my Grand Am.  It has FM/AM/CD and can handle 20 pre-set stations.  It also has 6 months of SIRIUS included - an option I never would buy - but am thoroughly enjoying right now (I'm just too frugal to pay $12/month for radio).  CNBC Sirius with stock ticker in the display is SO COOL and SO DISTRACTING :) .

Hybrid?
Some may have notices I titled this review "The 2009 Hybrid Ford Focus".  This car is NOT a hybrid, but I would classify my driving habits as half-way between a normal driver and a ' hyper ' driver.  Hyper drivers will do anything for better gas mileage - even over inflating tires and never using the A/C.  I'm not that extreme, but am VERY good at driving for fuel economy.  In my 1999 Pontiac Grand Am, the car is EPA rated at 19 CITY & 28 MPG highway - I drive 85% highway, but over 10 years of keeping a log book I averaged 29 MPG, well above the EPA Average estimate of 25 for my car. (I know gas was cheap 10 years ago, but I'm very frugal - not green).

So I'm driving this Ford Focus which is rated 24 CITY, 35 HWY and an AVERAGE estimate of 28.  After 600 miles clocked on the car I am AVERAGING 41 MPG.  That's correct AVERAGING 41 MPG.  The average Prius driver gets 43 MPG.

CONCLUSION
What I would LOVE is a wagon or hatchback version of this car - both of which Ford stopped making two years ago.  They will be bringing one or both back in 2010, and I'm 100% confident that when that new Focus comes out, we sell my wife's Pontiac and get it.  This car has its annoyances, but the ride, economy and amenities more than make up for its few short comings.