 2012 Ford Focus Titanium hatchback. Click image to enlarge |
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Manufacturer’s web site |
Review and photos by Jil McIntosh
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2012 Ford Focus
It’s been said that anticipation can be better than the destination, and so often it is true. For many years, journalists decried the fact that Europe got a Ford Focus that was based on the Mazda3’s underpinnings, with better looks and sharper handling than the more pedestrian version sold here. So for 2012, Ford has finally replaced that old version with a pair of global designs, in sedan or hatchback form. So much for anticipation: much will depend on how you outfit it, but my top-line tester didn’t turn out to be the game-changer that I more than expected it to be.
My tester was the hatchback, a design which Ford calls a “five-door,” in top-line Titanium trim. The sedan starts at a base $15,999, the hatchback at $19,899. The Titanium starts at an MSRP of $25,099, with my tester further optioned to a pricey $29,229. I get the European thinking of stuffing lots of features into a small vehicle’s footprint, but my North American brain still has a tendency to look around the car while I’m pulling out my wallet and wondering where it’s all going.
   2012 Ford Focus Titanium hatchback. Click image to enlarge |
A single engine is offered, a 2.0-litre four-cylinder with gasoline direct injection – all-new and no relation to the outgoing 2.0-litre Duratec engine – that makes 160 horsepower and 146 lb-ft of torque. Transmission choices are a five-speed manual or a six-speed PowerShift dual-clutch automatic unit that includes manual shift mode on the SE Sport Package, SEL and Titanium. The top-end Titanium currently comes only with the PowerShift; later in the model year, you’ll be able to order it with the five-speed as well.
There are some very good dual-clutch transmissions on the market. This is not one of them. The shifts are lazy instead of crisp, and when you drive it moderately, first gear feels more like a rubbery CVT. The transmission stumbles occasionally as well, particularly when you have to hit the brakes hard and then get right back on the throttle, such as in a highway traffic jam. Switching the gears manually isn’t all that much of an improvement, as the transmission still swaps cogs more slowly than I’d expect. I also don’t care for the physical process of it: instead of steering wheel-mounted paddles, or even a gate on the shifter, you have to tap a tiny toggle switch on the side of the shift lever. The payoff is in the fuel consumption, which is officially rated at 7.3 L/100 km (39 mpg Imp) in the city and 5.2 (54) on the highway. Unfortunately, due to my tester’s imminent appearance at an indoor public show and the need for it to be displayed with as little fuel in the tank as possible, I wasn’t able to calculate my own real-world figures at the pump.
The handling chops missing in the old version have finally arrived on our shores, and this new Ford immediately obeys the steering wheel, digs into corners and brakes straight and fast, but with a smooth ride and quiet cabin. Torque vectoring, a system that’s standard on all models, helps with the handling duties by continually distributing power between the front wheels to balance it. The turning circle could be tighter, though; given the Focus’ small footprint, I expected to be able to spin it around using much less space. (With the optional 18-inch wheels and tires fitted to Jil’s test car, the Focus’ turning circle is 12.2 metres/40 feet; other trims, with 15- through 17-inch wheels, can turn a tighter 11-metre/36-foot circle. –Chris Chase)
