Day-by-Day Review: 2008 Ford Focus SES

By James Bergeron

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2008 Ford Focus SES

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Another week, another car. This week, something more in line with what the average Canadian consumer has in their sights — an inexpensive sedan with some innovative features and an efficient engine with which to save at the pumps. My 2008 Ford Focus SES tester fits that description fairly well.

When this new Focus was revealed in Detroit a year ago, everyone was under the impression that Ford would, finally, bring the European-based Focus’ chassis to our shores. Unfortunately, this is not the case — apparently due to safety regulations — although I have a hard time swallowing that.

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Ford also surprised everyone by announcing a coupe model but no more wagon or hatch variants. That eliminated the two best selling versions of the Focus in Canada — very odd indeed. So what was the big hoopla about at the launch then? Microsoft Sync. Yes, that’s right: Ford and Microsoft have partnered to create a voice command system that uses Bluetooth in their cars — exclusively.

So fast forward a year and here I am, in a Focus SES with Microsoft Sync; ironically I moved myself from a Microsoft-powered world to an Apple-driven one during the past year, but I digress. What else is in the Focus SES, you ask? Actually, quite a lot of content for the base starting price of $19,999.

Included as standard with the SES trim are such items as: a 2.0-litre engine that produces 140hp and 136lb-ft of torque; a 5-speed manual transmission; 16-inch alloy wheels; air conditioning; cruise control; auto-dimming rear view mirror; heated front seats; Microsoft Sync; ABS brakes; traction control and six airbags.

My tester has a few options to note: a four-speed automatic transmission for an extra $1,150; the luxury group, which adds moonroof and leather for a mere $1,000; as well as a block heater ($75) and smoker’s package ($35).

With a total price, including freight, of only $23,509 this car seems really well priced for this market.

2008 Ford Focus SES
MSRP as tested inc. destination & delivery: $23,509

For more information on Ford and the Focus visit Ford Canada

Day 2:

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Judging by the comments on my first day entry, it seems I am not the only one in disbelief that Ford stopped producing a Focus hatchback and wagon. Although I completely understand the economics of North America and the fact that the U.S. market drives many automakers’ decisions, and the Focus hatch and wagon were just not very popular in the States, for some odd reason. Don’t they (U.S. residents) understand you can carry more “stuff” with these models?

Anyway, I’ll let Ford deal with the fallout of having no more hatches. Today is all about the interior of the new Focus. From the driver’s seat, a few items popped out to me almost immediately. The lack of telescopic steering was one of them, but the comfortable seats with 6-way adjustment nearly make up for it.

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I really like the layout and design of the dash. It is very modern and pleasing to look at. The build quality seems high and the fit and finish is excellent. But move your eyes off the dash and slightly to the right or left towards the doors and the story changes. The inserts for the door handles look cheap, the door lock switch is a large rectangular lump and the interior door skin is just too plain and flat-looking.

So just remember to never look sideways and you’ll be happy. I should mention the Microsoft Sync system in my tester, as it is a prominent feature for Ford. Unfortunately, I don’t have a bluetooth-enabled phone or MP3 player so I cannot test Sync’s bluetooth capabilities. According to Ford, you can stream music right from a bluetooth device — that’s pretty nifty. I’m sure the phone system works like many other bluetooth handsfree systems as well.

I did plug in a USB stick with some MP3s on it and was able to play them with Sync’s music playback function. Some commands such as “play all songs” are similar to many other systems, but where the Sync system stands out is its ability to understand spoken words such as “play artist “Daft Punk””. I tried this and it immediately found a song by that artist on my device — cool! The system is also capable of finding “similar songs” using an algorithm that takes into account the genre of the music, etc.

Ford’s commercial — available on YouTube here — explains it fairly well. It would be great, though, if the system would also let you switch between FM and satellite radio and USB mode; I spent about five minutes yelling “satellite radio” at it before I realized the voice activation system can’t switch between those modes; you must use the buttons on the dash.

Day 3:

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Three days behind the wheel of an automatic Focus and I’m still being entertained. It isn’t the most luxurious car I have driven this year; nor the fastest, nor the quietest, but it really is an enjoyable car to pilot.

The front seats are fairly comfortable, although a little more support for cornering would be appreciated, especially with the leather surfaces in my tester. I find the rear seating a little cramped but not out of the ordinary for this class of vehicle; the backs of the front seats are curved to allow for extra leg room in the rear.

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Out on the highway, the Focus is remarkably quiet; road and wind noise really are at a minimum. Engine noise is also extremely low out on the highway with the engine turning approximately 2500rpm. Typically, it is in the city where I find small-engined automatic vehicles let a considerable amount of noise into the cabin but the Focus does an excellent job of keeping it at bay.

There is no doubt that the Focus is also a very fun-to-drive vehicle! It feels light and nimble on its feet, and is a joy to toss into a corner, and it feels very sure-footed. Steering feedback is good — it goes where you tell it to.

I have also been playing around with the stereo a little more, and my only real complaint is that there just isn’t enough insulation in the car for it to sound proper. The speakers themselves sound reasonably good, but the interior rattles quite at bit at the volume levels required to “rock out.”

Unfortunately, as good as the Focus is to drive, I can’t help but notice little cost-cutting details, like the rattling door panels and having an on board computer that provides fuel consumption data, but only to the nearest whole number The saving grace is that, so far, that number is still fluctuating between 8L/100km and 9L/100km.

Day 4:

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When I first stepped into this tester and was informed of the pricetag, I instantly thought it was packaged well for the cost, and was a real bang-for-the-buck vehicle. A week later, my initial impression hasn’t changed, although I have spotted a few cut corners.

Even with a few missing features, like no ashtray in a vehicle with the “smokers package” and no trunk release inside the cabin (or at least none that I nor a co-worker could easily find), the features that are included — ABS, cruise control, heated seats and air conditioning — can’t be ignored in a reasonably-priced vehicle.

I averaged between 8L/100km and 9L/100km during my week with the Focus. Unfortunately, I did not put many kilometres on it due to bad weather; a few days of heavy snowfall and freezing rain had me leaving the Focus at home and choosing a vehicle equipped with winter tires instead.

If you can overlook my very minor complaints about this car, you too may find it to be a bargain. With Sync as the icing on the cake, you may even take one home.

*Rating out of 5: