Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Ford Focus 2.0 Ghia Sedan

I had the privilege of driving a 2.0 Focus for about a week and impressed I was not. At almost RM120,000 the car is not really worth the money. Here’s why I think so (not in order of significance or importance);

The driving position is a little awkward, not as uncomfortable as the Proton Waja but it takes some getting used to. The leather seat is somewhat hard especially the head restraints. The car I drove was a 2009 model and yet Ford didn’t find it necessary to add a fifth gear, not even for the model’s line topper. The car does 2750 rpm at 110km/h and can be quite noisy. Having driven the 2006 Civic on a daily basis for close to 4 years, the Focus’ handling is a let-down.

Rear legroom is a little small which is strange for a European car given that Europeans are much taller than the average Asian. In-car storage space is also scarce; there is no suitable place to put your smart tag or sunglasses (two most common items found in most KL cars). The centre console doesn’t really serve any purpose; it is very shallow and cannot really fit anything bigger than a cigarette box. One of the cup holders in between the front seats is obstructed by the armrest, getting a cup into and out of the holder is quite a difficult task.  The clock sits in the middle of the speedometer and hence can only be seen by the driver.

The car however has some plus points; the driver’s seat (only the driver’s seat) gets 3-way electric treatment, the aircon is powerful enough for KL’s midday temperature of 36 degrees and the car has a good sized boot. The display on the speedometer gives a lot of useful information especially the distance on remaining fuel.  

If I had 120k to spend on a brand new car, I’m sorry but the Focus would not be in my list.

Image ‘borrowed’ from cbt.com.my with apologies

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