2012 Ford Focus: First Drive

While it’s easy to find a good, sensibly-sized and relatively fuel-efficient small car, it’s really hard to find much personality.

At the same time, you could argue, Americans haven’t seemed to want much charm behind the wheel. The first-generation Focus, for instance, came in a wide range of body styles (including three- and five-door hatchbacks), and had a standard of ride and handling arguably better than anything in its class at the time, but it became a sore reality after a few years that Americans weren’t willing to pay for small-car sophistication. A couple of refreshes cut body styles from the lineup and left the Focus feeling a little more refined, but also more conservative.

Times have definitely changed since then–and they’ve definitely changed since the last time Ford went to the drawing board for its last 2007 refresh of the Focus, when the vehicle lost all its hatchback styles, gained Sync connectivity as a central selling point, but lost its hatchback body styles, became more conservative-looking, and lost even more of the dynamic spirit of that original Focus.

While Hyundai has simplified its Elantra
down to just a handful of build combinations, Ford is offering a wide
range of possibilities for the 2012 Focus, to serve as everything from
basic transportation (for those who still think of small cars as
‘economy cars’) to a small family’s primary vehicle–or even a
surprisingly sophisticated sport sedan.

Two shapely body styles

Now,
shoppers have two beautiful body styles–a four-door sedan or five-door
hatchback–from which to choose. They’re both rakish and sleek, and while
the profile of the Focus sedan is uncommon (and remarkably close to
that of the recently introduced Chevrolet
Cruze, as well as the Elantra), the distinction is in the details. Both
models have Ford’s kinetic design attributes, with the rising beltline
that’s become par, but accented here with some nice creases and
curves–including a subtle curve that runs from the headlights all the
way to the taillights, just below the beltline, and a sharper crease
that starts after the front wheelwell and runs through the door handles.
Taillamps are huge and form much of the rear corners on both vehicles.
Thankfully, Ford’s saccharine chrome louvered grille, from several of
its larger vehicles, and which we never warmed up to, hasn’t been
carried over here.

Inside, the design is complex–incorporating a
cockpit-like instrument panel arrangement, with a thick center stack,
some nice surface sculpting, and vertically-oriented vents. Trims and
finishes look classy and inviting, and there’s a nicely tailored look to
the entire interior that extends to door trim and even seats. The
turquoise-colored gauge pointers are a nice touch.

While
turbocharged EcoBoost power is on the way, the Focus lineup includes a
single engine now, an all-new 2.0-liter direct-injected four-cylinder
making 160 horsepower and 146 pound-feet of torque; that’s 20 hp and 10
pound-feet than before, though when you correct for the 200-300-pound
weight gain of the new Focus it’s no big bump. The new mill has Ti-VCT
variable valve timing, though, and can be paired with either a
five-speed manual gearbox or six-speed PowerShift dual-clutch automatic.

Engine is very smooth, but needs to be revved

The
engine settles to one of the smoothest idles we’ve noted in a
small-car; direct-injection engines can be rather noisy at idle–sounding
almost a little diesel-like at times–but engineers have done a great
job here in masking those sounds.

Although
the new engine carries the Duratec name, it has a very different
character than the other U.S.-market powerplants that get that moniker;
in short, you have to rev this engine to tap into its perky side. It’s
in a few rare instances–like coming out of a tight corner in third when
we should have been in second–that the new engine’s relative (and
surprising, given the valve system) lack of low-rev torque is
highlighted. The engine feels nearly lifeless below 2,000 rpm, but rev
it above 3,000 and it really begins to hit its stride; peak torque is at
4,450 rpm. Luckily it’s refined and entirely lacking the boominess that
used to be a small-car norm. But Ford has done a good job in making the
Focus feel light-footed off the line, with low first-gear ratios in
either gearbox, and the dual-clutch gearbox does a great job keeping the
revs high and uninterrupted. Take off, foot to the floor, and the Focus
feels quick.

Overall, the calibration of the PowerShift automatic feels much more relaxed in the Focus than in the Fiesta,
where we’ve criticized it for being a little lurchy and lumpy at times.
Whether it’s the Focus’s additional weight, the engine’s additional
torque, or the software recalibration an engineer told us it got, the
gearbox feels much more at ease here–more responsive, too.

PowerShift better than in Fiesta

If
you want to do the shifting yourself, you have to make do with a little
+/- button on the side of the shift knob; rather than slamming the knob
in one direction or another, or clicking a paddle-shifter, you might
just miss your shift as you hunt for the button. Fortunately, the
PowerShift transmission does come with a Sport (‘S’) mode, just below
Drive, which smartly holds revs for grades and corners, holds upshifts
significantly longer, and downshifts a gear with the slightest tap of
the brake pedal. Just don’t leave it in Drive on hilly canyon roads, as
we tried briefly, as it will hunt around indecisively. It’s also odd
that no matter what your selection, Ford seems to have dialed engine
braking out completely. And on the subject of brakes, there’s nothing to
complain about; S and SE models come with rear-drums instead of discs
(in the name of cost-cutting), but pedal feel and stopping power felt
about the same at legal speeds.

The other option for shifting
yourself is the five-speed manual gearbox–which is only offered on S and
SE, not SEL or Titanium, by the way. The linkage is sweet, if a bit
long, and while the clutch feel is soft for easygoing normal driving it
felt if anything a bit too soft for strong launches. A taller fifth gear
would also be helpful; with revs hanging around the 3,000-rpm click at
70 mpg–significantly higher than the PowerShift’s sixth gear–we could
see how highway fuel economy could be a bit lower.

The Focus
proved economical in some of the least economical driving conditions. We
saw 22 mpg in about 50 miles of driving up canyon roads, with more up
than down, in a PowerShift vehicle, then 28 mpg in about 70 miles of
more twisties followed by creeping-and-racing LA freeway driving. Ford
has backtracked a little bit–or refined its message, it might say–about
the Focus’s 40-mpg mileage claim. Just as with the Fiesta, the Focus
will achieve that number with an SFE package, only offered initially on
the sedan.

Ride and handling? Awesome.

While
the powertrain requires a little diligence, the ride-and-handling
compromises are about the best it gets. The Focus handles as well as–or
better than–the most deft handler in the class, the Mazda3,
with a suspension that doesn’t crash and bang over rough transitions,
nor punishes over heaves or potholes. Ford’s electric power steering
system provides nice weighting and it performs well, providing precise
control but not transmitting much feel of the road. The electric
steering system is awesome in transitions, too, never binding up or
feeling off its game. While the suspension allows a bit of give, it
loads and unloads in the most transparent, predictable way possible, yet
isolates you from harshness. On one of the tightest stretches of roads
with a Titanium sedan, we felt like the Focus was on our side, filtering
out what we didn’t need to know but keeping our line tight and neat.
And on boulevards and freeways, the ride is on the firm side compared to
other compacts like the Cruze, Elantra, and Corolla, but not enough to ever be punishing.

The
Focus is extremely comfortable inside–glovelike when fitted with the
Sport package, which our Titanium test vehicle included. The moderately
bolstered seats proved perfect for holding us in place in the twisties,
for all the grip that the excellent Michelin Pilot Sport SP3 summer
performance tires could provide. Whether you choose the sedan or hatchback,
you get back seat accommodations that are virtually the same, with just
enough legroom and headroom to fit even those over six feet. With the
leather upholstery, the back seats are trimmed like those of a high-end
German luxury car, with exposed stitching and true bolstering for outboard occupants.

Cargo
holds in the hatch and sedan are both ample with large openings, but
seat-folding was a little disappointing. For one, you can’t release the
back seats remotely, as you can in some other vehicles; the other thing
is that the back seats don’t fold completely flat, and unless the front
seats are slid far forward, the headrests get in the way.

Although
the vehicles we sampled in Southern California weren’t yet production
vehicles, the Ford Focus has a sense of solidity and build quality
inside that far surpasses that of the previous model, as well as most
other cars in this class. Door close with a nice, satisfying thunk, and
door grabs, trim, and center console all seem solidly attached.

Touch screen or not?

Depending
on which trim you get, the Focus has two quite different instrument
panels. While MyFord Touch–the touch-screen system that’s offered in the
2011 Ford Explorer
and Edge and 2011 Lincoln MKX–is standard on the Focus Titanium and
optional on the SEL, other models get a modestly retouched version of
the Fiesta’s control layout–including the oddly angled, V-shaped
arrangement. Top and center on those models, instead, is a more
colorful, higher-contrast screen that definitely beats the orange
monochrome Fiesta screen.

Just as in those other models, MyFord
touch provides control of entertainment, communication, climate
functions, and more, and in these models, in place of the two smaller
gauge-cluster screens that you find in the Edge, Explorer, and MKX, the
Focus gets a single smaller one. Just below the touch-screen,
deceptively, is a very large dial in the middle of the dash that you
might would serve some function in navigating screen functions, but it’s
only for sound-system volume.

There are a number of redundancies.
Throughout the line, Ford has moved a host of functions to the steering
wheel, and we’re going to have to wait for a longer drive to report
back on whether they serve in making it easier or more confusing. And
MyFord Touch includes an extended set of Sync voice commands.

Essentially,
Ford is giving shoppers a choice this time around as to whether they
want a basic small car or a much more sophisticated one with all the
features and options of a larger one. Prices on the Focus range from
$16,995, including destination, for the base Focus S, up to about $27k
for a loaded Titanium. S models are quite basic, but they do include air
conditioning, CD sound, and a tilt/telescopic steering wheel. SE models
add cruise control, larger wheels, fog lamps, and Ford’s
MyKey system, while SEL trims get SYNC, dual-zone climate control, and
upgraded trims. At the top of the line, the Titanium earns you MyFord
Touch, an upgraded ten-speaker Sony sound system, HD Radio and Sirius
Satellite Radio, sport seats, a sport suspension, and sport wheels with
summer performance tires. A number of the Titanium’s features–including
the Sport package–are optional on the SEL.

Active parking, in a small car

One
segment-exclusive feature that will be available in the Titanium is
Active Park Assist–that’s the system Ford has offered on several more
expensive models that essentially allows the car to steer itself into a
spot while you modulate the brake. In a city-savvy small car like the
Focus–rather than one that’s more likely to be valet-parked–it finally
makes sense.

Overall the Focus feels way sportier and more
charismatic than most vehicles in this class, and it stands out on a lot
of levels. Interior in Focus looks better than Elantra, but doesn’t
necessarily feel better. Elantra might have it in features for the
dollar, and the Chevrolet Cruze is a strong entry for comfort-oriented
buyers, but in features and performance, the U.S.-built Focus is on top.

Post
fuel spikes and economic woes, are Americans finally ready to embrace
well-equipped small cars–especially those with a little more
personality? If so, the new 2012 Ford Focus provides the most compelling proposition yet.

This story originally appeared at The Car Connection