has anyone seen the new Ford Focus 2.0L 5-door hatch? what do you guys think of it?

I've seen posters outside Ford dealerships saying that it's already available. I've also read a review from another website saying that it has a fuel economy of 10+km/l. (it's better than the 1.8 sedan's fuel economy IMO.)

meron na ako nakitang tumatakbo along florida st greenhills kaso test drive palang ata hehe

dapat tlga merong 3 door na focus dito mas maporma hehe ok yun!

yeah. ive seen it narin. pero sa newspaper and poster sa ford also.   really sporty.  

is that priced higher or lower than the sedan?

More choices for us

Not that we will be buying a new car all the time though hehe

Is it available with a proper manual tranny or just a performance-robbing automatics?

By the way, small engines (less than 3-liters displacement) can lose nearly a second in acceleration time to 60mph (96kph) if equipped with only a slush box.

Quote from: johnqpublic318 on October 16, 2005, 09:55:52 PM
Is it available with a proper manual tranny or just a performance-robbing automatics?

By the way, small engines (less than 3-liters displacement) can lose nearly a second in acceleration time to 60mph (96kph) if equipped with only a slush box.

Yes that's true. Sad.

Although I bet those who buy the ATs probably choose it since they won't find themselves in a situation where they will need to use the 0-60 ratings very often.

But I'm with you. I'd rock a manual

Quote from: R-A-Y on October 16, 2005, 09:58:58 PM
Yes that's true. Sad.

Although I bet those who buy the ATs probably choose it since they won't find themselves in a situation where they will need to use the 0-60 ratings very often.

But I'm with you. I'd rock a manual

The disparity between auto and manual tranny performance decreases as engine power increases, i.e., auto trans 400hp C6 Corvettes only lose close a a quarter of a second to 60mph, but such isn't the case with the Focus.

A 2.3-liter manual Focus is the one to have.

Quote from: johnqpublic318 on October 16, 2005, 09:55:52 PM
Is it available with a proper manual tranny or just a performance-robbing automatics?

By the way, small engines (less than 3-liters displacement) can lose nearly a second in acceleration time to 60mph (96kph) if equipped with only a slush box.

unfortunately, both the Focus sedan and hatchback are automatic-equipped.  


OT: I know of 2 automatic transmissions that can match manual transmissions. one is Mercedes' 7Gtronic and the other is VAG's DSG.

we test drove the Focus last saturday at the Ford Global City and it was great. It handles like a Mazda 3 2.0.


this was showed during the launch:

We had a cool trackday yesterday at BRC, organized by TRS.  There was a couple of "games" using the Ford Focus 1.8 AT going thru slalom and braking.

As far as circuit driving is concerned, forget about using a local Focus.  They're too much of a street/luxury cruiser to warrant modifying for the track, for now.  The brakes, however, are excellent.  If you're really a Ford lover, maybe in 5 years when used car prices have gone down, you can buy up the manual trans of one of these models, strip it, turbo it, put some coilovers and wheels/rims and it'll make a good all-around high perf car.  

But as an everyday car, they should be good alternatives to the usual Jap car choices.  Not so sure though of reliability issues because they seem to contain more electronic wiring than your usual cars so there is a possibility these things can corrode in our humid tropical climate and give you more headaches than other makes.

Quote from: Accord GTR on October 17, 2005, 09:58:36 AM
The brakes, however, are excellent.

But as an everyday car, they should be good alternatives to the usual Jap car choices.  

yes, brakes were amazingly good.  a lot of people yesterday, including Accord GT-R and myself actually braked way too early, because we underestimated the Focus' ability to stop!

as for reliability compared to jap cars... the Focus IS a jap car!  its essentially a Mazda 3, with a Ford badge and Ford bodywork...

no reason why it won't be as reliable as a toyota or honda...

Quote from: hesperus on October 17, 2005, 11:44:48 AM
yes, brakes were amazingly good.  a lot of people yesterday, including Accord GT-R and myself actually braked way too early, because we underestimated the Focus' ability to stop!

as for reliability compared to jap cars... the Focus IS a jap car!  its essentially a Mazda 3, with a Ford badge and Ford bodywork...

no reason why it won't be as reliable as a toyota or honda...

Oh really?!  You mean the engine and chassis design is from Mazda Japan?  How about those WRC cars?  Are they also Jap cars?

Sorry, let me make myself clear...I don't consider Mazda or even Nissan to have the same quality control as Honda or Toyota.  As far as #1 in quality among Jap cars, I think it's either Honda or Toyota, then Mitsu, then Nissan, then Mazda.  That's my opinion.  In the US, I think Nissan ranks somewhat higher.  (As far as Jap cars, I've personally owned a Honda, Nissan and a Mitsu).  So if the Focus is a Mazda, I wouldn't buy it as Mazda has a lousy history of quality control here in the Phil.  I'd like to wait-and-see if they have improved on that

IMO, it's the other way around. the Mazda 3 (and the Volvo S40) is a Ford.  


the opposite was true with the Lynx though.

yup! we had fun oct 16 at brc.

the guys from:
trackhos
ford club
protege club
miata club
mr2 club
club mitsu

had some games with the 1.8l ford focus. like accord gtr and hesperus mentioned, the abs are excellent.

the a/c is strong too...

the results for the game (as far as i can recall)

individual slalom
1st place - john of trackhos
2nd place -    
3rd place - tris (kenjiro in a.i.) of club mitsu

tandem slalom
1st place - danby of club mitsu and    
2nd place - dexlab and samurai_rex of club mitsu
3rd place - hesperus and     of trackhos

Weiman was also there.