In 2012, I expect to drive more vehicles from a wider range of manufacturers and across different classes of vehicles. The local Ford PR contact has been pretty willing to throw me the keys to almost all Ford vehicles that roll through Manitoba. It’s been fun driving around in a new vehicle with all the newest gadgets and driver conveniences. In December, I drove the 2012 Ford Focus for a week during our mild start to winter.
I was definitely impressed with the overall new re-design of the Ford Focus. Having read up on the Ford Focus prior to driving the car, photos of previous years models were rather underwhelming. The 2012 Focus is sporty looking especially the 16” painted aluminum wheels. I definitely have to give two thumbs up to Ford and any manufacturer for that matter that step up the look of factory rims.
The 2012 Ford Focus comes in several trim levels and configurations: S, SE, SEL and Titanium; Sedan or Hatchback models. Starting price for a Ford Focus is $15,499 and tops out at $23,999 for the Ford Focus Titanium edition. One of the pros of the Ford Focus is it’s fuel economy – 7.8l/100km on the highway and 5.5l/100kms in the city.
The Focus engine is 2.0 liter 4-cylinder, 160 hp at 6,500rpm, 146 lb.-ft. torque at 4,450rpm. Available transmission is a five-speed manual and 6-speed PowerShift Automatic. Also included is the Microsoft SYNC controls that easily allowed me to add my Blackberry, iPad and handsfree calling control.
Standard safety equipment with the Ford Focus include AdvanceTrac with ESC (electronic stability control), dual-stage first-row airbags, side-impact and side-curtain airbags, four-wheel anti-lock brakes and an anti-theft engine immobilizer.
The Ford Focus is in a pretty tight bunch of vehicles. Amongst this group of vehicles are the Chevy Cruz, Honda Civic, Kia Forte, Mazda 3, Hyandai Elantra, Volkswagen Jetta and the Toyota Corolla.
