2010 Ford Focus SEL 2.0

Summary:

I like this car

Faults:

Not a thing.

General Comments:

This is an economy car, but the engine has good pep for a 2 litre. I rented one in Cal. a year ago, and got 37 mpg avg for 2 tankfuls, I'm only getting 31 on this car so far, but it is wintertime.

The leather seats are very comfortable; my wife likes them better than our Grand Prix seats!

I did add a K&N typhoon air intake, and it added 2 mpg & better pedal response.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 17th April, 2011

3rd May 2014, 13:13

I now have 62000 miles on this car, nothing has gone wrong at all, and still driving great!

2010 Ford Focus SES 2.0L

Summary:

For the fuel mileage, buy a truck with more room and versatility

Faults:

Squealing brakes at low temperatures.

Door panel rattle.

Poor idle quality.

Poor heating / AC.

Poor transmission - shifting / hunting for gears.

Horrible fuel economy.

General Comments:

General looks of the car are aggressive and sporty.

Lots of cabin room in the front.

Engine is peppy, and has great pickup when the transmission decides to function as it should.

Transmission hunts for gears at exactly the same speeds as limits (50 kph and and 70kph).

Kickdown won't happen at part throttle, occurs at 2/3 or more throttle with too much torque steer.

Fuel consumption is horrible. Averages 13+ litres per 100 km (or slightly over 18 mpg) at best. Typically has ranged from 13 to 17 l/100km. We owned a Cadillac STS with a V8, which typically averaged 13 litres per 100km (18 mpg) in the city for comparison sake.

The brakes began to produce a high pitched squeal at 8000km. The dealer noted the rotors were worn enough to cause a groove at the leading edge, which created the squeal. The rotors were turned down, but the squeal still persists periodically.

Door panels are plastic and rattle when cold. More so when music is played.

Overall the car looks good inside and out, but quality is the usual low buck like everything else these days.

We traded "up" from a Yaris hatch for a vehicle with more "quality" and space for a growing family with three children under 7 years old. The rear seats will not fit rear facing child seats behind the driver or passenger. Two booster seats and a central rear facing seat creates problems and frustration with the seatbelt location and fastening.

The trunk is large, but the opening not so much.

When the transmission decides to shift, the car has great pep and will pickup speed great. Don't try to pull out into fast traffic from a standstill - occasionally the car falls flat on its face from a standing start, and you cannot keep up with traffic. Very scary at times.

RPM sweet spot seems to be around 3000 rpm.

Regret selling the Yaris, as the rear seats probably have similar amounts of room, and with the 5 speed, 35 - 40 mpg was normal.

Being the last year of this model, things may have changed for 2011.

For $27000 fully loaded, it hasn't lived up to expectations.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 12th March, 2011

13th Mar 2011, 19:44

18 mpg?!?! You better have it checked out. I get consistently into the upper 20's in cold weather and mid 30's in warmer weather on my 2009 Focus, with an automatic tranny in it. I drive 75 to 80 mph on the highway on open road trips, and still get over 30 mpg. I don't think it would even be possible to get 18 mpg with a Focus unless something was severely wrong with it. Are you driving it around in low gear or without overdrive on when you are on the highway?

I also have no rattles or anything out of the ordinary. It is still as it was on its first day pretty much. The transmission does switch gears slightly erratically once in a while. Electronically controlled trannys always do, due to their programming to save fuel and such. Our Toyota does the same thing. The Focus only has so much power to work with. You can't expect it to feel like 200+ hp when you take off. Mine is adequate, and if I need it to go, it goes just fine with no hesitation.

The heat is weak and takes a long time to get really hot. The AC, however, is awesome on my car and works perfectly. In fact, I have never used the "Max AC" setting under 100 degrees outside. I also have heated seats that compensate for the slow warm up.

All in all, my SEL is a great car for the money. It does what it's supposed to and I didn't expect more than it offers. Maybe you have some kind of computer problems with yours that is causing it to shift erratically and eat tons of gas. It is a 2010, though, so go get it fixed. It is still under warranty!