Faults:

Nothing yet.

General Comments:

I just acquired this car 12 days ago with 75,300 km on the clock (46,700 miles). The vehicle is in near mint condition inside and out, and looks near new when washed.

This example is the S model, so very basic with plastic wheel covers over steel wheels, manual crank windows and a 5 speed manual transmission. I'm attracted to basically appointed cars, and I enjoy a more utilitarian type of vehicle, never wanting for power features or fancy add-ons (I think a lot of the body features are ugly on some cars).

While I appreciate the car's simple nature, I do enjoy the modern safety features such as air bags front and rear, ABS, and stability control as standard.

I never used to be a Ford fan years ago, but I bought a 1999 Escort wagon which was a great little car. From there, another Escort wagon (which I owned for 11 years), a 2003 ZX3, and now the 2011 Focus. The Escorts started my love affair with the smaller Fords.

The 2011 reminds me more of the Escorts somehow in general feel. The Focus is larger, more comfortable and more powerful, but there is a similarity in general driving impression. The 2011 feels to me like a more mature, grown up Escort (I suppose that's exactly what it is in its model evolution).

I like the more chiseled like exterior styling over its counterparts. I think the overall body styling, the front grill and rear taillights have a certain class about them. The interior is well laid out, comfortable, and doesn't feel cheap to me as some reviewers have suggested (it is an economy car). Sometimes when you sit in the driver's seat of a specific car, it just fits and feels immediately right. I had this feeling when I first sat in the car. I did not feel this way when sitting in a Corolla, Versa or Rio.

I love the Duratec motor in this car. It's relatively quiet, responsive, and has more than enough power for day to day driving. It is every bit as lively and quick as my ZX3, but feels more refined and less buzzy. Fuel economy is also better than the Zetec engine.

The manual transmission is positive, buttery smooth, and very easy to shift between gears. When I contacted the woman who was selling the Focus, I was very pleased to learn that the car was a 5 speed manual. This is the nicest manual gearbox that I've had over the years (40 years of driving).

I've had great success with low operating costs and reliability with my Fords over the past 20 years. From what I've researched regarding this generation of Focus, I believe I'll have similar success. These cars seem to enjoy a long life and a good reliability record.

There may be more refined cars on the road within the class, but if you are looking for a well designed, basic vehicle that's easy to like with a certain utilitarian fun factor, I believe it's hard to go wrong with a 2011 Focus S.

Faults:

None. 100% reliable so far.

General Comments:

I am studying to be an Ergonomic Engineer. I am 18, in college, and contrary to my stereotype, I am very easy on my car. This was a demo car before I had it, and I bought it before the first oil change (at 4024 miles). I'm hoping to get 10 years out of this car, so I plan to be absolutely anal about maintenance. My previous car was a 2005 Taurus (an absolutely wonderful car), and the other car in my family is a 2010 Camry (poor excuse for a car), so those are my frames of reference.

I fit in the Focus like a glove. I am 5'6" and 225#, but I fit nicely in any seat. I can sit behind myself. I have even slept laying down in the back seat on a Boy Scout outing! I can drive for four hours and get out without any fatigue. Honestly, the seats in the Focus are the most comfortable chairs I will sit in all day! The back seat floor mats are too small. Whenever people are in the back seat, their feet go under the front seat. The mat needs to also go under the front seat. Ford also needs to find a way to put more cup holders and an arm rest in the back.

The Focus has adequate power, but it doesn't need to be a speed demon. It works as a commuter and it holds its own on the highway. The EPA rates this car at 24/35 in terms of city/highway gas mileage (in US gallons), but my mileage is more in the range of 26-28 in the city and 37-40 on the highway (lowest figure city I ever got was 24, and highest highway was 43). The best gas mileage in my Focus comes at 56-58 miles per hour; anything much past that and you will notice an increase in fuel consumption (more dramatically after 70 MPH). I am a "feather footer" and I do not ride on or slam the brakes. These figures also take into account the mountains and weather changes of Western Pennsylvania, so I am reasoning that in warmer climates and more level lands, the gas mileage would be better. For an economy car, the Focus is smooth (even more so than our 2010 Camry).

My biggest complaint (by far) is the transmission. It is a four-speed automatic, and it should have been a five. Around town, it works. It shifts smoothly and precisely. However, going up steep hills (an 11% grade over half a mile, for example), the engine will jump down to first gear to gain power, and it takes almost a minute to cover the distance. A fifth gear would also help with noise on the highway (although still leagues better than my father's 2010 Camry) and give the vehicle better highway fuel economy, by letting the engine turn at a lower RPM rate. Considering what we have to work with, the transmission does the job. It finds a gear and stays there. The biggest power band comes right at 3,000 RPM.

The gauges are bright and easy to read. The cruise control light should be placed either in the center of the panel or on the left-hand side. You use your left hand on the left side of the steering wheel to set cruise, so the light should also be on the left. I would also switch the speedometer and tachometer gauges (again, with my knowledge of ergonomic engineering). The control panel is designed wonderfully, although (solely by personal preference) the center of the climate control panel should have been a dial, not 7 different buttons. My favorite feature of the entire car is the fuel economy bar graph.

The car looks wonderful from the front (especially in the Blue Fire color), good from the sides, and moderately bland in the rear. I enjoy the styling (like a four-door sports car), but I know people who do not. The sweeps on the front bumper of the car help prevent parking lot scrapes, but they come to a point, making the bumper look almost "chunky."

Build quality is decent, but clearly the Focus is an economy car. I would have liked to see some fabric on the rear doors, and the plastic interior paneling on the rear doors is about one inch too short, exposing the blue paint on either door. People have complained about the plastic, but it is easy to clean and is scratch-resistant. The dashboard does collect dust rather easily. The passenger door speaker rattles when the radio is LOUD (not too often), but what do you expect from plastic?

One other little quirk: the trunk "handle" is just a cut-out of the bumper. When it snows, the "handle" gets iced over and you can't use it.

I will try to update this thread when I can. I look forward to many more miles of motoring in my Focus!