About the Ford Focus
C Maher purchased this Ford Focus used for $20,990 (including all on-road costs) in 2022. C Maher would buy this car again because: “I would absolutely buy this car again. The Focus is the perfect car for me and ticks all the boxes. It looks very dynamic and modern, handles flawlessly, and has all the features I could need. More exotic than your Hyundai i30, Kia Cerato, or Toyota Corolla. “
How reliable has your car been? Tell us about any issues.
I purchased my Focus in July 2022 upgrading from my 2013 Ford Focus Sport Manual with 330,000km after I decided I needed a sunroof. It had 93,000km when I got it, and now sits just shy of 130,000km.
From when I bought it in Queensland and drove it down to Melbourne, it had some issues with loud PowerFold mirror, a water leak into the boot, and, the sunroof stopping before it would open (as if something was blocking it).
All were covered under warranty. The dealer I purchased it from paid my local Ford dealer over $7000 in labour and parts, however Sunbury Ford failed to actually fix the issues, rather, banning me from the dealership after I complained the mirrors they supplied had the glass fall off on the freeway.
They had misdiagnosed the cause of the boot leak as a boot seal, charging the Queensland dealer approx. $700 to replace that, when in reality, the cause was a bolt missing from the spoiler causing water ingress. They also left grease on my headliner from replacing the boot seal.
When the mirrors were getting replaced, my local dealer took my Focus in at 8am, and waited all day to call at 3pm to advise they had done nothing on the car as the mirrors hadn’t arrived? If the mirrors weren’t there, why not call and let me know to bring it the next day??
Once the mirrors were replaced, “checked” and were “ready”, I came down to collect my car and the glass on the brand new Genuine Ford $1000 mirror (Heated, PowerFold, Blind Spot) is hanging by the wires! The service advisor then came back out to just push it back on with his hand claiming the 3M adhesive had just come unstuck and reassured me that it would stay on, however it did not, on the freeway it detached and was dangling leaving me unable to use my mirror.
I drove my Focus back up to Queensland and they were able to fix the issues the other dealer was unable to fix within an hour!
Our family had purchased 3 (three) brand new Ford Focus and 1 (one) Ford Puma from this dealership, in addition to countless services, they didn’t need to ban me cause we will never be back! In saying that, experiences at two other Ford dealerships have been excellent!
Otherwise, the Focus has held up very well for the high use it receives, and other Ford dealerships have been excellent in servicing the Focus.
What do you think of the ownership experience with your car?
Other than aforementioned grievances with a useless dealership, everything about the Focus has been pleasant. While servicing at Ford I get a nice new Ford service loan car, friends who have bought a Hyundai i30 N-Line recently told me about the complementary shuttle that services 2 (two) kilometres. Lmao.
Having owned a 2007 Focus LS LX manual, 2012 Focus Trend manual, and a 2013 Focus Sport manual, I’ve never been disappointed by my ownership experiences with any of my Focus!
When I bought the car there were barely any available, so the one I chose had these atrocious aftermarket black alloys. It took me over 5 months to find a set of factory LZ Titanium wheel, a steal at $300 with a set of new tyres. I did however upgrade to some Michelin Pilot Sport 4, which just raise the skill the Focus has.
Are you happy with the price and features of your car?
I chose the Titanium with the Sports Executive Pack as I was after a sunroof and front parking sensors. I don’t have the Technology Pack, and I don’t mind as much as I though I would, unless it is something like the Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop and Go and Lane Centring like the newer Fords, simple brake and accelerate Adaptive Cruise that only work above 30km/h are a bit pointless, as are lane assist systems that turn off while assisting with no warning.
I can only see the value in the Auto High Beam, and Forward Collision Warning. As I have a Titanium, blind spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert and active city stop (fun to play with in drive thru – We don’t recommend this… Ed.) are standard.
Considering other vehicles on the market, nothing really has the same as what the Focus offers, and where the Focus may not hold its value as well as others, that means you can get a top model for the same price as a base other car, which is good.
What do you think of the performance and economy of your car?
The 1.5 EcoBoost isn’t as powerful as an ST, but its got plenty of grunt and sounds decent under load. You can overtake with ease and the kick down of the 6F35 6-speed automatic is sharp. It has good low down torque so pulling out of corners is easy.
Cruising on the freeway is nice and smooth and the revs sit nice and low.
Fuel economy can be really good if you try or average if you drive a bit quick, nothing excessive either way.
What do you think of the technology in your car?
With the Sports Executive Pack, you also get Bi-Xenon headlamps. Although, they are static, as opposed to the Adaptive Bi-Xenon on the ST and RS. However I was able to retrofit some Adaptive units and they are exceptional! They provide plenty more visibility when turning and look cooler also.
The Active Park Assist is a decently cool feature, its fun to make people wait for your car to make a simple reverse perpendicular park take four manoeuvres, rather than one.
Lots of things you won’t find on brand new i30, Cerato, Corolla, it has global opening and closing of the windows and sunroof so you can cool the car down, capless refuelling and you don’t need to release the fuel door, auto start stop, etc.
What do you think of the ride comfort and handling of your car?
The highlight of the Ford Focus is its handling and that’s really where it excels.
Every part of the experience seems to have been fine tuned for the ultimate experience. The steering wheel is very nice in the hand, the feel of the steering, the body response, brake feel, etc.
Driving another car after driving a Focus is the best way to see how much better the Focus really is, currently in a rental after a crash, had a new Corolla, Kona and currently a Cerato S Safety Pack and none come anywhere near the Focus in any way, and I certainly cannot see how spending more for the top models of these cars would improve anything, no rain sensing on a $40K Cerato GT???
Been six weeks without my Focus and I’m not sure I can wait much longer!