2010 Ford Focus Review and Prices

By Chuck Giametta



2010 Ford Focus Buying Advice

The Ford Focus is the best car for you keeping a lid on your fuel bill is a higher priority than sophisticated styling or performance.

Want a world-class economy car? Wait for the 2011 Ford Focus. The 2010 Focus represents the last gasp of a cut-rate design that’s long underpinned the U.S.-market version of this small car. The 2011 Focus will finally adopt the critically acclaimed engineering of the European Ford Focus.

Yes, the 2010 Ford Focus will be a lame duck, but that doesn’t mean you should scratch it off your shopping list. The current Focus is a serviceable small car that provides good mileage and a surprisingly soft ride at competitive prices. With decent room for four, the four-door sedan is a better dollar value than the cramped two-door coupe.

2010 Ford Focus Changes

Styling: Ford gave Focus a heavy makeover for model-year 2008, incorporating appearance changes that will see the car to its 2011 redesign. A new nose and tail and big fake fender vents were the notable alterations. Dropped were versatile hatchback and wagon body styles. The sedan survived and was joined for model-year 2009 by a coupe with styling that gamely attempted to clean up mistakes made on the four-door.

Mechanical: The 2010 Focus will mark the final year for basic engineering that dates to model-year 2000 -- that’s ancient in car terms Don’t demand much of the chassis or the milquetoast four-cylinder engine and you’ll not be disappointed. The 2011 Focus will inherit a chassis engineered for top-notch handling and have more-efficient engines and transmissions.

Features: Every Focus comes with a laudable array of basic safety and convenience features, including head-protecting curtain side airbags and air conditioning. But the clear star is Ford’s Sync system. It’s the main reason some buyers to choose a Focus, though it hasn’t been unavailable on the least-expensive model. Developed with Microsoft, Sync links the car to an array of satellite, cell-phone, and iPod functions in a show of techno dazzle unique in this price range.

2010 Ford Focus Prices

Including destination charges, Focus will continue to start at an appealing $15,000 or so. Base prices will range to nearly $18,000 for a top-line SES model with standard Sync.

2010 Ford Focus Fuel Economy

With the five-speed manual transmission, Focus rates 24 mpg city/35 highway. With the four-speed automatic, it rates 24/33.

2010 Ford Focus Release Date

Look for the 2010 Focus in showrooms in late summer or early autumn 2009.

2010 Ford Focus Competitors

2010 Honda Civic: The lower-end of the Civic sedan and coupe roster is price-competitive with Focus and puts you in a car with class-leading comfort, space, build quality, and trade-in value.

2010 Hyundai Elantra: Not the liveliest or most fashionable small car, but a formidable value, with impressive comfort and solidity and a list of standard equipment and high-grade cabin materials that sends a shiver through the competition.

2010 Nissan Versa: Its look is an acquired taste, but the reward is lots of interior volume – especially in the hatchback version – and a balanced manner on the road that’ll have you thinking you’re in a more-expensive car.