2012 Ford Focus Review and Prices

by Chuck Giametta

Table of Contents
2012 Ford Focus Review and Pricing
2010 Ford Focus Review and Pricing
2009 Ford Focus Quote

2012 FORD FOCUS BUYING ADVICE

• The 2012 Ford Focus is the best car for you if you want to experience the sort of compact car that’s got the rest of the world swooning.

• The 2012 Ford Focus rolls into American showrooms in early 2011 as an all-new model built in the U.S. but designed to international standards. Ford is finally casting aside the creaky Focus it’s been pawning off on U.S. drivers for years. In its place comes a “global” car with advanced styling, engineering, fuel economy, and performance that could reboot what we think about affordable small cars.

• Should you wait for the 2012 Ford Focus? Yes. It looks to be a game-changer, a domestic-brand compact with road manners that hold their own with the best-in-class Honda Civic, Mazda 3, and Volkswagen Golf. Expect 2012 Focus prices to start around $16,000 for the debut four-door sedan and four-door hatchback. They’ll be followed, Ford promises, by an all-electric model, a related seven-seat mini-minivan, even a Mercury spinoff.

2012 FORD FOCUS CHANGES

• Styling: The 2012 Ford Focus is designed by Ford’s European arm and follows the company’s sporty new “kinetic” styling themes. Ford calls the look “energy in motion.” It’s characterized by a big lower grille, swept-back headlamps, blacked-out window frames, and strongly defined wheel arches. It’s a step forward from the styling of today’s European Focus, a car that dates to 2005 and shares engineering with the Mazda 3 and Volvo C30 compacts from Ford’s Japanese and Swedish collaborators, respectively. Finicky foreign drivers and auto writers praise the road manners of those cars. That’s in stark contrast to reviews of today’s U.S. Focus, a blocky compact that traces its basic underpinnings to model-year 2000, with less-than exemplary revisions for 2005 and 2008. The all-new 2012 “world-car” Focus will sell as a compact in the U.S., but in many countries it’ll serve as a middle-class family’s sole car. Expect the 2012 Focus to be only slightly larger than the outgoing U.S. model but to make more efficient use of space. That means it’ll have a longer wheelbase, which is the distance between front and rear axles and a key factor in cabin room. But because the car must fit the crowded streets of Rome, London, and Tokyo, its body probably won’t be significantly longer. A wider track giving more shoulder room and a secure stance on the road is in the cards. So is a taller roofline for increased head room. Ford aims to link the interior of the 2012 Focus to the spirit of its exterior. Anticipate enveloping forms and a dashboard designed for a generation that’s grown up with all manner of mobile infotainment devices.    

• Mechanical: The 2012 Focus is a global car in the sense that its basic design will be sold in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and elsewhere with only minor changes to suit individual markets. Ford says roughly 80 percent of its components will be shared in all markets and it expects annual worldwide sales of two million vehicles based on this platform. Economies of scale should enable Ford to employ more sophisticated design elements and higher-quality components than might otherwise be possible at the car’s modest price point. But that also obligates Ford to create common engines, suspensions, steering systems, brakes, and safety features good enough to satisfy the diverse demands of Germany’s autobahn and Brazil’s back roads. The 2012 Focus platform is an evolution of the one that underpins the current European Focus and begins a migration away from today’s Mazda 3 design. It’ll retain front-wheel drive, though it will also accommodate all-wheel drive for high-performance models and for compact crossover utility vehicles. Focus will continue to use four-cylinder engines, but from Ford’s new design family that promises fuel economy gains of 10-20 percent thanks to turbocharging, advanced new transmissions, and efficient, high-pressure direct fuel injection. The 2012 Focus bows in the U.S. with a 2.0-liter that Ford estimates at 155 horsepower and 145 pound-feet of torque. Transmission choices are a six-speed manual or Ford’s new PowerShift transmission, which is actually a state-of-the art six-speed dual-clutch manual gearbox that performs like an automatic. PowerShift does not require the driver to shift gears manually, has no clutch pedal, and is less complex and therefore lighter in weight than a conventional automatic. Ford says PowerShift reduces fuel consumption up to 9 percent compared with an automatic transmission. Following 2.0-liter, Ford is expected to make Focus available with a direct-injection turbocharged 1.6-liter four from Ford’s new EcoBoost engine family; it should have around 180 horsepower. Overseas markets will get diesel-engine options, as well.

• Features: Part of Ford’s aim with the 2012 Focus is to raise Americans’ compact-car expectations. Prices for this next-generation model will be liberated to creep above today’s $15,000-$18,600 range thanks to the U.S. introduction of the 2011 Ford Fiesta. That global subcompact hatchback and sedan goes on sale in early 2010 with an estimated U.S. price range of $14,000-$18,000. In many overseas markets, the 2012 Focus will enjoy a climate in which cars its size carry premium prices; one European Focus model sells for the U.S. equivalent of $35,000. No version of the next-generation U.S.-market Focus is apt to go that high. But the American-spec 2012 Focus does cater to cut-above expectations with such upscale features as a high-tech dashboard that supplements conventional audio and climate controls with liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and cell phone-style five-way buttons and keypads. Called MyFord, it’s customizable and governed via steering wheel controls or voice commands. The basic system uses a pair of 4.2-inch LCD screens, one in front of the driver for main instruments, the other atop the center console to display and adjust climate and infotainment functions. Higher-cost versions have an 8-inch central screen. MyFord is designed to work with Ford’s Microsoft-developed Sync system of hands-free connectivity for communications, navigation, and entertainment services. Sync integrates a USB iPod interface and can provide turn-by-turn directions, though an actual navigation system will cost extra. Final specifications for U.S. versions were not final as of this review, but Ford isn’t apt to compromise on 2012 Focus safety features; a complete suite, including antiskid control, will likely be standard. Fold-down rear seats, power windows, locks, and mirrors probably will be included in the base price, as well. Options are sure to encompass leather upholstery and a power sunroof. Rearview camera, keyless pushbutton ignition, active cruise control, and lane departure warning could be among available features.

2012 FORD FOCUS PRICES

• Ford won’t release 2012 Focus prices until shortly before the car goes on sale. Both the four-door sedan and the four-door hatchback will be offered in several trim levels, from price-leader-low to sticker-shock steep.

• A starting price for the base 2010 Focus of around $16,000, including some $700 in destination charges, isn’t out of the question. Add another $900 or so for automatic transmission. Midline models might be in the $17,000-$22,000 range, with top-range EcoBoost versions touching $25,000 before options.

2012 FORD FOCUS FUEL ECONOMY

• EPA ratings for 2012 cars were not available in time for this review, but Ford will use fuel economy as a 2012 Focus selling point.

• Rough estimates put the base models at around 28/38 mpg (city/highway), with the EcoBoost versions equaling that or even bettering it slightly.  

2012 FORD FOCUS RELEASE DATE

• Look for the 2012 Ford Focus in showrooms by early 2011. North American-market versions of the next-generation Focus will be assembled at Ford’s plant in Wayne, Mich.  

WHA’TS NEXT FOR THE FORD FOCUS

• The basic chassis and body engineering of the 2012 Ford Focus belongs to Ford’s global C-platform catalog. “C” refers to an international size class for this sort of car, which in the U.S. falls into the compact class. The 2011 Ford Fiesta is in the smaller B class, while midsize cars, like the Ford Fusion, would be broadly equivalent to the D class.

• Ford plans to build 10 models on this C architecture. These include body style variations of the 2012 Focus, such as a two-door hatchback or convertible. The new C platform has already spawned a mini-minivan called the Ford C-Max and a compact crossover SUV known in Europe as the Ford Kuga. Both follow “kinetic” design themes, and Ford has confirmed a seven-seat version of the C-Max for the U.S. in the near future. It hasn’t committed to a Kuga-like crossover, but don’t rule it out. Ford also promises that its Mercury division will get a vehicle based on this C platform.

• It’s also pledged to introduce a pure-electric version of this new-generation Focus. It’ll go on sale during 2011 or 2012 and be driven by an electric motor powered by an on-board lithium ion battery pack. Amercian TV viewers can see a prototype of this Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) on The Jay Leno Show’s “Green Car Challenge” celebrity racing stunt. Leno’s BEV uses the body and platform of an outgoing-generation European Focus. Specifications for the production Focus BEV will be similar to the prototype, which takes 6-8 hours to charge from a 230-volt outlet and has a range of 75 miles per charge. The prototype’s electric motor has 141 horsepower and 235 pound-feet of torque. Its top speed is 85 mph.

2012 FORD FOCUS COMPETITION

• Honda Civic: For value, quality, design, and dynamics, this is the bull’s-eye on every compact-car maker’s dartboard. An all-new ninth-generation Civic is due for model-year 2011 and promises to be another pacesetter – and sales leader -- in the class. A four-door sedan is certain, a two-door coupe likely, both with front-wheel drive and four-cylinder engines that get at least 26/34 mpg (city/highway). The Civic that’s sold in North America has differed from more avant-garde versions Honda sells in Europe and Asia. Tradition dictates a wide range of trim levels with prices ranging from around $16,500 for basic models to $23,000 for sporty Si versions; if Honda continues to offer a gas-electric Civic Hybrid (over 45 mpg highway), it’s likely to start around $25,000.

• Mazda 3: This is what the American-market Focus should have been for the past half-decade or so. Thankfully, Mazda believed its U.S. customers would appreciate -- and pay for – the newer, better Ford/Mazda platform so that’s what it used for its compact car. Now, Ford’s poised to leapfrog it with the 2012 Focus. Nonetheless, the 3 remains a solid, roomy, fun-to-drive four-door hatchback and sedan. It was restyled for model-year 2010 and continues with front-wheel drive and horsepower that ranges from around 150 to more than 260 for the pocket-rocket MazdaSpeed3 model. Fuel economy spans 18/25-25/33 mpg, base prices roughly $16,000-$24,000.

• Volkswagen Jetta and Golf: The evergreen Toyota Corolla and the enterprising Hyundai Elantra belong among 2012 Focus competitors, too. But for the kind of sophisticated European breeding the new Ford will target, look to these VWs. They’re really just different names for different body styles: Jetta the four-door sedan and wagon, Golf the four-door hatchback. Jetta’s more popular in the U.S., Golf the better seller internationally. Both are confident, aspirational compacts. Golf is competitively priced against the field, but Jetta starts around $18,000 – one reason VW will launch a slightly larger but lower-priced U.S.-built alternative around the time the 2010 Focus goes on sale. Any sporty new Focus will have to unseat the Golf-based GTI for all-around hot-hatch excellence.