2008 Ford Focus SES Review

What We Drove

Our test vehicle was the top trim SES sedan with an MSRP of $16,995, including a $620 destination charge. As such it includes the standard six airbags, along with the SE’s power windows, locks and mirrors. With the SES, buyers get 16-inch alloy wheels, fog lamps, rear spoiler, rear stabilizer bar, leather-wrapped steering wheel, four-way manual adjustable driver’s seat and Sync, which adds the auto-dimming rearview mirror. Our test vehicle also came with antilock brakes and traction control, Audiophile Sound System and Sirius Satellite radio, all of which are options. All told, our test vehicle came to $20,200, including the $620 destination charge.

Performance

The 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine does a decent job of getting the car up to speed as long it doesn’t involve a hill. With 140 horsepower and 136 lb.-ft. of torque, there’s enough oomph for most situations. Residents of California and states using the same smog rules get 130 horsepower and 129 lb.-ft. of torque. The four-speed automatic transmission works better on up hill stretches with overdrive turned off. Taking the transmission out of overdrive also makes for crisper acceleration because it stays in each gear longer. The five-speed manual is the way to go for better performance.

Handling

Ford says the suspension in the Focus is “European-inspired,” which we take to mean it has stiffer components. Whatever the carmaker has done, the Focus is a good handling car, with good steering feel that responds well. It rarely exhibited understeer and the car takes being tossed into corners well. The front disc/rear drum, antilock brakes are very good, from light inputs to heavy braking. With the suspension leaning toward performance you might expect a harsh ride, but it’s comfortable without feeling like you’re disconnected from the road.

Visibility

The view all around is very good. The position and angle of the windshield relative to the driver provides an excellent view of the road ahead. Visibility out the sides is also excellent. When an over-the-shoulder glance is needed to double check a lane change, the unobstructed view makes it fast and easy to be sure. Straight back, the view is good, although the wing and high trunk line make it a difficult to judge how close you are to objects. We’re in the age of porthole windows and the Focus employs them in the C-pillars, adding a little more visibility to the rear.

Fun to Drive

The Focus is an economy car with good handling and braking. Where it comes up short is the way the power is delivered to the wheels. A five-speed transmission, either manual or automatic, would improve acceleration, especially on hills. If you don’t deal with inclines, you’ll probably find the performance adequate to good, especially with the overdrive turned off. An option of a larger engine, perhaps on an SVT model would be welcome because as it stands the performance turns blah rather quickly.

Front Comfort

The front seats are comfortable and well bolstered. Four-way manual adjustment is available to the driver, while the passenger seat is manual and only a two-way. The headrests are canted forward at an angle that some drivers might not find to their liking. Head, shoulder and leg room are all quite good. The leather steering wheel feels good and isn’t overly fat. Entry and exit are easy, and over all the cabin is has a spacious feel. The center armrest is adequately padded, while the padding on the doors is OK, but there’s not enough of it.

Rear Comfort

If the front seats are all the way back, rear seat leg room gets cramped for anyone approaching six-feet tall, but headroom is adequate. The rear seats themselves are comfortable and the foot space is very good. The rear doors open wide enough to make entry and exit easy. There’s a coat hook above each door, but they’re mounted so far back that use of a hanger is iffy. The 60/40 split backs are easily folded. What is lacking are headrests for the back seats, something that several competitors have.

Interior Noise

At 55 mph and below, the Focus is quiet inside with very little wind noise and some tire noise. At 60-70 mph, wind noise is louder and mostly from the side mirrors. Much faster than that, and wind noise increases a lot, generated by the un-shrouded windshield wipers and the mirrors. In short, at the speeds that most people drive, the noise won’t rise to objectionable levels.

Loading Cargo

The power-release trunk opens wide and has a low liftover height, which makes loading and unloading easy. The carpeted trunk doesn’t have any storage bins, but a quart of oil and a few rags will fit under the deck next to the spare tire. An interior light was a welcome feature at night. Some of the space is taken up by the subwoofer and its amplifier – small price to pay for good sounding audio. The split rear seat can only be lowered from inside the passenger compartment.

Build Quality

Our Ford Focus test vehicle was a pre-production unit. We did not assess build quality, as it is our rule to praise or critique this aspect of a vehicle only when it is reflective of what consumers will find at the local dealership. 

Materials Quality

Good quality, somewhat supple leather covers the human side of the seats. The faux leather used on the sides and backs of the seats and the real leather match in color, and the grains are close. A non-slip, rubbery material covers the center and door armrests, and has enough give to be comfortable. Faux leather covers the door panel above the armrests, but the window sills are hard plastic. While much of the interior – dash, upper portion of doors, pillars – is covered in hard plastic, the different pieces match in color and most of them have the same texture.

Styling

Let’s start with the good part. The interior’s simple dark gray and faux aluminum color scheme works well, although we’d prefer less silver. On the outside, things get crossed-up. The front end looks as if it were designed by someone who didn’t know what the rest of the car looked like. The bumper shape doesn’t flow from any line on the body. The rear end is slightly better. The fake side vents only serve one function – they provide a way to finish off the character line that runs along the side.

Storage

Storage is on the slim side. There are pockets in the front doors that can accommodate a water bottle, two cupholders in the center console for the driver and front passenger, a small, open area under the center stack, a deep bin under the center armrest and one cupholder for the back seat passengers. Bucking a trend can make a vehicle distinctive, but three cupholders in a five-passenger car is skimpy. The glove box isn’t as big as it could be, and there’s only a pocket on the back of the front passenger seat.

Microsoft Sync

Sync is a system that links to a Bluetooth enabled cell phone or music storage device. A mini-jack or USB port connect devices that aren’t wireless. There are two 12-volt outlets, one on either side of the wired inputs. Even with the instructions, it took a few tries to get it going. In actual operation, Sync works very well. A button on the steering wheel changes modes or fires up voice commands. The system had no trouble digesting the phrase, “Play ‘How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb,” delivering U2’s music on the first try. Sync is standard on the SES; an option on the SE.

Infotainment Controls

The controls on the Audiophile Sound System are logical and easy to use. A button for accessing the phone functions is clustered with the others. If you don’t like talking to the dashboard, everything except a few setup functions that require spoken commands can be controlled the old way. Our test vehicle came with Sirius Satellite radio, which is always nice. One nit to pick is that the satellite radio doesn’t hold a display setting if you change channels or shut the car off. So if you want artist and song displayed, you’ll have to get familiar with the Text button.

Climate Controls

Our test vehicle came with a basic single zone setup, which is what’s available across the Focus lineup. Clearly marked and easy-to-use controls included knobs for fan speed and temperature, pushbuttons for airflow, system on/off, air conditioning, recirculate, maximum air conditioning and the single-setting seat heaters. Temperature control was linear and it was easy to find just the right in-between settings for California’s pretend winter.

Secondary Controls

The Focus has the window buttons, door lock switch and power mirror switch in separate spots instead of clustered on the driver’s armrest, which would be preferable. Four switches on the left side of the steering wheel handle cruise control, while the right side has four that handle audio, voice command on, and a linked phone. The center stack has five large buttons under the climate controls; three for the trip computer, traction control on-off and a button for changing the ambient lighting color. Among those is an indicator for the passenger side airbag.

Competition

The Focus faces several competitors, including the Chevrolet Cobalt, Honda Civic, Hyundai Accent, Kia Spectra, Mazda3, Mitsubishi Lancer, Nissan Sentra, Saturn ASTRA, Suzuki SX4 Sport, Toyota Corolla and Volkswagen Rabbit. Seven of those, along with the Focus, have base prices under $15,000. If Sync is your most-wanted option, the Focus is the choice – for now. Microsoft is looking to add more carmakers to its client list. If Sync isn’t that important, you can find a nicer interior on some of the cheaper cars, such as the Hyundai. At about the same price, there are cars with better performance, such as the Mazda3.

2^nd Opinion – Buglewicz

This was the second chance for Ford’s little sedan to make a good impression on me. The first was at the car’s introduction in Seattle, Wash., back in September. I came away thinking that Ford had done the best it could with an eight-year-old platform. However, it was still handily outclassed by a large number of its competitors in the class, leaving the clever and cool Sync feature as the standout reason for buying a Focus. So here it is on familiar ground, and the Focus still makes the same impression. 

Keith Buglewicz
MyRide.com Road Test Editor

2^nd Opinion – Chee

I almost purchased the Focus, once, because I saw it as an affordable way to do my part for clean air. But try as I might, I could not get around the plastic-fantastic interior and the fact that it was an aging car. This redesigned model – even with the upgraded materials of the SES trim – did little to answer my complaints, and in fact added one about its design. Yes, it’s a comfortable car to drive, with enough power for the day-to-day. The problem is that you can find better cars, Sync be dammed – which makes the Focus that car everyone almost buys. It will remain so until the company revamps its mechanicals.