Thursday, October 8, 2015

A Silver Focus



And so begins the saga of the 2015 Ford Focus SE, replacing the Escape. I had been mulling over trading down anyway, as the latter was a bit more than I really needed, was not very good on gas mileage, and of course, the previously documented issues. The dealer and the discounts made it an attractive deal that really did not cost either of us. They will likely flip it for more than they gave me for it, but I came out on top too.

We tend to drive some rather great distances at times, and the gas mileage will definitely be worth it just for the daily commute alone. That was primary purpose anyway. With everything that comes standard, there was not much more that I really needed. The only option it has is Cold Weather Package. I did not even really need that. I could have bought a white model that had nothing, but thought my hands and my bottom might enjoy this feature during winter. I also decided to go with a manual transmission; partly because small cars are better that way, and partly because of the multitude of horror stories that I had read about the automatic. The dealer even suggested we would probably not be happy with an automatic.


2015 Ford Focus SE sticker A lot of thought went into deciding to just stay with Ford, and the model itself. I considered a used Impreza or Jetta initially, but the thought of a used car without a warranty was not convincing enough. It was going to cost the same in the long run; perhaps less in the really long term. Time will tell. That is what this post is all about; documenting the life of this vehicle.

After resolving to stay with Ford, I tried out a Fiesta, which is a a fun little car. I needed just a bit more space than that though, and it was like riding in a personal rocket ship. That never ends well for me. I also tested out the 3-cylindar Focus 1.0L with Ecoboost. It was just about a gutless machine. There is a night and day difference between it and the 2.0L and I really was not fond of the idea of the 1.0 turning itself off when it felt appropriate to do so. I still want a little bit more control of that.

A silver 2015 Ford Focus SE with 2.0L I4 GDI Engine and 5-Speed manual transmission was my final choice, it is a nice little ride. It is ergonomic to an extreme. One friend told me the drivers seat was like being in a little personal submarine. Everything is at your fingertips and seemingly in the perfect place, even for someone at our height of 6 ft.


There was only one defect that nobody noticed until we went to pick it up. There was a dent above the driver side front wheel. The dealer said he could have it fixed easy enough. We scheduled a time to go in on Thursday and it only took 15 minutes. The dent remover was a little concerned it might break the paint at first, but with assurances from the dealer that they would fix that too, he went ahead and it all worked out. I still took a photo of it, just in case the paint fails there in the future.

After driving it for a week, there only are few things of note at this time. It sounds kind of funny when it starts, growls a little, but quickly smooths out. The hill-assist is going to take some getting used to. It acts like a break, when taking off from a stop on a hill. Taking off on freshly wet city streets was a little slippery one day, and I heard the traction control doing its thing. The only thing I really hate, that I can do nothing about, is the method for raising and lowering the seat. The last car was the same, so I guess I can put up with it, but how did that get through design? Surely,something more air pressure or hydraulic could have been devised. I have a hydraulic floor jack in the garage that works better than that hand crank system.

It is a good car though, and well worth it. Averaging about 30 mpg thus far, and looking forward to taking it out and stretching its legs a bit soon. Still need to get the front end bra to protect it on those journeys through the bug fields of south Missouri and Arkansas, as well as a roof rack to transport the kayaks. Looking forward to getting some good use of this vehicle and writing more milestones.

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