Ford would love it if you saw the Focus's new face as a smallerrendition of the more prestigious Ford Five Hundred. Ford calls theFocus's new exterior more "upscale and aspirational." You might noticethe larger headlamps with reshaped clear lenses, a larger grille with anew crosshatch pattern ringed in chrome, and a new fascia thatincorporates a wide lower air intake and new round fog lamps. Thenagain, you might not.
Two-tone interiors are nice, but the reason we loved the previousFocus--even the non-SVT models--was the way they rode and drove. In thatregard, Ford hasn't messed with success. The rack-and-pinion steeringand a four-wheel independent suspension that uses MacPherson struts infront and a multi-link "Control Blade" design are still here. Our ZXWSES came with 16-inch alloy wheels and all wagons are fitted with 21millimetre front and a 20 millimetre rear stabilizer bars. The rearstabilizer bar also allows lower rear spring rates to be used, forbetter ride quality.
Understeer is ultimately what you get when driving the Focus ZXW likeyou stole it. However, the steering has tons of feel, and there'senough feedback from the chassis to communicate the attitude of thecar's behaviour. It's not a MINI Cooper, but the rear of the car can becoaxed into thinking its part of the fun. Compared to the more woodenand woolly Jetta, ride and handling is where the Focus shines.
Especially over our rutted and bombed out roads. The Focus's ability toride with the road, as opposed to attempting to pound it intosubmission, is what makes it unique in this class. As before, the Focusapproaches the level of ride and handling that BMW's are pined for. AJetta wagon may have better interior build quality and status, butgoing down the road, the Focus wins.
Because our wagon was not an ST packaged sedan, like every other 2005Focus, it came with the new 136 horsepower, 2.0 litre DOHC,straight-four that supercedes the old 110 horsepower, 2.0 litre singleoverhead cam and the optional 130 horsepower engines. This enginebetters the Jetta GLS's 115 horsepower 2.0 litre four by 21, but itsraucous manner fills the cabin easily with unwanted noise. Whenequipped with slushboxes, both the Focus and Jetta accelerationabilities are non-threatening to anyone with neck problems.
The 2005 Ford Focus wagon presents a compelling value equation.
If hauling is a priority, consider that the Focus still has more cargoroom than such pricey compact wagons as Audi's A4 Avant 1.8T FrontTrack ($36,435), BMW's 325i Touring ($41,400), or even Volvo's V50 2.4i($31,495).
Nonetheless, if you are comparing within its own price class, andfun-to-drive is a priority, the 2005 Focus wagon is difficult toignore.
If you forsake the options that our ZXW SES model came with (such asthe automatic), the Focus is still well equipped, and thousands lessthan a less powerful, lesser equipped Jetta wagon. And regardless ofits somewhat thrashy mill, and questionable seat comfort, the 2005 FordFocus ZXW SES easily beats out the similarly priced Toyota Matrix XR($21,185)/Pontiac Vibe ($19,850) twins or Chevrolet Optra LS wagon($18,650) as the compact wagon for those who love to drive.
- John LeBlanc, Publisher, straight-six.com
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Understeer is ultimately what you get when driving the Focus ZXW likeyou stole it. However, the steering has tons of feel, and there'senough feedback from the chassis to communicate the attitude of thecar's behaviour. It's not a MINI Cooper, but the rear of the car can becoaxed into thinking its part of the fun. Compared to the more woodenand woolly Jetta, ride and handling is where the Focus shines.
Especially over our rutted and bombed out roads. The Focus's ability toride with the road, as opposed to attempting to pound it intosubmission, is what makes it unique in this class. As before, the Focusapproaches the level of ride and handling that BMW's are pined for. AJetta wagon may have better interior build quality and status, butgoing down the road, the Focus wins.
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The 2005 Ford Focus wagon presents a compelling value equation.
If hauling is a priority, consider that the Focus still has more cargoroom than such pricey compact wagons as Audi's A4 Avant 1.8T FrontTrack ($36,435), BMW's 325i Touring ($41,400), or even Volvo's V50 2.4i($31,495).
Nonetheless, if you are comparing within its own price class, andfun-to-drive is a priority, the 2005 Focus wagon is difficult toignore.
If you forsake the options that our ZXW SES model came with (such asthe automatic), the Focus is still well equipped, and thousands lessthan a less powerful, lesser equipped Jetta wagon. And regardless ofits somewhat thrashy mill, and questionable seat comfort, the 2005 FordFocus ZXW SES easily beats out the similarly priced Toyota Matrix XR($21,185)/Pontiac Vibe ($19,850) twins or Chevrolet Optra LS wagon($18,650) as the compact wagon for those who love to drive.
- John LeBlanc, Publisher, straight-six.com