March 20, 2010
What you should know about the new Ford Focus
By: Bob Ulrich
The news wasn't good: I had a blown head gasket on my 4-door 2002 Saturn SL1. Then I found out the head was cracked as well.
Given the $2,500 price tag, I really had only one choice: new car!
Because Ford Motor Co. didn't accept any bail-out money, I decided to buy a Ford (I heard there were some great deals on Toyotas, but passed this time around). No need to bore you with the sales details -- I bought a sangria red 2010 Ford Focus sedan.
Let us first look at the tires. The Hankook Optimo H725 all-season tires, size P195/60TR15, are designed to perform on dry, wet and light snow-covered roads, which is great because it looks like the heavy snows in northeast Ohio are done until next winter.
My independent tire dealer told me I may not need winter tires next year because the Focus also has traction control. And the tires are backed by a four-year, 80,000-mile limited tread wear warranty, so I may not have to buy tires for four years.
I wasn't surprised that they were Hankook tires, by the way, because Hankook Tire America Corp. has 9% market share with Ford in the United States and Canada. Because I knew Kumho Tire U.S.A. Inc. supplies the Ford Focus with 17-inch tires, however, I didn't know what to expect (Kumho has 2% market share, thanks to its Focus contract).
On the placard inside the door, the recommended psi is 32 cold. "Always inflate your tires to the Ford-recommended inflation pressure, even if it is less than the maximum inflation pressure information found on the tire," says the owner's manual. (I hope Ford conferred with Hankook before deciding on 32 psi.)
The car's direct tire pressure monitoring system will let me know if any of the four tires is "significantly under-inflated" by illuminating the low tire pressure telltale. If the system is not functioning properly, the telltale will flash for about a minute and then remain illuminated; this sequence will repeat every time the vehicle starts up.
Here are some other performance and marketing features of note.
Warranties: I have a three-year, 36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty, and a five-year, 60,000-mile powertrain warranty.
Fuel economy: 24 mpg city, 35 mpg highway. If I drive 15,000 miles a year, and gas averages $2.60 a gallon, Ford says I'll save $1,392 a year! That means the car will pay for itself in a little over 12 years!
Crash test ratings, per the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: frontal impact is five out of five stars (defined as “a 10% or lower chance of serious injury”); side impact is three out of five stars (“an 11% to 20% chance of serious injury”). The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has rated the frontal offset and rear impact “good” (its highest rating) and side impact “acceptable” (its second-highest rating, ahead of “marginal” and “poor”).
Environmental performance: The Ford Focus has a "global warming score" of "8" out of 10, with 10 being the cleanest. Unfortunately, its "smog score" is only four, which is below average. Hopefully, I won't be driving the car in Los Angeles anytime soon.
The car dealership from which I purchased the vehicle recommends changing the oil at 5,000-mile intervals after the first 3,000 miles. It offers “the $7.95 oil change,” which increases to $12.95 after all the fees are included. A tire rotation costs $19.95; nitrogen fill in the tires costs $34.95.
Independent tire dealers can beat those prices, which is one reason the care of my car --unless it needs warranty work -- is now in their hands.
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