Affin also, they called twice already, probably because I'm self-employed. Hopefully the loan will get approve by this week

After approved is to sign the loan agreement? Then wait to collect car?

yeah, totally agreed with spiderman

So how was this open pod air filter works for Ford Focus? Worth every penny? More responsive?

Do you mean the aston martin facelift Ford Focus? If yes, then that's not my cup of tea

Well, I am not disputing the fact that modifying a stock car will yield benefits. It will surely bring some improvements in handling especially to vehicles which have mediocre handling. For the Focus, I can say it's already quite good, so it depends on how much performance one wants to squeeze out of it with modifications.

My point of view is already mentioned earlier, in that it's a waste of time and money to modify cars. To you it may be different, just a difference in philosophies and priorities. Having said that, I can understand that it brings huge satisfaction and a big grin to those who keep modifying their vehicles bit by bit and see the character of the car change. I guess it is just a passion or hobby of modifying.

To each his own I guess.

Yes, agreed that looks are personal. Mazda 3 2014 hatchback does look stunning. The sedan not so sure as there are no pictures on the internet.

Nasim and Sime Darby's after-sales service may be similar, but my gut feeling tells me the former is worse. After-sales service is one thing. In my mind the reliability of Peugeot, French in general is worse than Ford. In the long-run after the warranty period is over, one may experience more reliability issues with failing parts or electronics problem in the Peugeot than in the Ford.

Yes, Ford is originally from US though if you go through the history of Ford you will notice that Ford of Europe was founded in the 60's between British and German divisions and is a subsidiary of Ford Motor Company. The Focus, Mondeo, Fiesta are all developed by Ford Europe. As for why Ford is considered as a continental car, it's because it's developed in Europe. If you want to consider its origins as a brand then you may consider it as an American car.

Thanks for the information. Much appreciated. Don’t worry too much about expressing your thoughts which do not favour the Ford Focus. Most of here are not really fanatics or die-hard Focus fans that will be on the defensive(or worse still, offensive) with negative remarks on the vehicle. I’m just interested to know your experience since I was little surprised that the Suzuki Swift Sport can have better handling than the Ford Focus considering the pedigree of the latter’s driving dynamics. Since I have not driven the Swift I couldn’t comment, hence the questions.

I can understand the better steering feedback of the Swift due to the heavier steering of it vs. The lighter steering of the Focus. Yes, I agree that the steering of the Focus is light, and a car with heavier steering may give better confidence in bends and turns. Nevertheless, I feel the steering feedback of the Focus is good – precise and accurate although light. There is not much loss in confidence with tight bends or corners with the Focus. Some vehicles such as the Nissan Sylphy have a light steering with low feedback. In other words, there is less precision and feel in the steering which translates to lack of confidence when on corners and bends at moderate to high speeds. The steering feels “loose” with little feedback due to the lightness. With the Focus, there is still high feedback although the steering feel is light.

Almost any vehicle with a heavier or stiffer steering will give a feeling of security and confidence when in bends and turns as the tendency to lose control (with a slight twist on the steering) is minimised in comparison to a vehicle with lighter steering. I can relate to your experience since I also own the Proton Preve Turbo which comes with a much heavier and stiffer steering than the Ford Focus. I presume the steering of the Preve is even heavier than your Swift. And yes, there is high confidence when taking corners or bends with the Preve Turbo. However, there is also high confidence when doing the same with the Focus.

Personally I believe both Preve Turbo and Focus (or the Swift) have good steering feedback. It’s just the level of stiffness of the steering that is the crux of the issue here. Lighter steering is usually seen or felt as having inferior steering feedback. However, in the case of the Focus, the accuracy and preciseness of the steering feedback are still high despite the lightness of the steering. A vehicle that has lower/poor levels of steering feedback, one example is the Nissan Sylphy. Both Sylphy and Focus have light steering, but the steering feedback of the Focus is much higher than the Sylphy.

As for the Swift, the *presumably* stiffer steering may have given the impression of better/higher levels of steering feedback, since you have mentioned the steering of the Focus is on the lighter side of things.

The Swift may have better cornering with the smaller body structure and geometry of it.

The Swift has a stiffer suspension and the ride is bouncier than the Focus on bad roads with undulations. The unnevenness of the roads is transmitted more effectively in the Swift than in the Focus. Somehows, I just feel the suspension of the Focus has the right balance in giving the best of both worlds - it feels very light and planted to the ground and yet it does not bounce as much when going over bad uneven roads. Usually lighter suspension setups will tend to bounce more than heavier/stiffer suspensions, transmitting the unnevennes or undulations of the roads into the cabin. It's the other way round with the Focus.

For bumpy/uneven/bad roads, I reckon the Focus will be much comfortable than the Swift Sport with higher stability/less bounciness, and also less suspension noises. :-)

Yes, the Focus would be an upgrade to the Swift in many areas. Taking the performance and handling out of the equation, the interior of the Focus is already much better than the Swift I believe. Thick leather seats, the packed dashboard that some may thought of as confusing with too many buttons, more substantial and solid doors etc. Overall higher levels of quality and refinment between the two.

Could be little inappropriate comparing a segment B to a segment C vehicle but anyway. The Fiesta is the one that should be compared to the Swift. Nevertheless, as I have mentioned earlier to another forummer, we can always compare vehicles even though they do not belong in the same segment, as long as we have experience with both.

Thanish, not a reviewer or anything. I just like to write, and most friends usually think I can express my thoughts well enough in writing. I'm not an ardent car fan and just happen to own the Focus.

Cheers.

Yeah, you can say it's a passion toward car, and I do enjoy doing it

Thanks for sharing, cause I always refer Ford as US car to those who do not know the history of Ford, but surprisingly everyone in this forum seems to refer Ford as Continental, so just to clarify

No worries mate I am all in for Ford Focus else i wont be here in this forum or made a booking Cheers! Getting old ady, can't whack uneven road too much. Yup, agree that stiffer suspension leads to bumpy/bouncy ride, summore i have upgraded to coilovers... breaking my back now.. hahaha. Gone are the days of my fast driving and corners whacking... huhuhuu...

There are further mods needed to fully utilized K&N 57s.
Need to delete (remove) the snorkel and also cut (or remove) the soft plastic air diverter (not too sure the actual term) around the engine bay.
Overall, happy with the throttle response and it does feel that the car RPMs are easier to climb.

I've thought about it for a while to accurately or effectively translate "real life experience" into words. Steering feel, handling and driving dynamics.

I have mentioned before that the Ford Focus has the most precise, accurate and well-balanced steering that I have experienced. And that still stands true for me. It is difficult to objectively assert that vehicle A has better steering than vehicle B or vice versa. Whatever that "better" means is something that is subjective, though the characteristics in the responsiveness and weight of the steering can be ascertained, or perhaps measured.

My experience is based on the following vehicles which I have owned or had driven - Nissan Sylphy, BMW 320i, Ford Focus, Proton Preve Turbo

STEERING WEIGHT - It is a matter of preference whether one prefers a light steering or a heavier steering, and a "better steering feel" may not be related to the weight of the steering itself. The Nissan Sylphy has the lightest steering, followed by the Ford Focus which has an equally light steering. The BMW 320i steering is also on the lighter side of things though just a tad heavier than the steering weight of the Ford Focus. ANd lastly, the Protons. The Proton Preve Turbo's steering is significantly heavier than the Nissan, Focus and BMW. Once one has got accustomed to driving a light steering, it would be a weird feeling to be on the Preve Turbo. Light steering is particularly useful or desirable when manouevring in heavy traffic conditions or in jams and city centres. Easier to manouevre the vehicle around town.

RESPONSIVENESS/ACCURACY - This is another function which goes in tandem with the steering weight that contributes to the overall feel and control of the steering. Responsiveness or accuracy means that the vehicle movement responds or reacts exactly as how the driver turns the steering. Of course it is difficult to pin-point on how accurate or responsive the steering is as ALL vehicles will respond to steering movements. Right turn and the vehicle moves right. Left turn and the vehicle moves left. So how to argue that vehicle A has more responsive, accurate, precise or sharp steering than vehicle B? Certainly debatable.

In my mind, the Focus and BMW 320i are both at the top in steering accuracy and responsiveness. You don't feel any lag or looseness in the steering, and the vehicle movements or manouevres are sharp and precise as how you turn the steering. It's just difficult to describe it in words sometimes. You have to feel it when you drive the vehicle. The Preve Turbo's steering is also responsive, though not up to the level of the BMW and Focus. You just feel a certain preciseness in the level of accuracy of the Focus and 320i's steering. And lastly, the Nissan Sylphy. Well, the car as with any other cars will move in whatever direction the driver tells it to go. However, there is a certain "looseness" in the steering in the Sylphy, and I certainly feel the accuracy and control of it isn't up to par in comparison to the more accurate and precise steering of the better handling vehicles. Even in the straights at moderate to high speeds say 110 to 130km/h, when the steering moves slightly to the left or right, the vehicle will still go straight. In other words, the steering is "loose" and not accurate! When on the bends or corners, the combined lightness and looseness of the steering pull down the confidence of the driver when on the bends or corners at moderate speeds.

Handling and driving dynamics of a vehicle is the sum of all the traits of a vehicle taken as a whole in promoting a sporty and thrilling drive. The steering feel, suspension setup the chassis and shape/geometry of the vehicle body are all equally important. And suffice to say the Focus remains at the top of the pack. I didn't drive the BMW 320i for extended sessions with speeds kept to below 100km/h(it belongs to my cousin), so well, can't say too much about the handling though I expect to be excellent being a BMW. I had a taste of the precise steering of it though, precise like the Focus but a tad heavier. The Preve Turbo's handling is decent and the Nissan Sylphy remains at the bottom of the pack when it comes to handling. It's not the built for sporty driving anyway being a comfort vehicle, which in this area the Sylphy remains as king with its plush leather seats and large rear legroom space.

Yes, similarly I am getting old. Although the handling of the Focus in fast and furious driving is excellent, I believe most Focus owners may not trash their car in high speeds cornering of stuff but rather enjoy the refinement of the drive in normal or most common driving conditions. Even if we wanted to relish the thrill or power of the Focus, we can always choose to just do that on the straights when the road is clear. The more than decent horsepower on tap and efficiency of the Powershift gear transmission will provide some of the thrill when the need arises. :-)

Perhaps I was insensitive in my earlier comment. I apologise. I think everyone has their own passion and interest in certain things. And yes, I agree it can be an enjoyable experience to perform modifications and see the behavior of the vehicle changes wiht every step of modification you have done to it. May I ask what do you intend to modify? Isn't it risky to modify the major parts of the vehicle since it may not be in compliance with the designer's specification/requirement when he came up with the design or tuning of the Ford Focus? Maybe some minor modification such as sound system, HU or lights are okay. Suspension or engine parts may be a bit tricky or complicated(already excellent).

Bro, no worries, everyone has their rights to speak their mind. Its a free world (the last time i check that is).

Anyway, no matter how much we want to think that our car is categorized under 'sports', it is still design to accommodate to 95% of the population. You can't be giving coilovers with 10kg/cm springs with 0 noise cancellation material in the car and expect everyone to accept it.

There are tons of things to mod if you are interested it in. From the chassis, to the handling, from the engine bay to the cabin and etc. The sky is the limit ... the problem is ... $$$

How much is the entrance ticket for KLIMS?

Anyone else from this forum is planning to visit this KLIMS?

It's okay bro. Appreciate for sharing your thought.

Usually I'll start off with cosmetic mod - coating, windows film, decals, body kits, lock nuts, ioniser, crystal number plate, rims spray/coating, coil mats, pedals, boot protector, wind visor, etc etc

Then next will be performance mod, open pod/drop in air filter, silver spark plug, voltage stabilizer, once you gained speed, it's not just about 0-100, it's also about 100-0, so next upgrade your brake hoses, break pad, etc.

Handling will be my last mod, adding those anti roll bars, stiff rings, etc.

I'm not so much into sound system, and with the limited boot space for hatchback, I'll skip the woofer.

yeah bro, you're right, money is the limit, hahaha. What else you did with your ride? Mind sharing?

Nothing further this year, saving some valuable dough for my wedding soon ...
Next year will be a different thing ...
18" with maybe H&R sport springs first and foremost
Then to get Zetec S rear valance so that i could mod the exhaust and have two tail pipes (actual working tail pipes and not those for show only)
Might get a piggy back CPU for tuning as a last stage ...

Hi all. Do you guys know how strict or heard how strict SDAC on servicing cars which the mileage is above the recommended period? Will it forfeit the free maintenance or worse, warranty? I got like 50km to hit 20,000km and my appointment is only next week.

They will give you allowance of excess 1000km. This is what they told me when I wanted to send my sister's Ford Fiesta for service.

Thanks!