any nice brand of tinted to intro? prefer dark enough and wont get caught hehe

damage?

The jerking in low speed acceleration, from 0 km/h to 30km/h, will it reduce considerably with time? Performance of the Focus is great with nimble steering feel coupled by sharp handling and powerful acceleration. Just the slight jerking at low speeds which spoiled it a bit. Having said that it's a good car. Funny that my Ford sales advisor mentioned one will not want to drive a Japanese car anymore after driving the Focus, and that the next upgrade will be BMW or Audi. Funny but quite true.

Just wondering, what fuel did you use? Petronas, Caltex, BHP etc.?

Okay, thanks for the information. Will keep BHP in mind. Now I am using Petronas.

Hi thanish, me too driving a vios now. How was the fc for focus compared to vios?

Thanks Lowkl.

The Ford Focus Titanium is certainly a joy to drive unlike my previous cars that I have owned. I have not owned or driven many vehicles before though I can safely say that the Focus Titanium certainly provides one of the best handling, quality and package in its cagetory and price range. It's not a BMW or an Audi but one can definitely feel the driving dynamics and quality of the vehicle once in the cockpit and behind the steering wheel.

I don't know what happened to the thread that I"ve posted on the main forum here few days ago as it was taken off by the moderators. In that post I provided my initial impressions on the comparison in handling and driving dynamics between the Proton Preve Turbo and the Focus Titanium. I'll rehash some of that bit over here.

To me, the overall feel, handling and driving dynamics are the core strengths of the Focus. I am particularly impressed by the accuracy and responsiveness of the steering wheel. The steering weight is nimble and just nice, not as heavy as the Preve Turbo or as feather-light as the Nissan Sylphy. It reminds me of my cousin's BMW 320i that I've driven two years ago. It is just a joy to manouevre the vehicle around town or even on the highways with the impeccable and precise steering feel. On sharp bends there is little feeling of oversteer or understeer. You feel as if you are in full control of the vehicle and know how it is going to behave when the roads get complicated ie. undulating, sharp bends or tight corners etc.

The Nissan Sylphy's steering is feather-light and low in feedback in comparison to the Focus. It is still nice to drive the Sylphy around town with its lighter steering weight, though the steering feel is not as responsive or accurate as the Focus. The low steering feedback does not promote a sportier drive and handling as it is difficult to predict the behavior of the vehicle at increased speed levels especially on the bends, further exacerbated by the high profile tyres and soft comfort-tuned suspension. We'll get to the suspension of the Focus shortly.

The Preve Turbo's steering weight is heaver than the Focus which translates to more energy being required to turn the steering. Steering responsiveness of the Preve Turbo is better than the steering of the Nissan, though still doesn't match up to that of the Focus. I just love the steering feel of the Focus. Nimble, accurate and precise are the keywords to describe the steering of the Focus.

Suspension of the Focus - it feels planted to the ground and not as bouncy as the Preve Turbo. The Sylphy is the worst of the lot due to the soft comfort-tuned suspension. Going through bumps and unevenness on the roads, the Focus is unruffled and not as bouncy as the Preve Turbo. There is a certain firmness and solidity in the suspension and yet the ride is still comfortable. Perhaps the work of the Torque Vectoring Control and the Control Blade Independent Rear suspension. Magic.

Power in acceleration. The intermittent jerk at low speeds is improving now with the ride getting smoother. The power is just as expected from a 2.0-litre capacity engine. Impressive.

One thing that i like most about the drivability of the Focus is the instantaneous feedback or reaction with the pedal footwork. There is no lag between the moment when one steps on the pedal and the time the vehicle starts moving. The Nissan Sylphy and Preve Turbo have this 0.5s to 1.0s CVT lag whereby there is a time lag of 0.5-1.0s between the point when one exerts force onto the accelerator with the foot and the moment the vehicle starts moving.

Lastly, NVH. Noise levels are always important to me, and I am a freak when it comes to quietness and absence of rattling and squeaking noises in the car. (I used to try to pin-point the rattling noises in the car by switching off the audio. Any keys, access cards or stuff in the car, I will often try to put them at places where there will be less tendency for them to produce any annoying sound.)

I am happy to report that the Focus is a very quiet vehicle with no rattling noises, even the very minor ones. The sound of the engine is very subdued at moderate speed levels. When the car is stationary, one may feel that the engine is not running yet althought it already is. Wind noise is acceptable, a slight wind noise above 140km/h. Noise from tyres or road noise is the loudest in the Focus that dominates any other sound in the cabin. Although the Nissan Sylphy is inherently a quiet car, in my mind the Focus is at least as quiet as the Sylphy if not quieter than it. The Preve Turbo scores the worst here with the relatively loud engine and CVT sound in all driving conditions. There is some minor rattling noises here and there as well, though not to the point of annoying.

I noticed the stock tyres provided in the Focus Titanium are Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max. No wonder the fuel economy is looking good. Silent tyres will be the priority when a tyre replacement is due.

Ok that's all for now. Hopefully the moderators won't delete this one.

Slight wind noise from the side windscreen of the Focus at speeds of 100km/h. Wind noise becomes louder at around 130 to 140km/h. 90km/h no wind noise. Anybody experienced the same?

The wind noise of the Focus is worse than my previous Nissan Sylphy which is quiet up to 140km/h. Not really a major issue as average traveling speeds is usually 90km/h to 120km/h on the highways. I am just wondering if anybody had managed to have this wind issue improved at the service centre. When I owned the Nissan Sylphy, the guys managed to reduce the wind noise by adjusting the rubber around the perimeter of the door frame and sticking small pieces of rubber at certain areas.

As for the RM1k price increase of the Focus, personally I feel the Focus is still great value at this price. It's quite negligible after the loan amount is spread out to monthly basis. The moment your loan is approved and the car is yours, you have already lost RM20k on the spot already. In this sense, RM1k is nothing.

been driving titanium over 6months with 20k milage...so far so good...but my midnight sky make my car easily dirty

Okay, a short update. Although I haven't spent much time with the Focus (still low mileage), I am beginning to get familiar with the suspension of the system vs. my previous cars. I find the suspension of the Focus to be unique, and after doing some research in reading the online brochure and visiting Ford UK website, I presume it is mainly due to the "Control Blade Independent Rear Suspension" of the Focus.

I am not sure if the rear suspension of our Focus model is the same as the the UK model, as the UK model mentioned "Control Blade Multi-Link Rear Suspension"

When going over imperfections on our roads or minor unevennes and bumps at speeds of say 50km/h to 100km/h, some vehicles will bounce up and down for a while before the vehicle stabilises. In other words, the vehicle will show a slightly bouncy character. It all depends on the type and set up of the suspension used on the vehicle.

For instance, the Nissan Sylphy has a comfort-tuned suspension that is soft and bouncy. It is comfortable in the sense the bumps and unnevenness on the roads are soaked up by the soft-tuned suspension. However, the ride is bouncy, and the ride gets bouncier if the speed of the vehicle is increased. The Proton Preve Turbo has a stiffer suspension, harder but still comfortable and able to soak up the bumps and imperfections on the roads, though one will still feel the bumpiness when going over a badly constructed road with "mini hills" or undulations (instead of a perfectly leveled road). You can feel the vehicle bouncing up and down slightly.

With the Focus, you don't feel the bumpiness so much. Even when going over undulations or unneven roads, somehow the suspension is doing something so as the bounciness does not transmit to the passengers in the vehicle. It's like the suspension/tyres are soaking up the undulations and the vehicle does not bounce together with the suspension. The description of the "Control Blade Independent Rear Suspension" of the Focus further supports my belief. It was mentioned that:-

For a smoother ride and more precise handling, this rear suspension system allows each wheel to independently move upwards and backwards over bumps on the road
Link : http://www.ford.net.my/all_new_focus/all_new_focus.pdf

In summary or layman terms, the ride of the Focus with the Control Blade Independent Rear Suspension feels light and stable. Light as it doesn't transmit the unnevenness or imperfections on the roads(particularly undulations or minor bumps) as much as other vehicles with soft-tuned suspension. As a result, the driver and passengers don't feel the bumpiness or bounciness too much.

That's all for now one of the strength of the Focus that I just discovered, apart from the precise steering feel. If just the wind noise at higher speeds could be reduced further(the car is too quiet so wind noise is audible)... that another time.

I have never floored the gas yet (probably never) but opening it up about halfway is always a joy.... how on earth can anyone call that engine "noise"... 

S-mode seems to move the shift points up a few hundred RPM, resulting in more sporty performance, at a slight cost of FC (similar to your Sylphy example). Some drivers on the forum seem to use it on hilly areas. Also, you can only use SelectShift (those button thingies) to manually shift. I can never get used to the buttons... not intuitive whether to press the UP or DOWN button to overtake, for example.

SportyHandling, thank you for the comments, and you wrote like a pro from car magazine. As I need a car which sits comfortably 5 adults, a spacious backseat is important.

Does anybody know if we can shift gear "D" to "S" while the vehicle is still moving? Does the vehicle need to stop completely with the brakes applied before we can switch D to S?

Thanks for the response. Really unfortunate for this wind noise. Otherwise quite perfect. Engine sound is quiet. Only wind noise and road noise which is due to the tyres. Not familiar with 3m products but I suppose it is more to the rubber quality than anything else. When I owned the Nissan Sylphy, the technicians troubleshooting these quality issues are very helpful. They replaced the whole strip of rubber on one door when it is confirmed that the wind noise on that particular door is uncommon. Not too sure about Sime Darby's level of service though.

Thanks for the update. WOuld appreciate if you can share some pictures once you are done with it.

I don't really travel above 110km/h too much these days as most of the driving is in the city. When on the highways, I usually will stick to the highway code, so just a slight wind noise at 110km/h which is not an issue. It's just at higher speeds of say 130km/h and above then the wind speed will be quite loud. I will highlight this wind noise issue when my next appointment is due(still a very long time), though I agree that there may be nothing much that can be done. If the Sime Darby guys are helpful, at least they will look at the matter on hand before brushing it off.

I think both of us are equally fussy people when it comes to noise levels. Right now in the Focus it's only the wind noise and suspension/road noise that are spoiling the comfort in the ride a bit. Not that it's bad. For normal sane people it wouldn't be an issue. Perhaps our expectations are higher. I can still live with the noise levels(wind and road) in the Focus, though I can't help but feel that the Focus would be a much nicer vehicle to be in if the wind noise and road noise can be reduced further.

Although the suspension is excellent in soaking up the bumps and irregularities on bad roads producing a stable and solid ride, the noise it produces, the thud sound when going over unevenness in the roads or yellow strips etc. all these noises are more prominent with the Focus than in other quieter vehicles. I wonder if more silent tyres with softer rubber compound would help soak up the sound from bad roads or the suspension.

Having said that, if the radio is switched on and the music is playing in the cabin at moderate volume levels, we will not hear the wind and road noises so much anymore. I guess I am too free, or perhaps purposely looking for trouble having to switch off the stereo and strain my ears to detect all the sound in the cabin.

Ummm... just to share: I had a less-than-satisfactory experience with one of those discounted polishing jobs; ended up with them scratching the paint in a couple of locations. Not sure if they weren't careful just because it was so deeply discounted, or their quality is really so bad. That was my old car though, not the FoFo...

Now I wash my car by myself and use a sealant and Wipe-on-walk-away wax about once a month. Watermarks so far etch on the wax/sealant so don't seem to be permanent (yet)....generally happy with the look/maintenance. When I send it for polishing (hopefully not more often than once every couple of years) I will send it to a reputable shop and pay the price.

Compared with some of those really tip-top maintained cars, I notice quite a bit of orange-peel... dunno whether I'm picky, I got unlucky with my particular car, or the dark colour (Midnight Sky) makes it extra evident. How's yours?

The engine is one thing; don't forget the dual-clutch transmission. Whatever the engine puts out, it gets to the wheels with effectively little loss and no lag. It's wonderful to feel actual acceleration to be tied with the pitch of the engine's induction sound; cars with torque converters feel "decoupled"/delayed.

I have no problems living with the peculiarities of DCTs (like the occasional juddering) in exchange for the "connected" feeling and responsiveness.