I was browsing from the 1st page of this thread until the 31st page for about 2 hours. Several questions as follows :-

1) I read that the 0-100km/h acceleration of the Focus is 8.0s. Does this apply to both Sport and Titanium models? Where does this figure come from? Is it mentioned in the brochures or somebody tested it in real life? The reason I asked this question is because most 2.0 litre sedans register 10.0s to 10.5s from standstill to 100km/h. Some of the powerful (non-turbo) cars manage to go down to 9.0s. In my mind, 8.0s is quite excellent for a 2.0-litre family sedan.

2) Is the car reasonably quiet when cruising at 150km/h to 160km/h? (Engine/wind noise)

3) Anybody tested the top speed of the Titanium?

Thanks.

Thanks for the link to the review. Much appreciated. I presume 60mph is equivalent to 100km/h. 8.7s is certainly pretty impressive already, slicing off more than 1 second off what most 2.0-litre sedans would be doing. As for the 8.0s figure for 0-100km/h acceleration, I read that in this thread somewhere in the middle of the pages. There were two mention on the 8.0s times.

Thanks for the information. Much appreciated.

Does the wind noise happen at one windscreen or all windscreens? Usually wind noise happens when the interface between the windscreen and the rubber seal around it is not entirely tight, perhaps due to unevenness in the rubber seal or hardened rubber. The tiny little gap will cause the wind sound. If entirely tight, there wont' be wind sound even when traveling above 170km/h, in my experience.

Care to elaborate about the negative feedback?

Thanks. I am aware that all cars have their share of problems. I have only read about the jerky gearbox of the Focus which is the major complaint. Not about others.

Though I feel it shouldn't be too bad since new cars will be under warranty for the first 3 years(or 5 years, whichever). The more important aspect, is on the reliability of the car, meaning the wear and tear parts both major and minor parts, whether there will be a lot of repairs or parts replacement when the warranty period expires. As we all know the cost of replacement parts for a Ford may not be as "affordable" if compared to other Japanese makes although I read there are now Ford parts that are being sourced from China.

Just wondering. A question to the older generation Ford Focus owners. How long can the gearbox last before some parts of the gearbox, or the whole gearbox itself is changed? 10 years? 12 years?

Thanks.

Which Focus you test-drove, the Sport Hatchback or the Titanium Sedan? To me, the Sport Hatchback handles slightly better than Titanium with the larger 17" wheels and sports-tuned suspension, but not so sure.

Yes, I guessed so too. Just wanted to confirm on my experience. The handling and steering on the Sport hatchback is more precise. Guess the bigger 17" wheels and sports-tuned suspension do help the handling. The Titanium sedan is on normal suspension and 16" wheels and as such the car is a bit floaty when going over undulations on the road. The sports hatchback is rock steady. When cornering the Sport Hatchback can attack corners faster and yet minimum body roll. With the Titanium sedan, cornering at moderate to high speed lost to the Hatchback.

Anyway the Titanium has advantage in boot space, and also looks which is subjective. More executive look in the sedan and more sporty looks in the hatchback. When it comes to handling and driving dynamics, there is no doubt the Sports hatchback has the edge over the Titanium sedan.

Ford salesmen who said both handle similarly are joking. They usually only have the Sports hatchback for test drive, and not the Titanium sedan.

Yes, Sime Darby at PJ branch only has the hatchback for test drive. When asked about the Titanium, they just mention they don't have it for test drive and the Titanium sedan drives like the Hatchback sedan. Anyway the sedan is not easily available for test drive. Only limited branches have it I guess. In my limited short test-drive experience, I definitely think the handling and driving feel is different between the Hatchback and Sedan.

Spare parts cost, I think we can be prepared to fork out more than Japanese after the 3 years free maintenance is not applicable anymore. The normal wear and tear items such as brake pads, engine mounting, shock absorbers etc. those I expect or suspect will be almost double the cost of equivalent Japanese makes.

With 80% city drive, 10L/100km is considered quite acceptable already, especially if the vehicle is stuck in the traffic jam, particularly when the traffic requires your car to be moving from stationary 0km/h to 20km/h. Killer. It takes a lot of fuel to move the car from stationary. On mixed 50% city 50% highway I suppose 7L to 8L/100km average should be achievable.

Who is driving Ford Focus Titanium bearing registration number WUM 2191 fast and furious this morning at 6.45am from federal highway next to Mid Valley Megamall then onto Connaught highway attempting to overtake a lorry hogging the fast lane before going into the Seremban highway. Seems like in emergency or something.

There is document ie. piece of paper whereby you and the 2nd hand car dealer will acknowledge that you have surrendered your old car to him. That will do it, even though the ownership has not been transfered yet.

Yes, it's a good car. Superb handling and looks good too. Several weeks ago I was trailing a Peugeot 408, supposedly to be compared to the Focus. I just can't get by the ugly looks of it as the rear of the car looks awful. The Focus Titanium looks so much better.

No experience with Mazda. The current Mazda 3 does not look good, but from the internet the Mazda 3 looks quite good. Only the hatchback version. For new Mazda 3 2014 sedan version, don't know how it will look like. But yes the front of the new Mazda 3 looks much better than the current one. SKy active engine sounds good, but performance will have to test drive. I have read about Mazda's handling being the best among the Japanese so it should be quite good. The driving dynamics will surely be different from Focus. Japanese vs continental, though it is still one of the better Japanese.

Might be useful to test the NVH of the Mazda. From what I heard it is quite a noisy car even the new Mazda 6. Maybe the NVH is improved in the new upcoming Mazda 3.

Personally for this segment, in terms of sporty good looks and performance in handling for a sedan in this cagetory below RM130k, the Focus and new Mazda 3 are the fore-runners. All others are lacking behind - safe Japanese Altis, Civic, Sylphy all focus on space, comfort and reliability but handling will be very mediocre. Peugeot 408 - may have good handling and space but ugly like a duck and notoriously poor Nasim after-sales. It depends on what a person wants in a vehicle.

The new Mazda 3 is worth waiting for if one is not in a hurry to get a new car this year. But the Focus is still the vehicle to beat when it comes to handling and sheer joy of driving. It just loses out on back space, only by a bit.

Don't need to modify the already good car like the Focus, in my opinion.

Just my view only so take it with a grain of salt. To me, modding a car is a waste of time and money. Those who modify their cars with stuff like suspension, strut bars, turbo etc.. Usually these are people who mod cheaper cars below RM100k. Usually you wil see a lot of modified Proton Wiras, Wajas etc.

Better concentrate on increasing your income and invest in a better car if you like your cars.

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.

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).

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Some quarters questioning whether the whole thing was a fake or real. If it's a fake, what is the purpose of the stage? Having said that, I noticed the auto gate stops closing when the thief entered through it. Does some auto gates have sensors? I thought most if not all auto gates will continue to close even though people may walk through the gates.

Do update on the drive when the mileage gets past 1,000km, whether the low-speed drive is still as smooth as conventional auto boxes. Similarly there is no juddering in my Focus unlike some complaints here on the shuddering, though I did experience it earlier around 500km+/-. After about 1,500km, it performs like a conventional automatic transmission when shifting between 1st and 2nd gear, but with superb acceleration with the added power.

A bit surprised you don't experience with any shuddering even though the car is still new. Anyway, do enjoy the vehicle. THe handling is certainly excellent. I was on the highways last weekend and with the rainy season, the car is very stable even when I was doing 110km/h in heavy rain.

Personally I think this grinding and jerking is blown out of proportion. It is definitely not a "defect" as you have implied. Otherwise the vehicle would have been recalled by Ford.

The acceleration of the Ford is certainly smooth enough for me. Even at low speeds the Focus rarely exhibits jerk. If it does, the jerk is minimal and not to the point of annoying. Hence i am surprised, and I wonder if the jerk in some models is more serious than some others, or it is due to the variance in driver's expectations. The grinding sound during acceleration is also very soft as the sound levels in the cabin is quiet. So you can hear any rattling or engine sound in the cabin.

To top it off, I think it is suffice to say one man's meat is another man's poison. Even if you don't recommend the FOcus to your friends, he/she might come to love it after a driving experience. I will definitely recommend the Focus to enthusiasts who love a more sporty or thrilling driving experience in comparison to the Japanese makes on offer.