|
|
||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
|
2006 FORD FOCUS - Reviews, Photos, Articles, Wallpapers, Specs WHAT FORD HAS TO SAY ABOUT THIS CAR: Image/Text Source: Ford Motor Corporation One of the best things about the new 2005 Ford Focus is the relationship between three touch-points: the steering wheel, the pedals and the gear shift lever. These are the points where a driver's body interacts with a car. The way these three things work with, or against, each other determine whether or not any car is fun to drive. In the Focus, the steering wheel has just the right shape. It has the proper thickness at two- and ten-o'clock to make your hands feel comfortable during hours on the highway and spirited maneuvers around a track. The leather-surfaced steering wheel feels good to the palm. It's almost go-kart like in its shape and feel. The 2005 Focus also tracks an even line on the highway with no correction needed to stay straight, and the steering feel is properly heavy at highway speed and light in a parking lot. Second, the gear shift knob has a precise, deliberate, reassuring feel to it. In manual transmission-equipped models, shifts from gear to gear are quick, short and engage without a trace of the vague and sloppy feel that plagues so many manual transmissions. Rev the motor to the high-end of the tachometer, and nice, playful sounds come from the engine bay, too. The accelerator, brake and clutch pedals also feel spot-on. They're positioned close enough to make heal-and-toe downshifting a breeze (if you are so inclined), and the clutch has an even, smooth amount of resistance throughout its range of travel. The brake pedal engages in a smooth, linear fashion that lets the driver predictably modulate stopping power. When all of its
pieces are added together, Focus is fun to drive. But that's nothing
new. The 2005 Ford Focus takes the sound foundation of the 2004 model and improves upon it in several major ways. Focus Chief Engineer John Sidelko’s priority for 2005 was to add more refinement to areas that customers can see and make a bold statement in places they feel and hear. "We refined the Focus’ exterior styling and gave it a smart new interior with a very clean, very contemporary instrument panel design," said Sidelko. "We took a great handling car and made it steer, ride and stop better. And we backed up a great chassis with some of the most sophisticated, powerful and ‘green’ four-cylinder engines you can buy in any car." Powertrain improvements for 2005 are significant. A new 136-horsepower, 2.0-liter Duratec 20 four-cylinder engine replaces both the base 110-horsepower, 2.0-liter single overhead cam I-4 engine and the available 130-horsepower, 2.0-liter Zetec DOHC I-4 engines offered since Focus’ debut in 2000. In California, New York, Massachusetts, Vermont and Maine, a super-clean 20E version of the Duratec 20 is standard. All Focus models powered by the Duratec 20E meet California’s Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle tailpipe standard and have zero fuel system evaporative emissions to qualify as a Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle. This means the 20E version of Focus is cleaner than some hybrid electric vehicles. A 151-horsepower 2.3-liter Duratec 23 inline four-cylinder engine powers the Focus ZX4 ST performance sedan. This free-revving engine is derived from the same family as the Duratec 20, but its larger displacement and performance-tuned exhaust help it produce 10 percent more horsepower. Torque is 154 foot-pounds, a 16 percent increase, for exceptionally strong off-the-line and mid-range acceleration. Every 2005 Focus receives a new front-end treatment that echoes cues from Ford’s new flagship sedan, the Five Hundred. The new hood and fenders fall away less sharply than the original design, so the car appears more substantial, particularly in a three-quarter view. Detail changes include new headlamps with reshaped clear lenses, a larger grille with a new diamond pattern ringed in chrome and a new fascia that incorporates a wide lower air intake and new, round fog lamps. The interior is also new. The new instrument panel is symmetrical. The driver and front passenger areas are divided by two rectangular climate control registers with the hazard switch and a shallow center stack for the audio and climate control systems. Materials used inside the 2005 Focus look and feel first-rate, and fit and finish is also on par with cars costing twice as much as the Focus. For 2005, Focus offers four unique body styles but with new model and trim designations. The range includes a three-door hatchback (ZX3), a four-door sedan (ZX4), a five-door hatchback (ZX5) and a station wagon (ZXW). The entry-level trim series is S, followed by SE and SES. New for 2005, the ZX4 ST performance sedan marries the chassis components from Ford of Europe’s Focus ST170 and the SVT Focus with a 151-horsepower, 2.3-liter Duratec engine. With an MSRP of around $14,000 and a nicely equipped model available for well under $20,000, the Ford Focus is one of the best all-around cars for sale today. J.D. Power and Associates ranks Focus well above the industry average in its Initial Quality Study. Consumer Guide gave Focus its Best Buy Award four years in a row. With a friendly
price and all this praise, it's easy to see why Focus is so popular.
That, and it's fun to drive. OUR TAKE ON THE 2006 FORD FOCUS: The 2006 Ford Focus combines the best features of any sport compact car. The Ford Focus with a base price of $14K, the Focus is quite economical in both pricing and in its gas mileage while keeping horsepower over 150 for such a light weight car. With the success of the first generation Ford Focus, the new model improves upon everything from the ground up and places attention to detail on both the interior and exterior styling cues. THE FORD FOCUS COMPETES WITH: 2006 Honda Civic, 2006 Mazda 3, 2006 Acura RSX, 2006 Audi A3, 2006 Toyota Yaris, 2006 Toyota RAV4 RELATED ARTICLES, REVIEWS AND SITES: 2008 Ford Taurus FORD FOCUS RELATED ARTICLES, REVIEWS AND SITES: Includes manufacturer websites, clubs and enthusiast sites, vehicle articles and reviews with pricing and specifications and more:
Ford Focus Enthusiast websites, forums, messageboards:
AUTO WALLPAPERS - BODY KITZ - CARBON FIBER HOODS - VERTICAL DOOR KITS - TRANCE FORM - MYSPACE LAYOUT - LEXUS IS 350 - MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 3 |
||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||
