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I just bought a used 2001 ford focus hatchback here in Arizona. It seems to be a nice car with nice handling etc. However, I'm really disappointed with the performance. Given that its a 2.0 zetec which supposedly makes 130bhp, and has a manual gearbox, i would expect it to have a little poke. But it seems to be fairly gutless. I wonder if this is donw to all the safety equipment that weighs down the US car or if all foci are like this. If so, a European 1.4 must be really really slow. Maybe I will need to try one on my next visit back across the pond....
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maybe it just SEEMS slow against larger engined cars. In Europe everycar would be a similar size as the Focus so one doesnt notice.
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1.6 Focuses I've driven in UK and Europe have been lively enough, even when shooting up Tuscan mountains.
Have you tried revving it more? Euro/Japanese-style smallish multi-valve petrol engines need to be driven at much higher revs than big block US engines. Don't go below 2,000 RPM and go to 4,000+ when you need to accelerate rapdly.
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Agree with the advice from Peterb. All the power is between 3800 and 5,200 or thereabouts.
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Recently driven saloon and hatch automatic Focuses in the US. Both seemed to struggle quite a bit, having to change down a couple of gears on the slightest hill, even with just 2 people in and an empty boot. An equivalent age 2 litre Jetta auto was much better.
A UK 1.6 hatch Focus manual with 4 people and a boot full had no problems in the French Alps a couple of years ago. The manual box probably helped quite a bit though.
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Salem, US autoboxes are hopeless and this may be a factor.
Interestingly I now recall reading a recent article (Autocar?) where the 2.0 Focus engine was described as being little better than the 1.6.
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Drove a 1.6 Focus as a hire car for 3 days last week, quite impressed with the performance and also the economy (around 37 mpg). I've driven 1.4 and 1.8 Foci and would have to say the 1.6 is the premium engine.
US emission control may have a lot to do with the lack of performance in this case.
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The Americans seem to have trouble with the Focus:
www.fordfocusbrakeproblems.com/
www.mylemon.com/Ford_Focus_News.html
www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/ford_focus.html
There are plenty more...:-(
Yet most owners here love 'em.
It's generally considered that the 1.6 petrol is the best all rounder all things considered, although my son won't swap his Zetec 1.8 TDCI...:-)
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IIRC US Focuses are built in Canada. P'raps the Canadians are lousy at building cars...
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"Foci"
ARRGGGHHHHH!!! I hate that word!!!
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Foci are bigger and fatter and heavier in the states. (the ford rally team use a US focus shell becuase it has a bigger wheelbase)
Mix the extra weight with an emmisions strangled engine may account for the difference.
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Your may find this helpful
www.ffoc.co.uk
I know this is a UK site but they have lots of interesting info and facts. I noticed there are a couple of Americans registered on the forum.
HTH
GC
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I think the weight/size thing is a common misconception.
The only reason a US Focus (2004 model year or earlier) is longer than the current European model is because it has bigger bumpers in accordance with the 5 mph crash test requirement (ie no damage) - the wheelbase is the same...
(source: consumerguide.com (a US site) gives 103" for the US model, ford.co.uk gives a wheelbase of 2615mm - divide that by 25.4 - hey presto....103"!)
In terms of emissions - quick research on the internet suggests that the Euro emissions coming in in January are (well, for petrol engines, at least) tougher than California's - so I doubt this is a factor either.
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Interesting point, Peter. However, I am used to small engined cars that required to be revved (my first car was a 1.0 Fiat Uno!). I have already had the focus up neer 6000 rpm in order to try and extract some performance. Actually, now that I think about it, maybe it just doesnt "feel fast" rather than actually being slow. Oh and as somebody was discussing, the hatchback focus is built in Mexico, not Canada. The sedan (saloon) is built in Michigan I think.
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I believe a possible explanation is the even spread of torque on the Zetec engine (or a lack of sudden surge of torque at high revs), giving you a false sense of feel that the car is not powerful. I have driven both the 1.8 and 2.0 Mondeo (both Zetec engined) and there is no sudden surge of torque as the engine revs from around 2000 rpm to the redline. Therefore the car is picking up speed evenly and quickly without you noticing, giving a fast but relax driving characteristics.
On the other hand, the Nissan QX 3.0 auto has a sudden jump in torque from 3500rpm to 4400rpm torque peak, which can make it quite a handful if it changes down when going round a corner in wet/mud. (I've had more than a few "moments" in road ralies)
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