It's been nearly a week with my new Focus CC3 and so far, so good.
Everything works, which is always a good start, and I like most of the toys such as auto wipers and lights.
Heated seats must be the best of the gadgets new to me, closely followed by cruise control.
The car drives much like an ordinary Focus - very well - although some uneven road surfaces provoke what I'm fairly sure is mild scuttle shake, but since my scuttle has never previously been shaken, I can't be certain.
Brakes are an improvement on my old Focus, and the two-litre diesel is quieter and has more go than the 1.8 I had in the last car.
The extra weight of the roof makes the car feel better balanced and even with that weight it's doing 40mpg.
Not bad with zilch miles on the clock - it should use a bit less fuel as the engine wears in.
Does the roof leak?
Short answer is: No.
Longer answer is I've washed it, hosed it (lightly), it's been rained on heavily while standing and less so while moving. It's even been driven in sleet and light snow.
It's been up and down several times and always seals perfectly.
If it was going to leak, I think it would have done so by now.
The car has the thickest handbook I've ever seen, and it includes instructions on how to change all bulbs - inside and out.
Well done to Ford for accepting bulb changing is a task the owner should be able to carry out himself.
Disappointments? None really, although the extra few inches in length mean the car is not quite so handy as my old one.
Not sure I need six forward speeds, but the gear lever falls to hand a treat, so the extra change is not too much of a chore.
Tiny bit of wind noise from the window seals with the top up, but in all other respects the folding roof really does give you the best of both worlds.
Provided the car remains reliable, I think me and the CC3 are going to get along just fine.
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I bet you can't wait for some balmy spring/summer evenings! I had a nice pillarless coupe several years ago - with all the windows down it was like a closet convertible - and still remember the first warm summer evening I took it out in the country: warm fragrant gusts from the fresh greensward, dappling sunlight through the trees & R.Vaughan Williams' Lark Ascending on the cd..
Edited by woodbines on 10/03/2009 at 16:49
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I hope to be able to hear some real larks ascending.
It seems a shame to spoil nature's soundtrack with one of my own.
Surprising what you do hear with the top down, even on the smelly old motorway.
For example, the engine note of the Volvo pantechnicon is quite different to that of its competitors.
The other thing I like about roof down motoring is visibility, particularly to the rear and over your right shoulder.
Even with the roof up. the pillarless design makes joining roundabouts a lot easier.
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