Tuesday, October 29, 2013

2013 Ford Focus: A Pairing of Style and Great Fuel Economy



Ford is on a roll, and one of the vehicles that is moving it in the right direction is the Focus.
This compact gets high marks for fuel economy and styling, and last week, Ford announced that it is the best-selling car in the world.
For the 2013 model year, the Focus added an ST high performance model, and put an available five-speed manual transmission on its highest trim model.
The sporty-looking Focus has large grille openings and flowing crease lines along the side to give it a motion-like appearance. The rear also has an aggressive and flowing look, and when you add the spoiler, you've got a humdinger of an economy car in sports-car clothing.
The Focus is powered by a  2.0-liter four cylinder engine that makes 160 horsepower and 146 pounds-feet of torque. The engine is mated to a five-speed manual or a six-speed automatic transmission.
The Focus is rated at 27 mpg city, 38 highway. And if those numbers aren't impressive enough, get the Super Fuel Economy package and you get 28 and 40.
The Focus might not gain a lot of acclaim for its interior space, though. Head- and leg- room up front are adequate, but the back seat is pretty tight. It comes standard as a bench, optional as a 60/40 split seat.
Ford says there is 13 cubic feet of cargo space available in the sedan, with hatchbacks having almost  24 cubic feet with the rear seat up and 44 cubic feet with it folded down.
As for technology, the Focus is no slouch, offering optional park assist, which can measure up parallel parking spaces and guide the car into place pretty much on its own. The Focus also can be had with Ford's SYNC and MyFord Touch technological controls. 
The Focus starts at around $17,000 and ranges as high as about $27,000.
For a stylish small car that gets great fuel economy, the Focus is a terrific choice.

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