Hello!
I normally drive a '02 Golf TDI, but I'm on detachment for work right now(2600mi from 'home'), so I get to play with rental cars for a few months.
My first rental was a Malibu... what a POS!! I couldn't name one thing I liked about that car. It floated like crazy, was slow, unresponsive, steering was vague at best. Brakes were a joke(espcially with the hard tires the rental companies use!)... my Golf stopped straighter on sheer ice than this thing stopped on dry pavement. I thought for sure if I ever had to to an emergency lane change or slam on the brakes, I would be in trouble. After a week I traded it for a Grand Am.
The Grand Am was WORLDS better than the Malibu! More power, better mpg(about 30hwy), more comfortable, better road feel, somewhat better brakes(more controllable but still doesn't stop well). But after almost 2 months (and 5000 miles) I was TIRED of that thing. I guess the fact that I was moving up from the Malibu made it seem nice, but after a while the truth reared it's ugly head... the Grand Am sucks too! I drove it a couple weeks ago from Yuma, AZ to Phoenix, to Tucson, back to Yuma(in one day), then 2 days later back to Phoenix and back to Yuma. That was it. This much driving in my Golf would have been a fun, relaxing drive(and much faster too), but this Grand Am wore me out.
Well, later tonight, I'm leaving for Los Alamos, NM (from Yuma)... enter Ford Focus! Just traded the Grand Am for a Focus this morning.
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I've only driven about 60 miles, but so far I'm impressed. Compared to the Grand Am, it seems more comfortable, MUCH better view(to the front, as well as blind spots), and just feels more solid over-all. The only dislike so far is that there seems to be a lot of road noise. But so far I like it a lot better than either of the two previous rental cars, and I figure I'll probably keep it for the duration of my detachment.
So, from what I've been reading, it seems that I can expect about 300 miles/tank if I drive slow, and about 200 if I'm haulin' (relatively speaking of course). Ouch! I'm used to getting about 600 miles in city driving, and 700-800 in highway driving with my Golf ,so I have to complain about this. But otherwise, so far so good. Oh, how big is the fuel tank on these cars? Judging from the range/mpg info I've found here, it sounds like about 11-12 gallons?
Anyway, I just wanted to give my first impression, and I'm sure I'll have more to add after this trip. Who knows, if Ford ever changes their mind and brings over the diesel Focus from Europe, I might take a look.
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Oh, one more question, how fast will this thing go? IIRC, most Fords are limited to 110mph.
![Image]()
I normally drive a '02 Golf TDI, but I'm on detachment for work right now(2600mi from 'home'), so I get to play with rental cars for a few months.
My first rental was a Malibu... what a POS!! I couldn't name one thing I liked about that car. It floated like crazy, was slow, unresponsive, steering was vague at best. Brakes were a joke(espcially with the hard tires the rental companies use!)... my Golf stopped straighter on sheer ice than this thing stopped on dry pavement. I thought for sure if I ever had to to an emergency lane change or slam on the brakes, I would be in trouble. After a week I traded it for a Grand Am.
The Grand Am was WORLDS better than the Malibu! More power, better mpg(about 30hwy), more comfortable, better road feel, somewhat better brakes(more controllable but still doesn't stop well). But after almost 2 months (and 5000 miles) I was TIRED of that thing. I guess the fact that I was moving up from the Malibu made it seem nice, but after a while the truth reared it's ugly head... the Grand Am sucks too! I drove it a couple weeks ago from Yuma, AZ to Phoenix, to Tucson, back to Yuma(in one day), then 2 days later back to Phoenix and back to Yuma. That was it. This much driving in my Golf would have been a fun, relaxing drive(and much faster too), but this Grand Am wore me out.
Well, later tonight, I'm leaving for Los Alamos, NM (from Yuma)... enter Ford Focus! Just traded the Grand Am for a Focus this morning.
So, from what I've been reading, it seems that I can expect about 300 miles/tank if I drive slow, and about 200 if I'm haulin' (relatively speaking of course). Ouch! I'm used to getting about 600 miles in city driving, and 700-800 in highway driving with my Golf ,so I have to complain about this. But otherwise, so far so good. Oh, how big is the fuel tank on these cars? Judging from the range/mpg info I've found here, it sounds like about 11-12 gallons?
Anyway, I just wanted to give my first impression, and I'm sure I'll have more to add after this trip. Who knows, if Ford ever changes their mind and brings over the diesel Focus from Europe, I might take a look.
Oh, one more question, how fast will this thing go? IIRC, most Fords are limited to 110mph.
