But the cabin is isolated from wheel impacts, and the feeling is one of solidity-unlike in the new and significantly lighter Hyundai Elantra, which comparatively reverberates with shock waves on striking a chuckhole. The ride is definitely Euro-firm, especially compared with softies like the Toyota Corolla and the Cruze. “Average” also describes the Focus’s 173-foot stopping distance from 70 mph to 0. At 0.86 g, skidpad performance is about average for the class-how amazing is it that 0.86 g is average for compact sedans?-although it could be higher if the stability-control system were defeatable like the traction control is. Although it feels tall from behind the wheel (it’s actually average for its class and slightly lower than the Chevy Cruze), it doesn’t sway excessively in corners, obeying commands from the expertly weighted and linear steering with lively responses and a reassuring tautness to the body motions. On a winding road, the little Ford is more enjoyable. It gets the job done but is about as satisfying as doing your taxes with a pocket calculator. Manual control is available via a rocker switch on the side of the shifter. It downshifts reluctantly, which makes the Focus seem a little lazy if you’re not standing on it all the time. Generally, the transmission programming is biased for fuel economy (we’re still awaiting official EPA numbers, but we saw an average of 21 mpg in aggressive driving, which is well below even the expected city rating). A glitch in an early production model, perhaps. And once, while maintaining about 35 mph on level ground, the SEL did a five-three downshift for no obvious reason. With 3000 miles on our test car, the clutches were already a little glazed and chattery, with vibrations working up the steering column when we rolled off under light throttle. Shifts can feel seamless if the driver is utterly unhurried, but they’re rather slow if there’s any attempt at upping the tempo. The 2012 Focus features Ford’s PowerShift twin-clutch six-speed automatic (standard on the SEL, $1095 on lower trim levels), but the technology might have been yanked out of the oven a few minutes early. Spirited performance is also cool, and our fully loaded, 3045-pound SEL breezed past 60 mph in 7.6 seconds. The spirited look is cool and wears even better on the five-door hatchback. It turns out that a 2.0-liter four-cylinder making 160 hp and 146 lb-ft, even if it is direct injected, doesn’t need three expansive radiator openings, so most of what looks like open space is blocked off. The gaping maw of radiator ducts is, when you look closely, almost entirely fake. The face has rally car written all over it. You’ll know the new Focus when it’s coming at you. It was largely engineered and refined in Germany, and it feels like it. Our Focus feels solid, unnaturally quiet, and stable at a rapid freeway clip or when cutting a sharp line along a coiling road. But if the 2012 model is dumber than its European counterpart, engineers sure were smart about hiding it. To resolve this disparity, Ford dumbed down the previous American Focus with cheaper materials and less content.
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