On Wheels by Brooks Peterson

Saturday, September 23, 2000

Focus is antidote to gas woes

These are not the happiest of times for Ford Motor Co. The firestorm over claims that flawed Firestone tires mounted on Ford Explorer sport-utilities were involved in more than 100 traffic deaths has to date defied all efforts by the company's leadership to address the issues, let alone bring about any kind of closure.
   But that's not all. Another problem - not yet so painfully evident, but hanging around the fringes of our consciousness - is steadily growing anxiety over fuel supplies.
   We're beginning to hear from the experts, not all of whom are professional cassandras, that a cold winter could lead to punishing shortages of home heating oil, which in turn could siphon off crude that would otherwise be processed into gasoline. OPEC and/or Saddam could also get into the picture.
   Should that happen, prices at the pump could go right through the roof.
   All the carmakers would suffer in that event, but those that have been resoundingly successful in the sport-utility segment, like Ford, would take quite a hit.
   Ah, but in this context, at least, there is some comfort for Ford. Even as all the carmakers were going stark staring bonkers over the booming demand for SUVs and pickup trucks, some shrewd souls at FoMoCo decided a while back to take a run at completely overhauling the firm's offerings in the econocar segment.

Ford Focus SE Wagon Four-door, five-passenger front-wheel-drive wagon Base price: $15,475 Price as tested: $16,405 Drivetrain: Single-overhead-cam fuel-injected 2-liter four, 107 hp; four-speed automatic-overdrive transmission Brakes: Front and rear discs EPA mileage: 26 city/33 highway Web site: www.ford.com

   The almost startlingly popular Focus line - these little vehicles hardly have time to get positioned on the dealers' lots before they are snapped up - has been the result.
   The Focus, then could be a huge factor in digging Ford out of the hole that could materialize if things go awry for the west, petroleum-wise.
   Understand, it's not necessarily that Ford's leaders necessarily saw a fuel crunch looming here; rather, they needed a vehicle - a world car, if you will - that could do battle in those venues, especially Europe, where our own nightmare visions of sky-high fuel prices have already come true. (Been keeping up with the nastiness in Britain and France, where motorists and truckers incensed over those prices have been doing their best to disrupt their nations' road transport systems? Talk about fear and loathing at the pump . . .)
   However all that sorts itself out, Ford must be very, very pleased indeed to have the Focus on the team.
   Roomy and practical
   Faithful readers may recall that we spent a week with a top-of-the-line Focus ZTS sedan not too long ago. But since there are three distinct versions of the Focus, another pass seemed in order.
   Thus, behold the Focus SE wagon - slightly less sumptuous than the ZTS sedan, it comes only in SE trappings. But that's perfectly fine. The little wagon is at bottom a utilitarian sort of proposition, and the absence of glitz was by no means off-putting.
   In fact, I found myself warming to the vehicle, with its generous toting-and-hauling room.
   To some extent, I think, that's a carry-over from the Focus' immediate predecessor, the second-series Escort. Having had occasion to rent Escort wagons a couple of times, I found them thoroughly engaging, at once nimble, zippy and practical.
   Same goes for the Focus wagon, I'm happy to report. It's impressively agile - thanks in large part to the new independent rear suspension - and the (also new) electronically controlled four-speed automatic transmission goes a long way toward banishing the notion that shiftlessness inevitably takes the joy out of driving small cars.
   Even if your wagon, like our tester, is equipped with the lesser of the two available engines - the 2-liter, single-overhead-cam with its 107 horses - life with Focus can be surprisingly entertaining. (The optional DOHC Zetec four gets you 130 hp.)
   The low-friction steering strikes a nice balance between reducing effort and communicating information to the driver; meanwhile, the genuinely impressive brakes (discs front and rear) do an almost startlingly effective job of peeling off the speed when the need arises.
   Worried about interior room? Relax: This is one of the roomiest - if not the roomiest - of the contenders in this segment, significantly more accommodating in that respect than the old Escort.
   Thoughtful touch
   Another thing: Like the ZTS sedan I drove previously, the car projects a sense of structural integrity that you never used to expect in little ol' vehicles down at this end of the market. It doesn't exactly feel like a big car - it's too quick and responsive for that - but it doesn't feel like a small car, either. It feels like a right stout little car.
   Oh, and here's a genuinely thoughtful touch: The steering wheel tilts and telescopes, making it possible for just about anyone to arrive at a comfortable driving position - and it's standard. There's plenty of high-priced iron out there of which that cannot be said.
   Quite a capable little player, withal - and these days, it's one that FoMoCo has to be deeply happy to have in the fleet.
   Should another fuel crunch materialize, the Focus will soar on the charts; if it doesn't, there will still be plenty of people out there who will be charmed into taking ownership by the car's combination of value, performance and personality. It's a fun date.
  
  

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