2012 Ford Focus: TheCarConnection's Best Car To Buy 2012
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After driving thousands of miles in more than 200 new vehicles in the past year, and rating each one independently, High Gear Media's editors have chosen a winner.
TheCarConnection's Best Car To Buy 2012 is the 2012 Ford Focus.
Each year, our team rates each new vehicle we review based on styling, performance, utility, safety, and features. As the year progresses, we begin to see some winners emerge from the usual pack of 50 to 70 brand-new or significantly updated vehicles we drive each year--at home, or around the world.
To pick our Best Car To Buy winner, we sift through the numeric ratings to find the highest-scoring new car from the current model year. We also set a base-price limit of $50,000, since most car shoppers who come to TheCarConnection already know how we feel about the Astons, Maseratis and Ferraris of the world. It means some excellent cars don't stand a chance--but keeps us well aware of value, a critical piece of the puzzle for shoppers.
The Focus' win over vehicles like the Range Rover Evoque, Hyundai Veloster, Mercedes M-Class and Chevy Sonic, comes down to personality. Even in a day where dull, droning econoboxes are the exception rather than the rule, the 2012 Focus grabs attention, both for the way it looks and for the way it handles. That's held true for each of the more than half-dozen differently-equipped Focuses our editors have sampled.
The Focus' winning styling earned a 9 from our editors, as much for its aero-crisp exterior as for its flamboyant interior--and though we prefer the sleek five-door, the four-door sedan's rendered about as well as anything in the class. The Focus also earned a score of 8 for performance, a high rating for a compact car with just 160 horsepower on tap. Even before a turbo ST edition arrives, the Focus feels alive, with sweet steering and a sporty ride overcoming its lackluster optional automatic transmission.
It's compact in the European sense, which makes the back seat more snug than some vehicles in its class, but the Focus gets great front seats and class-leading safety features, like an available rearview camera. And when it comes to luxury and entertainment features, the 2012 Focus goes well beyond the state of the art, with an array of options that include Sony sound systems, active parking assist for tight parallel parking spots, and MyFord Touch and its voice- or touch-controlled interface.
In the balance, the 2012 Ford Focus is an engaging, premium-feeling compact car that nudges into sport-sedan territory--and we can't wait to drive the 240-hp ST.
Congratulations to the Focus, TheCarConnection's Best Car To Buy 2012--and also to our other winners. MotorAuthority, our performance and luxury-car destination, has chosen the 2012 Porsche 911 as its Best Car To Buy this year, while Green Car Reports has named the 2012 Toyota Prius family as its Best Car To Buy.
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Congrats to Ford.
Sorry, I'm with Bryant here. Ford did 95% of a great job and will eventually get this right. The "don't worry about it, Ford will eventually fix this" attitude of ElSanchex302 is baffling.
Wow, after weeks of reading every day about the major problems with this vehicle and watching the sales plummet, are you kidding me?
Yet to read of any failures...?!?! Are you kidding, that's mostly what's being written about and is a MAJOR reason for the recent poor reviews elsewhere. Do you know how to use Google, all-knowing one?
How do I know??? I work for Nidec, one of the major suppliers to the DCT, and luckily, not one affected by the quality issues. It's a software issue, at least primarily and Ford has acknowledged the problem more than once if you actually followed these things. But homers aren't interested in facts, are they?
But I must be imagining the slumping sales, the poor press, the quality meetings and Ford's public acknowledgement of the problems, as well as Chrysler's response to this as well. And it's not just CR, you twit, again, feel free to actually research something next time or do technical geniuses such as yourself need to have several links sent to you publicly? I'd be happy to help you with an actual search for the truth instead of blind, delusional fanboy protection.
As for the MyTouch, like any computer, sometimes it crashes. You might need to un-plug and re-plug your phone to restore a lost connection, or wait 2 seconds before pushing another button, etc. If you read the manual and are willing to learn new technology, it is wonderful. Hint: Turn off the Wi-Fi to keep your music from skipping each time you encounter a new unprotected network.
And as everyone has said, the looks and handling are phenomenal. People look, and then do a double-take when they realize it is a Ford.
Crashing sometimes would be ok...not every day!
I have a new focus that is only 5 days old, and for the last three days, the Mytouch has been crashing. It won't even turn off after the car has been shut off and the key removed. I called my salesman and he immediately pointed me to service. No "gee, I'm really sorry about that"...just a response that sounded like he knew this would happen.
I hope they can fix it when I bring it in for its first service visit, in its first week.
newsflash when someone sells you a computer with Windows 7 or Apple OS-X if it didn't come pre-loaded with the latest service pack (new minor features, plus fixes for flaws and known issues) you can still download it for free. don't expect the salesman to apologize.
This is car we're talking about. If such simple software hasn't been tested properly what else wasn't ... breaks, safety features... maybe ford will tell you to upgrade you software next time your airbag doesn't open...
I have a 2012. I admit it felt odd at first...like someone was driving a stick and letting the clutch out when taking off from a stop...or the way the engine idles when slowing down at parking lot speeds. But if Ford did a better job telling people it is not a conventional auto...customers might not complain as much.
And for software...now that it has been updated...it shifts smoother than ANY automatic I've ever owned. And it gets amazing mileage!
I love my 2012 Focus.
I have a 2012. I admit it felt odd at first...like someone was driving a stick and letting the clutch out when taking off from a stop...or the way the engine idles when slowing down at parking lot speeds. But if Ford did a better job telling people it is not a conventional auto...customers might not complain as much.
And for software...now that it has been updated...it shifts smoother than ANY automatic I've ever owned. And it gets amazing mileage!
I love my 2012 Focus.
Honda had a problem with head gaskets in the late 70's and their response to the problem made them a quality leader. Trust Ford to do the same with MySync, MyFord. I've not had a problem but, if I do, I'll get it fixed at Ford's expense.
I've owned dozens of Hondas and this is my 3rd Ford. Never will I look back.
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