First Impressions: 2008 Ford Focus SES Coupe

• This exact car will come into the Cars.com fleet for a full review in just a few weeks, and I can’t say I’m waiting with baited breath. First off, I prefer the styling of the sedan to the coupe, and I assume most people will buy the four-door. That said, I liked the new interior, especially the center stack. Ford has really made strides there. The highly touted Microsoft Sync multi-media system seemed to respond to voice commands well, although I couldn’t figure out why the provided iPod — no Zune, Ford? — chock full of dozens of artists would only play one: the Doors. Ugh. Don’t worry, folks, I’ll be testing it out more extensively, with a Zune, in the coming weeks. As for the driving experience … if you don’t have anything nice to say … let your colleagues do it for you. — David Thomas

• This car has some upscale elements, like a leather steering wheel that has a nice feel to it. Overall material quality is only so-so, though, and unlike Dave I’m not a fan of the Focus’ new dash because of ergonomic issues introduced by the design. The busy-looking gauge styling also makes it hard to determine your speed at a glance. More annoying, though, was the gas pedal’s vibration that was easily felt through the sole of my shoe. That’s not the kind of thing that makes you think “quality.” — Mike Hanley
• The interior made no real impression on me, apart from the fact that there are still no head restraints in the backseat — though I found it pretty accommodating back there for a coupe. The Focus hasn’t lost its remarkable steering and handling, but the shortcomings of a four-speed automatic aren’t solely on paper. I’m starting to sound like a broken record here (a scratched CD?), but any automaker that doesn’t use its redesigns and restyles to leapfrog the competition is in trouble. The Focus competes with the likes of the Honda Civic and Scion tC, and this 2008 doesn’t even live up to, let alone overtake, them. That means every model that’s redone before the Focus’ next turn will be better still. This is another lost opportunity by Ford — a mistake Chevy is unlikely to make with the next Cobalt. — Joe Wiesenfelder
• I hate to dump on this car — like Joe said, it still has the handling magic that made the original a hit — but there are just too many misses. The metallic dashboard is interesting, but the lack of backseat head restraints is inexcusable, and the leather seats in our test car felt like aftermarket vinyl covers. Six airbags are standard, but antilock brakes are optional, unlike what you get in a Civic or Hyundai Elantra. Instead of the sleeker key-integrated remote on the Fusion and Taurus, our test car had Ford’s age-old square keyfob. If it breaks, at least you might be able to repurpose the spare from your brother’s ’99 Mustang. — Kelsey Mays

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