One of the most openly discussed and debated debuts of a production car at this year’s Detroit show was the new Ford Focus. Commenters and even our staffers are divided on it. Whatever your stance, one aspect that hasn’t been addressed fully is how good the interior looks. Here’s what I noticed when I got some seat time with it.
NEWS
A Closer Look at the 2008 Ford Focus Interior
The gauges — along with the new font for the rear badging — are much improved and actually stylish. The Focus now has a whole Tomorrowland look to it.
More impressive is the new center stack. The buttons and knobs are sooooo much better than anything in other Fords today, excluding the new 2008 Ford Escape, which will also features them. Ford representatives say these are the controls of the future, and I was really impressed with their weight and feel. There are also two different colors of metallic surface you see surrounding the knobs: The darker color above and a lighter silver look shown below.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t get the power going to see the new blue lighting scheme or the ambient lighting, which can be changed to various colors, similar to what Scion offers as a dealer-installed option. The new Sync hands-free media system will also be offered in the 2008 Focus.
What do you think? Does the interior make as much of an impact as the new exterior?
Related:
2007 Detroit Auto Show: 2008 Ford Focus Coupe
2007 Detroit Auto Show: 2008 Ford Focus
