2012 Ford Focus consumer reviews

Great car but I want to "focus" on MPGs for this review. I bought this car 8 days ago. For the first few days, I was looking at the MPG computer readout in the dash display and it said I was getting about 26-27 MPG. I was LIVID because I was babying the car in mostly highway driving. I expected more like mid-30s at least. The 270 hp Altima I traded for the Focus was getting 26 MPG. I called the dealership to express my concern and they talked about break-in period, cold weather, etc. Well, over the weekend my wife and I went 2-hours round-trip to a mall doing 70 mph most of the time in high winds. I filled up before we left (333 miles on the odometer) and did so when we got back (457 miles on the odometer). The car used 4.16 gallons during those 124 miles. That's 29.8 MPG....not horrible given 70 mph and strong wind gusts. But I was still annoyed. The computer still said 27.2 MPG. So on Monday, I reset the MPG computer on my way to work. The MPG readout went blank and then re-appeared at 28.5 MPG. As I continued to drive, it went up and up and up so far that it hit 45.3 MPG. I have a back-road commute doing 55-60 mph. I was in disbelief and decided no more trusting the car's MPG computer. So the last time filled the car with gas was at 457 miles. Between that time and this morning, I have put 175 miles on the odometer which is now at 632 miles. Nearly all of these miles have been back-road 55-60 mph. GET THIS -- when I filled the car up this morning, I could only fit 4.06 gallons in the tank. Divide 175 miles/4.06 gallons and that's 43.1 MILES PER GALLON and me smiling from ear to ear. Wow. This is not a joke or a mistake. I'm stunned. I'm still well within the "break-in" period. I will admit I've been driving very conservatively to see how many MPG I could really get, but I'm still amazed. I don't even have the "SFE" package that is supposed to increase MPGs to 40+. Bottom line, for anyone wondering about the Ford Focus and its actual MPG capabilities, based on my experience you have nothing to worry about, and do not trust the MPG computer in the car. Do your own math each fill-up. I have a feeling a lot of people reviewing this car with MPG concerns are going by the car's MPG computer and aren't doing actual math. The computer obviously has issues calculating the car's actual MPGs. As long as this car remains reliable and all of the tech stuff doesn't crash and render the car useless, I will be absolutely thrilled with my 2012 Titanium Hatchback. My wife loves it too.

I own a 2012 Ford Focus SE purchased last summer. I bought the car because I loved the ride, handling, and fuel economy. It felt like I was cheating - driving a car that gets over 30MPG city with this level of power and sophistication. If is quiet, smooth, and cruises effortlessly at 80 on the freeway as well as 25 down the city street. The car only had one issue for me - the balky dual clutch transmission. At low speeds it would be in too high of a gear, feeling like a young driver who didn't know how to drive a manual. It would also shudder when stopped or when creeping along at low speeds and sometimes give a little clunk when accelerating through a turn. This gave the car a Jekyll and Hyde character - fantastic in most driving situations but annoying at low speeds. Ford took a black eye in the automotive press for this issue, part of the perils of bringing a new technology like DCT to market. Notice all of the above is in the past tense. Thats because Ford has managed to resolve this problem - not only for newly built cars but for cars that were delivered with this issue. The secret - new programming of the embedded computers that control the transmission. Ford issued a pair of TSB's to dealers containing instructions to reprogram the units if they had these problems. My car received the one dated December, 2011. When I got the car back - all of the problems were resolved - the car drove smoothly in all situations! So now I have a car whose transmission and low speed behavior is as refined as the rest of the performance envelope. Kudos to Ford to manage to fix this and give existing owners relief. My car did not have Sync or MFT, because I am not a fan of embedding these technologies into cars - I would rather use my large screen phone which I can install what I want and reprogram/upgrade whenever I want. So I cannot speak to quality issues with those technologies.

Bought a Titanium hatchback. Got a incredible deal at the dealership. Car is quick and handles great. Ride is very good for a car of this size. Coming out of a Lexus, I can say this car is far more refined than I had expected and high quality thus far, although, some further work could be done in the transmission department to make it smoother. I bought this car for its looks and gas mileage. So far w/ 3k miles on it, I'm averaging 28-30 around the suburbs and 33-34 on the highway. Hopefully this will improve as the car get a few more miles on it. This car is sporty and definitely deserves to be checked out if you're in the market for a car in this class or one similar. I get lots of looks and questions from drivers of 3-series and C-classes so that must say something.

The new Focus has the ride and handling of a bigger car, very nice! It doesn't feel like a small car on the road. Plus the gas mileage is excellent.

We've had our new 2012 Focus Titanium since July. We've put 14000 miles mostly highway and we are no where close to the 40 mpg they advertise (30.4mpg). Neither my wife or myself are aggressive drivers. Our other Focus's we got close to their advertised mpg. The sync has gone down a few times and radio(sirius) cuts out. The biggest problem we've had is driving in snow. No where did the sticker tell us the car has summer tires. Also, no one at the dealer mentioned it. Living in Indiana everyone knows we will get snow. I don't understand why Ford would put summer tires on a vehicle that is being sold in a area where we get snow. It's not like Michelin doesn't make a all season tire for this car. If Ford was really thinking about safety they would have put a all season tire on this car. We are thinking of trading in because the car isn't what we need in Indiana.

I am saving aeound $200 in gas vs. my Grand Cherokee. Getting many compliments on looks from all types and love the gadgets and sony sound system w/ 10 speakers & kicker

Touchscreen goes blank unexpectedly. Car looses radio, navigation and cell phone connectivity unpredictably. Back up rear camera will not come on sometimes. Touch screen says "can not read navigation SD card" off and on. New car been at dealership 6 times with no fix. Ford refuses to honor buy back assurances based on lemon law.

I choose this car from amongst the leading competitors like Cruze, Civic, and Elantra. It came down to the Elantra and Focus since I wanted style, driving dynamics, entertaintment tech, and mpgs. After test driving both I went with the Focus. The focus has a much better engine and steering feel. I also preferred the interior since it had a more upscale feel and Sync. Nice soft touch, sliver accents, really nice info and radio screens, and can change interior led lighting. After driving for a month I can solidly recommend it. Don't be scared by negative reviews of auto-trans and Sync. After Fords' update to auto-trans programming (which you can get any time) it shifts very smooth. Love how it has D for daily driving and S for Sport moade. If you had manuals in the past you will love how the tranny reacts to your gas input. It takes more interaction than normal trans but if you like driving than you'll like this trans. Yes the Sync is complicated but if you have used a computer or smart phone in the past several years than it will not be a problem. With 90/10 city/hwy driving I've been getting 30 mpg. About what I expected. Only CONs are that legroom in back is tighter than Elantra and has shorter warranty. Be sure to test drive both!

I wasn't sure about this car when I first bought it. It fit the economical way I was headed after driving a pickup for years. I've owned for about 2 months now and absolutely love it. I got the SE package with the basic upgrades, sport pkg, and the 203a option...sync and that sort of stuff. Oh and a manual transmission which I think is a way better option than the Auto. It makes it way more fun to drive. It handles better than I expected also. I avg about 30 mpg but I have a lead foot. I'm not very eco friendly. It wanted me in 5th gear before I even got to 50mph! Not happening. They advertise 40 mpg but there is no way your average joe will ever see that. Heck, I'm loving 30-35! Its a great car. You will not be disappointed!

Loved my 2006 SES hatchback. Never had anything go wrong. Just filled it up, changed the oil and tires. I never would have given it up, but it was a 5-speed manual and needed a 4-door automatic. Went for a test drive of the 2012 on a whim and had to have it. Got an SEL with everything less than a month ago. The ride is smooth and the interior is very stylish. I thought the MyTouch, Sirius, USB hook-up, navigation etc. was a nice plus, but didn't like I would use it all the time. Boy was I WRONG. LOVE IT! Like any new gadget, they take a little to get used to, but no problem.