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Auto Profile: 2002 Ford Focus ZX3
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| Driving fun at a pint-sized price. |
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| Updated |
Mar 17, 2005 19:41:50 |
| Rating |
 363 ( -51 -14.04% ) | | Author | Phil Ruth |
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Description:
Ford Focus
Ask automotive journalists to pick the small car that's most fun to drive, and the Focus usually ends up getting a pile of votes. For those who long for the responsiveness of the Rabbit GTIs and Colt Turbos of yore, the Focus ZX3 is the modern version of a practical hatchback that has a mischievous wink.
Credit the Focus's European heritage for its spirit on highways and tightly curved back roads. Steering is one particularly delightful aspect of the Focus, with a weighty feel and a pleasing directness. The Focus will slalom through traffic as if it has already practiced the path, and the brakes are firm and predictable. The ZX3's supple ride exacts a does exact a price on handling, with noticeable body roll in corners. Still, though, the ZX3's suspension articulates most road surfaces with confidence-inspiring enthusiasm. You'll constantly be tempted to take the next corner quicker than the last. The Focus's rev-happy engine and smooth-shifting five-speed transmission also keep the energy level high.
Inside, the Focus's jazzy interior architecture makes it feel a bit more hip than other economy cars, which tend to use flat lines and squared-off contours to promote a feeling of solidity. The Focus doesn't need such styling tricks; its controls feel substantial, and seating is supportive. The base cloth upholstery is grippy enough to keep drivers of all body sizes feeling clamped in place, and all controls fall readily to hand. The waterfall effect of the sloping dash puts the radio and climate controls directly above the shifter. Directly behind the steering wheel is a dash-mounted hatch release, which on most competitors' cars is down on the floor. Clearly, Ford's designers took a hard look at small-car design and did their best to raise the bar.
That's especially evident in the Focus ZX3's interior proportions. The seats feel chair-height, particularly in the rear, and the roof is high above the passengers' heads. Open the door, and you step out into the street rather than up out of the car; the ZX3's tall opening requires no modification of posture. Fortunately, the steering wheel offers available adjustments for rake as well as reach - the wheel can be in your lap if that's where you want it.
Maybe that's where you'd adjust it if you carved up San Francisco's foggy Twin Peaks as we did in our tested ZX3. The moderate speeds and sweeping curves kept the Focus feeling as if it were on the balls of its feet, and its Egg Yolk Yellow paint job garnered admiring comments from observers when the peaks were reached. Overall, the Focus reveals itself to be a friendly little car that's hard to fluster.
Fortunately, Ford minimizes the ZX3's impact on your bank account. The three-door ZX3 starts at $12,445 and includes a leather-wrapped steering wheel, sport bucket seats and 15-inch aluminum wheels. The $13,540 ZX3 Premium adds the multi-adjustable steering wheel, air conditioning and other niceties. The $14,480 ZX3 Power Premium throws in power windows, power locks, keyless entry and other features.
All told, the ZX3's impact on your bottom line is reasonable. So use Autoweb's research area to configure the perfect ZX3 for you, and use our free buying service to get a no-haggle price. Once you set foot in the showroom and take a Focus for a spin, you'll be glad you did. --By Phil Ruth
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