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| Sync, making its grand debut on the Focus, is going to change the way people hook up with their accessories. The fact that it's not proprietary is also a huge plus. (Photo: Justin Couture, Canadian Auto Press) |
An interesting fact: people now spend roughly a week of their lives in average in traffic every year. Not that the Focus has taken this into account in particular, but it's one of the better compact cars to spend a rush hour in. The biggest single improvement to the car is quelling its noise levels. Ford more than lived up to its promise when it claimed that the new Focus would be the quietest in the compact class; indeed they've done a stand up job. Sound insulation has been beefed up in quantity and quality, with the glass thicker and some rather clever tricks incorporated such as a carpeted trunk lid and felt-lined rear wheel wells to keep noise from seeping in through otherwise troublesome areas when on the move. The revised body underwent over 1,000 hours of re-engineering for aerodynamic purposes to ensure its quietness. Ford says that the car is now about 11 to 12 percent quieter than before, but because the difference in sones and decibels means little to most, in real world terms this means that people in the front and the back of the car can speak to each other without straining to hear, and the Sync system (more on this shortly) can pick up on your voice without you needing to raise it.
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| Who knew that the Focus would become the quietest car in its class? (Photo: Justin Couture, Canadian Auto Press) |
The cabin is also much nicer too, with its T-shaped dashboard applique, "poke through" console controls and ice blue lighting. The driving position isn't as adjustable as before, due to the deletion of the telescoping steering column, though I am told this was done to increase the vehicle's rigidity. The cabin plastics are what you'd expect out of a sub-$16,000 car, but they've got a fairly nice grain and all of the pieces fit well together on our preproduction test cars. A particularly large amount of research went into designing and developing the seats too; they're not quite Volvo good, but you'll be hard pressed to find more comfortable buckets in an affordable compact car. Trimmed in optional leather, and stitched with contrasting thread, they feel soft to the touch and are nicely supportive for hours of driving. The car also receives a conventional ratchet-style height adjuster, standard on all Focus models.
