Excellent rental car

"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
04/03/2018 at 09:29 • Filed to: None

Last week I had a bright red focus hatch as my rental and I found it to be lovely. Sure the transmission behaves weirdly due to Fords implementation of a DCT but it was still a fun vehicle to roll around with for a week. This one had sync that worked correctly too so I even had bluetooth to my phone no problem. It’s a decidedly quick car and steering felt non-vague enough to make things feel somewhat enjoyable. It made me think that I probably would really like the ST or even better the RS. When people say “the RS is just a fast focus” I find that to be a VERY good thing. Take a good thing and make it better? How could you go wrong?

Now this week I really miss driving that vehicle since I’m stuck with a lawnmower or Nissan Versa, it’s interchangeable. The Versa is kind of in the category of “so bad that it becomes good in a masochistic way” but it also doesn’t have bluetooth, auto lights or a height adjustable seat. These are just things I come to expect about even the cheapest cars from other companies.

Slow car fast doesn’t even begin to describe the Versa. I have tested out 0-60 with foot on the floor and came out somewhere over 15 seconds. It was impressive to me how long that took.

DISCUSSION (8)

Old Red Wagon > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/03/2018 at 10:06

I watched a friend’s focus for him while he was deployed and I drove it pretty often once I shipped my E30 to the US. I Couldn’t stand the car. That transmission hiccup alone drove me insane. The lack of response when you pressed the gas and when it did finally respond there was a lot of wheel hop and hesitation. With all of the roundabouts in Europe you need to accelerate quickly to fill in the gaps in traffic but there were times where I wouldn’t go because I knew the car would stutter trying to fill a small gap.

The dashboard layout and how far it comes out from the windshield was an eyesore to me. Very poorly designed. I felt there could have been more room for the driver and passenger if it didn’t protrude so much. Those were my main gripes with the car. Of course I wouldn’t experience that if it was a manual but that dashboard would still be there.

I considered a Focus ST and was willing to overlook the dashboard design but ended up buying a GTI instead. Was just as fast, non existent torque steer compared to the ST, and the interior was leagues ahead both in design and fit and finish.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Old Red Wagon
04/03/2018 at 10:17

Oh yeah I ignored the transmission issues since I would never buy an automatic anyways. It is also weird in that car since it does actually kind of behave like a manual that is just being shifted poorly. One example is backing up into a parking spot on a slight grade, the car will roll forward when you let off the gas. It is offputting to me because you cannot ride the “clutch” at all so you feel helpless.

I have never had an issue with Ford interiors and found the dash to be as inoffensive as the others in the category. I always have issues with Sync but got lucky this time.

Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/03/2018 at 10:18

I think the problem with the “it’s a fast focus” thing is that the Golf R is “a fast golf” and in most respects a golf is a better starting point. But... I am anxiously awaiting a used RS showing up in my area so I can test drive it and see if it’s worth two years of penny pinching; when I suspect it will be the best time to buy a used one(that moment in time where some cars not yet previously modded and hooned to death but have suffered a good deal of depreciation but there aren’t so few of those cars they completely flatline in price).

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/03/2018 at 10:28

I spent a bit of time sitting in a friend’s Focus ST a week ago. Not a bad place to be overall. Not sure if the standard Focus gets the same stereo as the ST but the sound system in her ‘14 was really good, apparently it’s some kind of Sony system.

I got a bit of a kick out of seeing her in the Recaros. Those seats are giant (and super comfy) and she is tiny and just disappears into the seat. From the passenger seat all you could see was her head popping up over the top of the bolsters.

Rico > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/03/2018 at 11:05

0-60 with foot on the floor and came out somewhere over 15 seconds.

At what point does this become dangerous? There needs to be some kind of standard for cars in my opinion.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Rico
04/03/2018 at 12:20

I mean its 0-30 isnt so bad, so its not really all THAT dangerous. Its the 30-60 that is horrendously bad. I have certainly also driven slower cars that can barely even make it to 60. Big heavy trucks with no power are a good example of 0 to 60 in eventually and seem to work out fine. It is certainly slow and you can feel it but idk if I would consider it dangerous.

Rico > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/03/2018 at 14:11

I think if the standards of cars were to be raised it would increase driver safety. When cars handle like shit or can’t accelerate for shit it is a detriment to everyone on the road around them.

I’m not saying it needs to be M3 levels but if the new car can barely get up to highway speeds in a good amount of time you are forcing people behind them (already doing 60+ MPH) to slow down or swerve around them. And when a car handles like shit and forces the person to constantly have to ride their brakes on a slightest of curves, or if their car comes equipped with such crappy tires that they hydroplane in minimal wet conditions I think we all lose.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Rico
04/03/2018 at 16:05

The thing is that people still dont use a car’s functionality at all. I mean sure this thing is slow as shit but I am still burning everyone off the line because rental car. I am going far faster than most cars and taking turns at MUCH higher rates than anything else I see. So its certainly capable of “keeping up with traffic”.