FEATURES | 10 out of 10
Expert Quotes:
voice control isn't a cure-all for a finicky design
Edmunds' Inside Line
Tech-hungry shoppers will zero in on available features that aren't the norm in this class of vehicle
Popular Mechanics
Most of the features are available through a series of menus on the screen, and the process of locating and engaging them is complex and finicky.
Edmunds
the well-sculpted, just-right-size steering wheel has twenty-one buttons -- enough to type a term paper on it
Automobile Magazine
Depending on which trim you get, the Focus has two quite different instrument panels. While MyFord Touch—the touch-screen system that's offered in the 2011 Ford Explorer and Edge and 2011 Lincoln MKX—is standard on the Focus Titanium and optional on the SEL, giving the Focus a high-end, feature-rich feel, other models get a modestly retouched version of the Fiesta's control layout—including the oddly angled, V-shaped arrangement. Top and center on those models, instead, is a more colorful, higher-contrast screen that definitely beats the orange monochrome Fiesta screen.
MyFord touch provides control of entertainment, communication, climate functions, and more, and in these models, in place of the two smaller gauge-cluster screens that you find in the Edge, Explorer, and MKX, the Focus gets a single smaller one. Just below the touch-screen, deceptively, is a very large dial in the middle of the dash that you might would serve some function in navigating screen functions, but it's only for sound-system volume.
One segment-exclusive feature that will be available in the Titanium is Active Park Assist—that's the system Ford has offered on several more expensive models that essentially allows the car to steer itself into a spot while you modulate the brake. In a city-savvy small car like the Focus—rather than one that's more likely to be valet-parked—it finally makes sense.
Conclusion
'Small car' doesn't necessarily mean 'economy car' anymore; at the top of the line, the Focus Titanium feels like a tech-savvy Euro sport sedan.
