Used Ford Focus Models and Price Estimates
My first trip was about 2 weeks and while I didn't use the Avis at the airport, I had found a small Avis just down the road from my office in Redwood City, CA. The Avis there had given me a white 2010 Ford Focus to drive around. Now the smell inside the car left a lot to be desired. It was a machine type of smell, not quite gasoline, but it seemed to be a hydraulic fluid of some sort. At first I figured I could deal with it, but I found myself arriving at my hotel room and my clothes were covered in the peculiar smell, I decided to buy an air freshener the next time I hit the grocery store. I sprayed the fruity smell, but found myself emptying the bottle before my first week was up.
Odd smell aside, the car itself was quite fun to drive. The 4 cylinder engine was just enough to get up to speed on the freeway without holding anyone behind me back. The compact design made it easy to navigate through the city, and heavy traffic. My husband even paid a visit over the weekend and we took the car on a small road trip to the coast. The little car was very comfortable on the long 1.5 hour drive through the windy roads to the coast.
Now here's where I geek out on the car a bit:
The car itself is very affordable, but doesn't feel like a cheap car. It has definitely been built like a Ford (as they say, "Ford Tough"). The newer models are built with a four-cylinder engine that is more fuel efficient than previous models. The car itself is very easy to handle due to the advanced suspension and Ford has put in a great deal of new technological features.
The engine itself is a 2.0 four-cylinder with 160 horsepower and 146 feet of torque (if that means anything to you). What that translates to is that the engine is not as powerful and as fast as say the Toyota Camry (2.5 liter four-cylinder engine producing 178 horsepower and 170 feet of toque) which is the next class up to the Ford Focus. For an inexpensive commuter car, the Ford Focus rates pretty good.
If you're concerned about fuel efficiency (and really, who isn't these days?) the Ford Focus is rated at 40 miles to the gallon on highways. Personally I only had to fill the tank once before I dropped it back off with Avis at the end of my 2 weeks. The tank was still 1/4 full, and that's using the car daily to and from the office ( 4 miles each way) with a 30 mile road trip over the weekend.
If you're looking for a good used Ford Focus the 2008-2011 models are the second generation of the bunch. Ford made a coupe and sedan model with a more squared off styling to distinguish them from the first Focus. Ford started integrating technology into the Ford Focus with a voice control over cell phones and the audio system was made available. This was very unusual for the economy car segment at the time.
In 2002 Ford made the four door hatchback available in both automatic and manual transmission.
personally in these newer cars, I prefer the automatic transmission. I gotta say, I also like the technology that Ford provides with the Focus. It kind of makes you feel like you're one of those high rollers, without having to spend your years salary on a car.
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