Ownership Verified: Yet another black Focus and its two-wheeled roommates

DanRoM

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Location
Ruhr Area, Germany
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MX-5 ND, Tracer 900 GT & two bikes
Well, I've had this car since last year and have completed the first 6000 km recently, so here it is... my 2009 Ford Focus.

The important data:
  • 2.0 l petrol engine
  • 107 kW (145 HP)
  • official max speed: 206 kph (128 mph)
  • manual 5-speed gearbox
  • 8.73 l/100 km (26.94 mpg US/32.35 mpg UK) so far, which means just about 600 km on one tank
Options and stuff:
  • 16" rims
  • "Panther Black" paint
  • blacked out rear windows
  • sport suspension (lowers the car by 1 cm)
  • Titanium trim level
  • HID headlights
  • electric glass sunroof
  • electric windows
  • automatic air conditioning
  • cooled glove box
  • electrically retractable mirrors (needed for fitting through the door of my garage)
  • Radio with MP3 capability, USB port and Bluetooth phone connectivity
  • Cigarette lighter and ashtray (I don't smoke and as long as it is my car, no one will smoke in it, but I like to have a trash can)

I have not modified the car in any way except for adding a Nordschleife sticker at the back - after I drove on the track, of course.

Except for the photo with the sticker and the proof photo, all photos were taken on the day I got the car. On the proof picture you can also see my winter rims and lots of dirt...
 

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very discrete and clean, NICE!

btw how are the back seats, are they big enough for 3 adults?
 
Yes - I had a rental like this (well 1.6 Diesel) for about six months - great car! Love the one you have - nice and clean - good colour too.
 
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hm... the face lifted version does look rather nice.
 
I am so glad that the next-gen Focus will be for both sides of the Atlantic, the US-spec sucks so hard.

This, on the other hand, is a beautiful specimen of a vehicle.
 
Damn fine looking Focus you have there. Too bad the US never got the MkII+.
 
Very nice!

So what's the actual demonstrated maximum speed? :)

Steve

Mk1 is limited to 126MPH with the 2.0L Zetec engine* - I'd be UTTERLY SURPRISED if the Mk2 were meaningfully different - after all, they just changed the engine (Zetec => Duratec HE) and in the process gave it a mere 15HP power bump - but it's 500lbs heavier.

*108 for us silly Americans because they're afraid we'd hurt ourselves or something - and because they couldn't let it near the contemporary base model Mustang (and Mustang GT's with 16" wheels - apparently there was some sort of wheel failure risk to the point that Mustang GTs that left the factory with 16" wheels got a limiter while Mustang GTs that left with 17" wheels simply did not) at 130mph
 
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nice car indeed m8! ;) i'd give my arse for that engine.. :lol: how come you have such good fuel economy? i get 9,5 l/100 km with heavier foot.. have you painted that trunk door handle? because here, with titanium trim, you can only get it chromed.. :puke: and have you been thinking about ford's 17" rims? i've seen couple of black focuses with those and they look awesome! guy i've sold mines to has black focus as well, and they fit in perfectly.. :wub:
Focus2.jpg
 
Thanks for the compliments. :)

very discrete and clean
Yeah, I was looking for exactly that. No need to be flashy, and as I plan to drive that car for quite a few years, I don't want looks that I get tired of too quickly.
how are the back seats, are they big enough for 3 adults?
Three of the participants of last year's Ringmeet should be able to tell you that, and at least two of them are rather tall - Sued and Ice and a third one, if I recall correctly.
It's a compact after all, so I wouldn't want to travel with five people in it for hours. But for a compact, it is quite roomy (and not at all compact on the outside). You can even sit behind the driver seat when I drive.

So what's the actual demonstrated maximum speed?
I once reached 216 kph (134 mph) according to my GPS, but that was downhill, with tailwind and homesickness. ;)

Mk1 is limited to 126MPH with the 2.0L Zetec engine* - I'd be UTTERLY SURPRISED if the Mk2 were meaningfully different
Limited? Hm... I don't know. I doesn't feel like it's limited, because the acceleration above 200 kph is quite... slow. No sudden stop at the design top speed. I'm actually disappointed with the top speed performance, but that may be caused by my former car having beaten its own design speed very easily (by 15 or 20 kph on flat roads).

i'd give my arse for that engine.. :lol: how come you have such good fuel economy? i get 9,5 l/100 km with heavier foot..
I can imagine that. I took the 1.8l for a test drive before buying the car, and yes, it's a little lame. The car weighs about 1350 kg, after all. Plus I definitely wanted a car that can go at least 200 kph while it's still allowed to drive that fast.
Regarding fuel economy: With a heavy foot - or with winter tyres - I easily come into your regions. I imagine that you need to kick your smaller engine more while I can go easy on mine to have the same result in acceleration.
For a 2 l engine mostly driven in town or on short Autobahn drives, I think around 8.5 l/100 km is okay. In fact, looking at the German website Spritmonitor.de, I'm at the upper (for you MPG people: lower :p) end of the scale.
have you painted that trunk door handle?
I didn't do anything, the car came like that. The two things I consider doing are a black third brake light instead of the red one and replacing the dealer's plate holders with more individual and less silver ones.
have you been thinking about ford's 17" rims?
Thought about it and discarded the thought. The dealer said it wouldn't be good for ride comfort, especially with the sport suspension already in place. And I wanted that because the car sits too high, looks-wise, not for the (hopefully) better handling.
 
My favourite specimen of Focus!
I spot with my little eye a lack of buttwarmers though.
 
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I spot with my little eye a lack of buttwarmers though.
My butt is hot enough without them. :p

I don't live in Holyshititsfreezinghalfayearland and I have a garage, so the need for winter options like heated seats and heated windscreen is rather limited in my case. Therefore my car doesn't have these features.
At some point I had to draw the line... and in retrospect it's always better to have decided otherwise anyway. ;)
 
Three of the participants of last year's Ringmeet should be able to tell you that, and at least two of them are rather tall - Sued and Ice and a third one, if I recall correctly.

At one point at least, there was nicjasno, sued and me on the back seat. Ice took the front one. And that was for the best, I think, it WAS a squeeze back there ;)
 
I need to drive more, I think. :D After only 16 months and 5 days, I cracked the first 10 Mm yesterday.
https://pic.armedcats.net/d/da/danrom/2010/08/02/10000km.jpg
 
Just a little photo update because I feel like it. Picture courtesy of chaos, thumbnail because of filesize > 3 MB.

 
Nice! Does the 2-liter engine have enough bollocks to do well on the Ring? I guess it performs quite well, considering it having 145 horses...
 
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