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Car Forum / Ford / Ford Focus / February 2005Focus automatic - reviews?
Anyone own a Focus automatic? I want to know how much of the Focus drive is affected by the auto transmission, as opposed to manuals which are well known to be a great drive. Any mechanical problems? I dont think Ford in general are great with making automatics, although i might be mistaken. > Anyone own a Focus automatic? > I want to know how much of the Focus drive is affected by the auto > transmission, as opposed to manuals which are well known to be a great > drive. > Any mechanical problems? I dont think Ford in general are great with > making automatics, although i might be mistaken. I am presently renting a 2005 ZX4 with an automatic transmission during this time, as my 2003 ZX3 is in the body shop. The first think I noticed about this car was the difference in fuel consumption compared to my 2003 ZX3 with a manual transmission The 2005 ZX4 automatic get fewer miles pre gallon then does the 2003 ZX3 manual. The rentel has little over 13,000 miles on it my ZX3 has more then 187,000 miles on it. Most of the miles I dirve are done at highway speed on my daily 370 mile round trip between the eastern shore of Maryland and Baltimore. I can't comment on the mechanical reliability of Ford automatics transmission because I haven't owned a car of any make with an automatics transmission sense I retired my 1986 Chevrolet Astro Van back in the mid 1990s. Needless to say the 700 series GM automatics transmissions in the Astro Van of that era were crap. On a different note, My 2003 ZX3 has the transmission on the right side. The engine in the 2005 ZX4 is turened 180 degrees with the transmission on the left side.  SignatureJohn in the sand box of Marylands eastern shore. The Focus automatic is designed by Mazda. Anyone own a Focus automatic? I want to know how much of the Focus drive is affected by the auto transmission, as opposed to manuals which are well known to be a great drive. Any mechanical problems? I dont think Ford in general are great with making automatics, although i might be mistaken. > Any mechanical problems? I dont think Ford in general are > great with making automatics, although i might be mistaken. That's true, but Ford also seems to have a lot of trouble with manual clutches too. Unbelievable, the number of plastic parts in a Ford transmission. -- Don Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are much more pliable. ~ Mark Twain >> Any mechanical problems? I dont think Ford in general are >> great with making automatics, although i might be mistaken. > >That's true, but Ford also seems to have a lot of trouble with >manual clutches too. Unbelievable, the number of plastic parts >in a Ford transmission. I know I'm less than impressed with the clutch in my Ford Super Duty. I'm on my second one with only 90K miles on the clock. (And I drive many highway miles and am very easy on clutches.) Matt Focus owner > That's true, but Ford also seems to have a lot of trouble with > manual clutches too. Unbelievable, the number of plastic parts > in a Ford transmission. Damn. I couldn't agree with you more. I have a 2001 ZX3 and just had the clutch repaired. I noticed, while the service records were brought up, that the clutch was repaired about this time last year. I bought the car used in June of 2004. A plastic cylinder under the clutch pedal broke and that was just the tip of the iceberg as the entire clutch assembly had to be replaced. Ah well, all I had to pay was $150. Now, I am concerned about the future with this Ford clutch "problem". Rob >Anyone own a Focus automatic? >I want to know how much of the Focus drive is affected by the auto >transmission, as opposed to manuals which are well known to be a great >drive. >Any mechanical problems? I dont think Ford in general are great with >making automatics, although i might be mistaken. We've got a '00 Wagon with the auto. Performance is adequate, if not spunky when you put your foot in it. Mileage isn't impressive as already noted. (Our engine is the 1.6L DOHC.) We just got the car back in October, but I'm pretty sure the transmission is original with no major repairs and we are sitting at 65K miles. No complaints yet. Matt Focus owner > >Anyone own a Focus automatic? > >I want to know how much of the Focus drive is affected by the auto [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > Matt > Focus owner I have the same car.. '01 wagon 1.6 liter with auto tranny.. So far so good..knock on wood! Not as quick as one with the manual transmission however. It is somewhat thirsty when driven in city. It uses 10 liters / 100 kms in city and 7 liters on highway.. What do you get with your car? ahmet turkey '01 wagon 1.6 liter, 37K Kms >I have the same car.. '01 wagon 1.6 liter with auto tranny.. So far so >good..knock on [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >turkey >'01 wagon 1.6 liter, 37K Kms I've only checked it a couple of times and I recorded 26-27 mpg (US) on the highway. These weren't easy highway cruises as they did include running up and over a mountain pass between my home and Seattle, WA at 75 mph. But the window sticker claimed a 30 mpg EPA highway rating, and I've been able to come within 1 or 2 mpg of those ratings on the last several vehicles I've owned. The vehicle is my wife's daily driver and has now settled into a routine commute running 75% highway, and I should check the mpg on it now. Matt Focus owner I've always been a manual transmission person, but got the auto in our 2004 ZX5 with the 2.3 engine. I really like it, and don't miss the manual at all, except that the fuel milage with the auto seems to be lower thatn what I would expect with a manual trans. Incidentally, one of the reasons my wife demanded automatic was due to the clutch problems we had with our 2001 Ford Escape 2.0L manual. We always had clutch "judder" even after Ford replaced the clutch and pressure plate 3 times. Other than that, we liked the Escape. The auto in the ZX5 combined with the 2.3L engine is pretty sporty, and shifts well. No mechanical problems at this stage, but we've only had it for about 8 months. > I've always been a manual transmission person, but got the auto in our > 2004 ZX5 with the 2.3 engine. I really like it, and don't miss the [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > shifts well. No mechanical problems at this stage, but we've only had > it for about 8 months. jphag has almost the same Foci that we do. ... My 2004 Focus (station wagon) with the 2.3 is my first automatic, also. I still feel a small shock -- I've only had mine for about half a year -- at every fill-up only because it "feels" as if it was gulping gas. But I attribute that to having a 2.3L; I haven't owned one that big for our last several cars. The 2004 wagon has plenty of pep when I need it, also shifts well. And we've had no clutch problems with my wife's manual 2001 (sedan) Focus either. Her problem with that one turned out to be her (comparatively) short, slow, stop-and-go commutes in city traffic. She's not even put 30K miles on her 2001 yet, but complained how sluggish the response was. Much better, she says, since it was flushed out at the dealership recently, plus whatever else they did to make it "unsticky." Here's hoping for no clutch problems on that one -- although we haven't had clutch problems on any of the half dozen small Fords we've owned for more than a decade (knock wood?). "One's mileage may vary," I suppose .... Dave I have a 2001, 1.6L Automatic, 45K miles. I recently queried the UK Telegraph Motoring Correspondent "Honest John" for his opinion on the transmission, I value his opinions. His comment was along the lines of - no known reliability problems with this Mazda manufactured auto transmission - sealed unit and should be good for 75,000 miles. As for driving, clearly acceleration and mpg are affected, but I am no boy racer, and find it completely satisfactory for my needs. Like the manual box, the top gear is overgeared for economy, which means that major inclines require the selection of a lower gear; there is a nice button on the side of the selector, which switches overdrive off (i.e. limits the box to 3 speed) which I occasionally find I have to use to get the right power out of the system. In terms of driving, steering, ride etc, it is just as good as a manual. I would highly recommend the 1.6L auto based on nearly 4 years from new - with, as yet, no problems at all. Paul R > Anyone own a Focus automatic? > I want to know how much of the Focus drive is affected by the auto > transmission, as opposed to manuals which are well known to be a great > drive. > Any mechanical problems? I dont think Ford in general are great with > making automatics, although i might be mistaken. |
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