#2013 ford focus se tv

Around town, even if you’re used to dual-clutch transmissions (which is what Ford’s PowerShift transmission is), this car is horrible.

More important to discuss than the engine, however, is the transmission. However, if your goal is to travel at the speed limit on local roads and highways, the engine has more than enough strength to hold its own. 160 horsepower was not enough for this especially in the higher gears. The valve-timing system wasn’t the best, especially when climbing steep hills.

The only qualm I had was with SYNC addressing me in Spanish since someone named Arturo had plugged in his iPhone at some point. The seats were surprisingly comfortable after that much rental car duty. I didn’t notice any large panel gaps like I would’ve in a 2005 Ford Focus after 40,000 miles. The gauge cluster and stereo interface were very intuitive.

#2013 ford focus se tv

I’m not going to discuss the interior that much since most of you have probably rented the Focus, sat in it at an auto show, bought it, read the brochure, seen the TV ads, made out in the back seat, etc. Additionally, the transmission never seemed to choose the right gear when climbing up the steep hill to get to my house. The car had obviously sat in the lot of my Hertz Local Edition for such a long time that the interior was stuffy, the air-conditioning blew musty air, the transmission’s clutches weren’t in the best condition, and there was so much static coming from the stereo. On my drive home, many issues made themselves known. Hertz seriously does keep cars in their fleet for that long. You might be thinking, “Oh, it probably didn’t have much mileage so Hertz decided to keep it in the fleet.” Well, I can safely write that wasn’t the case. After asking the rep about all the available cars he had (“How about that Avenger that just came in?”), I ended up with a Tuxedo Black 2013 Ford Focus parked way back in the lot.