The 2009 Focus SES coupe and SEL sedan get good marks from motorweek. apparently, motorweek has been testing a whole roundup of energy smart vehicles, like the focus, civic, aveo, and yaris even if they tested the same generation already. read here:

Under all Focus hoods is a carryover 2.0-liter inline-four rated at 140 horsepower and 136 pound-feet of torque when paired with a four-speed automatic. This transmission has a new final drive ratio for quicker acceleration on the SES Coupe. The coupe also gains three extra horses - to 143 - when it's equipped with our car's five-speed manual.

The top tier SES Coupe also gets your attention with a throatier new sport-tuned exhaust, and it's not totally just for show. Our Focus SES was quite peppy off the line, and quicker than we remember, while still economy car conservative. 0 to 60 is a respectable 8.1 seconds, with a more labored quarter-mile of 16.3 seconds at 88 miles-per-hour. Shifts, however, were nicely firm and precise for a domestic manual gearbox.

But it's this car's focus on the environment that continues to impress. Government Fuel Economy Ratings are 24 city/35 highway with a manual, while Focus owners say they're getting 31.7 miles-per-gallon of regular in real-world driving.

The Focus has a modest Energy Impact Score of 12.2 barrels of oil consumed per year, and an earth-friendly Carbon Footprint of just 6.6 annual tons of CO2. There's even a Partial Zero Emissions version of the Focus for California emission states.

For a compact commuter, the Focus is a capable driver. Sure, it's tuned a little soft to handle potholes, but it still has easy turn-ins and delivers adequate confidence in corners. New suspension tuning exclusive to our SES certainly helps in this area, as does Electronic Stability Control, which is now available across the lineup.

Within, the Focus cabin retains its clean and orderly appearance. The instrument layout is upscale-Euro, all the way up to its dash-top status screen. Gauges strive for a Mustang theme.

The 2009 Ford Focus remains a solid small car option, but takes this premise to the next step. The coupe now benefits from a little extra show, on the surface and under the hood, while the sedan ups the ante in higher-end appeal. The result is a far better than average commuter package, and one that we bet will be the focus of even more smart consumers in the future.

the full article: http://www.mpt.org/motorweek/reviews/rt2828b.shtml

motorweek has never given a bad review to any car. ever. just sayin.

^^^ Correction, Motorweek HAS given a bad review or two. They gave the mazda protoge a bad review back in '04 as well as the chevy caviler back in '03. I try to keep up with it and I save all the "BAD" reviews they dish out.

I think they were right on this one. They obviously liked it, and I think they got a lot of the key points right. The coupe is pretty peppy, and the sedan is just as good if not better than a camry. Ford stepped it up, and I think they're headed in the right direction.

^^^ Correction, Motorweek HAS given a bad review or two. They gave the mazda protoge a bad review back in '04 as well as the chevy caviler back in '03. I try to keep up with it and I save all the "BAD" reviews they dish out.


there was no 2004 protege. 2004 was the first year of the 3. i have watched motorweek since i was about ten years old(when i see that it is on) and have NEVER seen them give an overall bad review of a car. they always try to put a positive spin on things.

in all honesty, motorweek isnt really a show geared towards car enthusiasts. it is more for the general public that wants to know how many cupholders a car has or how many screaming children they can fit in the backseat.

motorweek doesnt throw their biased opinions in every 5 seconds in the review like other car publications. they just tell you this is the car, this is what it drives like, this is the interior, heres your performance data, heres the price, and heres a very short paragraph on what we think. john davis has stated before that his show is not designed to bash or praise any one car, but to give the viewer an overall idea of what the car is like to live with in a 5-7 minute review. john will say if something is a bad idea or bad design or if it handles like crap but unlike other car reviews, one bad mistake doesnt send him into car bashing mode and he'll give credit where its due. for this i respect his show a lot more than any other publication out there.

i mainly posted this up because finally someone has given us pretty reliable 0-60 and 1/4 mile times for the new focus!

motorweek doesnt throw their biased opinions in every 5 seconds in the review like other car publications. they just tell you this is the car, this is what it drives like, this is the interior, heres your performance data, heres the price, and heres a very short paragraph on what we think. john davis has stated before that his show is not designed to bash or praise any one car, but to give the viewer an overall idea of what the car is like to live with in a 5-7 minute review. john will say if something is a bad idea or bad design or if it handles like crap but unlike other car reviews, one bad mistake doesnt send him into car bashing mode and he'll give credit where its due. for this i respect his show a lot more than any other publication out there.

i mainly posted this up because finally someone has given us pretty reliable 0-60 and 1/4 mile times for the new focus!

X2, been watching it for years now, good reviews, no bias, but if something is downgraded or crap, they will say it. This was a good review that I mostly agree with.

BTW, here's a fun fact for you guys, someone on this forum has been a driver for them in a number of episodes for motorweek. I'll let them speak up if they want to be identified.

that would be really cool if they spoke up! i wonder who it is??? i love the show and im glad they started putting the youtube clips up for people who cant quite recieve PBS... that was a great idea!