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2013 Focus Observations

42K views 187 replies 62 participants last post by  Mr Rutherford 
#1 · (Edited)
We got a few 2013 Focus on the lot and I noticed a few items:

The speedometer and tach have less hash marks (larger speed and tach increments). The speedo doesn't show every 10 MPH anymore, it goes 20, 40, 60, 80, etc.

The fuel and temp gauges also have larger text. Must of been complaints from older folks not being able to read them.

The auto dimming mirror, rain sensing wipers, and garage door opener built into the sun visor are now gone and no longer available, even on the Titanium model.

The base Titanium rims are now the previous SEL premium package rims. the SE now gets standard previous SE sport package rims. Much better than the hubcaps.

You can't get cloth seats and get fog lamps anymore. I see more SE's with the leather package because of this, and it's the same sew pattern as the Titanium leather. It's lost the uniqueness and options between trim levels, along with the blacked out headlamps from the Titanium on the SE appearance package. Why?

Performance blue is nice looking, pretty much the same as Sonic Blue last year, hint of purple to it.

Do like the standard rear view camera on the Titanium without having to buy the parking package. Also standard remote start that's integrated into the car from the factory is much better.

Driver's knee airbag has been added like the 2013 Escape, but doesn't note it in the order guide or functional descriptions.

LED interior dome lamps are gone, replaced with conventional bulbs

Interior trunk release added to headlamp switch surround.
 
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#120 ·
The SEL sedan had no spoiler.

The SEL was a better value for most people as it did have more stuff, if the styling of the wheels and gold were appealing.

No, I don't care about exact temperatures. I have that in my Toyota and Honda and my Toyota is freezing on 71 and my Honda is perfect on 71 - so there is no exact. I am with the Ford dial - turning it to the right to become warmer and to the left to become colder.

"The sport wheels aren't really nicer imo, and in fact since they made them the base wheels on the 2013 SE"

Twisted. They kept the 2012 sport wheels in 2013 discontinued the SEL wheels. That means they liked the 2012 sport wheels better.
 
#123 ·
That's a great suggestion. Ford should have at least made the existing switch more "tactile" so that it could easily be found without fumbling around for it.
 
#124 ·
hello, I just read the 13 pages of post, lots of Info. Just wish I had seen this Forum 3 weeks ago. I have a 2013 Focus SE Hatchback, does anyone have any info on the 2012/2013 instrument cluster bulb type. Did the 2012's have leds bulbs for cluster lighting. Was a change made on the 2013 instrument cluster lighting. I am new to Ford Focus SE ... This other item some how got pass me, I assumed that all 2013 Ford Product had 4 disc brakes.. [mad] Also at times, sun glare off the polished metal trim on the steering wheel and top of dash is an issue.
Thanks for any and all Info... Jim in Fl. [cool]
 
#125 ·
Not sure if Ford uses LED's for the cluster lighting or not. As far as I know, the lighting didn't change between 2012 and 2013 (for the cluster, the interior lights might have gone from LED to incandescent), but the speedometer only has numbers every 20 mph rather than every 10 mph.

Disc brakes are nice, but not a huge deal - there's another long thread on it. They weren't standard on 2012 SE's either, but they were part of a $700 option rather than a $2400 option.

For the polished trim - I would recommend Plasti-Dip, as at least it is removable if you don't like it.
 
#127 ·
I just read all the pages too. In spite of it all, I'll probably go buy a 2013 SE hatchback during this upcoming week.

I had a 99 Contour SVT which was just wrecked by another driver and need a new car. I was going to get rid of the SVT anyway. I have had a base model 2012 focus sedan for two weeks as a rental and have driven just about just about every small hatchback there is out there over the past several months.

Even with drum brakes, the rental focus is fun to drive. When it starts to understeer in a hard turn, I just lift off the throttle and the rear end comes right around. I'm used to a much stiffer cSVT, but the focus should scoot pretty well with some good sticky tires and maybe a cold air intake.

So, do you guys with a manual transmission find that it is easy to heel-and-toe downshift? I'm going to drive the 5 speed tomorrow or monday but would love some feedback on pedal placement for heel/toe downshifting from anyone who has lived with it for a while.

Be safe out there.

-PAX-

-Tim-
 
#130 ·
So, do you guys with a manual transmission find that it is easy to heel-and-toe downshift?

I find it very easy to heel-and-toe. The only car I've had in 24 years that was easier than this one is my '01 ZX3. It only took me a couple of days to fully adjust to the 2012 from the 2001, however. The main difference is that the gas pedal is *slightly* forward under braking, as Zillon mentioned.
 
#131 ·
Hey gang!

It's so much fun reading about your impressions of the 2013 Focus! For those of you who have ideas on new features for future models, I encourage you to check out http://social.ford.com/. Once you submit an idea, come back here and share the link so we can all vote on it.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, just send me a shout via PM.

Have a great day!
Crystal [headbang]
 
#139 ·
I have one in my '13 SE with 201A. Here are some crappy pictures of it:





Printed on the back is (not sure if you can see it in the picture):

BM51-A045H74-ABW
MAT CNSL STWG CMPT

Guessing that name means Material Console Stowage Compartment?

I would assume any '13 SE with the 201A package (gives you the center console/cupholders like in the Titanium) has this little shelf.

My dealer actually didn't know about it. I found it in the glove compartment when I was putting my paperwork in there for the drive home. Have you checked your glove box?


In any case, I really like this. It's one of those things you wouldn't think would matter, but makes organization a lot nicer. I can now hide my garage remote in there, still access it super easily, and make the console area that much "cleaner" looking!
 
#140 ·
BM51-A045H74-ABW
MAT CNSL STWG CMPT

Guessing that name means Material Console Stowage Compartment?

I would assume any '13 SE with the 201A package (gives you the center console/cupholders like in the Titanium) has this little shelf.

My dealer actually didn't know about it. I found it in the glove compartment when I was putting my paperwork in there for the drive home. Have you checked your glove box?


In any case, I really like this. It's one of those things you wouldn't think would matter, but makes organization a lot nicer. I can now hide my garage remote in there, still access it super easily, and make the console area that much "cleaner" looking!
Will it work if you have the USB/SD/Composite ports plugged in with accessories?
 
#150 ·
I think Ford should gift box these center console storage trays and mail one to each 2012 owner with an apology card for not thinking of this before. I am so over rummaging through that deep, dark hole under the armrest looking for a small item that has fallen to the bottom.

I love my TI but the lack of storage or cubby holes in the car was, IMHO, a glaring omission (along with the lack of AppLink). No place for the keyless fob. No place for spare change. No place for my phone other than the passenger seat. And a glove box (with no light) that is an ergonomic nightmare to access from the drivers seat.

I'm waiting for my gift box, Ford......

Rich
 
#151 ·
I just bought a new SE model. Had a Maxda 3i with 102000 miles on it so I decided to buy a new car. The Mazda was True red and Mazda eliminated that color. I like the Focus so far. It is a little too quiet and I need to get rid of that dead cat gap above the tires. I'm leaning towards the Flowmaster exhaust and maybe the Steeda rear bar. Also looked at the FSWERKS cold air system.
 
#158 ·
Update for those of you looking to purchase that tray for the 2012's.

Just came in...





Before:


After:


The part was ~$18 dollars and then after tax/shipping+handling I believe the total was either $21-24 dollars. (I forgot! [shhh])


Steve is a friendly guy and helped tracked it down for me. Give him a call!

Steve Powell at Tousley Ford:
(800)328-9552

^not a direct number to him, so when you call just ask to speak to Steve.
 
#159 ·
Nice!

It looks like the console was designed for it... leading one to wonder, did they just forget to make the damn trays for the 2012s? [:0]
 
#165 · (Edited)
I've been trying to not get too far behind on you guys, but I've had 2 business trips the last 2 weeks and I'm going on vacation this upcoming week... so busy! Anyway, I rented a brand new (6 miles on the odometer) 2013 Focus on last week's business trip and here are some things I have noticed:

I'm pretty sure I can see a rectangular outline of where the airbag is on my car, it's subtle, but there. I didn't notice this on the 2013.


This might be an SE vs Ti difference, but I like the big ol' colored letters telling me what gear I'm in (that said, I think I like the color scheme of the Ti more, though - just getting the selected gear as a color would be cool)


No rattles from the headliner - I noticed it had one more 3M "velcro" strip than my car - but 2 were loose/disconnected from the factory. I fixed them for the next driver. Frankly, I'm just surprised they still stuck with the hot glue adhesion or whatever it is they were using. And as someone else mentioned, the moonroof cover is beefier and has a little more sliding resistance.



Not that I go here very often, but the cupholder "fins" don't like sweet tea... I was afraid of tearing the cup in half so I had to press down on them before pulling up on the cup. Other than that, they do keep bottles and cups from rattling.


My car doesn't have this - I presume it will keep the engine compartment much cleaner than what mine currently looks like... I wouldn't have noticed it if it didn't get into my way when I was trying to open the hood.Never mind, it totally does. lol


Reinforced strut tower, clunk-free. (Apparently this isn't the magical fix either...) (see Zillion's thread for more info)


And lastly, someone messed up... because this Oxford White Focus had one of the tri-coat platinum metallic spoilers. whoops!


...I should have stolen that stowage compartment tray, but my conscience got the better half of me.

One more important thing!
This car wouldn't shift into 6th until 40 mph. That's in both drive and in select-shift. My most recent transmission update, (which didn't fix my grinding noises) changed my car's shifting pattern to match this one. I suppose it's okay, but I can still manually shift into 6th at 35mph. I just thought that was odd, but I'm not complaining. That said, this transmission didn't have any clutch slippage (yet?).

EDIT: Also, the turning radius was better than my 40', which was nice, but not outrageously better or anything. And I really do appreciate my Sony system over the standard.
 
#167 ·
^^ OOh. Or we can borrow one, make a mold, and get rich! (Or, you know - break even)
 
#169 ·
Not sure if there would be enough market for this with the tooling costs and all..

For example if using injection molding, cost of making a die would prob be around $6000 + wait 2-3 months for die to be developed. Then the manufacturer would have a piece price of maybe $2 per piece and require minimum order of at least 5000. Then, I don't know about the legality. Can you just take Ford's design and sell it? Probably not so you'd have to modify the design a little. But a lot of work involved and might be hard to get a manufacturer on board for such a small project.



Here's what I have so far based on the pics posted in this thread.
 
#171 ·
Yes, but I'm not sure if that's actually needed, it looks like more of a piece that just helps you slot the tray in correctly. Front what I saw in the picture a few pages back the two front "flaps" + the base holds the tray in place. Actually maybe it is needed as you need some way to lock the tray so it does not slide (ie. towards the back where the usb's are). But then again the console inside is contoured so perhaps that provides the locking action.

Also not sure on the dimensions of it. Also, if I were to try to 3d print that, I don't think it would be very durable. It'd probably snap off when I tried to peel off the excess print.
 
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