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USA Focus vs Foreign Focus Features

4K views 33 replies 13 participants last post by  Tubeway Army 
#1 ·
Just glancing through various Ford sites, Ford Germany, Ford UK and etc, I see what we do not have in features or options compared to what other countries can get or what's included with various models.

Most of it would not be of much use for most in the USA, sign recognition, active city stop but I see that the UK Focus lineup is quite nice, Zetec S with LED tail lamps and different lower body kit, honeycomb grill inserts and etc, Titanium X which is a step above our Titanium since it comes with Bi-Xenon Headlamps and LED tail lamps standard yet at a cost of roughly $33K, which would not sell too good here since it's not a Audi, Mercedes, BMW or Lexus, public perception I guess?

The engine selection is vast, interiors, wheels and etc. It's very a la carte.

Seems like the only model that comes close to be nearly identical to our choices is the ST.


http://www.ford.co.uk/Hidden/iBrochure/Focus

I wonder if Ford can ever sell a car like the rest of the world can get in it's home base? Seems kinda strange that we have watered down models and Ford would probably have to re-badge the Focus with a Lincoln name and styling to justify the price for the options since that's how it works in the US.
 
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#3 ·
I downloaded the 32 page Focus brochure from the UK site, I see that it might be more useful here than I thought.

The City Pack option which is standard on the Titanium X doesn't include that but it does come with power folding mirrors which I think would be useful in some instances.
 
#4 ·
In my country (Taiwan)

Focus sold without any original "option package" for selection, everything comes with your bought trim level.

Active City Stop: Standard for 2.0TDCi hatchback sport
BLIS:Standard for 1.6 Ti-VCT sedan GHIA
Sony 9 speakers audio system:
Standard for
1. 2.0 GDI hatchback sport
2. 2.0 TDCi hatchback sport
3. 1.6 Ti-VCT sedan GHIA

I bought 2.0TDCi sedan trend and i didn't have a chance to get active city stop or BLIS .... even if i'm glad to pay for them. [:(]
So do tires and rims (If you don't like factory installed tires and rims......sale them and go for aftermarket, no factory option available)
and .... My Ford Touch not available in my country [bigcry]
(I know lots of folks in my country eager to buy MFT, but the only available choice is poorly made aftermarket DVD players (Piece of crap)....i've heard some cases will cause unexpectedly car shut off while driving [:0] )

power folding mirrors.... it is standard for almost all of the focus trim levels (Except 1.6Ti-VCT Ambiente)
 
#7 ·
MFT in my opinion is not that great, it needs a lot of time to mature as Applink is non-existent on it right now. I do use my back-up camera and some of the features, but I would trade it for many other things that I would find more useful. My Titanium had a MSRP of nearly $26K, yet has the same ugly cheap looking exhaust that is found on the base S model.
 
#5 ·
It's not just perception it's a fact that the Focus isn't worth over $30k when you have base models at $15k it's still got a lot of cheap quality parts and isn't fit for a $33k price range. Even the ST isn't flying off showroom floors even at sub $30k prices. In Europe the average family has one car so they generally will pay a bit larger price for pricey options plus look at what $30k+ buys you in america.
 
#6 ·
I just think that in the US hatches over $30K are a hard sell, VW tries to keep the GTI under $30K, but they push $30K with options and the Golf R being mid $30s but yet sell the base Golf starts in the $18K range. VW also water downed US Spec cars compared to what you could get in Germany.

The Volvo C30 is loaded with options and features, is a very poor selling car in the US, Lexus CT Hybrid is another that comes to mind.

In terms of cheap quality parts, I agree, there are a few things on my Titanium that do not hold up to previous Volkswagens I owned, the exhaust is probably the biggest visual item that I wish Ford handled a little better. They got it right on the Fusion Titanium, but the Focus it looks no different than the a base S. At least at a minimum they could done what VW did with the Jetta GLI, some nice stainless exhaust tips and a lower valence with an appropriate cut out.
 
#11 ·
As soon as we start paying European level gas prices, that attitude will change. I even told myself my next car would be a Hybrid, the C-Max was one I considered, test drove it and considered it but went with the Focus since I got more bang for the buck. I would have been happy if the 1.0L or 1.6L was available over the 2.0L.
 
#12 ·
Reality check. After converting the currency, the UK base Focus 5-door would cost $21418, the Titanium, similarly equipped would run $33523 and a Titanium X with all the fancy UK features would top out at $35766. I'm not sure the typical US buyer looking for an economy compact would be willing to shell out over 35K, not everyone is a Focus Fanatic. That's why we don't have those features available in the US. Adaptive cruise control and lane keeping technology are available here and I think we will see features like Active City Stop on upper trim models in the near future, they just don't fit into the Focus price range and overall buyer demographic.
 
#13 ·
Reality check:

Converting currency directly is a poor judge and rubric of what's expensive or not in a different country. The local consumer price index is very different. One pound sterling has different buying power in the UK than one USD has in America. Median, and base income per capita are quite different as well. It's pretty well known that because various economic issues and policies, the UK has in general higher per capita income, as well as people spending far less on certain things (like health insurance).

Their prices simply cannot be easily translated to US dollars.
 
#14 ·
Since the US $ is the standard measuring tool, the following comes from World Bank statistics. In average income, the US is ranked 8th at $48112 and the UK is 22nd at $35675. The Consumer Price Index, or what it cost to purchase the same goods in each country, the costs are $102.24 in the US and $80.54 in the UK. Although Americans incomes are higher it cost more to live here. If the CPI numbers also reflect durable goods, cars are actually cheaper in the UK and their incomes are lower. Without doing more research beyond looking at some charts on the internet, or drilling deeper into the numbers, because it really doesn't matter, it seems that the income and CPI numbers even out and cars are cheaper in the UK than in the US.
 
#16 ·
This proving my point that people can afford to spend more liberally in the UK.

You'd probably need a more thorough breakdown to get at the meat and potatoes there, because since the US is home to some of the richest people on earth and some of the largest companies on earth, you've got some skew going on there. If I recall, according to the IRS, the biggest bracket of average income (that is, the percentage of the population falling into this bracket by a small +/- deviation from the mean) was between $29,000-31,500,

When you take into account that US prices scale differently (higher average cost of living, etc), it really means that comparing prices of things like cars is usually never an apples-to-apples deal.
 
#15 ·
I would have paid more for Active City Stop, not so much for that particular feature but for another one that comes along with it -- Adaptive Cruise Control...

That feature alone would have given me a chubby...


Brian
 
#21 ·
No offence taken, just my input from living in Europe & North America. As far as comments on free higher education and health care, didn't anyone ever tell you nothing in life is free.
All this so called free stuff is taken from each and every working persons pay cheque.

Any way back to the topic of Euro features not available to North American Focus shoppers
 
#22 ·
I know on the taxes, it's no joke, VAT is a killer too besides that.

Total Tax Wedge Denmark vs. USA for a single worker, is only a difference of 14.2%, not bad for all inclusive education and perpetual healthcare coverage (that's costing me $6K/year currently).

http://www.nationmaster.com/compare/Denmark/United-States/Taxation

"When you work in Denmark, you must pay taxes on your salary to the Danish state. When you pay taxes, you contribute to the Danish welfare system. Many services that strain household budgets in other countries are either free or state-subsidised in Denmark. This includes free education from primary school to university, and free access to medical help and hospital treatment for you and your family. Furthermore you have free access to roads, highways and libraries. Childcare and care for the elderly are subsidized by the state and you only pay a user-charge for these services. "

Anyways, I still think Europe get's better features and often better choices in cars at least in the compact market.
 
#28 ·
I want the automatically deploying Focus MK3 door edge guards that the Germans have. It should bolt up, and appears to work off the "door open" switch. Bet it would be plug and play if you could get the parts!
 
#30 ·
^^Yeah. I thought of that. It's only half a solution... the half that exists because I have a 13 year-old son, which is to say, a blithering idiot who does, then thinks. They are really cool, though.

Body moldings? They work, but then, you have ruined the look of your car with body moldings. Meh.
 
#32 ·
The entire Zetec S body kit is available from your local Ford dealer as the Ford 5 door body kit for the 2012+ Ford Focus, that is the lower front facia, the side skirts and the rear valence panel. The grilles are not included, but they are also available.
 
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