I bought my 2014 Focus Titanium Hatchback 4 months ago now trading in my 2007 Saturn Aura which I still miss and wish I could have kept as a second car. After 5,800 miles with the Focus though I know what I like and don't like about this car. Overall I think this car is awesome and I do love it and hope that it turns out to be a lot more reliable in the long run than what I'm expecting.

After getting it past the 1,000 mile mark I was happy to notice that it was driving a lot smoother. There would be times while breaking it in that it would feel as if it were about to stall (it's an automatic) but that doesn't happen anymore. I love the touchscreen, it's easy to use and read although I mainly use it for the radio and occasionally my phone, I tend to use the manual controls for climate. I really enjoy having heated seats and a car starter, I didn't have that with my Saturn and it made the winter a whole lot easier to deal with in the morning while trying to get to work. I like the way the interior is laid out overall, everything seems to be in a place that makes sense but I really don't enjoy the cup holders. I have to fight to get my water bottle out of them because the foam piece that's there to keep different sized containers in place. I think Ford could have gone with a different material or design there. I'm happy I don't drink coffee because if I did I'd probably have stains on the ceiling and all over the interior having to rip it free.

Although I wanted to get the ST I went with the Titanium because the price just wasn't going to work for me right now and although I was a little unhappy to not have the more powerful engine I can't complain about the pick up with the Titanium. I'm a safe but fast driver, I know that sounds like an oxymoron to many but I use my blinker religiously and with the proper amount of notice to drivers, I don't weave, I don't tailgate or text, and with the exception of speed limit the vast majority of the time I'm following the rules of the road. Getting on the highway was initially a concern of mine but I have no complaints, the response is there. It takes turns nicely at fairly decent speeds and the ride isn't bad. I don't get quite the mileage that Ford says I should and I know that's because of my driving style but I'm definitely saving money on gas compared to my Aura. I just wish the MPG thing on the console was a little more accurate as it always seems to be 2-4MPG off.

I went from a 2007 V6, 3.5L to this 2014 4Cyl 2.0L engine. A 16 gallon gas tank to a 12 gallon tank. Already in the first 4 months of ownership I've saved $300 compared to what I would have spent for the same amount of driving with my Saturn. It makes having a car payment hurt a little less knowing that I'm at least spending less for each tank and that each one lasts longer.

I have had one repair on my Focus so far. The steering wheel controls for the radio and voice activation broke at about 2,400, the dealership I purchased it from took a look at it and informed me that they would have to order the part for me. When it came in I went in for the repair and after 15 minutes of waiting they came back to apologize for wasting my time and that Ford had released a TSB which they should have looked for before I went in. The TSB for that part said that Ford deemed it faulty and they were making new switches to replace the old style on any that were broken and I would have to come back. When the new part came in I was told I would have to have it repaired within 30 days or it wasn't covered. I was obviously unhappy about hearing that but got it repaired within the 30 days. So there is slight aggravation that I was without those controls for 2 months, mainly the voice activation because I don't like handling my phone while driving. But most of the aggravation is towards the dealership which causes me to worry if my relationship with Ford through the dealers is going to be ****ty. If so this might be my one and only Ford but we'll see.

Aside from the cup holders in the front the other thing that I don't really enjoy is opening the hood. My Saturn was 7 years older than this Focus and when I opened that hood it stayed open by itself which was really convenient. After having that luxury for 6 years it didn't occur to me that my new car would be without it and when I opened the hood for the first time I think I almost dropped it on myself. I feel like it's 2014 already and we've made such huge improvements on cars in a short amount of time, why don't all of them have the pumps to keep the hood open?! I'm not angry about it, just something funny that I didn't think of when getting a new car.


Like I said, I really miss my Saturn, I knew everything about that car, how fast I could drive in any weather, on turns, how fast I could get it to go and how fast I could slow down. I knew every repair that was done and every repair that I needed. I knew how it felt when everything was working fine and knew exactly when something was wrong. I wish I could have kept it as my second car but the $2,000 I got for trading it in made it possible to get another car that I'm hoping I'll love for the at least 6 years I'll own it. I bought my Aura with 25k miles and let it go at 133k after a little under 6 years. Aside from brakes, wipers, oil and tires I only put about $500-600 into it for repairs having it for 2 years without a warranty and I drove it hard.

I'm still getting used to how the Focus feels and trying not to assume it will drive like my Saturn because I don't want to find myself flying off an on ramp or with someone in my trunk because I didn't have enough time to get in front of them but it feels awesome to have my first brand new car that only I have owned and bought with 12miles.

I'm assuming most probably won't read this and for those that did sorry if it was boring and/or annoying. I was pretty active in the Saturn Forums so I'll probably be here quite a bit especially if something goes wrong.