Ford Focus Rally Test Drive, Feb 4-5, 9am-5pm

[number001]

I went there just this afternoon, around 1:45 pm. The test is composed of the city driving [around the Fort grounds], a slalom, and a rally circuit. For the city test, in the following order, I tried the 1.6L, 1.8L, 2.0L Focus(s). In comparison to its more powerful siblings, the 1.6L obviously feels underpowered. But really, all the engines feel adequate for city driving. One thing that is common amongst all powerplants, is that its a bit slow or hesistant when flooring the gas. There is this delay when trying to accelerate with the Focus, unlike the CRDi Tucson (which leaped out like a dog upon being floored). The 1.6L even managed to rev to as high as 7000rpm upon being floored and without even moving much.

At the slalom course, the Focus had such responsive steering that I managed to tip or swipe a cone all throughout. The brakes were quite good. Of course, I have never done very hard braking to any car ever, so at least I got to experience the trademark ABS vibrating, throbbing, pulsating feel of the brake pedal. During the final part of the slalom, I noticed that when I floored the brakes, the car still managed to let out a brief tire squeal. Isn't the ABS supposed to prevent the wheels from locking up? I also heard some loud grinding noise underneath, almost as if you hit a curb or hit the underchassis on the hump.

Some grips, I found the gas pedal is mounted way too close to the dash (center console), making it too cramp. The brake pedal is also located too close the gas pedal, so there was once during lap 1 at the slalom , I pressed the gas when I was supposed to brake. Yeah, it may be good for a heel/toe, but for normal driving condition or emergencies, you could end up pressing the wrong pedal.

I got to see Pia Boren there again. Last time, I saw her, was in NAIA last October. She did some laps on the slalom course. JP Tuason was also there. The instructor who briefed us for the slalom and autocross circuit, is also a Tuason, maybe JP's son/relative?

[GlennSter]

hey nicky..sorry i wasnt able to meet up with you earlier..i left the hospital late lunch and had to drive my sister for her piano lessons....haaaay.finished 430 na...too late.

o well.see you guys next time.

[basti08]

sayang di ako nakapunta...kase may nagpasama sakin cute na girl sa lakad eh...pero no regrets next time na lng test drive test drive....hihihihi

pero sayang parin...

[carlocaraddict]

I like the short shift m/t of the 1.6L Trend. yeh, its kinda underpowered.

[niky]

It's a 1.6, I'd expect it to be with a car that heavy.

Of note: According to JP, the 1.6's they're working on (they're planning to finish the challenge cars in 2 months) are a lot stiffer in the chassis than the Lynxes they're replacing. Good around the corners, but in stock form, slow down the straights. He's hoping to get them just as fast after mods by stripping all the insulation.

Again... I love the stock shifter! Parang aftermarket na siya!

*number001: That grinding sound is the ABS. You can tell it's a good ABS because it sounds grn-grn-grn-grn-grn-... unlike older ABS systems, which go tok---tok---tok---tok---tok. This means it reacts much faster than old ABS systems.

In my experience, the ABS of Ford always allows a little tire squeal at first. This is okay because it gets some heat in the tires and starts the car slowing down. The ABS in my old Sentra used to cut in right away... thus the car doesn't slow down at all for the first second or so... which is much scarier.

At the BRC test last year, on track, even with the tire squeal, the ABS doesn't allow the back end to squirm or step out of line. It does its job well.

Oo nga, kulang talaga yung power ng Focus. Kulang siya sa torque, even in 2.0 (less torque pa than the Lynx RS), pero according to JP, sa konting mods lang nila sa 2.0, twitchy na yung gas pedal niya...

*glennster: oks lang... your time will come... bwahahahahaha!!!!

[carlocaraddict]

*number001: That grinding sound is the ABS. You can tell it's a good ABS because it sounds grn-grn-grn-grn-grn-... unlike older ABS systems, which go tok---tok---tok---tok---tok. This means it reacts much faster than old ABS systems.

!!!!

yeh!! They encourage you to do "emergency braking" so you can feel the ABS working.

[niky]

Mas masarap pa yan sa track... we'd get it up over 100 kph before the braking point. :lol:

Naalala ko tuloy si Lindsay Lohan sa "Freaky Friday"... tuwing mag-brake siya sa Volvo on-screen, aangat yung likod ng kotse sa lakas ng brakes. :lol:

[nugundam93]

sayang di ko na rin napuntahan yun, nag-GEB kasi kami sa mymitsuph.

anyway, good thing mugen and carlocaraddict passed by :D

[number001]

carlo, did they provide you with the racing suits for the test drive? Because they didnt have those on the Sunday when I went.

[carlocaraddict]

costume lang yan for picture taking. Free pics whenever you attend.