Hi everyone. I just traded my brand new 2012 Ford Focus for a new 2011 Corolla because frankly the Focus is junk. Not long after I purchased the Focus the dual clutch transmission started acting spastic and it just got worse and worse. It would make the whole car shudder at times, the dry clutches rattled when it changed gears and it just made for a miserable driving experience. I took the car into the dealership three different times about it, had a software update applied to the tranny and even had the Ford Regional Engineer come out and drive the car. They informed me that it was all perfectly normal and there was nothing wrong with the car. Apparently at Ford they engineer and design their cars to deliver a miserable driving experience. Great idea Ford.
So I traded it for the Corolla and I couldn't be happier with my decision. The Toyota dealer really worked with me despite the fact that the trade in value on the new Focus is already in the tank. Like to the tune of over a 40% drop in value from the new price. At any rate, Toyota here worked with me and even though I put no money down on the Corolla my monthly only went up by $10 and I don't have to pay for any maintenance for two years to boot.
I find the Corolla to be a great riding little car despite the objections of the fanboys over at the Ford forum who insist that there is no way a Corolla can have a ride as good as their precious Focus. If they don't want to know forget them. The ride is excellent and the handling is comparable to the Focus. The Corolla admittedly doesn't have some of the bells and whistles that the Focus did but the one thing it has that is most important is that when I drive it its actually enjoyable to drive as opposed to the Focus which was just horrible. My mpg actually went up three miles per gallon over what I was getting in the Focus even with their fancy dual clutch six speed. So much for the new technology. I'm averaging 30 mpg in a mix of city / highway. The Focus only managed an average of 27 in the same driving conditions.
I opted for a Black LE with pretty much standard features like power windows, power locks, cruise, CD. Nothing fancy but it's pretty nice and I really like it. The only thing I plan to do to it is to add some 16 inch rims to replace the steel wheels with hubcaps. Other than that I think the car is just great. I love how it rides. I love how it handles and I really like that the drivetrain is smooth as silk. Those of you who are thinking about trading your Corolla for the new Focus I would personally suggest some serious consideration first. The Focus is a great looking car but if you spend some time browsing the Focus dedicated forums you're going to find a lot of owners who aren't happy with it. By comparison you know that with the Corolla you are going to have years and years of trouble free driving. I'll never buy a Ford again personally.
So I traded it for the Corolla and I couldn't be happier with my decision. The Toyota dealer really worked with me despite the fact that the trade in value on the new Focus is already in the tank. Like to the tune of over a 40% drop in value from the new price. At any rate, Toyota here worked with me and even though I put no money down on the Corolla my monthly only went up by $10 and I don't have to pay for any maintenance for two years to boot.
I find the Corolla to be a great riding little car despite the objections of the fanboys over at the Ford forum who insist that there is no way a Corolla can have a ride as good as their precious Focus. If they don't want to know forget them. The ride is excellent and the handling is comparable to the Focus. The Corolla admittedly doesn't have some of the bells and whistles that the Focus did but the one thing it has that is most important is that when I drive it its actually enjoyable to drive as opposed to the Focus which was just horrible. My mpg actually went up three miles per gallon over what I was getting in the Focus even with their fancy dual clutch six speed. So much for the new technology. I'm averaging 30 mpg in a mix of city / highway. The Focus only managed an average of 27 in the same driving conditions.
I opted for a Black LE with pretty much standard features like power windows, power locks, cruise, CD. Nothing fancy but it's pretty nice and I really like it. The only thing I plan to do to it is to add some 16 inch rims to replace the steel wheels with hubcaps. Other than that I think the car is just great. I love how it rides. I love how it handles and I really like that the drivetrain is smooth as silk. Those of you who are thinking about trading your Corolla for the new Focus I would personally suggest some serious consideration first. The Focus is a great looking car but if you spend some time browsing the Focus dedicated forums you're going to find a lot of owners who aren't happy with it. By comparison you know that with the Corolla you are going to have years and years of trouble free driving. I'll never buy a Ford again personally.
