Used 2016 Ford Focus Sedan Consumer Reviews
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Best. Purchase. Ever.
ilan, 09/04/2016
2016 Ford Focus SE 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl 5M)
77 of 83 people found this review helpful
Recently chose a Focus as my first new car (SE sedan w/ the 4-cylinder and a manual transmission) after having driven the Mazda3, Golf, Jetta, Elantra, Forte, Cruze, Civic, Corolla and Lancer. Being a driving enthusiast (albeit on a serious budget) I found all but the Ford, Mazda 3 and the VW's to be pretty awful. In the case of the Focus it is for all intents and purposes the same car that I recently drove in Portugal and feels very much like a small European sports sedan. Steering is precise, handling is stellar for what it is, the interior is of high quality (with a bit of a playful, cockpit-like feel), the ride is taught and compliant, the 4-banger produces adequate power and and there's very little road noise compared to the competition. The fact that I paid less than $13,000 (with incentives and rebates) for such an experience is well...pleasingly ridiculous every day. That it came with nicer wheels and tires than the Mazda3 or Jetta (16" alloys with Continentals) and all the basic power and infotainment options including a backup camera, etc. just sweetened the deal. Yes, the VW's are more refined and the Mazda is a bit more playful but for those that love to drive value-wise the Focus blows everything else out of the water. I almost got the Jetta turbo but in the end was happy spending thousands less for a lot of fun while supporting American manufacturing (the Focus is built in Michigan) versus a company that knowingly poisoned the planet and deceived millions of consumers. Yes I was aware of the reliability issues surrounding the dual-clutch transmission and although I understand things have gotten better, I dealt with my concerns by getting the manual I wanted anyway. My only serious gripes about the car is that I would love a center armrest that extends like the VW's and the backseat couldn't possibly be any tighter and miserable than it is. Overall though I couldn't be happier with my purchase and highly recommend the Focus to anyone who loves to drive but doesn't have the funds to spring for a GTI, WRX or ST.
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Se Sport Sedan w/ Auto 6 Speed
Ford333, 02/28/2017
2016 Ford Focus SE 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl 5M)
46 of 50 people found this review helpful
As a 60+ year old car nut, former club racer & ASE Master Certified Mechanic, I believe that I can give useful buyer's information on this new revised Focus. First off, the car has been great with no major trouble issue after 20K miles of driving both heavy city traffic and freeway driving. On the freeway I am currently getting up to 42 mpg if I keep my speed down. The car has no squeeks, raddles, or any non-new car noises of any kind. With the 6-Speed Auto transmission, you must remember that it is a Manual with electronic auto shifting and not a fluid auto transmission. The reason for this is that mechanically the dry clutch does not fully disengage at stops when in drive. That was designed that way on purpose in order to mimick a fluid type automatic transmission "creep". The downside is that you have not only increase wear during long stops, but as and example my incident a while back as follows. One night out in town during stop and go hilly traffic, as I was trying to park in a space on a hill, the overheat transmission light came on and the transmission refuse to move. I had to put it into park and wait 10+ minutes to allow the clutch to cool down enough before putting it back into gear. Best advice is to put the transmission into neutral during long stop lights and stalled traffic to help prevent overheating. Also noted it helped to manually put the Sport shift gear selection into 1st gear when creeping up a hill behind multiple cars in order to reduce the clutch from having to become partually disengauged ( Normal ) during a possible upshift on slow speeds when you know that the car ahead is going to stop or slow down ( Equals wasted shift.). Otherwise the car handles very sporty and brakes excellent, a very driver's type of car on any type of roads. Very good interior and seats with ony grips of needing a little more rear foot room and the unable to fold the rear seats flat. I do like the trunk space of the sedan along with a usable spare donut tire ( Some more expensive cars do not have a spare tire!).
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2016 Ford Focus for sale near you
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They fixed the transmission perfectly on these.
Bruce Cummings, 09/24/2016
2016 Ford Focus SE 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl 5M)
33 of 36 people found this review helpful
No more off-line hesitancy or stuttering from the automatic transmissions of these new Focuses. Ford FINALLY fixed that multi-year problem for good. The new one here is silky-smooth. Of course the rest of the car was already competitive, and a great value during rebate time. Watch for aggressive small-car promotions from Ford to maintain their corporate average fuel economy in light of their booming truck and SUV sales. They're GIVING away Focuses and Fiestas.
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Poorly engineered car and having buyers remorse.
Jeff Sandburg, 11/12/2016
updated 11/21/2018
2016 Ford Focus SE 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl 5M)
25 of 27 people found this review helpful
I am about 5 months into owning this car. I have put a little over 6,000 miles on it and it is already going into the shop for the second time due to the transmission issues. The automated manual transmissions in these focus' are horrible, in my opinion. It jerks and shifts hard to the point where I hear metal grinding. This car is new. I should not be having these problems. Very disappointed in Ford to put out a car like this. I do love the look of the car and interior. The engine performance is great but it's hard to enjoy the ride when your car violently shakes off the light. Would be a wonderful car if a conventional automatic transmission was used. Update: I could only make it a year with this car. It was in and out of the shop every month (no hyperbole). I traded it in (for a loss..) to buy a Kia. Probably the last Ford I will own with how poor the car quality and customer service was.
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A polished turd.
John, 03/23/2017
2016 Ford Focus SE 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl 5M)
22 of 24 people found this review helpful
We bought a 2016 Focus s e sedan for my wife to retire and run around in. Was very pretty and stylish. But with in the first month the transmission started to make a loud clicking noise when coming to a stop. 5 times in the next 2 months I had it back to the dealer just to be told , oh thats just the way they are it has to get used to your driving. Well 6 month in to this car I was at the toll booth going to the airport after I paid the toll I stepped on the gas and the car shook violently and shut off . So I started it up again put it in drive and again it shook violently again I was stuck at the toll booth. Finally it was able to drive away. I went from there rite to the dealer and traded it in the after 6 months of ownership I lost half of the cars value on trade in I paid $23,000 for the car,and in 6 months all they would give me for it was $10,600 so now I'm upside down on the loan. Never again will I trust a Ford . Buyer beware
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