Focus Titanium vs Cruze SRi-V

[johnydep]

Hi all,

Out to purchase a second car, we had our minds made up on a black Cruze SRi-V. Then I threw a spanner in the works by discovering that the new Focus is a huge improvement on the previous model, and booked a test drive.

The dealer only had the Sport available for a drive, this model is an identical match (smooth & quiet is the priority) to the Cruze, handles pot holes and bumps identically. However, I've read many reviews that say that the Titanium's 18 inch wheels give the Focus a harsher ride than the 17's and also increases the turning circle. I'm contemplating ordering the Titanium with the Sport's 10x2 wheels instead, but just wanted to check with current owners what their view is on drive quality.

A couple of things the Holden does better:

1) 7 inch Sat Nav is fantastic, compared to the Ford Bosch unit - anyone know whether Ford will be using the bigger screen from Europe?
2) Sound system not as clear at the upper levels (same when purchased Ghia Terri, but improved with use).
3) Full leather seats.
4) Turbo engine
5) Rear seat comfort
6) Rear window goes all the way down.

Ford does better:

1) Climate control.
2) Electric driver seat.
3) Self dimming rear vision mirror.
4) Fuel economy
5) Sedan boot hinges.
6) Shape will age better.

[XR Martin]

Edit: no matter

[DJM83]

Wouldnt call the cruze engine better really.

I actually dont mind the look of the hatch but, well from the rear front is still awkward IMO.

[johnydep]

Originally Posted by XR6 Martin

Edit: no matter

Any input is welcome.

[johnydep]

Originally Posted by DJM83

Wouldnt call the cruze engine better really.

I actually dont mind the look of the hatch but, well from the rear front is still awkward IMO.

True. The Focus engine wins with the Direct Injection, but I was really looking forward to a petrol turbo engine.

I was also keen to support local.

The deal isn't done yet, I'm 75% closer to the Focus but....

[Road_Warrior]

I heard someone caning a Cruze past me the other day, and it sounded just like the Camiras of old sounded when you were giving them stick. Not surprising really as I think the Cruze uses an evolved Family II engine. Ugh.

[johnydep]

Why do Ford sales people try and talk potential buyers out of purchasing Black?

[barra240t]

What is the price difference between the two you are looking at buying? You also didn't mention the auto transmission. I don't think the Cruze has a dual clutch system, if it matters any, the Focus is currently built in Germany, the "Holden" in Korea.

[Giant Cranium]

Originally Posted by barra240t

What is the price difference between the two you are looking at buying? You also didn't mention the auto transmission. I don't think the Cruze has a dual clutch system, if it matters any, the Focus is currently built in Germany, the "Holden" in Korea.

isnt it australia for the cruze?

[Golfer]

Interesting that you are still even considering the cruze after driving it and the focus. Last review I read where Mazda 3, Honda civic, One of the Hyandis (can't remember the model) the Cruze and Focus were compared the reviewer said that if he only had the choice of the Cruze he would catch a bus instead.

[Franco Cozzo]

Seats in the Cruze are stupidly firm, not very comfortable on trips longer than 30 minutes and the interior is of low quality.

[jonohoang]

I had the exact same dilemma as yourself.

However I originally went to ford and test drove the focus sports. I immediately fell in love with the car and put a deposit for it on the same day (although i did feel i rushed the purchase).

So while waiting for the focus, I did want to see and test drive the SRi-V. I went for the test drive and knew that I made the right decision. I felt that the handling of the car felt artificial and didn't drive as nice as the focus did. The dealer was also desperate to sell the car. The car retailed for 35k.
As I had already made my decision, I wanted to see what price I could get it for. I had pretended I still needed to test drive the Ford Focus and he immediately dropped the price to 30K and was willing to throw in a free iPad.

Focus positives:
- Really well put together interior
- Exterior looks
- Drive
- technology

Negatives:
- MyFord offered in the US dosn't come out till later this year
- Expensive for top model titanium
- Exterior although new/contemporary, may age fast (think i45).


Cruze positives:
- Great value, especially room to negotiate
- Large colour touch screen

Negatives:
- Steering feel/drive
- Cheap plastic interior
- Leather seats look/feel cheap
- technology not up to spec as ford focus

So finally I decided on a focus titanium hatch - petrol, and awaiting delievery end of this month/early feb.

Happy times!

[johnydep]

Originally Posted by Giant Cranium

isnt it australia for the cruze?

Yes, built at Holden's Elizabeth plant.

[SaCrow]

I had a look at the cruise

No diesel in the top spec model & Bluetooth was an add on so that was game over for me.

Turning circle on the Titanium is a joke! I also have a Prado & that's better at doing u turns & easier to park in shopping centres.

It's better at going over roundabouts too

[ivorya]

Originally Posted by johnydep

Yes, built at Holden's Elizabeth plant.

Yes, ASSEMBLED at Holden's Elizabeth plant.

sorry, just had to put in the IKEA part.

[johnydep]

Originally Posted by Golfer

Interesting that you are still even considering the cruze after driving it and the focus. Last review I read where Mazda 3, Honda civic, One of the Hyandis (can't remember the model) the Cruze and Focus were compared the reviewer said that if he only had the choice of the Cruze he would catch a bus instead.

Haven't read that review, have read everything else I can find. The Cruze has been compared to the Golf for NVH. I've had neUmerousvdrives & agree, it feels good. Drove the Focus for the first time (Sport & Cruze back to back) & it felt as good as the Cruze. Yes handling is better, but not a factor for us.

The Focus quality is better, love the wat the doors close. The Cruze seats are firm but not a problem, drove it on highway & through Adelaide Hills.

Got to go, more later :-)

[kevino]

Would not a 2 litre Ford non turbo engine be a better bet than a 1.4ITI what ever that means-guess turbo +?.
What is the donor of this 1.4 motor-is it a Fiat engine?

[warpsp33d]

Originally Posted by johnydep

The dealer only had the Sport available for a drive, this model is an identical match (smooth & quiet is the priority) to the Cruze, handles pot holes and bumps identically. However, I've read many reviews that say that the Titanium's 18 inch wheels give the Focus a harsher ride than the 17's and also increases the turning circle. I'm contemplating ordering the Titanium with the Sport's 10x2 wheels instead, but just wanted to check with current owners what their view is on drive quality.

I've been thinking about doing exactly the same thing if I buy a Focus. Swapping out the 18's for 17's. Only annoying thing is, the 18' Alloy's are a lot nicer than the 17's, wish it was easy to option a down-size to 17's with the same style alloys.

[XR Martin]

Originally Posted by johnydep

Any input is welcome.

I was just mentioning about the poor turning circle, but realised you already know that.


I think the Thai built ones supposidly rectify the problem though, but obviously the ride wont improve.

[Neale]

Originally Posted by ivorya

Yes, ASSEMBLED at Holden's Elizabeth plant.

sorry, just had to put in the IKEA part.

So there as australian as meat pies & football

[johnydep]

Originally Posted by Neale

So there as australian as meat pies & football

Those days finished in the 1970's.

Show me a modern car with 100% Aussie content. Hell, show me one with 75%, 60%!

Engine parts from another country, whole trans from either Europe or America, audio system? Electronics could be from a number of countries, airbags os. Is the trim still made in Australia? I remember Holden's moving it offshore about 10 years ago.

Sorry, but the only thing traditional at an Aussie car manufacturer these days is the meat pies & the footy sponsorship, the rest has gone global.

[johnydep]

Originally Posted by warpsp33d

I've been thinking about doing exactly the same thing if I buy a Focus. Swapping out the 18's for 17's. Only annoying thing is, the 18' Alloy's are a lot nicer than the 17's, wish it was easy to option a down-size to 17's with the same style alloys.

Yeah, the 18's look very nice on the Focus. I'm taking one for a drive on the weekend to see if its as bad as the journalist report, because I'm hoping it's not. If it is, the 17's will be part of the deal.

[jjw]

Did you try the Cruze diesel?

120kW and 360Nm are pretty impressive specs and make the 1.4T seem a bit limp.

[johnydep]

Originally Posted by jjw

Did you try the Cruze diesel?

120kW and 360Nm are pretty impressive specs and make the 1.4T seem a bit limp.

No I didn't, but the motor is not an issue. If the Cruze had Climate control and the dealer allowed us to option a different wheel (CDX) we'd be driving one now. Black sedan, de-badged, possibly with a 25% tint.

The Focus has us hooked with the extras; electric seat, Climate control, and you've got to compare shutting doors between the two vehicles.

The Cruze has us with how quiet it is on the highway, the 7 inch Sat Nav and the excellent service from City Holden.

Ford need address some minor issues with their salespeople.

[SaCrow]

Here you go !!
Side by side

[johnydep]

Originally Posted by barra240t

What is the price difference between the two you are looking at buying? You also didn't mention the auto transmission. I don't think the Cruze has a dual clutch system, if it matters any, the Focus is currently built in Germany, the "Holden" in Korea.

Top spec Cruze is about $3000 cheaper, with full leather trim.

Focus 'Auto' is really a self shifting manual transmission, whereas the Cruze is a fully automatic transmission. Both have advantages and disadvantages:
FULL AUTO - better quality feel to up and down shifts, quieter, more controllable. Torque convertor soaks up power and fuel, heavy.
ELECTRONIC MANUAL - minimal power loss due to direct clutch, increased efficiency, less weight. Shift quality is not as good as traditional auto, especially stop start city driving.

Series 2 Cruze is built in Australia. Series 1 is Korean, but with Holden input.
Focus is currently German built, sounds good but also means that we get the indicator stalk on the right side of column (hate that). Production will move to Thailand? mid year.

[johnydep]

Originally Posted by warpsp33d

I've been thinking about doing exactly the same thing if I buy a Focus. Swapping out the 18's for 17's. Only annoying thing is, the 18' Alloy's are a lot nicer than the 17's, wish it was easy to option a down-size to 17's with the same style alloys.

According to WHEELS magazine, the main reason the Focus missed out on Car of the Year was the Titanium model, due to the 18inch wheels.

They said that the bigger wheels destroyed the excellent ride quality of the Focus on all but the smoothest roads (Oz doesn't have too many of those), increased the turning circle dramatically due to the bigger wheels decreasing clearance and having to have the turn angle minimised to stop tyre scrub on inner guard, decreased boot capacity by having to increase the height of the floor to fit bigger wheel.

[johnydep]

Originally Posted by johnydep

.............


Focus is currently German built, sounds good but also means that we get the indicator stalk on the right side of column (hate that).......

Sorry, the indicator is on the wrong side for Australian market. It's on the left side of steering column.

[In Focus]

The Focus out-performs the Cruze in every comparo I've seen. Even the Holden-loving Cars Guide one narrowly gave the Focus the prize, despite it clearly being superior in most of their criteria.

http://theage.drive.com.au/motor-new...827-1jf6n.html

The indicator stalk takes about two days to get used to. That said, it took about two months before I didn't get the wipers sweeping occasionally when about to change lanes or turn a corner...

As for not winning an award because of the size of a turning circle, WTF??? The car that won the award is a half-a***d hybrid "sports" car that the Focus, amongst 90% of the cars on the road, will out-perform. I could understand something like the Kia Rio winning Drive's award, as its well-featured and good value for money, but the Honda CR-Z? Come on, Wheels!

Anyway, good luck with whatever you pick. I'm sure they're both decent cars with their good and bad points.

[johnydep]

Originally Posted by In Focus

The Focus out-performs the Cruze in every comparo I've seen. Even the Holden-loving Cars Guide one narrowly gave the Focus the prize, despite it clearly being superior in most of their criteria.

http://theage.drive.com.au/motor-new...827-1jf6n.html

The indicator stalk takes about two days to get used to. That said, it took about two months before I didn't get the wipers sweeping occasionally when about to change lanes or turn a corner...

As for not winning an award because of the size of a turning circle, WTF??? The car that won the award is a half-a***d hybrid "sports" car that the Focus, amongst 90% of the cars on the road, will out-perform. I could understand something like the Kia Rio winning Drive's award, as its well-featured and good value for money, but the Honda CR-Z? Come on, Wheels!

Anyway, good luck with whatever you pick. I'm sure they're both decent cars with their good and bad points.

Cheers. Taking the Titanium for the weekend, this will be the car we get if all goes well. Optioned with the Sport wheels.