So was Fiona worth it?

So it's been almost five months since I bought Fiona.  I never intended to do a 'review' of her until this most recent snow storm (more on that later).  After driving her though that I mentally started comparing her to other cars and I realized that I now had a long enough driving history with her through almost all types of driving that I could compare and contrast her.

Let's face it, win or lose I'm driving her for the next several years (three if I trade her in while still paying her off, five if I pay her off first).

Like most things in life, that new giddy feeling wears off fairly quickly.  In August I was driving 'A NEW CAR'.  In September I was driving 'MY new car'.  In October I was driving 'my car'.  And in December?  Well it's just a car.

That's not to say that I don't like her... the short review would be a positive one.  But with eight thousand miles under my foot I can now really find what I love, what I like, what I can stomach and what I dislike.  And yes, there are things that I dislike about Fiona.

First, lemme go over what I love.  I LOVE that this car still stands out.  When I step out of a store or work, I never have any problem finding my car.  I've seen maybe two or three other yellow focuses since I bought Fiona, but I've never seen one anywhere near mine.  When I step out I take a quick glance, and when my eyes spot that sparkling yellow jewel, I know I've found my car.  The only thing that ever stops that is if I park behind a van... she is small enough to hide!


I absolutely adore the intelligent access.  Dropping the key into my pocket and never taking it out until I return home is incredibly rewarding.  The only issue that's come up with this feature is starting the car when it's cold.  In Lita and previous automatic cars I could always open the door, reach in and get her started without sitting down.  This is convenient as I then have to get out the scraper and swipe the snow off.  With Fiona though I have to get in, sit down, press my foot on the brake and hit the start button.  THEN get out and get the scraper.  The only other problem with the intelligent access system is starting the car up early in the morning to warm up.  I can't lock the car while it's running and the key isn't in it.  As such letting it run for 15 minutes is an invitation for someone to walk up and drive away with her.

I really love that my iPod works seamlessly with the audio system.  I plugged it in when I brought Fiona home and have only removed it a couple times to update it with new music.  I had purchased a new radio in Lita to get the iPod connectivity, but it didn't work really well.  First off I had to pause the damn thing before I turned the car off, otherwise it would continue to 'play' and completely drain the battery.  And if the battery was drained it wouldn't play on the next drive even though it was hooked up to power.  Second, the system never remembered that I wanted the iPod to shuffle the songs.  So starting up the car meant immediately hitting the 'random' button.  Third, it was a pain to change playlists or pull up a particular song.  The one line of text display just wasn't efficient at scrolling through the options and it was easier to pull the iPod out of the glove box, cue up what I wanted, and then reconnect it.  Annoying.

In Fiona, the iPod immediately shuts down when the car is turned off, saving it's battery.  Fiona knows damn well that I want the iPod on shuffle and keeps it that way.  And the sync system makes it incredibly easy to change up what I'm listening to.  Pull the little lever, hear the ding, and say "Play Playlist Christmas Best" and the sweet sounds of The Boston Pops or Burl Ives spill out of the speakers.  And speaking of sounds, I adore that Fiona includes a sub-woofer.  I normally consider subs to be only useful for creating the annoying car rattling sounds  coming from some teenagers souped up 1990 civic, but this setup is really nice.  A single small sub that adds a really ear pleasing bass note to just about every song I listen to.  It even makes the voices on NPR sound better!

I love the 'Sync Services'.  I did have to pay a bit more ($60 for a years worth), but now I can get directions just by tapping that sync button and saying where I want to go.  So far it's helped me find a business when I forgot to bring my Google printed map, it's helped me find a new path to my friends house (saving me 10 minutes out of an hours drive), and it's helped me get to work when they closed down part of the highway (just turn off where they told me, tell Sync that I need to get to work, and boom.... new directions!).  While it isn't as convenient as having the built in navigation system which would display the map on the eight inch screen, it does still display the turn by turn directions on the little screen between the tach and the speedo.  I can always peek down and see that my next turn is coming up in five miles, will be to the right, and will be on Filmore avenue.

I love the heated seats.  On those cold ten degree evenings driving home they keep me warm enough until the heater warms up.  In fact on 'cool' days (say around 25 or 30 degrees) I can keep the heater down to a minimum as the seat keeps me plenty warm.  Now if only I could get a heated steering wheel!

Things I like.  I like the efficiency of the engine.  When I first got her, I was getting upward of 39 miles per gallon on a full tank of gas.  That's with the AC blaring.  But that was also when I was getting used to driving her and wasn't really putting my foot through the floor.  After several months of getting used to her power (or lack thereof) I am still getting between 33 and 36 miles per gallon.  It's not all that I was hoping for, but its FAR better than any car I've ever driven.

I like her driving characteristic.  Fiona has a 'sporty' suspension that keeps her just about level even when taking a curve at terrifying speeds.  She does let me know when there is any bump or crack in the road, but she doesn't shudder over these.  It's more of a muffled 'whoomp' over the worst road conditions.  It's not as smooth as Lita was, but then again Lita would roll over when she took a corner even at regular speeds.  I also like that she has almost no 'play' in the steering wheel.  I drove both my mom's van and my brothers truck recently and was taken aback by the one or two inches of play the steering wheel had.  I felt like I was constantly correcting the steering while driving.  I don't remember Lita being quite so bad, but then again I don't remember the van being that bad either.

I like the space she has.  I have yet to have any problem loading anything into the hatch other than my gun case.  That didn't fit simply because it was too long.  I could have just folded up the rear seat and had it stick through there, but it was easier to just let it sit lengthwise in the backseat.   With my seat in a comfortable position (almost all the way back) there is no way someone will fit in the rear behind me... in fact even with the front seats in a 'normal' position only a child will fit comfortably in the rear seats... but I never intended Fiona to transport more than me an one other person at a time.  As such, the back seat is a nice place to put 'stuff'.

I like how the phone connects to the car easily.  The bluetooth took just a second to set up and has worked seamlessly ever since.  Making a call really is as easy as pulling on the Sync lever and saying "Call Work".  Accepting a call is also just a push of a conveniently placed button.  It will even display or read any text message I get, although I can't make a reply without using the phone itself.  I'd put this in the 'love' catergory, but honestly this is something I'd expect from just about any 'newish' car.

I like the big screen.  I'm kind of surprised by this as I thought I would love this feature, but once that newness wore off, I find that there isn't anything to display on the screen that a normal radio display wouldn't do just as well.  If I had the nav system or the backup camera this would move back up to love, but for now it's a novelty.  I still like it, but I wouldn't base a future purchase on this feature.

I like the rain sensing windshield wipers.  I left them on for most of the summer and autumn.  When it would start to drizzle or mist they would just automatically keep the window clear.  Even when it started to pour, they would keep the wipers in action enough to keep my view clear.  They aren't as usefull in the winter.  The snow seems to activate them a lot quicker than needed, and all too often that means just spreading out the dirt and salt forcing me to use the liquid cleaner.  There are two issues though.  The small issue is getting the car washed.  If I forget to turn them off they'll start to activate as soon as the machine sprays water onto the windshield.  If I'm not quick enough in turning them off those big brushes could rip them off of the car.  The bigger issue is that they seem to deactivate what I thought was a great feature... the headlights turning on whenever the wipers are in use.

You see, Focuses don't have daytime running lamps.  So when it's raining it's a great safety feature to turn the lights on.  Ford made that an automatic feature... turn the wipers on and after a second or two the lights will turn on as well.  Turn the wipers off and the lights will turn off 30 seconds later.  Nice!  Nice, that is, if the rain sensing wipers would work with it.  They don't.  So by utilizing a feature I'm more or less turning the other feature off.  Even in the pouring rain when the wipers are going non stop, the headlights remain stubbornly dark.

I like the leather interior.  I actually like the interior overall.  It's full of nice soft plastics (instead of that hideously hard plastic found in most American cars), and the leather seats are of a quality far higher than I'd expect out of Ford.  I think it gives it a nice dash of class that would be missed with the cloth seats.

I like the automatic headlights.  If I hadn't had the same feature in Lita I'd probably love it, but as such I now just expect this level of functionality.

I like the backup sensors.  It's great when I'm backing into an unfamiliar spot and gives me confidence to do it more often.  The only issue is backing into a known spot.  I back into my home parking area every evening and it's awfully annoying to hear the beeps drown out the radio when I know damn well that I'm getting close.

Things I can stomach:  Let's face it... this will never be a really classy or 'adult' car.  In all her bright saturated yellow glory she just screams 'TEENAGER!"  It's nice when I want to feel that way (which is often enough), but it's hard to be taken seriously when your co workers say your car is 'cute'.  Even if it wasn't a hot wheel color, it's still a Focus.  Everyone just assumes she's a plain jane $10,000 car.  Sure, I can explain that she has all these wonderful features that put her on par with any higher end car... but if you have to point that out the discussion is already done.  A co worker drives a new Jeep Cherokee.  It's the base model with almost no features whatsoever, but it's still looked at as a better car than mine.

The driving position.  Yes.. I fit into this car.  That was important to find out before I purchased her.  But only by driving it every day did I find out that she's not entirely comfortable.  Oh my legs don't bother me even with the cramped foot/pedal space, but my back... that's another story.  There are two driving positions; the right one and the agonizing one.  If I position myself in the very center of the seat and have my back straight up and down the seat it's fine.  It's not like sitting in a big comfy La-Z-Boy recliner, but its comfortable enough.  Any other position though and my back will start to ache after just a few minutes.  And once you're heading down the road it's impossible to shift into the correct position.  So more often than not I end up with a mild back ache once I get to work or home.  It goes away soon enough on it's own, but it's still more than annoying.

The power.  I knew that at 160 horses, Fiona would never be a thoroughbred.  I honestly expected her to be similar to Lita.  Lita had nearly 200 horses when she was new, but I figured that number had gone down significantly over the years.  Add in Fiona's lighter weight and I just assumed that she would have nearly the same power.  Nope.  Fiona does not drive fast.  Oh I can get her up to over 100mph (and have on several occasions!), but she takes  her time getting  there.  And passing someone at speed?  Well lets just say that it takes a few moments of forethought and planning.  Lita... well she still has plenty enough power to just make passing a thing to do without any pre-calculation.  I know, I know... this lack of power is the very thing that gets me the fuel sipping feather that I love, but I can still dislike one while liking the other.

The 'fit and finish'.  Yes, I did just mention that I really like the interior.  But it's overall build quality isn't quite up to snuff.   The buttons

Things I hate.   Yes... there are things I hate about Fiona (sorry girl!).  The rear hatch.  I thought it was nice that it had a rear windshield wiper.  It turns out that it damn well NEEDS that wiper.  Rain, snow, slush, dirt.... hell normal air... all seem to much up the rear window.  I use more liquid cleaner on the rear window than I do on the front windshield.  And to make matters worse, the rear windshield doesn't have a rain sensor.  I wouldn't even care if I didn't have that little feature on the front, but since I do it's absence in the back is incredibly frustrating.   When it's actually raining I can put the rear wiper on intermittent and it does a good enough job letting me see what's behind me.  But anything less than a full on rain means that I have to manually use the wiper to get a glance at what's honking at me.  If I leave it on intermittent without enough rain then it starts to hitch and jump over the glass streaking the hell out of it and forcing me to use the liquid cleaner again.   And again and again.

The hatch doesn't even get clean easily.  I'm sure if I pulled out the hose and got a bucket full of sudz that I could clean her just fine, but I use an automated car wash (a nice one... not one of those gas station specials).  The front and sides of the car comes out just fine, but the rear doesn't really get clean.  And seeing as how the dirt accumulates back there, it's annoying to not get the dirtiest part of the car clean.  Even when it does get cleaned, there is water that will collect under the spoiler and spill down in little rivers all over the rear windshield.  I bought a little shammy that I can use to wipe the clean water away, but I can't get it all.  So five minutes after every car wash the rear window has little marks all over it.  Bah!

The lack of cubby holes in the front.  I keep several things near me while I drive;  my pile of change, my beverage of choice, my sunglasses, and my cigs.  Sadly there is no place for thees things to fit in Fiona beyond the tasty beverage.  I have to throw my change in the bottom of the door pocket which means it rattles all the damn time.  There is a convenient place for shades up near the dome light, but it's a folding pocket that's just a bit too small for my expensive prescription sunglasses.  So they sit in their case over the pile'o'change adding to the cacophony of rattles and jingles.  And the cigs?  Well the only place I can keep those are in my pocket or in the other cup holder.  In the summer I don't want the cigs in my shirt pocket (and sometimes I don't have a shirt pocket for them), and while during the winter I have my coat pocket readily available, it's a pain to keep them there.  You see, I can't take my cigs into work.  I can't even sneak them in as I have to get searched and they are contraband.  When the correction officer find them I'm told to go put them back in the car.  So keeping them in my coat pocket is out.  It's not bad to keep them in the cup holder unless I have someone else in the car and they too have a tasty beverage... you see there are only two cup holders.  Grr.

But by far the thing I hate the most about Fiona is how she drives in the winter through snow and/or ice and/or slush.  Fiona has traction control, but it's not as though I'm new to this feature as Lita has the same thing (albeit a 14 year old version of it).   For decades I drove cars without any such assistance.  When driving on roads that might be slipper I'd just have to be aware (as you should always be when driving, no matter the conditions!) and keep a light foot on the pedal ready to pull up if I sensed the car slipping at all.  When taking off from a standstill I'd have to feather the gas back and forth to let the wheels slip a bit then gain a bit of traction on and off until she gained speed.

With Lita's nanny minder tractin control I'd drive exactly the same way on slippery roads.  But taking off in several inches of snow as a little more tricky.  If I feathered the pedal the traction control would kick in and eliminate any traction I was gaining.  So instead I had to floor it, let off the gas, then floor it again.  Over and over.  The traction control would let the wheels spin a bit before kicking in and letting off the gas canceled it's effect and let me make gains.

Fiona... well her traction control is a nazi.  Any slip whatsoever and all power leaves the wheels.  Even flooring it I can't get the wheels to spin and gain any momentum.  So when it snowed eight inches while I was at work, I couldn't get Fiona out of her spot without rocking her back and forth between drive and reverse.  Even with that technique it took me a solid three or four minutes (at least one song's worht of time) to get her moving toward the exit.  When I got to the exit there was still a lot of snow in the way... so I had to repeat the process to get onto the street.  And then again at the intersection.  Thank GOD there was no one behind me.

If the system worked correctly I should be able to put the pedal down about a quarter of the way and the system would get the wheels moving and eventually work it's way out of any snow, slush or ice.  And in a way it DOES do that... but it takes a damned long time to get going.  Long enough that I feel I'm putting myself in danger when moving from a slushy side street onto a cleared main road where traffic is moving at posted speeds.  I've only had a few days of driving to work though this, so may it's something I can get used to or find a work around for.  In fact if I'm remembering correctly, I had to go through several snow storms to work out the system with Lita.  But if I can't work out something this could well be a dangerous 'feature' on the car.

Even if I can work out how to get the car going, it's still going to be a problem.  With the way the wheels spin on slippery roads at gear shifts, you'd think this car had hundreds of footpounds of torque.  It doesn't.  The wheels just slip fairly often while going down a straight road.  If that part doesn't work itself out (i.e. I learn how to better control it) I will probably have to get actual snow tires put onto Fiona... and I know damned well that they will reduce the gas milage a bit beyond being an expense I'd rather not have to pay for.

So what's t he bottom line?  Assuming that I can either get used to or learn how to drive her on less than ideal winter roads, I'd say that I'm still satisfied with the purchase.  Fiona still makes me smile when I see her in my parking spot or any parking lot.  She's no where near the ideal that I was dreaming she'd be, but I don't think any car in that price point would be.  I don't think I'd be happier if I had ended up in a Chevy Cruze or Hyundai Sonota, and I'd only be marginally happier if I had ended up with a Veloster.