Cobalt or Focus 3594My response would be, after having recently test driven both of them as a potential customer, Honda Civic. I really didn't like the feel of either one, though they weren't that bad...
The US Focus is essentially the same basic design as the 1999-2004 Ford of Europe Focus, but decontented. Some of the decontenting included things that affected reliability in the first few years. Others are a little more obvious, like the inferior turn signals and the smaller choice of older design engines until 2005. Some lower trim models are also decontented in the suspension by missing the rear sway bar. The other major change is that the US market Focus is mostly sedans, but sedans are practically nonexistent in Europe (where Focus hatchbacks are all over the place).
Of course, Europe and most other markets got the second generation Focus in 2005, but the US got a mildly facelifted version of the first generation in 2005 (although new engines from the Mazda division also came throughout the line that year).
It's actually the second generation Ford of Europe Focus platform; the Mazda division contributed mostly the new 4-cylinder engine design that sits in the Mazda version of the car (Mazda 3) and was also put in the US Focus for 2005 (2003 for CARB states). It is perhaps not surprising that the engines in the Focus are decontented versions with lower power and worse fuel economy than the ones in the Mazda 3.
-- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Timothy J. Lee Unsolicited bulk or commercial email is not welcome. No warranty of any kind is provided with this message.
