Hi, Guest
03-07-2007, 03:16 PM
I've driven two SE sedans (05 and 06) as rentals, so while the general care and concern for it was less than acceptable... I've drawn the following conclusions (some of which mirror your own) after 3 months of 2007 ZX5 SES ownership. I'll also weigh it against the SPI sedan. Hope you don't mind. :)
05/06 SE sedan - mid-grade suspension, better than the stock 00-04 LX/SE sedan. Somewhat tippy, not as floaty as the 00-04.
07 ZX5 - as dialed in as the SPI after the S2 upgrade with a lot more neturality thanks to the matched anti-sways. It's the best factory Focus suspension I've driven yet.
The interior plastics are superior to the first gen I find, and the dash cluster is MUCH better... more compact, less of a sprawling egg shape than the first gen. Faux metal??? What did the hatches have that my SPI was missing?
Wheel design - the only wheel to come out as new for 05+ was the ST wheel. The rest are carry-overs, which is fitting as all of the underpinnings are still first-gen Focus equipment. The 06/07s are actually a hybrid of the mk2 Focus suspension bits with mk1 4-bolt hubs.
No sedans save the SE Sport / ZTS / ST had/have a tach standard. It could be ordered as an upgrade if I recall the options correctly, but few did.
The final drive for the auto Duratechs was lengthened some over the Zetec and SPI. This was done to improve fuel economy at the expense of a bit of performance. I find (having driven my SPI stock and modded) that even with the taller final drive, it's still quicker than a stock Zetec auto and a modded SPI auto. It IS gearaed tall, tho.
My 2007 ZX5 has the OD on/off button, and so have the sedans I drove in Reno. Not sure what happened to yours.
I really don't recall what a stock Zetec or SPI sounds like, but I really couldn't complain much about the stock Duratec exhaust on our hatch. It was quiet and did its job... and then it was summarily executed. :lol:
I actually find the buckets in the 07 ZX5 much better than any other stock Focus I've been in, save Kev's S2. The annoying bar across the back has been fixed somewhere between 05-07. I find the lateral support quite agreeable for a car that has systematically had its soul sucked out in small pieces over the last 4 years.
I drive an auto by choice, so my "pure sporting" impressions might not be the same as yours. However, I find our new Focus the most tossable one I've ever driven, the most responsive (and it's the lamented drive-by-wire to boot!) and the most stable at speed. I really don't see myself getting rid of it before our payments are up, nor for a bit after that.
05/06 SE sedan - mid-grade suspension, better than the stock 00-04 LX/SE sedan. Somewhat tippy, not as floaty as the 00-04.
07 ZX5 - as dialed in as the SPI after the S2 upgrade with a lot more neturality thanks to the matched anti-sways. It's the best factory Focus suspension I've driven yet.
The interior plastics are superior to the first gen I find, and the dash cluster is MUCH better... more compact, less of a sprawling egg shape than the first gen. Faux metal??? What did the hatches have that my SPI was missing?
Wheel design - the only wheel to come out as new for 05+ was the ST wheel. The rest are carry-overs, which is fitting as all of the underpinnings are still first-gen Focus equipment. The 06/07s are actually a hybrid of the mk2 Focus suspension bits with mk1 4-bolt hubs.
No sedans save the SE Sport / ZTS / ST had/have a tach standard. It could be ordered as an upgrade if I recall the options correctly, but few did.
The final drive for the auto Duratechs was lengthened some over the Zetec and SPI. This was done to improve fuel economy at the expense of a bit of performance. I find (having driven my SPI stock and modded) that even with the taller final drive, it's still quicker than a stock Zetec auto and a modded SPI auto. It IS gearaed tall, tho.
My 2007 ZX5 has the OD on/off button, and so have the sedans I drove in Reno. Not sure what happened to yours.
I really don't recall what a stock Zetec or SPI sounds like, but I really couldn't complain much about the stock Duratec exhaust on our hatch. It was quiet and did its job... and then it was summarily executed. :lol:
I actually find the buckets in the 07 ZX5 much better than any other stock Focus I've been in, save Kev's S2. The annoying bar across the back has been fixed somewhere between 05-07. I find the lateral support quite agreeable for a car that has systematically had its soul sucked out in small pieces over the last 4 years.
I drive an auto by choice, so my "pure sporting" impressions might not be the same as yours. However, I find our new Focus the most tossable one I've ever driven, the most responsive (and it's the lamented drive-by-wire to boot!) and the most stable at speed. I really don't see myself getting rid of it before our payments are up, nor for a bit after that.
Daily driver 1: 2007 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport "S"
33" BFG Mud-Terrain KM2s, lots of Rough Country gear - bumper, 2.5" lift, swaybar disconnects, Superwinch 10,000lb winch, Detroit Locker in rear D44 axle, custom exhaust, K+N filtercharger, Superchips-tuned.
Daily driver 2: 2006 Subaru Legacy GT
COBB Stage 1+ package - AccessPort tuner, COBB intake and airbox. Stage 2 coming shortly - COBB 3" AT stainless DP and race cat, custom 3" Magnaflow-based exhaust and Stage 2 COBB tune.
33" BFG Mud-Terrain KM2s, lots of Rough Country gear - bumper, 2.5" lift, swaybar disconnects, Superwinch 10,000lb winch, Detroit Locker in rear D44 axle, custom exhaust, K+N filtercharger, Superchips-tuned.
Daily driver 2: 2006 Subaru Legacy GT
COBB Stage 1+ package - AccessPort tuner, COBB intake and airbox. Stage 2 coming shortly - COBB 3" AT stainless DP and race cat, custom 3" Magnaflow-based exhaust and Stage 2 COBB tune.