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High-Octane Truth - AutoExtremist
This spring’s Heavyweight Championship marketing fight: Chevrolet Cruze vs. Ford Focus.
By Peter M. De Lorenzo (Posted 3/15, 12:00 p.m.) Detroit

...Chevrolet and Ford will be squaring off for the first time in a long time against each other with their two newest mainstream passenger cars: the Chevy Cruze and the Ford Focus, and needless to say just about everything will be on the line and at stake in this battle.

First of all, with gas prices slowly but surely inching up to a new minimum level, which I’m guessing will be around $3.50 per gallon from here on out, the American consumer public is going to have to get comfortable with the idea that these “C” segment cars are the new mainstream American sedans in terms of packaging and overall operating efficiency. And believe me, for many this will be an adjustment...

...But all of that’s about to change, because the Chevrolet Cruze and Ford Focus are both superbly-executed machines, no matter what the segment...

...Despite all of its competence and mainstream appeal, Chevrolet hedged their bets with the Cruze, as if they wanted to make sure that if things didn’t work out with the whole “Americans embracing premium compact cars” thing, they could move the metal just the same, with the help of the sheer inertia offered by the sales muscle of Chevy dealers all across the country.

The Focus on the other hand represents the new, confident, upward trajectory of Ford, probably more so than any other product they’ve delivered yet under Alan Mulally’s laser-focused leadership. The Focus bristles with detailed touches that suggest that this is not just another compact car, but rather Ford’s stake in the ground as a maker of desirable, forward-looking, premium-equipped cars that are engaging to look at and most important, fun to drive...

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[laserwizard]

I had the opportunity to experience these two plus a Hyundai Elantra and it is obvious that the Focus is a more refined product than either of the other two. The Chevrolet Snuze was like a shrunken Buick - and despite the spin on most enthusiast sites, the Snuze was not particularly roomy. The Focus has a significant edge when the vehicle moves from the showroom to the road - performance, handling, and driving fun. The Snuze reminds me too much of an endless string of underwhelming Government Motors products that offer limp handling, gutless performance, and overrated interiors that may look good at a standstill, but are not well crafted when you try to use them. The Hyundai seems to be the wild card here - it is head and shoulders superior to the Snuze in every aspect of design - both interior and exterior, but it tends to be less refined than either the Focus or the Snuze.

If style sells, the Snuze is a third rate effort. Clearly it reminds one of too many dull 1990 GM efforts whereas the Focus and Elantra are striking to view.

The Elantra is a significant step forward and the Snuze is just another half-assed attempt to build a good vehicle without having the commitment to actually pay attention to the details. And the details are covered by the Focus like a blanket. If you must shop on price, the Elantra is the clear winner. Any other criteria falls in the lap of the Focus leaving the Snuze to solely compete for the idiot and uninformed consumer who can be conned by a lot lizard's tongue.

 

[JBsC6]

Two excellent cars..although I look forward to the Focus ST and Cruze with the turbo 4 with 260hp ..

Now that will be a fun comparo