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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, February 15, 2012 · 16 2012 Ford Focus SEL a solid family car Continued from page 14 The 2012n Focus is offered in Sedan or Hatchback across the board except for the base S that is only available as a sedan. Prices start at $15,999 for the base manual sedan and rise through the SE sedan ($18,999) and Hatch ($19,899); SEL Sedan ($21,499) and SEL Hatch ($22,399); Titanium Sedan, ($24,499) and Hatch ($25,099). There is a shipping charge of $1,450. Both the SEL and Titanium have way more room than my old 2001 Focus. In fact, the interior is easily up to mid-size. In the sedan, there is 13.2 cu ft in the trunk. With the hatchback that grows to 23.8 cu ft behind the second row seats and 44.8 cu ft with the second row folded. Both came with the optional heated black leather seats with white leather inserts which is the first time I think I have ever seen such a pairing. The steering wheel was also black leather with white on the top and across the bottom. The interior has a lot of buttons because of all the features. But they are clearly marked, and for the most part, easy to use. That, however, is something I can't say for the SYNC voice activated infotainment system on both the SEL and Titanium. On my way to the auto show in Detroit, I thought I would try out the navigation sysonly to get a recorded message that the offices where closed Sunday. I was told later the Titanium I was driving was a very early one and so was the SYNC, so there might have been a glitch. I think that is true because three times over just 600 km SYNC turned itself off (once for almost two hours) and did "scheduled maintenance" which seemed odd. On the plus side, I was thankful for the tire pressure monitoring system. As part of the driver info display between the two main gauges, it let me know one tire was soft in time for me to pump it up before returning home. With the SEL, I went to my favourite twisty road and drove fairly aggressively to try out what Ford calls its front drive torque vectoring. In a nutshell, when you come out of a corner hard, there is a measured amount of braking to the inside front wheel that slows it down slightly and reduces the amount of understeer (the tendency to go straight) which adds to stability plus less steering effort on the part of the driver. Body roll, a major failing on my 2001 Focus, was practically non-existent. Braking was also very easy to modulate reacting to inputs nicely. All in all, the 2012 Ford Focus SEL as tested here is a solid family car that gets the job done in a very good-looking package. Titanium four-door Sedan, $24,499; Titanium, five-door Hatch, $25,099, Destination and Delivery, $1,450. WEBSITE. www.ford.ca tem to see how it worked. Parked just east of Sarnia on a Sunday morning on my way through Port Huron to the Renaissance Centre in Detroit, I tried to punch in the name and address of the hotel. SYNC would have none of it. First, it would not let me opt for Michigan and firmly kept me in Canada. So I tried the voice activation and it would not let me spell Renaissance perhaps because it was too long a word. Then I got smart and found the toll-free SYNC help number in both Canada and the U.S. I phoned both WINTER TIRE CLEARANCE! 3 DAYS ONLY! FEBRUARY 16, 17 ,18 13119 BF GOODRICH WINTER SLALOM 21007 MICHELIN X ICE2 85045 BF GOODRICH WINTER SLALOM 82391 BF GOODRICH WINTER SLALOM OAKVILLE GRAND OPENING WE PAY THE HST! On any paint service and bodywork purchase. Stop in for details. ENTER TO WIN 2,5000 FREE AEROPLAN®MILES! ® Aeroplan is a registered trademark of Aeroplan Canada Inc. OUR SUMMER TIRE ORDER IS COMING IN SOON AND WE NEED TO MAKE SPACE! SPECIAL! NO TAX! EXAMPLE PRICES 195/65/15 195/65/15 205/55/16 215/60/16 CIVIC, ACCORD CIVIC, ACCORD CIVIC ACCORD MANY OTHER SIZES IN STOCK Prices are for tires only, installation, valves, balancing and taxes extra 109 132 $ 132 $ 124 $ $ LOWEST PRICES OF THE YEAR! HURRY, 3 DAYS ONLY, WHEN THEY ARE GONE, THEY ARE GONE! Must present ad at time of estimate. Hurry...Offer & contest entry ends Saturday, February 25, 2012! CALL 905-844-9831 905-847-1113 Free Estimates Vans, trucks, SUVs and commercial vehicles by estimate. Bodywork, rust repair & stripping of old paint extra. Not valid with any other offer. Maaco Collision Repair & Auto Painting centres are independent franchises of MAACO Systems Canada, Inc. Prices, hours & services may vary. 2416 Wyecroft Road, Unit 16 BRAND NEW LOCATION 500 Iroquois Shore Rd., Oakville www.oakvillehonda.com