 We purchase 2015 1/2  Ford focus SE 1 L   Turbo three cylinder engine with 6s manual transmission.   after having driven the Mazda3, Golf, Jetta, Elantra, Forte, Cruze, Civic, Corolla and Lancer. Being a driving enthusiast (albeit on a serious budget) I found all but the Ford, Mazda 3 and the VW's to be pretty awful. In the case of the Focus it is for all intents and purposes the same car that I recently drove in Portugal and feels very much like a small European sports sedan. Steering is precise, handling is stellar for what it is, the interior is of high quality (with a bit of a playful, cockpit-like feel), the ride is taught and compliant, the 3-banger produces adequate power and and there's very little road noise compared to the competition. The fact that I paid less than $18,000 (with incentives and rebates) for such an experience is well...pleasingly ridiculous every day. That it came with nicer 17”wheels and tires than the Mazda3 or Jetta (16" alloys with Continentals) and all the basic power and infotainment options including a backup camera, etc. just sweetened the deal. Yes, the VW's are more refined and the Mazda is a bit more playful but for those that love to drive value-wise the Focus blows everything else out of the water. I almost got the Jetta turbo but in the end was happy spending thousands less for a lot of fun while supporting American manufacturing (the Focus is built in Michigan) versus a company that knowingly poisoned the planet and deceived millions of consumers. Yes I was aware of the reliability issues surrounding the dual-clutch transmission and although I understand things have gotten better, I dealt with my concerns by getting the manual I wanted anyway. My only serious gripes about the car is that I would love a center armrest that extends like the VW's and the backseat couldn't possibly be any tighter and miserable than it is. Overall though I couldn't be happier with my purchase and highly recommend the Focus to anyone who loves to drive but doesn't have the funds to spring for a GTI, WRX or ST.    Great gas mileage we are averaging around town 40miles per gallon  we took it to the city at 77 miles now on interstate 52 miles per gallon. We took a trip on the My wife uncle house that’s 90 miles away and on the  highway  No Interstate and doing  speed limit  55 to 60  we got 62mpg .  Look when you can put $22 of gas  in the car at $2.70 that’s about 8  gallons then  tell you got 475 miles to go on it for around town.