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"Driving in the new Focus 5-door hatch on a windy two-lane mountain road on the outskirts of San Diego, California, I come around a right sweeper and encounter a ball of fur and flesh, directly in the path of my right tire. Ah, roadkill. Lovely. I flick the electric-assisted steering wheel counterclockwise and feel the right coils of the front MacPherson strut and rear multi\u00ADlink compress. With minimal body roll, I avoid the mashed mammal and rotate the steering wheel back to where the anti-roll bars (23.5-mm front, 19.0-mm rear) help the Focus return to the original arc with nominal wobble. I&amp;#039;d encounter four more flattened furry objects, driving on the first mountain pass with a built-in slalom.   When Ford released the 2008 Focus, we Americans got swindled. What seemed to be a &amp;quot;new&amp;quot; coupe and sedan were actually first-generation Focuses (Focie?) with a heavy dose of restyling. The rest of the world, on the other hand, was privy to a real-deal, second-generation Focus, offered in 4- and 5-door body styles and in sporty ST or rally-inspired RS trims.   With the new Focus, Ford is going with a global 4-door sedan and 5-door hatchback design. Meaning, now we get the cool ones. At launch (early 2011), four trim levels will be available: a well-equipped base S (MSRP $16,270), followed by a SE, SEL and Titanium. For the jaunt into the Cleveland National Forest, we opted for a 5-door Titanium equipped with the 6-speed automatic transmission (MSRP: $22,765).   For a car starting under $20K, the exterior styling of the European-tuned Focus belies its price range, and the interior accouterments are surprisingly nice. Steering is solid and turn-in crisp, as demonstrated by the numerous near misses, and the steering wheel has a substantial feel to it\u2014although my smallish hands found the notches on the backside a tad uncomfortable.   With throttle pegged, the direct-injected 2.0-liter using variable cam timing feels peppy on flat ground, and Ford claims it will achieve 40 mpg highway. Going uphill, the 2927-lb. car could benefit from more torque than its 146 lb.-ft., but it didn&amp;#039;t drag. Our biggest complaint? The S mode in the automatic twin-clutch transmission. There is no discernible difference in either downshifting thresholds or throttle map variance, the clunky rocker switch on the side of the shifter not doing much at all.   For the price and perform\u00ADance delivered, the Focus looks to be a great value in a tidy package. Bring on the ST. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/first-drives/reviews/a16729/2012-ford-focus/>