2012 Focus SFE

[gascort]

I swear the spoiler is visible from the side photo; click on it to get the full size and you can BARELY see the difference between photos
Only available on the SE trim, (already has 16" wheels) $495 gets you LRR tires, rear disc brakes, aero hubcaps, decals, and a spoiler, all of which are supposed to boost highway EPA ratings from 38 to 40.
Methinks the spoiler could have been built into the original design and this is a (late) band - aid on a small imperfection in aero design, or just an opportunity to sell more ad-ons. Ford claimed for over a year that this car would target 40 HWY, so I'm glad they were able to do it.

I'm curious of how much each component helps. The LRR tires would seem to help the city MPG as well, maybe just not enough to round up to 29.
If I purchased this car, I doubt I'd purchase this package; I can add on LRR tires next time they're needed, and the $495 is a lot of gas to pay back between 38 and 40.
Us ecomodders could cover the wheels even better, or just use some nice looking rear wheel skirts, and probably have a greater effect. Would be hard to make a spoiler that looks nice though.

[Piwoslaw]

Originally Posted by gascort

Us ecomodders could cover the wheels even better, or just use some nice looking rear wheel skirts, and probably have a greater effect.

Maybe those wheel covers are available separately? Or will show up soon in junkyards/used car parts classifieds? But true, a piece of plastic + zipties is the only option worth its price

How do rear disc brakes improve FE? And the SFE badge? $500 is more than that package is worth.

[Daox]

It also comes with an actuating grill block. Not sure if its standard or only on the SFE though.

A guy at work just ordered one of these cars with the SFE package (IMO is worth it). I'll bug him to take some pics when it comes in.

[Bill in Houston]

Originally Posted by Piwoslaw

How do rear disc brakes improve FE?

do modern disc brakes have lower drag than self-adjusting drums? i thought i had heard something about that around here...

[winkosmosis]

Remember when aerodynamic hubcaps were standard? Now they're some super fuel economy option!

[ChazInMT]

I went and sat in one of these the other day, they are very small cars. I thought they'd get more into the envelope but the rear seat was small and the rear "trunk" area on the hatch back was only the size of a large suitcase. This is personal commuter car transportation. My Honda Civic has twice the cargo capacity. I don’t think I could use one of these for my road job due to its low cargo capacity. It is a beautiful car nonetheless.

[gascort]

Originally Posted by Daox

It also comes with an actuating grill block. Not sure if its standard or only on the SFE though.

A guy at work just ordered one of these cars with the SFE package (IMO is worth it). I'll bug him to take some pics when it comes in.

Good point, Daox. I thought that was the case too, but it wasn't mentioned that way anywhere (that I could find) on Ford's website so I didn't include it.

I like the package, but I still don't think it's financially a good idea. **Assuming** the SFE is worth an additional 2 mpg combined, which is probably pretty reasonable if you drive much highway, the $500 doesn't pay itself off in $4/gallon gas until around 90k miles. If the LRR tires lasted the life of the car like the aero stuff, then that would be all you have to consider. But if you expect the SFE gains to keep going, you already have to purchase LRR tires (whenever that is, maybe 50k miles average.)
If you have the cash on hand, it's definitely worth it in the long run. Just an extra $500 right when you drop 16+k on a new car and sales tax, insurance, etc...

[gascort]

Originally Posted by ChazInMT

I went and sat in one of these the other day, they are very small cars. I thought they'd get more into the envelope but the rear seat was small and the rear "trunk" area on the hatch back was only the size of a large suitcase. This is personal commuter car transportation. My Honda Civic has twice the cargo capacity. I don’t think I could use one of these for my road job due to its low cargo capacity. It is a beautiful car nonetheless.

I thought the trunk area of the hatchback was reasonable - we're looking at it or the cruze for our next car. Luckily our two kids are both going to be 2+ by the time we can afford it, and the quantity of stuff they will require on a trip is already starting to decrease.
Apparently the sedan is significantly longer? Haven't driven it yet (just the hatch) but the trunk of the cruze is pretty decent.