Quote:
Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr
The wagon is the nicest-looking bodystyle for the Focus, too bad it was never available in my country. Gotta tell you that I like wagons more than sedans, and their rear hatch is way more practical to arrange the load or luggage than the tight trunk lid of a sedan. Regarding aerodynamics, eventually a sedan might fare a little better, but not by far.
As far as gearing goes, it really bothers me that close-ratio is so prevalent in manual transmissions while it implies more compromises to performance and fuel-efficiency than a wide-ratio  |
Agree 100% on the wagon. I, for the life of me, can't understand why the sedan was SO much more popular here in the states. A good hatch is infinitely more usable than a tiny little trunk lid. My little ZX3 carried everything from a weeks worth of groceries to a small dirtbike (try THAT with a sedan!
).
What REALLY befuddles me is that even though small hatches/wagons still aren't hot sellers here; small SUV's sell like hotcakes (which are nothing more than tall hatches!)
As far as the gearing, my Focus had decently spaced ratios (fairly wide) but 1st gear was WAY too 'short' (presumably to allow ham-fisted newbies to take off without stalling) and the overall final drive was WAY too short. That car could have ran 2000rpm at 60mph with ease but instead the factory gearing had it just a tick under 2500; with no way to regear it being available.
