Ford’s new Focus will join the 40-mpg club. The compact has been rated by the EPA at 28 mpg city/40 highway—when the car is ordered in sedan form with the $495 SFE (or Super Fuel Economy) package. This package is paired exclusively with the company’s not-so-hot PowerShift dual-clutch automatic transmission, and outfits the Focus with aerodynamic wheel covers, low-rolling-resistance tires, a rear spoiler, and active grille shutters that can close to reduce drag—all of which help cut fuel consumption. Fuel economy ratings for other Focus trim levels and equipment combinations have not been released yet, but you can expect them to drop a few mpgs.
The Blue Oval is not the only company to offer an efficiency-oriented trim level in the interest of bragging rights. Chevrolet’s Cruze comes in a special Eco spec, which allows the company to tout the car’s 42-mpg highway rating—although that rating is specific to Cruzes with manual transmissions—while other Cruzes wind up in the mid-to-high 30-mpg range. That’s still nothing to be ashamed of, but this MPG maneuvering lends some credibility to Hyundai’s recent boasting that the Elantra is rated at 40 mpg highway regardless of transmission choice, and without tacking on any special packages.
Thanks to the efficiency-friendly aerodynamics of a longer sedan shape, the Focus SFE is able to just about tie the smaller, less-powerful Fiesta in EPA ratings. That car, in its own SFE trim, musters just 29 mpg city/40 highway, leaving the 118-hp Fiesta to compete against its 160-hp sibling on price and parking advantages alone.
At a later date, Ford will add engine stop-start functionality to the Focus, further improving economy. We’ll update you as soon as the Blue Oval spills the beans on EPA ratings for other Focus trim levels.
