Replacing the Civic

[JST]

Originally Posted by blee

Mostly I'm glad that this whole car shopping process is done. It was a weird juxtaposition of fun (for me) and immense pain (also for me) and more pain (for my wife) with maybe a little enjoyment (for my wife) that ended up with a car that she really likes. Given her track record with cars, however, both of our girls might be in or about to start college when it's time for a replacement. This is a terrifying thought.

Our salesman recently bought a Focus ST for himself. My suggestion to get one for ourselves was dropped rather quickly. It was actually rather comical how quickly that happened, especially because the particular ST I saw was blue, and she really hates blue cars. In practical terms, I have to admit that the Focus was significantly tighter inside than the Escape, and the back row in particular was much more of a challenge with our booster seats.

I had a rental Focus (non-ST) for a few days after I sold the wagon, so I was able to compare it back-to-back with the GTI. It's kind of shocking how much smaller the Focus seemed inside, particularly in terms of back seat space and (especially) luggage room. I don't know how big the dimensional differences really are, but in terms of layout and accessibility the Golf just was a lot better.

EDIT: Not GTI. Duh.

[clyde]

Originally Posted by JST

I had a rental Focus (non-ST) for a few days after I sold the wagon, so I was able to compare it back-to-back with the GTI. It's kind of shocking how much smaller the Focus seemed inside, particularly in terms of back seat space and (especially) luggage room. I don't know how big the dimensional differences really are, but in terms of layout and accessibility the Golf just was a lot better.

I can believe that. FWIW, the Focus ST fits 3 12 year old girls across in the back seat for. Acropolis duty once a week.

[clyde]

Originally Posted by blee

One last observation -- Ford's MyTouch/SYNC/whatever platform gets panned for its interface, and I haven't played with it enough to judge, but the feature set itself is pretty smart IMO. I especially appreciate the built-in SOS feature that calls 911 on your phone when the airbags deploy. This is only available as part of a $20/mo package for OnStar subscribers, and I don't believe that even the newest GM vehicles will do it without that fee.

It doesn't get panned for its interface much anymore. When it works, it's pretty decent. See much you like it when it takes 2 or 3 minutes to respond to a touch...and then all your subsequent touches, too. And when you can't advance the music track when [offensive artist] comes on when you have kids in the car or you can't change to the screen to the map before you get to that turn you're not sure if you should take or can't cancel the call when it misunderstood the name of who you were trying to call. And enjoy all the trips you take when trying to enter the destination by voice and name that end before it figures out where you want to go.

Are you sure you had to get nav? Most mid trim Ford models come with MFT, but not the nav card. Nav you still have to pay extra for at about $700 (sticker).

I assume it's the same shitty version I have and not the new one that the 2015 Mustang is getting that's supposed to be better. Then again, perhaps the Escape version will let you turn off the dual climate control without accessing the hvac screen....the only fucking reason I've ever used that screen. You can turn it on with the hard buttons, but you can't turn it off.

Are you sure the 911 call is linked to airbag deployment only? My recollection is that the airbags do not need to be deployed, but could be wrong.

[blee]

Originally Posted by clyde

It doesn't get panned for its interface much anymore. When it works, it's pretty decent. See much you like it when it takes 2 or 3 minutes to respond to a touch...and then all your subsequent touches, too. And when you can't advance the music track when [offensive artist] comes on when you have kids in the car or you can't change to the screen to the map before you get to that turn you're not sure if you should take or can't cancel the call when it misunderstood the name of who you were trying to call. And enjoy all the trips you take when trying to enter the destination by voice and name that end before it figures out where you want to go.

Are you sure you had to get nav? Most mid trim Ford models come with MFT, but not the nav card. Nav you still have to pay extra for at about $700 (sticker).

I assume it's the same shitty version I have and not the new one that the 2015 Mustang is getting that's supposed to be better. Then again, perhaps the Escape version will let you turn off the dual climate control without accessing the hvac screen....the only fucking reason I've ever used that screen. You can turn it on with the hard buttons, but you can't turn it off.

Are you sure the 911 call is linked to airbag deployment only? My recollection is that the airbags do not need to be deployed, but could be wrong.

Well, I haven't cracked open the manual yet, so I'm going off of the salesman's orientation and my half-hour experience with the system. The bottom line on 911 is that it should be a freaking standard safety feature (that can be deactivated) on any car that offers a bluetooth and/or hard link to your phone. From what I can tell, OnStar basically uses its own cell phone and antenna in emergencies, which is great if you need the extra wattage and if you pay the monthly fee, but not awesome otherwise.

We didn't have to get nav to get MyFord Touch, but it was one of those things where you had to juggle the options you want with the options they had. (And then balance with the incentives, which only count if you buy from dealer stock, which takes custom orders out of the equation, vs. paying to transfer from a dealer far away, etc. etc.) Basically, we wanted an SE with a moderate amount of options, or if that was impossible, we wanted a stripper Titanium. Turns out that dealers tend not to order stripper Titaniums, and the options on most of the SEs in the color she wanted were pretty dumb, like the really cheap-looking plasti-dip chrome wheels, or the chrome package, or the roof rack cross rails. This particular car ended up being the best choice, which is funny because it's the first Escape we drove and the same one that Kim drove on her return visit to the dealer.

All in all, the nav isn't horrible, and with the steeply sloped and long windshield, our Garmin would've been placed kinda strangely anyway.

I do know that I have a separate display panel and hard buttons for our dual zone HVAC, and while you can use MFT to change settings, the hard buttons seem to override.

[clyde]

Originally Posted by blee

I do know that I have a separate display panel and hard buttons for our dual zone HVAC, and while you can use MFT to change settings, the hard buttons seem to override.

The interior photos on Ford's site look like the same set up as in the focus. Sure, you can enable the dual zone with hard buttons and change temps, but can you disable it? So when your 12 year old daughter who, like all her friends, refuses to wear a heavy coat when it's 15 degrees outside has the heat maxed on her side gets dropped off at school, all you have to do is tap the button to make it reasonable? Or do you need to make a few taps on screen and hope it doesn't hang for a while?

[blee]

Originally Posted by clyde

The interior photos on Ford's site look like the same set up as in the focus. Sure, you can enable the dual zone with hard buttons and change temps, but can you disable it? So when your 12 year old daughter who, like all her friends, refuses to wear a heavy coat when it's 15 degrees outside has the heat maxed on her side gets dropped off at school, all you have to do is tap the button to make it reasonable? Or do you need to make a few taps on screen and hope it doesn't hang for a while?

Interesting. We'll find out.

My simple answer, though, is that I tell my daughters to STFU and deal with it, because they don't get to play with the controls. Yes, I realize this will be more of an issue when they get older and start sitting in the front. But f 'em, we're the bosses here. (for now.) (and not really, already, anyway.) (...seriously. we don't have children, we have two furless cats. actually, i think it's easier to herd cats.)