Ten years ago, if you asked which one was the most sporty and handsome A-Class car, I believe many people blurted out the name "Fox". Yes, at the time, the Ford Focus planted many young people with its sporty styling and excellent driving controls.
With the passage of time, due to various reasons, the Ford Focus has gradually been marginalized by the market, and some people say that its decline is directly related to the use of three-cylinder engines throughout the series. However, the recent news about the new Fox replacing the four-cylinder engine has aroused the attention of many netizens, and even some people are optimistic that Fox can become a hit again. But today's A-segment car market is very different from that year, and a product with strong comprehensive strength like the Honda Civic is not just a four-cylinder engine that has won user recognition. So after replacing the four-cylinder engine, can Fox return to the top? Next, look at the contrast between Fox and Civic.
The Fox four-cylinder engine horsepower is not as big as the Civic, and the price is unchanged and can barely beat
【2021 Fox】
【Eleventh Generation Civic】
Whether it can become a blockbuster model, one of the first premises is the price, in this regard, Ford Focus has certain advantages over the eleventh generation of Civic, the price of entry-level models is less than 110,000 yuan, the entry-level automatic gear is more than 120,000 yuan, compared to the eleventh generation of Civic is nearly 10,000 yuan cheaper, which does not count the price after the terminal discount.
In terms of main sales models, Fox and the eleventh generation Civic are concentrated on models of about 130,000-150,000 yuan, which can be regarded as direct competition. However, because the current Focus series uses a three-cylinder engine that is not popular with users, the maximum horsepower of 1.5T is only 174 horses, which is 8 horses less than the 182 horsepower of the eleventh generation Civic 1.5T high power. After the replacement of the four-cylinder engine, the maximum horsepower is expected to increase to 177 horses, and the gap in the data will be further narrowed.
【2021 Focus 1.5L Three-Cylinder Engine】
【New Fox Declaration Chart】
In terms of gearbox, the eleventh generation Civic series matches the CVT gearbox; Fox's gearbox matching is more abundant, the 1.5L model uses 6-speed automatic, 6-speed manual, and the 1.5T model uses 8-speed automatic and 8-speed hand-to-hand integration. From a consumer point of view, Fox's gearbox matching is undoubtedly more attractive, especially in the 8-speed automatic joint venture car in the same class, few vehicles will match, with certain advantages.
However, civic CVT transmission users also responded well, but in terms of sports, it is not as good as the 8-block hand self-integration. Therefore, in general, after the replacement of the four-cylinder engine, the power parameters of the new Focus can catch up with the current mainstream level, and if the price can remain unchanged, it can barely fight with the Civic.
Civic configuration leads the class, and the new Fox wants to win the "extra volume"
The reason why the Honda Civic can become a blockbuster is because at the same price, it is almost one of the most cost-effective models in the same class, which we can see from its configuration. The 11th Generation Civic comes standard with a driver assistance system, active safety, and full-speed adaptive cruise on the 1.5T high-power version. In addition, the whole series is also equipped with a series of safety features such as 9 airbags, passive pedestrian protection, tire pressure alarm, fatigue reminder and so on. At the same time, as one of Honda's most representative models, the eleventh generation Civic is equipped with the latest Honda connect 3.0 intelligent guide interconnection system, including remote control, Car Networking, voice control, OTA and other functions to cater to the current era, and is also the leading level in joint venture products.
In contrast, the configuration of the current Focus is obviously a bit behind the times, 6 airbags + tire pressure display is only a conventional level, the driver assistance system is not fully functional, and only appears on high-end models, full-speed adaptive cruise even if it is the top model also needs to be optionally obtained. In terms of car and machine systems, the current Focus 12.3-inch central control LCD screen visual effect is better than that of The Civic, and navigation, voice control, and Internet of Vehicles are also very complete, but overall it is only the average level.
So no matter from the perspective of technology configuration and safety configuration, the eleventh generation of Civic represents the leading level of the current joint venture compact car, and there is a big gap between the current Focus and it, if you want to catch up with the Civic, the new Fox must be added in the configuration, but can the cost be controlled?
Space is a Fox plus, but civic isn't bad either
All along, Fox and Civic have a strong athletic attribute, even if the eleventh generation of Civic has weakened the sense of movement in design and become more moderate, but the movement in the bones is still not lost. Fox's performance in sports is more pure, no matter how it is iterated and upgraded, it still feels sporty.
【2021 Fox Rear Row】
【Eleventh Generation Civic Rear Row】
However, the current A-class car competition is a comprehensive strength, in addition to the sports design, whether the space is spacious and practical is also a plus. In this regard, if you only look at the data, the eleventh generation Civic has certain advantages, the length and wheelbase are longer. However, in terms of actual riding performance, fox, which has a short wheelbase of 30mm, performs better, and when the front and rear rows are riding 178cm tall passengers at the same time, the rear legroom can have a 2-fist distance, which is more spacious than the Civic. Of course, it is still the previous sentence, the A-class car competes for comprehensive strength, and a little advantage in space cannot become the capital of Fox's turnaround, and still needs other "hard" data to support.
epilogue:
It can be seen that after the new Focus replaces the four-cylinder 1.5T power, if the price maintains the status quo, the competitiveness will be improved, and the dynamic strength of the vehicle can barely compete with the Honda Civic, but it is difficult to return to the peak and become a hit. The main reason is that Fox's current backwardness is not only a disadvantage in the engine, but all aspects of the product, such as the configuration is not up to the current mainstream level, whether it is driving assistance, active and passive safety, car engine system, and Honda Civic and other A-class car leaders have a large gap. More importantly, if Fox will improve the configuration and achieve the par with the Civic, then the current price embodiment is also difficult to support, and the price increase is a high probability, so that the competitiveness of the product will decline, so even if the new Focus is replaced by a four-cylinder engine, it is still difficult to return to the peak.