Al Gore’s Academy Award winning documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” started a kind of “wake up and smell the odor of conspicuous consumption” movement. So in a world where the new Lexus has a base MSRP of $104,000, it’s refreshing and encouraging to see the Brits touting the virtues of the used car — especially since the top “previously owned” vehicle is a compact, the Ford Focus.
The judges for the Auto Express Used Car Honours 2007 all said they’d be perfectly happy to take a used Focus home for themselves much less recommend it to a close friend of family member. They cited such selling points as:
- a quality interior
- superior engines
- excellent chassis
- and a huge dealer network.
But of course the icing on the cake was low running costs. And for more and more people that really is the bottom line. Sexy car or low cost of ownership? Wow the babes or feed the kids? In the real world for real people, it’s a no brainer decision.
Luxury cars and fantasy cars certainly have their place in the world, but so does practical, affordable transportation. High fuel prices in Europe long ago erased any disdain drivers there might have had for either compact cars or for used vehicles, but Americans are still struggling to overcome the sense that “used” and “junk” are synonyms.
Even brand-spanking new for 2007, however, the Focus is an excellent value at $14,130 (around 13.5% the cost of that Lexus, by the way.) Fuel economy ranges from 27/27 to 23/32 depending on engine and the Focus is available as a three or five-door hatchback, a sedan, or a wagon.
Posted on April 12th, 2007 by Shorty
Filed under: economy
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