Comparison: 2012 Ford Focus Titanium vs 2011 Chevrolet Cruze LTZ RS

If you believe that driving an inexpensive, compact sedan shouldn't require a prescription for antidepressants, you're not alone. Neither do we. And apparently, neither do Ford and Chevrolet. The all-new Ford Focus and Chevrolet Cruze are the best compact sedans ever produced by the Blue Oval and Bow Tie, each offering more power, more comfort, and more style than their predecessors. Fortunately, both automakers have also seen fit to introduce versions that stand out to drivers looking for more than just a point-A-to-point-B grocery-getter: the Focus Titanium and Cruze LTZ RS.

A quick run through the spec sheets reveals these cars' true intentions, and similarities. Sport-tuned suspensions, 18-inch wheels, four-wheel disc brakes (base versions of each have rear drums), and the obligatory rear spoiler are all part of the package for both the Ford and Chevy. Both have six-speed transmissions, and the torque spread between the two cars is only 2 pound-feet. Each is well optioned with tilting and telescoping multifunction steering wheels, keyless entry, Bluetooth connectivity, premium sound systems, and automatic climate control. Even the as-tested prices are nearly identical: Just $200 (yes, two hundred) separates the sedans at the dealerships.

The differences present themselves after a peek under each car's hood. In the Focus Titanium's engine bay sits a naturally aspirated, direct-injection 2.0-liter inline-four that produces 160 horsepower and 146 pound-feet of torque. Meanwhile, the Cruze LTZ RS' turbocharged 1.4-liter four-banger turns out 138 horsepower, but 148 pound-feet of torque. The two cars' transmissions are also dramatically different. The Focus flaunts a state-of-the-art dual-clutch automatic, while the Cruze makes do with a conventional torque converter. Each offers a manual shift mode, the Focus via lever-mounted push button, the Cruze with a typical forward-and-back tug of the lever.

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Inside, the Focus features plenty of soft plastic at all the major touch points, dash and door sills included. Ford's SYNC display dominates the plastic-trimmed center stack, and while it takes a little practice to get the basic navigation mastered, it does offer plenty of function. Seats are cloth, but supportive, comfortable, and breathable. A nice touch is the raised nubs at the end of the turn signal and windshield wiper stalks for better grip. The Focus' steering wheel is perfectly sized, and while the vast array of four-way buttons appear complicated at first, the layout is easy to get used to.

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We liked the layout of the Cruze's interior, with a well-organized center stack and stylish gauge panel, but the typical cheap hard black plastic abounds on dash and door panels. This is partially broken up by black textured cloth that some of our staff loved and others hated (some compared it to speaker cloth). The dimpled, silver plastic trim on the center stack also didn't win any staffers over, nor did the green LCD audio display panel or flat leather seats.

Front seat room in both sedans is good, but rear seat room -- as in the Cruze -- isn't huge. With the front seats set for occupants taller than 6 feet, the rear seat is only comfortably occupied by children in either car. The Cruze takes the rear cargo crown, with an optional space-saver spare leaving plenty of room for cargo (a sealant and inflator kit is standard). In the Focus, we appreciate the standard full-size spare that comes with the Titanium package, but we'd gladly swap it for a space saver to reclaim at least a few cubic feet of the cargo space it occupies.

The biggest difference of all might just be in the sheetmetal. Focus and Cruze have clearly come from very different design philosophies. The Focus is fresh, sporty, and sleek, with a steeply raked waistline and short front and rear overhangs. That gaping front grille and jutting lip spoiler are all standard issue across the Focus line, but the fog lamps and rear spoiler are standard with the Titanium trim. Seventeen-inch alloys are standard, but our tester arrived with five-spoke 18s that hark back to the special SVT wheels offered on previous performance versions of both Focus and Mustang.

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Associate editor and test companion Mike Febbo agrees. "Love the SVT wheels, they could be aftermarket."

What we didn't love was the Focus' Tuxedo Black Metallic paint. The hue's embedded purple and green glittery flakes were deemed more suitable for the 1:64 scale Hot Wheels version. Or a fishing lure. Overall, the Focus is much what you'd expect from a modern compact vehicle with a nod towards the driving enthusiast.

The Cruze, by contrast, is tamer than the Focus. Some might call it bland; others would say mature, but we'd put it this way: If one car in our duo is more susceptible to attracting attention from local law enforcement, it would be the Focus. Febbo even went so far as to draw Cadillac parallels.

"You can see CTS elements in it if you really look," quoth Febbo, "but is that appealing for 20-somethings?"

Keep in mind that the Cruze was released globally three years ago as a 2008 model, so it's already looking a little dated, and the requisite U.S. market refresh was subtle at best. The familiar oversized Chevy bow tie sits front in and center in the Cruze's gaping maw, and chrome trim is sprinkled around -- on the door handles, for example -- as is the custom with much of GM's current product. Unlike the Focus, 18-inch wheels are already standard equipment with the Cruze's LTZ trim. Our car also featured the $695 RS appearance package, which includes a couple "RS" badges, a rear spoiler, and very subtly revised front and rear fascias, tied together with plastic side skirts. While the RS package does add some distinction to the Cruze, we still had to give the styling edge to the Focus.

Of course, styling doesn't mean a thing at the test track, where grip and go are the primary considerations. Boasting a 22-horsepower advantage and with roughly 150 pounds less curb weight, the Focus was 0.7 seconds faster to 60 mph than the Cruze, with a run of 8.3 seconds. That advantage dropped to 0.6 seconds in the quarter-mile where the Focus turned out a 16.3-second sprint at a trap speed of 86.7 mph to the Cruze's 16.9-second, 82.1-mph run.

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Surprisingly, the largest detriment to the Focus' acceleration times was its dual-clutch gearbox. While its shifts may have been incrementally faster than that of the Cruze (the dual clutch is tuned more for comfort than performance), with the shift lever in Sport mode, it couldn't decide whether to hold a gear at redline or automatically upshift, seeming to perform either at random. Our road test editor, Scott Mortara, ultimately reverted to using the lever-mounted manual buttons, but had qualms about having to keep one hand on the lever during such testing. "The Focus needs paddles near the steering wheel to be effective," Mortara ultimately concluded. As the layout stands, Mortara is of the opinion that a half-second could easily be shaved from the 0-60 mph sprint with a conventional manual gearbox.

In our initial walkaround of both cars, we noticed that the Focus was shod with sticky Michelin Pilot Sport 3 tires to the Cruze's all-season Michelin Pilot MXs, leading to predictions that the Ford would easily out-handle and out-brake its Chevy rival. The Focus didn't disappoint, wringing out victories in both braking and handling tests, but at smaller margins than we had guessed. In the end, the Ford out-stopped the Cruze from 60 mph by 9 feet at a distance of 110 feet, while delivering a figure-eight time of 27.2 seconds at a 0.62 g average, versus the Cruze's 27.4-second run at a 0.61 g average.

As is so often the case, the numbers don't always tell the whole story. After a day at the track, we drove both cars out to Southern California's winding Ortega Highway and into the San Jacinto mountains east of Los Angeles, where road elevations reach upwards of 6000 feet. On real roads the differences in the two cars become even clearer.

After a few twists and turns, the Focus asserted itself as the sports car of the group. Buttoned down and exceptionally stable, the Focus displays a surprising level of available grip. Per Febbo: "Turn-in is completely predictable, you turn and it goes. If you get the initial arc right at turn-in, you don't need to move the wheel at all."

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Generally, the Focus is neutral mid-turn, and while understeer is well controlled (that's a good thing), the Focus is even more reluctant to let its tail get out of shape. While that's preferable (and safer) for most drivers, it also meant that the Focus, despite its copious grip, isn't quite as much fun as could be when the going gets twisty. The firmer Titanium spring rates are just about perfect in terms of the comfort/sport compromise, but the Focus feels underpowered given the capability of its suspension. Note to Ford: Keep this setup for the upcoming ST. Forty more horsepower and we're in business.

The Focus' dual-clutch transmission works a little better on real roads. When engaged in Sport mode, downshifts come quickly when braking into turns, dropping a gear or two on entry. We still wish the gearbox would choose gears a little better at part throttle, sometimes holding a lower gear and other times switching up to a taller cog for the sake of fuel economy. We also hope that Ford introduces a more conventional way of manually swapping cogs, as the lever-mounted buttons are too cumbersome when concentrating on the road and traffic. Overall, Febbo came away fairly impressed.

"The Focus really does respond different based on how you are driving," Febbo remarked. "The downside is that I started driving the transmission as much as the car."

On the freeway, the Focus' low-profile summer rubber makes itself known with plenty of road noise - enthusiasts will accept the trade-off for performance, but more casual drivers will probably change to a different tire after the original set wears out. The high-bolstered cloth seats also earn kudos, doing a commendable job of holding the driver in place during spirited runs.

The Cruze shouldn't be more fun to drive than the Focus, but in many ways it is. Despite its own "sport-tuned" suspension treatment, the Cruze is appreciably softer than the Focus. It also wears all-season tires; has flat, unsupportive seats; a conventional automatic gearbox; and is down a significant amount of horsepower. Still, the Cruze's willingness to be provoked into mild oversteer makes the car a little more rewarding to push hard.

"At six-tenths, this thing has wailing tires," Febbo exclaimed. "You can feel and smell that its working hard. It's always moving under you."

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The Cruze's transmission is a mixed bag, being a little slow to change down in auto mode, lacking a sport setting. Still, the conventional push/pull manual change was a welcome feature after a stint in the Focus. Steering is very light in the Cruze, but surprisingly offers a little more feel than the Focus does. There's more body roll to boot, but overall the 150-pound heavier Cruze comes off feeling like a lighter car, partly because of its willingness to rotate. The Cruze also makes a better long-distance freeway tourer, with low road noise and a relatively supple ride.

With gas prices heading towards the stratosphere once again, we kept a close watch on fuel economy during our test loop. Through our miles of freeway cruising, negotiating commuter traffic, and canyon carving, the Focus achieved 28.68 mpg while the Cruze came in with 22.96 mpg. While we drove these cars harder than the average consumer would (and subsequently achieved relatively low figures), there does appear to be a clear-cut difference in efficiency. While the Focus outperforms the Cruze slightly in EPA ratings too (27/37 city highway mpg versus 24/36), we weren't expecting the spread between the two to be quite so wide given each car was driven in the same conditions, on the same roads, and by the same drivers. Advantage: Ford.

With all said and done, it's impossible to deny the Focus a clear victory over the Cruze. With better performance in all of our testing categories, better fuel economy, higher-quality interior materials and styling that is both fresh and eye-catching, the Focus was also able to offer a strong match for the Cruze's standard amenities while undercutting the Chevy in price (albeit by a tiny margin). Cruze buyers who (wisely) choose not to pony up the extra cash for the RS appearance package will save a few bucks, but be left with a car that is far too tame for its target market. At the end of the day, styling does make a difference in our subjective conscious, and even though the Cruze could be entertaining to drive, we had no doubt that we'd rather see the Focus in our garage at the end of a play day in the mountains.

First Place:2012 Ford FocusTitanium

With the performance and quality to match its sporty good looks, the Focus proves America can make a stand-out small sport sedan.

Second Place:2011 Chevrolet CruzeLTZ RS

Entertaining to drive and a more comfortable commuter, but we're reviewing sport sedans, and the Cruze can't quite match up.

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