Get car tomorrow. Finally.

[Forest Bear]

Silver Zetec auto. Ordered on July 19th. All up $31,150 painfuls. Plus insurance. :-)

Got to have a quick look at it today being prepped up. I must say it looks stunning in the flesh. I'm going to bed tonight dreaming of my favorite corners. Its even prettier than the black demo I test drove. However... As expected something was missing. :-/

The red Zetec reviewed in the mega hatch test in September issue of Wheels had a picture of the cabin and clearly showed and stated that the Zetec has metal alloy pedals. Mine doesn't have it and the dealer insists it is not a feature. I paid for it so I'm going to insist I have it.

Got the alarm upgrade for $650 (talked down from $850). Monitors openings and has glass break senor. Thats it. Absolutely absurd price but I didn't want warranty hassles should some hack stuff up the wirings. It gets intalled next Monday otherwise I can't have it this weekend. Will pop down Autobahn for some lock nuts.

Will arrange insurance transfer tomorrow but this model Zetec is not listed on AAMI's systems. They only have CL and LX LS Focus listed. The LR Zetec is listed but thats not my car. Anyone insured a LS Zetec?

Will post photos for yas.

[owens]

Awesome. Just in time for the weekend

Enjoy driving it. I've seen a few others driving around and they really do look great on the road, plus they drive so smoothly.

Look forward to seeing the pics.
Owen.

[rider007]

Alloy pedals are now standard on the Zetec according to web site :-


http://www.ford.com.au/range/specsop...pe=&category=2

Congrats on getting your car. Hopefully the wait was worth it(ie no probs with car or dealer)

[Forest Bear]

The Focus has a tough act to follow. It'll be sad to let go of my Astra. : Its given 5 years of flawless service. The only reason I'm changing is for retail therapy. Need something fresh and exciting. I hope it finds a good home.

If you know someone who's looking for an excellent, well pampered, 2nd hand car send them to Binks in Footscray (vic) http://www.binksford.com.au. The car is a 2001 Holden Astra (Opel badged) 3 door hatch. REA-611. It's done 59980 km. Its not listed on their site yet cos I'm handing it in today.

[omg]

They weren't standard when I got mine a couple of months back so it's something they've added recently and likely after your car was built. At any rate, what wheels says is standard is irrelevant, what matters is what Ford said would be included at time of order.

Personally I hate alloy pedals so you're better off without them IMO, tacky crap and often downright dangerous with wet shoes.

[Forest Bear]

Well I just got back. Initial experience is very good. Its a great drive. Done 85 km. Not enough for final hard judgement. It looks fab. People look and smile. Just a few minor gripes.

It handles fantastic and soaks up the bumps very well. The body feels strong and tight. Big tick in my book. The engine is strong but not as smooth as my old 1.8 Astra. It feels a little strangled and coarse. It is a bit noisy too. So is tyre noise. Response is good but not as good as old Astra but better than friend's Mazda3. Probably the electronic throttle helps. It should get better when things are broken in. But...it goes back to the dealer tomorrow for a checkup because the engine warning light was lit and won't go off. Hope that is minor issue.

Build, fit and finish looks good. No squeaks or rattles (hoorah!!). The side mirrors make the world a smaller place but will get use to it. Rear vision not as good as old Astra. Indicator clicking sound is far too weak. Storage space for little nigglies like mobile phone, wallet, parking money, house keys, bluetooth head piece, mp3 player, sun/glasses, cds, chewing gum etc, is not so good.

CD player system sounds good but there's nothing there thats going to make your jaw drop and in this day and age, MP3 compatibility is expected for a near $30k car. The manual states the CD player won't play CDRs or CDRWs which is just appalling but it plays a burned CD okay. Haven't tried CDRW yet. The audio control stalk on the steering wheel is a bit pointless imo and adds to the clutter around the steering wheel. No one's going to tear a muscle reaching for the controls on the centre console. Its for pedantics. Any old fart who has problem with setting the record on the VCR is going to have a heart attack at the buttons and knobs around the steering wheel.

Also Ford's print ad stating that the sound system is "iPod compatible" is marketing spin and really is pathetic. It's just a 3mm AUX socket in the glovebox and they don't even supply you with a cable. It would've made more sense to have the AUX socket on the headunit itself or some place where you could control the AUX device from the driver's seat without stretching over to the otherside of the car. German engineered?

Also have concerns about how it'll cope on really hot Aussie days considering the underbody under the engine bay is all covered up. All that heat and no natural convection cooling to help out especially when stopped or parked.

Otherwise I'm happy! Yeah. I'm really happy with it so far. : I post pictures soon. :-)

Update...Sat 15th Oct

Had the problem supposedly fixed. It had something to do with the throttle body. The engine warning light went away and everything was fine but came back after at 130km. They didn't have a "specialist" who deals with focus diagnostics on Saturdays. Still driveable but it goes back on Monday.

[Forest Bear]

There are two strut brace arms. Electronic throttle is better than cable throttle of Mazda3. Had a thorough look at the car and has dispelled all worries about pot smoking production line workers. It is very well put together.

[Parasite]

Thanks for the Pics
Nice looking ride you got there

[fordel]

Thats pretty pricey

I paid less then that for my ST

Nice car though

Chris