Ford Focus Titanium to get manual transmission

The Ford Focus sedan comes in four trim flavors, S, SE, SEL and Titanium, while the five-door hatch omits the base S version. Keeping form with past economy car tradition, only the S and SE trims have been offered with a five-speed manual transmission, but that changes with the 2012 Focus: the top-drawer Titanium trim will shortly receive a manual option.

According to a report in Car and Driver, enough Ford customers have been specifically asking for a Focus Titanium with the handling pack and the five-speed tranny that the company is going to put it out there. No one is sure what percentage of buyers will check the box, but it will be interesting to see if it beats the seven percent of S and SE buyers who choose the manual.

On the lower trims, the manual is standard and the dual-clutch automatic adds a $1,095 premium. While a base Focus S is priced at $16,500, Titanium models start at $22,200 for the sedan or $22,700 for the five-door (both are subject to a $795 delivery fee). The Titanium manual option isn't available yet on the Focus configurator, but we'll be on the lookout to see if Ford lowers the price for top-tier Focus drivers who want to do their own rowing.

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/01/25/f...-transmission/

 

wonderful addition!! I only wish it was a 6-speed manual like its competitors

 

Ordinarily, when people ask, I recommend clutchless transmissions (conventional torque-converters, CVTs, DSGs, SMTs, etc...) for dense-traffic areas. But, to be honest, the automanual units in both the new Ford Focus and Fiesta did not impress me.......they hesitated and vibrated somewhat when starting from rest and at low speeds....they don't work seamlessly like the VW/Audi DSGs do. Unless the anticipated amount of stop-and-go traffic is really bad, the 5MT may actually be a better overall choice, even in urban areas....though it would be nice if you could get it without the handling pack, which is likely to stiffen the ride up.