Jonathan Takiff: The new Ford Focus? It's complicated

THE GIZMO: Dressed with Euro-glam styling and first-in-class gadgetry, the new 2012 Ford Focus is a bit like that stunning creature you spot across the crowded dance floor.

Despite the negative rumblings you've heard about her character (from Consumer Reports and J.D. Powers) you yearn to take her out for a spin, fantasize about the life you might share together.

Ah, but then after you actually do spend a long weekend together, you start to realize the naysayers may be right. Could this torrid love affair possibly last?!

THE LADY IN RED: Sugarcoated in Red Candy paint, with shiny, upscale 17-inch alloy wheels, my five-door hatchback 2012 Ford Focus SEL demo model pulled many admiring glances and curious inquiries over the long July Fourth holiday weekend, as wife and I cruised from Philly to the Western 'burbs, then down to the Jersey Shore.

Largely designed in Germany as a "world car," this is not your Aunt Em's 2004 Focus econobox. This is the sort of upscale compact you'll see fashionable Europeans tooling around in, a vehicle that packs five passengers plus a couple of big suitcases and still squeezes into itty bitty parking spots.

My Ford delivery person spent a good half-hour with me, first linking my mobile phone to the in-car electronics, then demonstrating how I could do all kinds of neat stuff just by tugging a toggle switch on the steering wheel and voicing a command - say to make or take a call, change a radio station or adjust the two-zone air-conditioning. This is the gee-whiz stuff of the "Sync by Microsoft" operating system that's been helping sell Fords to the younger, tech-savvy set since 2009.

Ah, but now - for better (and worse) - you can also get a lot of the same (and more) chores accomplished by touching tabs, letters and numbers on the 8-inch color screen that's central to the new "MyFord Touch" system. The navigation system sometimes proved more cooperative in touch mode than it did with voice recognition.

There's also a smaller LCD info screen placed right in front of your face between the tachometer and speedometer.

Better keep your reading specs handy!

THINGS TO LOVE: In my test vehicle, priced at $24,250, the MyFord Touch package was bundled with a truly super-sounding 10-speaker Sony audio system with HD FM/AM, Sirius satellite radio and a GPS-based navigation system. Music off my Bluetooth (wireless)-connected iPhone also played nicely through the system, while two USB and a/v jacks hidden in the armrest console let you hardwire more entertainment gear. Twin 12-volt power plugs are accessible to front- and rear-seat passengers.

Not to put the cart before the horse, let me quickly add that the new, front-wheel-drive Focus's ride and cornering are shockingly good: sporty, with minimal sway on curves and just the right amount of road feel - not too hard, not too soft. The grippy, wide-tread Continental tires helped.

Paired with a six-speed automatic, the 2.0-liter engine more than kept up with the pack zooming onto a highway (0-60 mph in less than 8 seconds), and the car cruises without noticeable interior buzz at 80 mph - though the radio's automatic volume adjustment at higher speeds may have been a factor.

On the downside, the engine/trans combination pulled the car along more roughly than I'd have liked in 5 mph crawls on the Schuylkill Expressway.

As the weekend evolved, my gas consumption on city streets averaged around 21 mpg, while highway mileage for this brand new car rose to 26 mpg. The sticker promised 27 mpg city/37 mph highway - maybe with the air-conditioner and radio off and a good tailwind blowing.

While not as spiffy as the exterior, the interior is pretty nice, with nonglare, textured dash covering and minimal shiny stuff.

The cloth-covered seats have good bolstering and a firm (maybe too firm) feel. I'd opt for the optional leather seats to soften the blows.

LED ambient lights hiding in the doors and in foot wells changed from red when a door was open to blue when closed. Cool.

WHERE IT WENT WRONG: Being a tech head, I spent several hours reading through the owner's manuals and trying stuff out. Didn't have time for a dealer training session, but in retrospect I wish I had.

Even with my early-adopter forgiveness level, the quirks of the Sync and MyFord Touch systems started to get under my skin. The system sometimes would freeze up, refusing to respond to button tugs or screen touches. So maybe I hadn't given the computerized system enough time to boot up, but who expects that in a car?

Things really went haywire after I attempted to do a software update. The radio lost its memory presets. Touch-screen climate buttons wouldn't move the temp. While there's a separate array of dedicated heat/AC buttons, this is not acceptable behavior.

Adding insult to injury - the car's Tele Nav navigation system proclaimed there was no Cedar Lane in Villanova, Pa. Later, after finding me a good alternative route to the Jersey Shore (thank you!), the navigator refused to route me back home on the highway.

And the Nuance voice command system refused to recognize a street address announced with the spoken number "zero," only the letter-like "O." That's just dumb.

WAITING IN THE WINGS? Ford didn't loan me the fanciest, most gadget-ladened model in the new stable, the Focus Titanium that's been previewed (in nonfunctioning fashion) at electronics industry events for more than a year and that first got me panting for this car.

Selling for about $27,000 loaded, the Titanium also boasts exclusive options like a keyless entry/push-button ignition, the programmed MyKey (ensuring a young driver operates the car safely) and a "hands-free" automatic-parking system.

As I couldn't uncover a single Titanium in stock at any area Ford dealer, I'm guessing the company is holding back on making that model until it fixes the software glitches already plaguing the Sync/My Touch models.

I'm reminded that my dad used to tell me, "Never buy a new model the first year it's out." I'd modify that a little: If you crave a Focus right now - for the great ride, the cool looks, the practical proportions and decent gas mileage - pass on one with the MyFord Touch Screen.

Or plan to spend a lot of time getting to know your dealer.

Send email to takiffj@phillynews.com.