When Chevrolet announced a few months ago that its new Cruze compact sedan would start at $16,995, more than a few people (who likely had not had a chance to personally experience the new car) were shocked. The Cobalt, which the Cruze replaced, had been priced nearly $1,300 lower—and had required incentives to sell at that price. Now Ford has announced pricing for the totally redesigned 2012 Focus, and it starts at…$16,995.
So it seems that Ford has matched Chevrolet’s pricing. But an interesting thing happens when you compare the two cars using TrueDelta.com’s car price comparison tool:
| Model | MSRP | Feature Adjustment | Adjusted MSRP | Difference |
| 2012 Ford Focus S | 16,995 | 0 | 16,995 | — |
| 2011 Chevrolet Cruze LS | 16,995 | -1,485 | 15,510 | -1,485 |
It turns out that the base Cruze has about $1,500 in additional content. Features standard on the Chevrolet but not the Ford include:
- a sixth cog in the manual transmission
- power rear side windows (front only in the Focus S)
- knee airbags
- satellite radio
- OnStar
- trip computer
- center armrests front and rear
- manual height and tilt for both front seats (driver height only in the Ford)
Most of these features are minor, but they add up. Not factored into these calculations: an additional 24 horsepower in the Focus from its larger (2.0-liter vs. 1.8) four-cylinder engine.
The picture changes when comparing fully-loaded ($27,000!) cars:
| Model | MSRP | Feature Adjustment | Adjusted MSRP | Difference |
| 2012 Ford Focus Titanium | 27,280 | -990 | 26,290 | — |
| 2011 Chevrolet Cruze LTZ | 26,780 | 0 | 26,780 | +490 |
Why the $2,000 swing? Three major reasons. First, upper trim levels of the Focus includes SYNC, which bundles more features than OnStar while similarly impacting the bottom line. Second, Chevrolet charges $1,995 for nav, while Ford charges a much more reasonable $795. Third, while all four Focus trim levels share the same engine, the Cruze LT and LTZ have a turbocharged 1.4 liter instead of the LS’s normally-aspirated 1.8. The uplevel engine makes about the same amount of peak power, but is considerably stronger at lower rpm. It also adds about $800 to the car’s price. Apparently turbos aren’t free.