After driving my 2007 Ford Focus for almost 10 years and over a quarter million miles, I have got a good idea of what to expect with a Ford Focus. I have always been a Ford fan and that’s why I also have a 1969 Mercury Cougar Eliminator. With breaking down in the middle of nowhere Iowa, I knew it was time to buy a new car and that new car would be a Ford. I was originally going to get a Ford Fiesta, because they are much cheaper, but found a deal I couldn’t pass up at Bluebonnet Motors in New Bruanfels, TX (You can read the story behind both focuses here).
Of course, I hit stop-and-go traffic on the way to work, and it reminded me why I decided to keep my 2007 Focus for a local beater.
I did a full day of work and then hit the road. Again, I hit another traffic jam leaving Austin.
I noticed it was pretty warm at 86. I also noticed I had about 600 miles on the car before leaving.
By the time I hit Oklahoma, the sun was starting to go down.
My first gas stop was a little before Oklahoma City. Normally, with the 2007 Focus, I would have had to fill up around the border. It appears I drove 358.4 miles and the fuel mileage calculator said I got 36.6mpg. The gas pump said I filled up 8.783 gallons, so that comes to 40.8mpg. I don’t think I fully reset everything when I filled up in Austin, so that’s maybe why it shows a lower reading.
I then made it to a Kansas travel plaza. It was starting to rain and it was getting late. It looked like storms were going to be there for a while, so I topped off and was planning on going to sleep. The fuel mileage calculator said I got 42.3mpg. I put in 5.698 gallon of gas for 222.4 miles. This would make 39mpg.
I tried to sleep with the seat reclined, but I found the caffeine I was drinking and the loud storm was keeping me up. I eventually just hit the road again to work off some of that caffeine energy.
I made it to another Kansas travel plaza about 40 miles south of Kansas City. I was able to sleep a couple hours next to the McDonalds. That was a bit convenient, because I was able to eat some McDonalds for breakfast.
When I hit the road, things had cleared up a bit.
My next gas stop was in Iowa, around Des Moines. This was the last gas stop I had to make along the way and was able to make it the rest of the way on this tank of gas. It said I got 36.6mpg. I ended up putting in 11.251 gallons for 381.4 miles. That comes out to 33.9mpg.
The rest of the drive was cloudy and windy. It did sprinkle a bit, but it didn’t rain too hard.
A bit earlier in the trip, I also was able to hit my first 1000 miles!
