When it came to the Mk3.5 update, the exterior of the Focus received what proved to be a somewhat controversial revision as some areas of it weren’t that well received; honestly, they still aren’t today. The updated interior on the other hand was a definite improvement, and specifically the center console climate control panel is probably the best aspect of the ’15+ changes.
This may sound like an odd piece to single out, but anyone who’s spent time in both PFL (’12-14) and FL (’15-18) cars will know what I’m getting at here – the storage cubby (though I’ll also point out that the lower-model climate controls are leaps and bounds above those in the PFL cars) which sits below the controls, in front of the shifter.
A lack of storage wasn’t necessarily an issue in the ’12-14 cars as you had the cupholders, the arm rest, and door pockets, but they weren’t always the best if you just wanted to store something small (car wash change, for example) or something that you’d be regularly reaching for. The large storage areas would swallow up small items and the cupholders would only work as long as you didn’t need to carry drinks.
I always thought the new storage cubby in the ’15+ cars was a great idea (it was even big enough to carry one of Gizmo’s dog toys, as seen above) but it wasn’t until I bought Arabis last year that I realized just how useful it really was. Almost immediately, I started wishing for something like it in the early cars.
The problem was, the early cars didn’t have room for a full-width cubby in front of the shifter because they had buttons there. Or at least, they all had a button on one side…
The driver’s side housed the rear window defroster button and passenger airbag light, but the passenger side – for those without ST/RS models or very highly-optioned Titaniums (SELs too? I can’t recall) – had a pair of card slots. Instead of just fitting a blank and calling it a day, Ford did give some sort of storage in this area but the forums – going back to the very early days of these cars – were quick to express wishes for something more versatile. Fast-forward to 2021, and nothing had yet come to address these complaints.
Now though, we are very proud to finally offer something for this (admittedly rather specific) concern in the form of our new Coin Drawer!
As of its launch this weekend we are almost exactly one year from the initial brainstorming, sketching, and crude styrene prototype, all of which ultimately led to this: a full and direct replacement for the OEM card holder.
This fully 3D-printed piece clips directly into the 2012-14 trim panel and offers the ability to store coins, keys, candy, receipts, and more. Dijon ran with a prototype for quite a while (as the testing was done over winter when Mustard was parked) and it proved wonderfully useful, just as we hoped it would be.
Wanting to keep this as a direct-fit piece – which ruled out any modifying of the original trim panel – meant that it was constrained in size but it still holds well more than enough; Dijon is specifically carrying about $40 in loonies and toonies for car washes and drive-throughs currently, keeping them right at hand for easy access.
And in case you were wondering, for those of you with a DCT the shifter needs to be in at least R for the drawer to fully open. It’s still partially accessible when in P, but even the card slots could be blocked at this time too.
As for the coloured rings you’re seeing in the photos, the drawers fit so tightly (and the material is so strong) that trying to remove them can be difficult, should it ever be needed. These are removal tools, which slide over the drawers and simultaneously depress all of the tabs so that the assembly can easily be slid out of the panel.
Lastly, you may have noticed that the removal tools have officialTHREETWENTY printed in them for a bit of detail; the drawers also received their own logo, hidden on the back wall so as to be subtle. We didn’t want anything obvious as these are intended to look as factory as possible!
It was hard to keep these a secret until their initial reveal at the start of this month, but the response was immediate and incredible! Some of you were messaging almost instantly to ask when they would be available to purchase; we thank you for the response and patience as we counted down the full release, this weekend.
If you’d like to grab one for yourself please head on over to the store, linked below. Each kit comes with one drawer, one removal tool (the colour is randomly selected, either red or yellow) and a pair of decals, one of which is exclusive to these kits.
We really enjoy being able to offer products like this to the community and hope that all of you ’12-14 owners who wanted something more usable than the credit card slots like this new alternative.
https://officialthreetwenty.bigcartel.com/product/mk3-coin-drawer
-Bill