Lots of accessories. Good handling for a compact 4-door. CD player sounds good. Zetec engine is peppy. Large trunk for its class. Lots of headroom (I am over 6').

The FM radio has poor frequency response and not much range (about 80 miles, tops). Fuel economy should be higher for such a small car. Hard to find comfortable spot for steering wheel. SE does not come with a tach anymore. High depreciation.

Overall, I like the car. It is what I expected, a car built to a price. I like the 6-disc changer, the power everything (it is an SE), the space in the trunk. The automatic slips a bit on the 1-2 shift, which can be disconcerting. The gas mileage is what I like the least. I only get 21-24 around town. I wanted to buy a Civic, because it gets around 10 mpg more. But I wanted to buy American, despite the high depreciation.

Similar Products Used:

Mazda Protege. Honda Accord.

Decent Fuel efficiency. Sporty look and handling. Lots of options for the money. Very nice ride for a compact car. Tilt and telescope steering wheel make for comfort and control for any driver. Much less expensive to purchase and insure than Honda Civic. Trunk is roomy for a small car.

Due to the Short Wheelbase, the car is more skittish on gravel roads than I am use to. The transmission can take a bit to get use to shifting, and the "shift" light is a bit irritating when I first got it, but it did help to learn the best shift points for the transmission. Electronic Blinker (turn indicator) noise irritates some passengers. Although the trunk is adequate for this class, the trunk opening makes it difficult to fit some larger items in.

After reading many of the reviews here, I was very skeptical of the Focus. There are several horror stories regarding everything from horrible dealership service to catastrophic mechanical failures. I had also read the great reviews from the other; as well as the great reviews from Car and Driver, Consumer Reports, and several other ratings and reviews services. I test drove the car with 12 miles on it. I had a 1995 Toyota Camry LE V6. I did not notice much difference in acceleration, although my Camry was automatic, the Focus is a 5-speed manual. The cornering was tight and responsive, just as I had read in the magazines. I bought the vehicle for $13000 with Lithia's promo pricing. The test-drive and decision was normal in my purchasing experience. I am not sure I will ever use Lithia again due to the irritating closing, where I was lectured on the need for undercoating, Lifetime oil changes, and purchasing an extended warranty (that would not go into effect for three years). I found out that Rachel Hodges, who did the paperwork gets a commission for warranties, and went so far as to tell me that I needed the warranty because my new "car will break down" and be left stranded. This is the only problem I had with the whole process of buying and owning this vehicle. The model I got had Power windows, door locks, Cruise Control, 6-disc in-dash MP3 CD player, Alloy wheels, rear spoiler. I found the transmission to have a nice throw distance between gears, and transfered the power very evenly to the ground. I have not had any mechanical problems with this car. Although I typically drive at a constant speed (freeway driving), I have had lots of fun getting up to speed in this car. It is not a Hot Rod, but this car has plenty of power for a compact car. It is quicker (and nicer) than any Mitsubishi Eclipse, Dodge Neon, or Honda Civic I have ever driven. I will probably be buying a larger car or minivan next, but when the kids are gone, I would consider getting this vehicle again for the value, fuel efficiency, and fun factor.

Similar Products Used:

1978 Honda Civic Hatchback 1979 Honda Accord 1500 CVCC Fastback 1983 Nissan Sentra Wagon 1995 Toyota Camry LE V6 Sedan 1997 Oldsmobile Achieva Sedan

Good Acceleration Nice Gas mileage Nice interior

Sometimes the car lags when you accelerate

I bought my Focus in August 2005 and I love it. I was in an accident with it and the body held up and protected me. This car is nice, it has power when you need it and it handles corners very well at good speeds (about 70 mph). Yes I speed at times, but it's so much fun when you're driving this car.

Pay out plan.

Service is super poor. Factory issues for rust under the dash are stated as a normal thing. Correct your difficencies and provide the quality service we as customers deserve.

I like my car. However since I brought it in for its first oil change-I've had nothing but problems. 1st it took 1-1/2hrs to change the oil, instead of the 45 minutes I was promised. When I got the car back the oil cap was missing and oil all over the engine. In addition the car now runs really rough...I've taken it back 3 times, costing me my valued time. They told me they had to realign the engine and transmission-this made things worse. 3rd visit they claim to have checked the computer, tach on the engine. I have the car now, it still runs rough, the idle is way high, the excuse is-in cold weather it will take 5 minutes instead of 1 minute for the idle to drop. We it doesn't. As far as service...there really isn't any when 2 service teams can't find the problem. My feeling is, what was the mechanic doing in addition to changing the oil...he certainly didn't have time to replace the oil cap. I have my own thoughts on this and experience. I'm hoping they find it before I claim the car as a LEMON. I sincerily hope there are Ford Dealerships that have a good and compentant service crew.

Similar Products Used:

I bought two Focus's at the same time-I am very leary about bring it in for any work at this service department.

* Nice interior * Smooth driving for the most part * Good steering * Looks cute * Good stereo system(the sound) * Roomy * Good gas mileage * Small gas tank

* Battery dying * Wires rotting * Automatic windows quit working * 16" tires aren't cheap * Dings kind of easily * Windshield wipers aren't that great * CD Player went out on mine way too soon

I have so many mixed feelings about this car it's not funny!! Where do I start? It is a safe car(in the sense of wreck safe), looks cute, and drives well for the most part. Like many of these car reviewers, I can't remember the exact mileage my car was when things happened to it, but I remember the estimate of it. My parents bought my Focus brand new in 2002 and it was my first car. Well, it had been a great little car up until last year. It's not even a full 3 years old yet, and it's had to have a new battery and wires, and tires. Not cheap. I am not dissin' the Focus, because I know sometimes it's not the car makers fault, but the hardware that is on them, but still!! But anyways, I am still so shaky on driving it. It hasn't died on me since spring(2005), but during that spring, it died on me probably 2 or 3 times in a couple of weeks. This was around 36/37,000 miles or so, conveniently when my warranty was going out. I just don't trust service repair men anymore! I took it in, got it fixed, and then it died on me again, and then I took it back and when I got it back, the person forgot to tighten a tube all of the way and it was leaking oil and my car smelled like that forever. So I had to take it back a couple of days later so that they could fix that(because I had no clue it was leaking). Then, both of my rear windows have gone out this summer/fall. So, their automatic stuff ain't that great. Also...I had a six cd changer, and my cd player broke for no reason last year!! I am looking forward to trading it in soon, so I don't want to spend another $100 or so on a new cd player that I'm not going to get much usage out of. I don't have my dad living near right now, and of course all of this stuff happened when he wasn't around! He could've fixed it all so much cheaper, but oh well. I had my windows fixed for a very reasonable price at a friend's body shop, but otherwise, it would have been ridiculous!! My battery and wires rotting has made me so mad though. Like I said, I am still shaky driving it since I haven't even had it a full 3 years and it's died on me. Just by the grace of God though, was I able to barely pull into drives on the side of roads before it completely died. *sigh* Overall, I do like my Focus, but over the last year, I don't feel the same way I did about it before. It is a safe little car though, with good gas mileage. (I know it is safe by personal experience. In December 02, a man turned right into me on an access road, and I was in the left lane and my car went up on the curb and it flipped over. It stayed on it's backside and my seatbelt kept me in tightly and I didn't get hurt one bit. I was just scared) Other than what I've mentioned, it's been a pretty good car. I just wish it was a little more trustworthy.

-Zippy -Nice interior, especially compared to the year before. -Smooth shifting, especially for a Ford

-GAS MILEAGE--BEWARE! Not what the sticker says...its about 6mpg lower...get the civic if you want good gas mileage. -the guys in service, look at me like I'm an idiot, because I'm a girl. I work at an autoshop, I think I know my cars. They never take me seriously. -Feels like its going to stall when you go to punch the gas pedal. -The paint already is defective.

When I first bought this car, I thought it was awesome, and a much better buy then the Honda Civic. I got it pretty loaded. It's black, with the moonroof and all. I baby it. I work at an auto store, so BELIEVE me, I know how to baby it. It gets washed every weekend at home with sheepskin mitt and everything. BUUUUUUTTTT...now that I've had it for about 2 months, I'm starting to wish I had gotten that Honda. The sticker and internet say that you'll get 26-34mpg. I have not even gotten close to that. The best I've gotten with about 30% hwy and 70% city is 21 mpg. I expected that at first because the car has to break in. It has over 3,000 miles on it now, and the gas mileage still sucks. With this mileage I might as well had kept my Mustang Convertible. It is really zippy, which is fun, and I dont drive it that fast constantly, so for those going.."well, stop speeding idiot"...I dont speed. Also another complant I have is the paint. I have a black one, and already, on my hood I have little spots that look like the paint is defective, I'm going to go to the dealership soon about this, because it seems to be getting worse. Another complaint, is when you go to punch the gas to get on the highway, it feels like its about to stall. Its like..Putt..Putt..sputter...WHAM! It seems to only happen when the engine is cold though. I thought cars were only supposed to be tempermental towards temperature when they got older. The stereo sucks too. I have to turn it up about 3/4 of the way before I can even hear it when I have it on the radio. When I have it on CD, its about 1/2 way up. This car just wasnt worth all this. If I had foresight, I would have definetly gotten the civic. The sad thing is, that my boyfriend has the same year Focus as me, and is having the same probs as me, so I know its not just me. I'm really disappointed in Ford this time.

Similar Products Used:

1998 Ford Escort ZX2-ugh, hated that car 2002 Acura RSX-shoulda NEVER gotten rid of that...*sniffles* 2003 Ford Mustang Convertible

Looks, roomy, good value (option wise) for the money

Under sized tires for the wagon;some areas very cheaply put together as well as cheap looking and feeling materials; Terrible gas mileage for such a small engine and claimed economy car.

Bought it from a Ford dealer this summer. It had 14000km (8700 mi) and was told it was a Ford Co. buy-back and not a rental or lease. I bought it because of many favourable magazine reviews and because of the great claimed gas mileage; 42mpg by EPA for highway and 46.6mpg hwy. on one of Ford's websites. After 6000 km or 3700 mi. the gass mileage is 31 to 35 mpg on hwy. and 25 to 27 mpg. in town. A big disappointment since the dealer claims the care is in spec for everything. Another big disappointment happened 2 days ago when I had it rustproofed at Krown Rust Control, which is recommended by APA (Automobile Protection AssocThey would not give me their new car rust proof warranty since there was already evidence of paint bubbling and brown rust stain on the bottom of the inside door skins where it forms a fold-over lip. I since find out that these areas are not welded or sealed but rather they are glued with epoxy. This allows moisture to enter and rust even if the car only sits in a dealer's lot. This is caused by either water, as in rain, or just fluctuations in hot and cold temperatureWhen I spoke to my dealer about this and he claimed ignorance of any such problem which makes the whole thing even scarier. In an area such as where I live where they use copious amounts of winter salt and even pure liquid salt on our roads it surely is only a matter of time before I have a rust bucket on my hands. Another gripe is that I cannot drive more than 1 hr. at a time without experiencing back and side pains. The seat and or driving position is terrible. I am much better though, when in the passenger seat. I do like the available options on this wagon. It is fully equipped with all available options, which for the price is great, except for the cheap looking and feeling leather seats.

Similar Products Used:

1989 Ford Ranger PU 4x4 with 2.9 litre V6 with over 205,000 km (127,000 mi.) which still gets 23 to 25 mpg on average. A 2000 Jeep Grand Cheroke Ltd. with 4.7 litre V8 and QuadraDrive and all available options which gets 25 mpg on the hwy.

nice to drive good milage decent tunes easy to use controls

breaks vibrate at high speeds after hard use rotors seem to grove qickley but they are cheep when I have to replace them

I love the way this car drives. Holds the road really well . In the 67,000 kl that I have owned it all I have done is give it oil changes an a new set of brake pads . Everything still works .I find it cumfortable to drive on short and long trips the ride is great for a car that handles as well as it does . Power is and fuel economy are a nice ballance. The stereo is really nice for a lower end car and the interior has stood up well to my 2 kids. I would buy another focus again all wheel drive would be nice maybe in 2 years I can get one like that

Similar Products Used:

this is my first econo car mostly owned beaters befor

Power, pretty low fuel costs, looks good, drives even better, heatable windshield. Very safe, lots of airbags ;-)

None.

Hm, the European models seem to be different form the US-ones. I drive this car for 3 1/2 years and 65000miles now and never had any trouble with it. It still goes 125mph and hasn´t left any torque. I still drive the first clutch (manual five speed)and the only things that had to be replaced are the brake-pads. Soundsystem, aircondition and seats are pretty fine for this class do very fine and there´s a lot of space for transport.

Similar Products Used:

Ford Escort, Mitschubishi Lancer, VW Rabbit, Opel Vectra.

GAS MILEAGE no major problems in 4 years/110K miles price

tires wear quick HANDLES BAD IN RAIN

I was a broke post college grad when I needed a car that could fit my budget. The Ford Focus fit the bill. Only problem was a censor that was replaced for 50.00, it could have been taken care of by the warranty, but thanks to the amount of driving I did my 50K miles/5 year warranty was long gone. GREAT on gas, one of the main reason I opted for the car. The car does run through tires quickly, Ive gone through 2 sets and Im on 110K miles. Also, the car is NOT GOOD in rain, in fact, due to some hydroplaning I am pretty phobic of driving in the rain now, so Im looking for a SUV for my next car. For the amount of dollar you cant beat it. The ZX3 is great for a couple, get the 4 door if you wanna haul around people. Overall great car, if it wasnt for the rain handling I would buy another.

Similar Products Used:

chevy cavalier