Ford Focus

Great choice for anyone looking for a practical car with a bit of power (that doesn't scream 'boy racer'). I love cars that look fairly standard but pack a punch when you put your foot down. I have owned Golf GTis, a Leon Cupra and a Saab Aero (to name but a few), and whilst all of these were great cars in my opinion, none could match the Focus for handling!

Having only owned the ST170 for a few days, I can't comment on living with it for any length of time, however my initial feeling is that it is a fantastic car. Rarely has a car given me such confidence on the twisty B-roads I take to work each day. It is extremely sure-footed and an absolute pleasure to drive.

Despite having two young children, I opted for the 3-door version as I believe it is a much better looking car. Getting the kids in and out has not been a problem and they have more than enough space.

I agree with other reviewers that Focus ST170 would have benefited from a little more power, although when driven properly (i.e. getting the revs high) it is more than enough for everyday driving!

like driving a rollerskate while sitting on a overturned paint bucket

From what I hear the first years of the focus in america were having issues (2000-2001) But I owned a 2005 since brand new and put 40,000 miles on it and traded it in for a 2007 model with more features that I wanted.  I have not had one problem with the car.  I love it.  Plus it gets good gas mileage.

I own the ST version. good power great dependability, handling and ecomomy, and is quite roomy for a car of this size. I have not seen a recall problem on the 07. I believe many of the poor reviews are from individuals who are not familiar with the product and trying to drop the ratings of vehicles that are actually of better quality.

From what I have heard they should rename it the Ford Recall. There are not to many parts on this car that have not been recalled for one reason or another. Quality is job WHAT?

THE FORD FOCUS IS A GREAT AUTOMOBILE! Believe me when I tell you that there's no way the Ford Focus deserves all this phony criticism! I am 73 and my first car was a 1938 Plymouth, and I have had countless number of cars since then. I now have a 2003 Focus and it's without equivocation the very best car I've ever driven in all my years! Its also my 2d Ford in all of those said 57 years; and, no I have never worked for Ford, nor am I a dealer or a seller. The FORD FOCUS ease of handling, comfortable riding qualities (especially for the small clss), its looks and economical to operate makes it second to none in my book! That includes all the power it needs for such a small car... If it had a bigger engine, one wouldn't have the MPG it currently has; you cannot have it both ways! I can't help but believe that all of these bad reports are from people working for the other small car makers and/or dealers that are endeavoring to sway you from purchasing a FORD FOCUS to buying their less than equivalent small, fuel efficent cars. Therefore, by all means... If you want a small car with all the above said features... RUN DO NOT WALK to your private seller, previously owned car lots or your nearest Ford dealer! Gene R. Seattle

Bought ours 2 years ago from the Dealer.It is a 2000,and sees more Shop time than my 86 Reliant. Three Wheel Bearings(no Recall on our Model) in less than 135,000 Km's,Door Latches (Recall),Broken Front Coil Springs(Hidden Extended Warranty-only after they break!),Fuel Sending Unit(Hidden Extended Warranty),Broken EGR Tube(makes sound and run like crap). Now it will not go into 5th or Reverse(Standard). Like I said Dealer Purchase and also maintained! Found out that the Air Filter had not been maintained on it's regular Services,due to a seized Screw on the Air Filter Box.It always got the Green Light on the Maintenance Check! I had to use Vise-grips to take the Screw out. It had a 1/4 inch of Dirt in the bottom of the Box,the filter was plugged solid and there were a dozen Acorns in the Box aswell. We don't have any Oak Trees where we live or work!!!!! This caused the Maf sensor to be Faulty,which inturn made it run like Crap and gunked up the Throttle Body and Catalytic Converter. I have had Fords for 25 years ,but never again especially from Barrie Ford in Barrie Ontario,Canada. Cheer's Garth

I have a 2002 Focus ZTS, let me tell you...I have had it 2 years, 6 months after I got it I had to replace the sway bars and ball joints due to dry rot, then the cd player was replaced 3 times before I bought an after factory stereo, then I had to have the fuel pump replaced, then I had to have the alternator replaced, now less than 2 months after replacing my alternator I am replacing my transmission. I could have put a nice down payment on a new car if I added up all of the repair bills.

I've been driving a Ford Focus rental car for a week now, and I really don't like it. On the plus side, it's not unattractive and it has a powerful air conditioner. On the minus side, it feels like I'm driving a tin can, and some of the basic controls (door locks, for example) are extremely awkward to operate. Another strike against the Ford Focus is the limited visiblity out the rear window (there's some sort of a panel obscuring quite a bit of the view). The driver's seat sits very low in the car, so I feel like I'm driving in a hole, which is very annoying, too. I hope the body shop finishes repairing my Honda Accord soon...

The european version is a VERY GOOD CAR!

The Ford Focus really sucks. It could be beat by a moped. Chevy rules!!!

I've never personally driven this homely little vehicle, but the positive things about this seems to be good handling and great gas mileage. Bad points: It's also had the most recalls in one year alone. Might want to do some research on this vehicle before purchasing.

BOY, CHECK OUT THIS PIECE OF SCRAP. IT'S ABOUT AN ENGINEERING MARVEL, KINDA LIKE THE FORD TEMPO. YEAH, THEY STOPPED MAKING THAT FOR A REASON. 8 RECALLS ON MY WIFES CAR.(RIGHT WHEEL BEARING RECALLED ONCE AND RECALLED A YEAR LATER AGAIN) INCLUDING, NEW COMPUTER AT 20,000 MILES. IT HAD 3 GAS CAPS FOR NOT HOLDING ENOUGH PRESSURE. TOOK A STARTER AND BATTERY CABLES,( FORD CONSIDERS THE CABLE A WEAR ITEM, IMAGINE THAT) PLUS 3 OTHER ELECTRICAL MALFUNCTIONS. FORD ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE COMES IN QUITE HANDY FOR THE FIFTH TIME. AND THE CAR IS ONLY 3 YEARS OLD, 50,000 MILES. AND THE BEST PART IS, THE BATTERY CABLE SHORTING OUT IS A RECALL ON THE Z TEC MOTORS, BUT NOT THE REGULAR SPLIT PORTS. OUR BELOVED SPLIT PORT FOCUS COST US 370.00 TO HAVE THE CABLES REPLACED. AND THE TECHNICIAN AT THE DEALER SAID THE CABLE PROBLEM OUR CAR HAD IS THE SAME AS THE Z TEC CARS. BUT FORD SAYS NO.AND THE CAR LOSES RESALE VALUE JUST LOOKING AT IT.AND IF I COULD HAVE RATED THIS PIECE O CRAP WITH NO STARS I WOULD HAVE.SO TO ALL FOCUS OWNERS, HAPPY MOTORING, SITTING IN THE FRONT OF THE TOW TRUCK WITH YOUR CAR ON THE BACK..... AIN'T THE VIEW GREAT?

The Focus not only looks horrendous but from all the recalls issued it must be a nightmare to own too. Never mind the awards. What good are they once the warranty period is over? There's no way the Focus should be rated higher over the Civic and Corolla. Ford sucks. They messed up the Taurus and the Mustang and the quality issues associated with the Focus and Windstar are pitiful to say the least.

Despite being underpowered, the Focus is the class leader. It comes in sedan form, wagon, and two versions of the hatchback form. (not counting SVT) The Focus has German engineering. By the way, Ford is not "Fix Or Repair Daily". Hyundai, Kia, and Mitsubishi are the most unreliable. And, if Ford makes such terrible cars, why do they have the best selling compact car, small SUV, midsize SUV, full size SUV, and truck.

6 recalls so far. This is a piece of very poorly engineering by Ford of North America. They should work on quality control! This car is fantastic in Europe with very feel quality issues. Until Ford of North America can deal with it's obvious quality issues (lack of any quality) all of us should avoid buying this car. Resale value will be terrible. It's a shame, the car rides and handles very well. The ZTEC (can we say Honda) motors are very fun to drive, stay away from the gutless base engine.

The best driving car I have ever driven.

so far i`m very happy with my 2001 focus,i`ve only had it for 3 weeks otherwise i`d give it 5 stars

Make no mistake - this is a very nice car to drive. Handles very well, it is powerful enough for it's weight (I have a manual transmission, for automatic you need more powerful engine) and it is definitely good looking (just compare to 80% of US built cars!). Gas mileage is very good, but still - not as good as it should be. Interior design is simply cool - no squary surfaces or vents! I moved to US from Europe, where Focus came out one year earlier. I was impressed with how the car was rated over there, how good gas mileage was (European models are BETTER in this than US models - go figure) and I heard from several people that they are good quality cars, no worries if you own one. Ford in Europe has a very good reputation, believe it or not. So I came over here and bought this thing and was very satisfied at first. But: I have the car for 11 months now. I had 4 security recalls on it already (better to have them than not to I guess) and I had to take the car to the shop to fix strange noises in front wheels twice already. It just started again few days ago. The car has 7,500 miles! Exterior black plastic parts on doors started turning white for some reason after few months - were replaced last time in the shop. AC does a good job dealing with Texas summer, and that's the ultimate test of any AC I think. :) Because of amount of times that I had to repair something - I really can not recommend this car. For everything else I would, but it is not worth it if you have to worry if something is going to break! If you are getting it - definitely get some sort of extra insurance or mechanical protection plan that covers a rental if your car is in the shop!! I am glad I did! :(

you know its sorry people like the one with the "ford sucks" comment that really make site like this not work correctly and its irritating... I dont own a focus yet but i plan on trading my ranger in for a zx3 in july, i have researched and drove the car, and aftr driving it i cant help but give it 5 stars.

Ford SUCKS i hope no one will buy there cars.

My 01 zx3 5 sp is not perfect, 4 1/2 stars would have been my choice. I love the room for such a small car. There are alot of nice features that I only discovered after I bought the car. I plan to modify motor and suspension and I see the aftermarket growing daily. If this were for my wife, I could leave it stock and be perfectly happy with the way it drives.

I bought my black ZX3 on April 30, 2000, and have been loving it ever since. I'm 6'6" and never thought I'd ever have as much room as I do in this car. Plenty of leg room and plenty of head room. I can even sit in the back seat... comfortably! I love this car!!

The ZX3 impressed me as much as any car I have ever driven. I test drove one for my daughter who was thinking of buying one. I had no intentions of buying a new car at the time, but after the test drive I was sold. My daughter bought the automatic but I had to have the 5speed model. It's handling characteristics are unbelievable. It drives and corners more like a sports car. Good ride, plenty of room, fantastic stereo and great fit and trim quality. Beautiful malibu blue color. I just can't say enough about this car. By the way, I traded in a Camry for this car and I am having a lot more driving fun. I am totally satisfied and would buy another one if need be.

I love it, I love it, I love it!!

I bought a 2000 Sony Edition Focus after getting in an accident in my 99 Mercury Grand Marquis LS. I was quite surprised in this car from the very start. The engine yeah is small(130HP) but hey it gets you where you need to go. The suspension on this car is just as good as the suspension in my old car. Again since this is a Sony Edition it was a little more expensive but I still got a hell of a deal on it. It retailed for 17,000 and I talked the dealer down to 15,000 w/o a trade it because it was costing them money since they have had the car for three months. I know some/most of the Focus's have recalls buy my car has had no recalls yet which is great. I have had this car for almost 3 months and it was a great purchase i love my Infra Red Sony FOCI:)

I have a 2000 ZX3. When I bought this car I was not in the market for a car, but this one was very impressive. It has lots of room for passengers and also for me (I'm 6'6"). The hatch was a big selling point for me. With the seats down, it has tremendous hauling capacity. Performance wise, it has a nice engine in the Zetec but it's real forte is ride and handling. It just soaks up the bumps and seldom loses it's composure in any curve. Also, it is an easy car to modify with a significant aftermarket in existance. Appearance is quirky. I can't say it is good looking but it is very cool looking. I highly recommend it.

I purchased a Black 5spd ZX3 in April of 2000. Only options were A/C and power doors/remote entry. Price: $12000 Current Kms: 20100 I will briefly summarize the strong and weak points of the car. Engine: Needs about 30 more hp from the factory. It gets the job done with decent low end torque but a barnstormer it is not. 0-60 is about 8.5s, quarter mile is about 16.5s. (5spd and yes I have timeslips for that) For those of you car enthusiast types the engine responds well to basic bolton type upgrades. Chassis/Suspension: Chassis is great. Suspension is a bit mushy but this is still the best handling car in its class bar none. Extremely fun to throw into corners, very forgiving. Aftermarket shocks/springs and bigger rollbars turn this car into a fantastic front driver. There is a reason Ford uses it in WRC competition. :) Ergonomics: Very good to excellent. There is a surprising amount of room in back. You can seat 4 adults comfortably even in the hatchback. Lots and lots of headroom up front, I am 6'3" and I still have a couple inches of clearance up top. Seating position is high, sort of (ugh) minivan style, however most consumers tend to like this view. :) Cargo capacity is great in the hatchback, better then some SUVs. Fold down the back seats and youll be amazed what you can fit in there. Stereo: Best in class. Hands down. Stock head unit isnt great the but the speakers are fantastic. All it needs is a small 8" sub to be perfect. Problems and Complaints: The cup holders suck. There is no redline on the tach. (its 6750 if you are interested but the engine runs out of steam at about 6000 so you really dont want to go there anyhow) No drivers armrest to speak of. There have been some build quality issues in the first year. About 5 recalls, none of which have been for anything major. Personally I see it as a sign that Ford is being proactive and actually issuing the recalls unlike some manufacturers who tend to sweep these things under the carpet. Im pretty sure most of the build issues have been corrected for 2001, I have yet to hear of anyone getting a lemon or any other serious problems. There is a stumble/hesitation at 2100rpms due to some weak ECU programming. Thats about it. I hope my summary has been usefull to you. Personally I really like my car and I think anyone in the market for a nice economical sedan would be foolish not to go for a test drive in a Focus.

I've owned my ZX3(the hatchback) sence july2000 and love it. There is no car in it's price range that compair to it's performance or standard features. It also has a great aftermarket and you can have ANY question about this car answered at www.club-focus.net and check out the Discussion boards!! Look for me and ask away.

This car came as something of a surprise to me. I was fully prepared to dislike it based upon my experience with other Ford products, but this car is clearly a departure for them - almost as if they had someone else build it. I just finished extensive car shopping with my kid sister, and she ended up with a Focus ZX3 hatchback. Styling is unique, and surely not to everyone's taste, but at least it doesn't look like everything else on the road. Surprising amount of interior space, and almost functions like a small wagon with the rear seats folded down. Powerful engine, great handling, excellent quality interior trim. Essentially a lot of car for the money - a great combination of sporting fun and practicality.

Has a great amount of headroom as well as truck space. Drives very smoothly and gets great gas mileage

really bad blind spot