Ford Focus

In My Humble Opinion
1

Ford has been in the news lately, and I see a Focus every day. I rented a Focus once, around 2000 or 2001. Since it was a rental it had an automatic transmission. I don’t like automatic transmissions, and one of the biggest shortcomings of them in a small car is that they make the cars sluggish. But what if it had a standard transmission?

I like the way the car looks. The one I rented seemed to handle well. It was fairly comfortable. I’m not in the market for a new car. If I were in the market, I’d be looking at a Honda based on personal experience with them. But out of curiosity, what is your opinion of the Focus? Note that I’m not looking for comparisons between it and a new Porsche. Or an SUV. Or an Impala or BMW or whatever. I’d rather have evaluations of the car itself. If comparisons must be made, then let them be apples to apples.

2

Inkleberry had a Focus when we got married. I believe she had other, less than favorable nick names for it. It was the devil, and we were not sorry to see it go. On the other hand, my grandparents have one and love it. But I am not a big fan. Go for a Honda, Toyota, or almost anything else. Or you can ask my wife.

3

Actually, I’m ‘going for’ an MGB. :smiley: I don’t know the restoration status, but based on emails I think it is progressing.

4

I’ve owned a 2000 Focus ZX3 since October of 2001. Our other car is a 2004 Accord, so I can’t help but compare somewhat:

The tall profile makes you really wind-resistant, particularly on days like the one we had today. I was blowing all over the road.

Fuel efficiency isn’t terrific, just 25 mph, it’s never been more even on highways.

Mine’s the 3-door version & it’s a bitch getting my kids strapped into their carseats.

No center armrest up front.

The trim details for that model year are poor, both of the rear view mirror knobs fell off of their own accord. But I hear they’ve improved that in newer models.

Oh, and it has a ridiculous blind spot. Took me a long while to get used to it. My Hubby struggled even more - he’s 6’2" (I’m 5’4"). In the first couple of years we both cut people off w/out even realizing it.

BUT…

It IS zippy. It’s fun to drive. Close to a Honda (I drove a CRX back in '85, still miss it). It’s not a Honda, but it is close (and in the year I bought it, it cost half as much). Fair amount of pickup, easy to handle, tight(ish) u-turns.

My major mechanical components have been fine (knock wood); I’ve only had to replace the tires & brakes.

We bought the automatic b/c Hubby can’t handle manual transmission, but I thought the manual that I test-drove was very, very good.

It holds all of my art booth supplies - I’m talking 6’ tent, table, yadda yadda.

Radio’s pretty good.

5

I bought a 2006 Focus ZX4(the sedan) in December. I looked at the reviews, knew that I liked the looks of the car, and got a good deal.

It’s fun to drive - the only thing I don’t like is that I ended up with an automatic instead of a manual, but there were reasons for that and I’m adjusting. Gas mileage, one of the things the dealership kept saying that I would “love” isn’t as good as they claimed - but I’ve mostly been doing city driving, not highway driving. And I have to keep reminding myself that i went from a 1994 Suzuki Swift - which was not only light, it had a smaller gas tank, which made it cheaper to fill up.

I really like it as a car - I have had to adjust to it feeling HUGE compared to the hatchback Swift, but the more I drive it the more I like it.

6

I have a 2002 Focus (XL? the cheapest one), manual transmission. It’s my “I’m a broke grad student” car. It’s done pretty well for me. There was a problem right away with one of the computer parts, but once they figured out how to fix it everything was fine. I get 26-30 mpg city and 38-40 mpg highway, which is acceptable to me. The trunk seems more spacious than it should be. I can’t complain much at all, except that it’s hard to wax around the stupid plastic stuff and grooves on the exterior.

7

I’ve had one since 2000. It’s a manual 1.6L 12V LX, 5-door hatchback. Very nippy to drive, holds the road well, with nice pickup. I get about the same gas mileage as Becky. Lots of room for back passengers, large trunk, and good capacity with the seats down. My slight misgiving is how high the rear windshield is - not the best rear visibility. I’ve tapped and scraped the back a few times parking. But that’s my only criticism. I never wash it so have no complaints about waxing… I think it’s great.

8

That’s the Chevy Sprint/Geo Metro, right?

9

I have a 2000 4-door and my wife has an '05 wagon.

While I’m not much of a car person, I can say that I like 'em…zippy and fun to drive. Good cars for the price.

10

I have the 2003 Focus Wagon. I commute about 40 miles each way. The Focus handles very well and has plenty of pep for a small, cheap car.
Some of the internal engineering is terrible. Seat belts that are testy and you have to slam the Wagon Hatch to close it.
We had bad black ice today and my car handled it very well. So a good drive with some poor engineering.
My favorite part of the car is the built in stock MP3 player.
The wagon compartment could use more tie downs.
Dashboard controls are well placed.
The Wiper Fluid line is rigged in such away that my car is prone to freezing and this can be dangerous in a snow storm.
Gas mileage is OK but I have a heavy foot.

Jim

11

The English car enthusiast program “Fifth Gear” has a lot of good things to say about the Ford Focus.

I kinda like these guys’ take on the automobile industry and tend to find their reviews a bit more honest and less ass kissy than many popular US car mags.

12

I’ve got a 2000 and regret the day I ever bought it.

I’m no speedster, but this car is sluggish. Those that say this car is zippy baffle me.

It does handle well, I’ll give it that, but it was put together by monkeys.

It’s my second and final Ford vehicle.

13

They did do a reengineering for the 2003 models. Suspension and drive train if I remember correctly.

What year were you planning to buy **Johnny **?

14

The Focus as it is known in Europe is almost completely different than the one we get in the States. I’ve driven American Foci (?) and was not impressed. Then we rented a EuroFocus in Paris, and drove it around Normandy, and I loved it. Peppy turbodiesel, nice handling, slick-shifting manual tranny, and a nice interior. The only downside was that it felt HUGE compared to many of the smaller cars on the road. A good upside was over 800km on one tank of gas. :slight_smile:

15

Wheels preferred only the VW Golf which is thousands dearer. The comparison feature in the article is very handy.

16

I myself have an '02 1.8 manual Focus; never had any problems with it (apart from the radio transmitter for the remote central locking going through batteries rather too voraciously, but I wouldn’t call that major), but there’s nothing particular for me to sing the praises of, either.

I would agree with other posters that it feels a little slow for a 1.8 and doesn’t really like being driven quickly, but I didn’t want a sports car. It gets me from A to B comfortably and efficiently - if that’s what you want a car for, then the Focus is a reasonable choice.

17

No year. I’m just curious. Too many cars already.

18

I think the 2000 models were less consistent, Consumer Reports shows more complaints about that year (and 2001) compared to more recent models.

Mine used to handle traffic around Chicagoland really, really well - my first two years, I put over 36k on the car & enjoyed it. It’d pull out of those toll booths right quick.

Currently mine needs a tuneup, it’s got 72k, and it is now a bit sluggish.

19

Ok, to sum it up then, the 2003+ Foci are good little cars for the money but nothing great.

Mine has a 2.0 Liter, I guess that was part of the redesign. BTW: Mine is automatic.

Jim

20

2005 ZX3 owner here. I love the thing. Good for its’ price, decent gas mileage (about 30 mpg city/35-40 highway), fun to drive. It is a bit small on the inside, though. Kinda wish I had opted for the 4 door hatchback. Then again one reason I got the car was so that I could parallel park easily and it serves its purpose well there. The rear visiblity sucks on all Foci. I can understand why it does on the hatchback verisons, but why the sedans? More trunk room?