Yeah, the trunk on the sedan is really tall.
I had a co-worker with one. I think it was a fully loaded '02 with the middle engine option… 130 HP. Not the basic with the 110, not the SVT with the 170. Could be wrong on the year.
Good basic transportation. Aside from a couple of recalls, reliable. Decent gas mileage on his 50 mile commute.
Adequately “peppy” but not really sporty. I think it was one of those 9 second zero to sixty types. Felt like one, anyway. Never too slow, never made you think “this is fast”.
Given that my friend is… uh… a semi-affluent late gen x early gen y type, he felt that the Focus was just not adequately sporting or luxurious. He traded it in with two years and 50K on the clock for a bright red Mazda3 and never looked back.
It’s that kind of car: good, but not great.
If you’re like me, you would consider a used Focus to be a very good deal on basic transportation. Good college car, good car for someone of a certain income/expense group. The kind of car I hope to not be driving in a few years, but would be happy with if I was less of a car nut.
Ah. And my co-worker just walked over and read my post. He added that his was an automatic. I suspect it would have been just a bit zippier with a stick.
The ones I have driven all had a sticky gas pedal – no reaction for the first couple pounds of pressure then click the car would leap forward alarmingly. Not too concerning for highway driving but scary as shit in the city.
These were probably 01-02 models though, and were the station wagon model.
I have the Mazda version of the Focus (well, sorta…really the updated version of the Protege,) the Mazda 3. 2004, and could not be happier. It’s fast, put together well, very responsive.
Y’know, FTR.
Yep.
I’ve actually still got that car too - my dad wants it, so I have to hang onto it (and keep it insured since I occasionally take it out) until they come to Ohio from TN to get it.
I drove a Chevy Sprint and a Chevy Sprint Metro for a while. Peppy little cars. Bigger on the inside than on the outside (a ‘Cardis’?). Great fuel economy. Very nice for the city, but a bugger on steep hills.
No comparison. Seriously.
Having owned 4 (used) Frods, then 4 new Toyotas (last one cost $2,800-'70), a Dodge K-car, then 2 almost new Escort Wagons, I bought my “new” 2000 Focus SE wagon with 2500 miles on it (demonstrator/"program? car). It now has 42,000 miles on it (just broken in).
In the first 2 months they replaced the in-dash (single) cd player twice, as the first two broke when going over minor bumps.
Then the in-tank fuel pump was recalled because they were surging and hesitating, especially when making a rapid turn to the right, such as while accelerating up an onramp. Yikes, they were right! The “Blue Oval” Frod dealer replaced it and then a week later had to replace that one. They said that they had used the last older model pump off the shelf instead of the fixed model. Duh! The recall notice had said to minimize such turns until the pump was replaced and that I should keep the tank at least half full.
Ever since I have owned it there has been what I call a “humidity alarm”- a sometimes steady and sometimes intermittent beep/buzz, like a seat belt or open door alarm that would sound off during humid/rainy weather, from startup for about 6 minutes/2-3 miles later. Their technicians tried to replicate it long enough to trace and fix it at least 6 times over a year but only replaced a perfect seat belt buckle alarm, with no fix.
When the warranty ran out, they put a big rubber stamp 'COMPLETELY SATISFIED" on the final service order (for other work-oil change, tire rotation, etc) and I stupidly signed it. I’m used to the beep and it does stop after a couple of miles, but it will be the last Frod for me, I think unless I trade it to the same dealer and let them fix it on their nickel for the next suck, er, buyer.
I (reverse) commute in it at 70+ mph for 12 miles daily and it accelerates to 75 easily to the merge point and is quite comfy. Road noise at speed is moderately high, though, but cannot hear it (inside) while idling. I now drive it for 240 miles and put 10 gallons in it about every 12 days. No more surges, for 4 years now.
I’m looking (for 30+ mpg) at Mazda 3’s, Suzuki mini wagons, andI saw a beautiful used Sonic blue Honda Si mini 3-door hatchback last w/e and would have bought it if it had automatic tranny. The Si had an automatically deploying/retracting dvd player screen in the center of the dash. Duh! Haven’t driven a stick since my '57 Fairlane 500.
My brother has an '05 Focus, automatic. Not sure which model (it’s not a hatchback or a wagon). He’s put 25,000 miles on it since he bought it late in 2004, so it’s served him well.
We’re both big folks and we have no problems riding in it together, on say a 2-hour trip to grandpa’s. He hasn’t mentioned any problems driving in the snow. Neither of us are into “zippyness” but he is big on audio features and is quite happy with the MP3 CD player.
I used to drive an Escort and I think that the Focus is a really nice interior upgrade over that. The “high seats” are pretty cool. You feel much less cramped.
The trunk is huuuuge. that is handy!
I rented a Focus and drove it from Atlanta to Athens and back. It was nice. I agree about the blind spots, though.
My brother isn’t a college student but he’s a low-income, single, young guy. Since my dad has worked for Ford for 38 years we have no choice but to buy (and enjoy!) Fords. So, at the time, it was the only car Ford offered that would “suit” him - other than a 'stang or a ranger - but those aren’t practical for him.
I would have gotten a Focus but I’ve got a large dog that travels everywhere with me. So I ended up with an Escape (which I also like).
BTW didn’t Focus come out in 99 or 2000? Isn’t it usually a bad idea to expect alot out of “first generations” of car models?
I had just driven my '95 Escort wagon 1200 miles (x2) on I-95 back to my home for my Mom’s funeral and most everything needed repairs, steering rack & pinion, radiator, & other stuff, estimated at $1200, and my '89 Dodge K car had a shot transmission, so I traded them both on the next gen of Ford mini wagon.
They both had 85K miles on them and I had driven them both on many 2400-mile round trips on I-95 between old and newer homes. It’s a bummer when your 85-year old widowed Mom finds she can’t take care of herself and her 7-room house anymore, let alone the 17-year old cat, when you’re managing her affairs and convaliescent home placement from afar.
I was not really thinking much about the '00 being the first year of that model.
We have an 01 focus sedan. Automatic. Runs very well. Solid reliable peppy car. Handles well in all weather and on exceptionally crappy dirt pot holey roads.
Wind noise on the road is what one would expect with a lower priced car.
Cup holders are horrid.
Interior lighting is good up front. shit for those in the back seat.
Usually takes two slams to close the trunk, for whatever reason.
Easily lost in the sea of SUV’s at the parking lots of the world.
10 gal. gas tank.
Quick to wash at the do-it-yourself carwash. Possibly a $3 washjob.
It’s not perfect. We will probably get another one the next time around as it beats the crap out of alot of cars out there.
All in all. I still wish they made Escorts. God, I loved my husbands escorts. Great cars that took a beating.
Oh, the only area that has ever been problematic for us in handling is on our driveway after ice storm.
The car is too light to make it up the modest hill and it becomes rather comical to see the little car that could…or keeps on trying because Mr. Ujest is determined to make it up the hill rather than walk the yards. (had the same problem with my Festiva. Gah, that was a hoot sliding backwards down the drive. and just hitting the brakes, reversing it and parking it right there for tomorrow morning.)
This probably wouldn’t affect you at all. Your driveway is probably easier.
I would NOT buy a Focus. I used to work for the vehicle fleet at my last university, which had a number of Focuses (Foci?). You would be astounded to know how many times they had to go to the dealer for a recall on some important part or another.