European flavor, ride and handling much too good for a car in this price range. Great gas mileage with base engine and standard transmission.

Questionable quality control on Focus line. Brakes and rotors may wear too quickly due to questionable design. Disappointing gas mileage on some models.

I have driven many Focuses and own two. Before buying my Focus I rented a Focus wagon and took to beach. It had the sport engine and automatic transmission. Enjoyed it but seemed a bit thirsty on gas. Bought 2001 LX sedan with standard engine and five speed manual transmission. Excellent fuel mileage with this Focus. Currently has 34K plus miles and no problems. I fell in love with this car especially because of its European flavor. Bought my wife 2000 Focus ZTS sedan with automatic transmission. Like the rental Focus this one is thirsty when it comes to gas. My base Focus gets tremendously better gas mileage. Have had a few minor problems with this car (ZTS). Also had to replace brakes at 30,000 miles. In short I like my LX much better than my wife's ZTS. Both cars handle great. My LX is incredible on the interstate. Stupidly I wanted to see how fast my Focus could be driven comfortably. My old Escort got scary around 85 miles per hour. My base Focus was solid at 100 mph! Outrageous for a car in this price range! In fact when my best friend first took my Focus for a test drive, I had to tell him he was in danger of getting a ticket. He was driving 95 miles per hour and had no idea he was going that fast. That is how solid this little car is. We traded my wife's Taurus in on her Focus ZTS and we both agree that her focus rides better than her Taurus which was loaded. My little LX rides as well as the ZTS. The ZTS has lumbar support in the driver's seat. Otherwise mine (LX) is just as comfortable on long rides. I would be cautious recommending the Focus because of the many problems some people have had with this car. I considered the Honda Civic but chose the Focus for purely emotional reasons - I fell in love with this car. The Civic is probably a better car but isn't nearly as pleasing to drive. Notice that the car manufacturers are now copying the Focus. Look at the new Corolla or the Saturn Ion. I believe the Focus to have raised the bar so drastically in ride and handling that it is the first of a new generation of fantastic small cars.

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My wife and I have owned three Toyotas which were all excellent cars though none drove as well as Focus for price range. Toyota tends to be one of the most expensive cars for what you get. Toyota deal

I initally liked the car. After the first week, we had a surging problem. It would cut off or stall. It is not a smooth ride. It has been in the shop 11 times in 5 months to fix the same problem. The SVT help line told us we were lying and there was no way it would have these problems with out the computer giving a code to fix. We hired a lawyer and have processed a lawsuit and all of a sudden there is a fix. On a CD. I find it hard to believe this will fix the problem. It has almost been a year since we bought the car and it hasb't run right since the first week. I would not suggest to anyone to buy another one.

great gas milage and economical

I love my focus! Yes, there have been a few minor problems, but they were taken care of right away, and the dealership drove me home and picked me up when my car was finished (no longer than 2 hours). Its spunky and roomy, for a compact and gets GREAT gas milage!

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handling,driver friendly seating,fun factor,economical

could use more power

this auto handles wonderfully.it runs through the twisty mountain roads as well as some sports cars.smooth shifting 5-spd.very comfortable and great driving position with good visability.can be very economical if you feather the gas but in order to use your 130 ponies you gotta rev hard so in my opinion it could stand some more horsepower,but for the money you cant beat this car ,plus you can always use aftermarket upgrades to get more power and believe me there are plenty out there for the focus.i would also like to say this car reminds me very much of the late model volkswagons and for us true drivers out there thats not a bad thing.

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nissan sentra se-r,mazda rx-7,datsun 510,honda civic

Good gas mileage

too many defects

I hate my car I received in mail yet another recall notice. I went in to Korum where I expierenced the worsed service and waited for my car for 8 hours in their waiting room only to have my car still acting the same, RPM's running high and battery light on contiuously. Now tonight my car was towed to my house because I couldn't turn my key to start the car because the wheel is locked and the ignition was dead. So I called Ford roadside assistance only to find out that there was an ignition recall on my call. Which I asked Korum last week while I was there for 8 hours if there were any more recalls and they said no while looking at there computer as if they looked it up. Save yourself don't buy a ford! And dont deal with Korum that was ONLY ONE of MANY bad expieriences!!

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Ford Escort wagon '95

Smooth ride, well-designed quality interior, fun to drive, good on gas

exterior styling takes some getting used to (high back)

Great little sedan...very refined ride and it handles well too. Decent power with the automatic transmission. Reminds me of a Honda Civic, but without the price. The SE is loaded with creature comforts---power package, keyless with trunk release button, 6 disc in dash player, etc etc.

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It is green so when I paint lemons on it to tell the world how I feel it will look nice

Breaks - squeak "they are suppose to do that because they are racing breaks" Ford Service, need to be replaced often, Ignition, Electrical problems

My Focus is in the shop and it is fixed but I have no desire to pick it up. I have had two breakjobs one at 14K miles and the second at 28K, the RPMs are running when I come to a stop and seems as though the car is going to stall and my check engine light is on. It was towed in because the ignition locked and the key wouldn't turn - this latest problem cost $320. So much for buying an economical car to save money.

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1994 Ford Mustang - loved it; 1896 Ford Tauras, 1998 Ford Ranger. The Focus is my last Ford.

It is green so when I paint lemons on it to tell the world how I feel it will look nice

Breaks - squeak "they are suppose to do that because they are racing breaks" Ford Service, need to be replaced often, Ignition, Electrical problems

My Focus is in the shop and it is fixed but I have no desire to pick it up. I have had two breakjobs one at 14K miles and the second at 28K, the RPMs are running when I come to a stop and seems as though the car is going to stall and my check engine light is on. It was towed in because the ignition locked and the key wouldn't turn - this latest problem cost $320. So much for buying an economical car to save money.

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1994 Ford Mustang - loved it; 1896 Ford Tauras, 1998 Ford Ranger. The Focus is my last Ford.

Having problems with the tire rims,the large flat area under the brake disc's and drums collect dirt&ice causeing the balance to go out and the car will shake baddly,steel rims would be less work to keep clean,dealership told me that i was not washing the rims properly!!?

2002 Ford Focucus SE 2.0 Zetec 130hp.I've owned this car for 7 mounths,i'm impressed with the overall preformace and handling I,m at 17,000km and the fuelmilage is at about 500km to a tank and inproving!

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saveing up for steel rims & rubber to fit $700+ !!!!!

handling, stereo, adjustable seat, space, reliability (so far)

small gas tank, no dome light in the middle

With 45k miles I have had no problems, and no recalls, have not even replaced the brakes, but maybe that is because I bought the 75k warranty. It drives great on snow, ice and rain, especially after I instaled better Firestone tires recently. I was comfortable buying it because it had been sold in Europe for several years with good reviews. Maybe the US version had changes that caused some people problems. Finding a good dealer is very important and complaining to Ford about bad ones is too. Most bad reviews seem to be about the dealer and not so much the car. I have recommended this car to friends but am reluctant because of other owners bad experiences. I plan on keeping it a long time.

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various Fords, Mercedes 300