Love the leather wrapped steering wheel, like an old saab.
Great Stereo.
Comfortable seats.
Quiet and very nice ride, around town or highway.
Great Space, especially the back seat and hatch.
Color - Yellow with 16 inch wheels.
Price - completely loaded, even abs and side airbags.
Dealer service has been very good.

Engine weak with a/c on. Needs about 20 more horses.
Engine seems sluggish out of first gear, even when reved up.
Seems to hesitate between 2000-2500 rpms, need to bring back to dealer, but doesn't do it if you are under hard acceleration, odd.
Gas mpg, well it is ok, averaging about 26 mpg, but I do lots of city driving.

My main objective in buying a new car was safety and price. The focus was the only car with all the features, that offered abs and side impact air bags. All the other stuff was just gravey. The sunroof, stereo, larger wheels, etc., For the money the car is unbeatable. The engine is good and revs smoothly. Normal shifts are 4000 rpms without even noticing it. I plan on some mods in upcoming months to extract a little more oomph. The dealer has been very good and the price was well below invoice, it was one he had on his lot and it was yellow, very bright, but it has grown on me and many people have commented on how sporty and nice the car is. The larger tire package is a must. Handling is superb, ride control is outstanding. The brakes are very good, but could be better with rear discs. The HVAC controls are excellent and soft to the touch. The stereo, it rocks, quite amazing for a car around 15 grand. Lots of legroom and very comfortable. The best part of the car is you can drive it slow or fast and both it is very stable, quiet and comfy. The car is definitely designed out of Europe, keep it up Ford and you will sell many more, just give us the one that is made in Europe. No major defects, car was delivered with the wheels out of balance and a loose armrest. Everything was taken care of by the dealer, so far so good. I would recommend this car to anyone. The reason why I didn't give it 5 stars, is 5 stars designates a perfect car, very close.

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Looked at honda, mazda, vw, saturn, the focus drove the best, quite, sure footed, handles great. With the price can't be beat.

Stylish exterior
Roomy & comfortable interior
Easy to parallel park
If it ever breaks down, there is still a good stereo to listen to.
It has plenty of space to stow my astronomical telescope, tripod and gear for a trip to the mountains.

Fuel mileage is unsatisfactory. Too many variables can wipe out the fuel mileage, which is one of the primary reasons for purchasing an economy car.
The smell of oil from the engine compartment has got to go, because it is a serious health hazard.
A little sluggish, it needs steroids.

I am happy with the looks. The driveability is nimble. There is plenty of room for two large NFL linemen in the front, and maybe a couple of Cheerleaders in the back.

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I am used to a Crown Victoria with a big V8, which by the way almost gets the same mileage. Maybe I should have stuck with my old favorite.

EVERYTHING....Great design inside and out. Great ride and handeling. Lots of luxury options for a nice price. feels solid like a bigger car. has woodgrain, leather, cd player, bucket seats with lumbar support, power windows, power mirrors, power door locks, keyless entry, halogen lights, side impact airbags plus dual front airbags, child door locks, 16" 6 spoke premium wheels, anti lock brakes, traction control, speed control, tilt telescoping steering wheel. great gas millage. after 1000 miles you will start to get the sticker gas millage. fog lamps, uv solar tinted glass. back seat pockets, map lights, dual mirrored visors, 5 passenger seating, center arm rest/console. everything possible. It remindes me of a sabb, volvo, lexus, lincoln LS, it is luxury for less money but great quality. it has a great crash test rating so it is safe for the kids. great interior room more than enough. big trunk. it has alot of power that i dont even think it is a 4 cylinder. get a zetec engine so that you get alot of power. if you are looking for a new car whether luxery or economical, get a ford focus ZTS. i swear it can pass for a new Volvo.

only 1. you cant fit a big cup in the front passenger cup holder like the driver one. it is the way the radio part of the dash is designed. no big deal can fit normal sized cups in it and big ones in all the others.

THIS IS ONE GREAT CAR. I love this car. i have had many 4 cylinders and this one blows all of them away. I LOVE THIS CAR. Feels as if it was at least a 6 cylinder. more than expected. great value and lots of options. you cant find a better car for the dollars. it looks like a little luxury car if you get the woodgrain and leather.

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Hyundai elantra, accent, sonata, escort zx2, civic, integra, cavalier, sunfire, altima, sephia, rio, saturns, jetta, have test driven all of the small cars out there, and found the focus the BEST.

styling, value, handling

gas mileage

I like the car a lot. I have my silver zx3 for 6 months now, and haven't had any problems (recalls). No question, there are cars out there that are much better. But they also cost much more. The zx3 is a joy to drive and handles very good. It is fast, has a great design and the hatchback allows you to even put your bike in the trunk with the seats folded down. With the Power- and the Premium package + ABS you have almost everything on board you need. The gas mileage is not the greatest (25-26).

Excellent ride/handling, great Euro-Styling.
Super functional hatchback.
5 spd. manual w/ handling package a must if you want have fun.

Lower M.P.G. than stated (could be due to driving style)
Lack of low-end torque (not that bad really)
Annoying up-shift light (that bad really)

Great ride and handles well. German design influences a real pleaser.
We live out in the country and the county maintained roads were determined to be the worst in the S.F. Bay area, however this little ZX3 handles the bumps and pot-holes as almost as nicley as my Dads '99 BMW 740(for 1/4 the price). Great visibility all around and plenty of room up front and for the kids in the back. Better grocerie bag handling capabilities than our Lincoln Navigator and at almost three times the mileage! So far so good.

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Premium package made it a better deal than the Civic.

HANDLING, PERFORMANCE, COMFORT, GREAT LOOKING AND ALL ROUND GREATNESS

NO CD PLAYER AS STANDARD

I GOT TO SAY, THE FORD FOCUS IS A BRILLIENT CAR. THE CAR A SUPERB HANDLING AND RIDE QUALITIES. PERFECT SEATING ARRANGMENT AND VERY COMFORTABLE. VERY SPORTY LOOKING FOR A SMALL PRICE. WOULD SUIT MOST AGES AND SEX. A PURE JOY TO DRIVE. BUY ONE!!!

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VAUXHALL ASTRA LS 1.6

1. stereo sounds nice
2. good handling
3. reasonable price (should have waited 4 2001 with more standard options)
4. attractive styling (I like it)
5. adjustable seat height
6. tilt & telescopic steering (recommended option)

1. brake sqeal
2. front brake dust on wheel covers
3. underpowered in low gears (slow acceleration from stop unless you punch it)
4. no space above front cupholders
5. center armrest too short and hard
6. wipers too slow in high position
7. stereo volume increments are poor
8. A/C and vents smell, w/o air circulator all outside smells enter the car
9. i'm on my second transmission
10. poor gas mileage (compared to estimates)
11. little outside and wind noise dampening
12. gets pushed around quite a bit with wind
13. high pitched whine at higher speeds
14. of course the recalls, i've had 4 'fixed'?

I am still happy with my purchase. I have experienced several of the problems listed in the other reviews. I hope I don't have to experience the ones I haven't.

The recalls and a faulty 1st transmission were a real bummer especially right after purchase. This was my first purchase and I was looking for something a little different. From now on I'll wait for a model thats been around for a while (although that doesn't always help as with certain models that were lemons in their mid run).

I would recommend waiting till Ford works the bugs out of the Focus before buying (maybe it's wishful thinking).

I really wish Ford would redesign the center armrest. It is too short (and hard) for me. I have my steering telescoped all the way out and tilted down and my seat all the way back and my elbow just sits on the edge. It's painful on long drives (use a spare sweater under your elbow if you experience this problem). My escort had a large padded center armrest (much better).

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I got 13 good years out of my 86 escort 5 door. I don't think I'll get that from my Focus.

Price, Loaded with goodies - cruise/air/CD/keyless entry. Quite roomy for a compact. Handles very well.

GAS MILEAGE SUCKS! expecially in winter. 23.5 mpg canadian city driving. Car lack guts. 2.0 liter/110hp just doesn't cut it. Maybe the Ztec 130hp is better

I'm really angry about the "snow job" put over on us consumers by Ford. In Canada they put 43/31 mpg in the window of the car. I bought to lower driving cost for a 2nd car. Jimminy crickets, I'm getting about as good with my '98Venture. I thought to get the Focus Wagon but you can forget that bud ! A real shame cause the car has great looks & lots of features for the price. Good "around town car" if not for the poor gas mileage.

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Honda Civic, '91 Escort wagon which gave me 48.5 mpg canadian with a 2.4 motor

easy to get in and out and very roomy for a small car. Nice stereo and inside accomodations.

Horrible recall record and getting ford to fix the recalls almost as bad.The final straw was when the air conditioner leaked into the driver and passenger floor and Ford said that they had no fix but were working on it.Leaving in florida, this ment that I had to use a bilge pump to get the water out of the car, which smelled of mildew and mold, very dangerous for your lungs. The final insult is when you have to try and sell this piece of crap and take a 25% loss in just a few months.

Never again, Ford can only make their older products such as trucks. anything new from them is just awful and should be avoided...The dealer trys with these cars but can't keep up with all the recalls and other stubid things that just happend to all their new models. Jacque Nasser of Ford should resign and take his corporate profits with him, for someday people with courage will realize that Ford needs a lesson in product reliability.

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Honda, Toyota,

Where do I start? Roominess, Styling, Price, Handling, Stereo, and Driving Position.

I wish there were more horsepower. Would also like the avaliability of a sunroof and center console. No place to put your change. The cupholders in front of the shifter are not large drink friendly. I had two annoying things happen in July. The driver side door handle disconnected/broke only allowing access from passenger or inside drivers side. Also a bracket on the rear seat fold down mechanism broke - parts were ordered. My car has the graphite color cloth interior it seems to show alot of lint from clothes after time and seems difficult to clean (now I am being picky).

Well I must admit that I paid too much. I bought my Black ZX3 in November of '99. I just had to have it. It is however a lease. I wish I had more options than I do such as power windows, cruise control, abs, and side airbags. Lease price $16,000. My car came as a Black/Graphite ZX3, Power Locks/Theft device/Auto Entry, A/C, Automatic Transmission, Premium CD Stereo, Floor Mats, P/S, and P/B. I understand that the Black car is hard to come by in the ZX3. I would recommend this car to anyone looking for a Honda alternative which needs improvement badly. I just hope that it holds up for 3 yrs or more.

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'99 Honda Civic EX-noisy, uncomfortable, weak power '98 Chevy Cavalier Conv.- Can you say Lemon Law?