Handling, design/aesthetics, roomy, lot's of features for an "econobox", headlights are very very bright, I'm impressed.

Driving position takes getting use to..at least for me. Not sure about gas mileage but so far about 25 mpg mixed. Expect >32 on highway.

I've had this car for only 10 days so it's a preliminary appraisal, obviously. I'm impressed...only wish it continues for along time. I do find some of the negative reviews here to be rather distressing. We'll see. Fit and finish are without flaw. Even so it's an "econobox" the car almost looks like one of those exotics you see at a newcar show...particularly with this Egg Yolk Yellow...so cheery and cool looking, if not radical. I keep finding new and pleasant surprises like that the CD player also plays RW-CD's! I can hear all my Napster recordings in the car..yes! Another odd thing...the car is cool..that is, it doesn't seem to heat up much inside. Maybe it's cause of the bright yellow paint which reflects the sun? Mechanically, the greatest strength is how the car corners. You get a sense of confidence in turns. As some others have noted, it doesn't hold a straight line going down the highway..however, that seems to be diminishing or I'm adjusting to this. It is reasonably quiet on the road, quite smooth, feels substantial for a car of this price. Greatest annoyance...how they managed to have a telescoping steering wheel that still feels too far away from my hands! I'm adjusting to this as well, but the steering wheel is so nicely contoured yet, it's hard to get my hands into the 2 and 10 position without feeling like I'm stretching...and I'm about an averaged sized person. Seats are decent. Some blind spots and left mirror doesn't quite compensate for this. Right side is better. The hatch drops very far down so when it opens loading and unloading is easy cause there's nothing you have to lift over. The engine is probably adequate...I've discovered that to get maximum power, you have to hit the gas right at the beginning of a shift otherwise, at higher rpms, the engine doesn't really deliver. That's probably just as well...why strain the motor. BTW...Edmonds is doing a long term eval on this model and so far seem to be quite impressed after about 8 months or so.

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Honda wagon...probably a better shifter but not nearly as refined. Plymouth Laser...a total disaster. The Focus is (so far) put together much better.

I love the way my car handles. This is the first New car I have owned and I can’t complain. For living in Florida the AC puts out extremely cold air. It only takes 15min. to clean by hand. The clutch is very easy to use and for a four banger it’s very fast. Just the other day my three friends and I were going to play Poole when a Civic pulled up next to us. Not thinking I could bet it with three people in the car I told my friend that we were not going to win the race. Well when to light turned we went and I bet them by two car links and my car had nothing done to it. so this car does have speed if you know how to drive it. Plus it has a great radio!

There is no place to put the headrest when you put down the back set.

With a five star crash rating how can you go wrong. Plus it has won a lot of awards. I would recommend this car to any person. Ford has found a customer for life out of me.

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civic(the focus is a much better car)

So far I absolutely love this little car. It handles nice, quiet with lots of room. Its egg yolk yellow..love the interior. Feels like a bigger car than it is ..rides like a bigger car than it is. The hatch area is extremely roomy with easy access. I've driven the heck out of it since I've had it because it is fun. It's been either raining or snowing since I've owned it and has handled very well.

Seems to take a while to defrost windows. Breaks are making noise.

I haven't owned the car very long but so far I've been extremely happy with the car. I haven't wanted to drive this much in a long time. Great leg room in the back seat and I've not noticed much road noise. The dealership that I went to is always great..no hassle type situation. Love the car.

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Ford escort Zx2. This car feels alot more expensive than the ZX2. More detailed and lots more room.

It USED to be a great car, enjoyable in the open road and around the curves. Smooth, solid and nimble. Gas mileage has improved with time. SAFETY: Excellent air bags. MY WIFE TOTALED HER CAR 2 wks ago- SHE HIT A 86 CADILLAC while traveling at 55 MPH- GUESS WHO LOST? One hint, it was not the Cadillac. The Focus' air bags did their job, saving my cute wife from fractures, bumps, contusions and bruises. The car sacrificed his/her life in behalf of Karen- Thanks Ford engineers!. We're gonna buy a replacement Focus later this week. NOTE- One thing that I did not know: When an air bags deploys, smoke will appear in the passenger compartment- However, the car is not necessarily on fire- it is quite likely the "gas" that is expelled when the air bags deploy.

How can I complain, see above!

This is an addendum to a review below, dated 4/16/01.

When the car was in one piece
Upon the approach of the 10,000 mile mark, have found no new problems/defects with my wife's 2001 Ford Focus SE 5sp 2.0.

We loved- oops, can't love a car- OK, we really liked our Focus.
Just received our insurance check, trying to locate a new 2001 replacement model, equipped with the same equipment as the old one, but with 2 exceptions:
(1) Side air bags. Why? You're only one foot away from an impending impact of a steel bumper. It could very well be attached to a runaway rusting '87 Ford F-150 traveling at a lusty 43 MPH!
(2) Lighter interior color, Parchment. Our little long-haired Chihuahua, Bobka, has a tendency to deposit a plethora of white/brown hair conveniently distributed over the dark colored seating areas. This has necessitated his step-parents to employ time consuming measures to remove said unwanted hair droppings in said interior seat area on a daily basis.

If you are interested in buying a 2001 Focus, NOW is the time to do it- There is a $1,000 rebate at least till the end of June, along with the customary late season model year discounts at your dealership.

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Try Protege, Civic, ,Corolla, Hyundai, Hummer, or a M1 Abrams tank, do whatz best for #1... You're the boss. Anyway, I can't tell you what to buy!

1.Handling - Suspensions
2.Interior - Exterior design
3.Cheap to maintain
4.If you mod it, you'll be very pleased

Squeeks and noises, loss of power (I think! I'm not able to tell if I don't have it dynamo-measured).Cheap-made parts.

I own a 1.6cc European 3door focus.It was a GREAT car when I bought it but it seems to have various problems now.

Well, generally speaking it is a good car.I only wish it didn't have all this problems that make it feel cheap.They really should improve the HP for the Focus.But the handling is great.It is not a soft car like VW Golf or Audi A3 and thats why I like it.

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In comparisson with the VW Golf and the Audi A3 is much more sporty and you can really feel you are driving.In those two other cars you feel like watching TV or playing with your Playstation.

Large interior space. Handeling is wonderful. Great commuter car. Plows through the snow. We really like these cars!

Small gas tank (13.5 gal).

This all started last July when I was promoted. Ironically, my old job included "wheels", the new one...not! My employer provides an X-Plan discount for employees, so I looked at the nearby Ford dealer.

My older daughter & I needed a commuter car, so after a test drive... two new Focus's (or should I say Foci?) in the driveway (LX's - Blue & Red).

Our experiences with these cars have been wonderful! Responsive with a bit of personality.

My wife got into the act when the lease on her car ended. She had driven our cars and, frankly, was "sick and tired" of hearing our bragging!

We now have three focus's: Red, White, and Blue! It's enough to make the neighbors stop and salute!

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Plymouth Breeze, Toyota Camery, Plymouth Voyagers (several), Nissan Maxima.

I love the look of this car. That's one of the main reasons I purchased it. I researched a long time and this was a great buy. The sound system is great and the standard equipment was generous.

I HATE RECALLS! I took it in to get the A-pillars replaced, and while in the parking lot, saw a technician banging the piece in place on another focus. Apparently, the new pillar piece does not fit correctly and bows out. It looked bad. Also, the guy told me that once they replace it, it causes the seatbelts to malfunction and they have to be replaced. currently, there are 12,000 seatbelts on back order and I would have to wait to get this stupid piece put in! Needless to say, I ran far and fast. I do not want to get this recall done. I think my car will never be the same after. The rear wheel assembly recall was an inconvenience, but this is ridiculous!
Oh, and don't even get me started with the gas mileage--it sucks!

I would not recommend this car until Ford gets all the problems and recall issues straightened out. Also, some truth in advertising regarding gas mileage is called for.

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1990 dodge colt-- Focus has much more power and looks great but I still miss my old car and its economy

Ergonomics. Good feel inside car for the price!

Gas Mileage! Gas Mileage! Gas Mileage! and too many recalls

Got this car after my son was born to replace sport car. Ergonomically a great car...probably best in class. All the latest seat belt harnesses, saftey features a plus. BUT extremely poor gas mileage. I think FORD is bordering on false advertising. It's (2.0 L Zetec) is rated 25/32 mpg but I consistently get 24 mpg and I have a good mixture of local and highway driving. Also the number of recalls is excessive. Glad FORD is willing to fix the problems but it looks like they approved the design of this car too early.

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None

I love the look, the space, and the way you sit up high like in a mid-size car.

The BRAKES!!! I hate them. They make this loud, continuous squealing noise every time you apply the brakes.

I would not recommend this car to anyone unless you love to hear a continuous squealing noise. It's so bad that I hear that sound in my head all the time. I took my car to 3 different Ford dealships and I got three different answers about why the brakes sqeak but no one can fix the problem. If it wasn't for the brakes I would be content with the car.

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Before I got the focus, I had a 1992 Mirage. I didn't start having problems with that car until after 200,000 miles. I haven't had the focus but 6 months and I'm already having problems.

-exceptional roominess
-fresh styling
-excellent standard equipment for the money, and moderately-priced options
-outstanding handling
-high quality (for an American car) fit and finish

-gas mileage after 13 months does not measure up to the 25/31 mpg figures listed in specifications; and I am a *very* conservative driver
-recalls: would you believe no less than four separate recalls in the first 12 months. This is unacceptable, even for a first model year.
-radio volume has click stops that are worse than useless: you cannot adjust between 0 and 1, and 0 is silent while 1 is often too loud
-brake dust tends to accumulate on vents of front wheels

Despite my gripes (not-as-promised gas mileage and high recalls being the chief among them), I still think that this is the best car out there for the money. If you're looking for the ability to haul kids and cargo, and don't want the extra cost/even worse mileage that you get with a Subaru outback (not that I'm against them, and I'm sure the AWD is nice), and if the gas mileage achieved by SUVs and minivans would make you unable to live with yourself (it would for me) this is the car to get. It has more cargo and passenger room than the Outback, better gas mileage, more interesting styling, better handling, and is priced thousands of dollars lower.

Other than Subaru, in the wagon category, your choices are limited: Saab, Volkswagen, Audi, Volvo, BMW, and Mercedes all make wagons--and if you earn over $100,000 a year you could afford one of these cars; Suzuki and Hyundai make wagons, but they are too small to offer the advantages of a wagon, and are of questionable quality; Saturn makes a wagon, but it's neither as roomy, well-engineered, or as nicely appointed as the Focus, and it costs more; so the choice, to me, seemed clear.

Overall, I'd strongly recommend the Focus wagon. BTW, the best site for info on getting the best price for one is Edmunds.com. I used their site, made phone calls to several local dealers, and got my car for $160 under invoice.

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I've driven a 94 Honda Civic hatchback for the last 6 years and found the overall quality to be better, (not to mention the mileage!)