This car is, in a single word, tight. The handling is quick and responsive and acceleration is awesome. Even though it's not one of the few Sony editions, even the factory audio sounds great. I especially like the standard in-dash CD player.

It is a small car, not inside though, it seems. It did have about 3 recalls so far, two of them fairly critical. Other than that it's a great car.

Overall, this is the greatest small car I've ever driven, compared to my previous car, a 1997 VW Golf GTI, it's the same in several aspects but it's over the top with all its standard options and interior room.

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Many features for the price , drives / handles nice , great reviews when it first came out.

Many recalls , to many service bulletins, to many complaints log with NSTHA. My car has had many problems which three different dealers have been unable to resolve. Ford Blue Oval certified dealer did poor job when doing recall and warranty work , car was in worse shape when I got it back.Car was at dealer three times then I took it to non Ford dealer to get it back to at least the shape it was before Ford dealer worked on it.

I thought with this car being out in europe for some time that Ford would have all the Bugs worked out . Drives nice , many features for the price, new fresh design . It was just want I needed for a long commute to work and still be nice for weekend trips and going on vaction.

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Any thing would be better given the problems these car are having

It is very unique and I am one of the few Focus drivers in our city. I like all of the room inside - it is tall and very comfortable.

My car hates the winter. I live very far North and these are the things that haven't worked since winter came:
1. When I wash my car my doors and locks freeze shut.
2. The cruise control does not engage any more.
3. My hatch will not stay open in the back while I load it.
4. When the hatch closed, the black paneling cracked.
5. The inside of the car is so humid that I have to scrape the inside of my windshield too!

In the summer, I love it. In the winter, I hate it. Being my first car, I am a little bit disappointed. I guess that I was hoping for Mercedes-quality and a Ford price.

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This is my first car, but I compared it to the Honda Civic. I chose to purchase the Focus because of its uniqueness and the lower price.

-very roomy interior (I'm 6'4")
-handling
-great stereo
-cruise control
-comfortable seats
-great Euro-look
-smooth ride

-after the A-pillar recall, the seat belts wouldn't retract, took 6 weeks to get it fixed!
-sluggish acceleration

This is the first new car I've ever bought and am quite happy with it. Despite the seat belt problem, I've had no maintenance problems whatsoever (19,600 miles and counting).
The mileage seems adequate and the car has enough bells and whistles to give you the impression that you should have paid more :-)
I've had a number of people complement me on the styling of my car and passengers seem surprised at the smooth ride. Not a bad deal.

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sporty inside, lots of head and leg room. Good gas mileage. comfortable leather seats.

Cup holder on passenger side. squeaky brakes.

The xplode stereo is outstanding, always makes it a joy to drive without having to go out and spend the hassle of paying $1800 for parts and installation. The road noise on my focus is quiet, compared to 1999 civic and Ive got 350miles per full tank continuously. Contrary to others. Couldnt say why they would get such worse mileage? The leather seats are very attractive and I dont have any lint problem there. Ive had to travel alot and always feel comfortable on long drives. If you buy a Focus GET IT FULLY LOADED! It feels like a way better car. Avoid LX model. Not even a close comparison. And if you can find a Sony Lmtd. Edition. Get it. Seems by far the best model offered.

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Honda civic, Both get good reviews from me. I would have to go with the Focus for cleverly and pleasing designed interior.

INTERIOR ROOM

RECALLS,RECALLS,RECALLS-5 IN ONE YEAR
TICKING NOISE IN LOW GERA LOW RPM, TRANSMISSION ALLREADY REPLACED FORD NOT SURE WHAT TO DO HAS BEEN BACK TO DEALER ATLEAST 6 TIMES
POOR GAS MILEAGE
BRAKE SQUEEKING
ANNOYING ROAD NOISE
NOT ENOUGH POWER
NOT ENOUGH STEREO VOLUME CONTROL

DO NOT BUY A FOCUS-WOULDNT RECOMMEND TO ANYONE

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2000 NISSAN SENTRA-EXCELLENT CAR NO RECALLS NO PROBLEMS

The engine starts every morning when I leave for work.

Gas milage, recalls. The gas mileage is not much better than my Dodge minivan!!! Body trim is falling off, and the wheel bearings wore out after 6000 miles (rear wheel almost came off while driving).

Bottom line is that this car is a piece of junk, spend the money on a better built car, like a Civic.

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Leg and head room. Exterior design. Decent ride, not too much noise.
Made in Canada or the USA(where a decent wage is provided). Power is good for the engine size. I hope to identify more strengths in the future.

Fuel economy. I hope it gets better. The seven year old Spirit I traded on it had about the same fuel economy. The car has only 1000km or about 600 miles on it and the exhaust (muffler) is more than a little rusty. The exhaust on our other vehicle that was replaced about two years ago is not as rusty. This is true. We live in a tough climate but that seems to be a little much.

Had the vehicle for just a month or so. To early for any real evaluation.
I will check with the dealer regarding the exhaust problem. So far thats the only concern.

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Civic was just too much money for the same category. Tried the Saturn but was very uncomfortable with leg room.

Looks - The car looks alright, better than most anyway.

It's new - There's always excitement over a new model and because of this the magazines are praising the Focus. That's the way car magazines work =/

Made in the USA - This is good!

When you press the gas pedal while in drive the car goes forward and when you press the brake the car stops just like the other cars in it's class. When you turn the steering wheel the car does turn.

I'm disappointed with this car overall. Bad design. Read below.

The Engine - Weak performance AND bad gas milage!! The engine is poor and should be better for such a modern car. Usually ether you get good milage and low performance or bad milage and great performance. This car is bad on both! They should seriously redo the engine, maybe the car would be better. The gas tank is small too so you might as well have a gas pump installed into your driveway, you'll need to use it daily.

Here's a list of all the other bad things about the car that I can think of:

1) Blind spots are bad
2) My back hurts because of seat
3) The brakes squeak bad
4) Road noise (not too bad but worse than my current car)
5) It takes effort to keep the car straight on the interstate
6) Something about the car makes me nervious at high speed, I get that unsafe feeling. I still don't know why.
7) The body of the car leans a lot in the corners because it's so high

I was never satisfied with the Focus. I always had a bad feeling deep inside that I got the wrong car. That's a bad feeling when it comes to something that costs $14,000 dollars. After 8 months I sold it before it was too late and bought my 2001 Cavalier. I know now that I made the right move and I'm very happy with my Chevy. It's like getting married to the wrong girl and finding the right one later. Heh, anyway I wouldn't recommend this car unless you want to get stuck with shady handling and a bad engine.

Maybe in a couple of years Ford will get it right and have a better engine and better handling, I dunno. If you're a Ford Focus owner and you like your car, don't let me make you feel bad :) I'm just happier with my Cavalier.

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The Focus is so bad that I got rid of mine after 8 months and bought a 2001 Chevy Cavalier. The Cavalier is a much better car! Better gas milage and performance! If I was driving on a perfectly straight road I would never have to touch the steering wheel. In the Cavalier when you're going 90 mph you feel like you're going 45 mph. The current Cavalier model is 6 years old but it's so much better than the Focus. It even looks better and I clean it everyday.

I got sick of Japanese cars and decided to go with American made cars. You can spot Japanese cars from a mile away, they have that ugly Japanese look to them. I don't understand why some people think they're cool in their Hondas, but anyway...

-Good power
-Excellent gas mileage
-Lots of room
-Big car feel
-Braking

-Interior ergonomics
-Radio
-Little rattles
-3 recalls since release (kind of expected with new series, still a little disappointing.

Excellent ride and handling. I drive 130 miles a day in combined highway/city. Anyone driving in Atlanta knows the drill. The car accelerates well into traffic and stops right now! I was impressed at the stopping ability even though I didn't get the anti-locks. I'm averaging 28 miles to the gallon with the automatic. If your looking for great value and spirited small car, I don't think you can go wrong here. As much as I drive, I'm going to have to replace the factory stereo. It's pretty weak.

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For dollar and quality, it's pretty much in a league of it's own.