Don't let the review below give the Focus a bad rep. I think the Focus is a superior car to almost any compact sedan. The car has plenty of room inside, handles extremely well (.81g on the skidpad with stock tires) and is really fun to drive. The engine is smooth and reasonably quiet for an inline 4, and the shifter feels precise. It just drives well.

I like the different looks of this vehicle, but I know some think its ugly....all subjective. I think the front seats could be a little more comfortable.

Paid $13200 for the ZX3 with a 5-speed manual. Overall, it is a great car. This is probably the best handling car under $20k I have ever driven. I have driven the new Dodge Neon: there was too much engine vibration, road noise, wind noise....try driving this car and you will see what I mean. I researched many cars before buying the Focus, and I think only the Civic, Sentra and Protege can come close to its levels of handling and performance. Numbers don't lie:

Braking from 70mph-0: Neon: 196ft Focus: 178ft Civic LX: 195ft

0-60 acceleration: Neon: 8.8 Focus: 9.1 Civic: 9.5

The Focus definitely isn't the fastest econo-sedan on the market, but if you are looking for more power you can easily make it faster with aftermarket parts...or just wait for Ford to come out with the SVT version next year!

Overall, I think this is a great car, and should be considered if you are in the market for a new compact sedan.

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Saturn SL: Very noisy and handling was just OK
Honda Civic: Good car, but the Focus handles better and is faster. Ride in the Civic was harsh and noisy.
96 Neon: I had this car for about 3 years, and it gave me trouble. Transmission started slipping around 18kmiles, interior rattles everywhere....just poor quality overall. Neon crash test results are barely decent; Focus is a safer car.

The focus is well-built, and the 2.0 SPI (non-Zetec)engine has a lot of power, with the 5-speed transmission. I think the interior is more comfortable than my wife's 1999 Cougar, and the in-dash CD player sounds great. The suspension does a great job of soaking up bumps in the road.

The body of the car leans a lot in the corners. The manual mirror adjustment and surrounding plastic on the passenger door fell off. After 3000 miles, a rock hit the windshield below the wiper, and there is now a 12-inch long crack there. The car has been slow to start (2-4 seconds) from day one, but the local Ford dealer is working hard to fix this. Next week it gets a new fuel injector module.

Company paid $10,900 each for 4 Ford Focus LX 4-doors. I would definitely recommend this car to others looking for a good value.

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This is my company car. The previous cars in the fleet were Ford Aspires. After 2 weeks in the Focus, while the dealer was working on it, I drove an Aspire again. The aspire is very tinny in construction, light weight. The aspire does not lean in corners anywhere near as much as the focus. The Focus is much quieter at highway speeds.

PLENTY OF COMFORT, HANDLES WELL, QUITE. FEELS SAFE, I LIKE THAT YOU SIT HIGH OFF THE GROUND

HARD TO SEE BLIND SPOTS IN THE CAR AND THE BRAKES MAKE LOUD NOISES WIHEN I FIRST GOT IT. ALSO THE GAS MILAGE COULD BE BETTER.

I GOT THE ZTS FULLY LOAD W/O SIDE IMPACT AIR BAGS. I PAID 15,935 FOR MINE I FEEL IT WAS A REASONABLE PRICE. I HAVE TO ADD THE SUN ROOF EXTRAS FOR 1300.

Everything about this car is perfect. It rides nice, excellent power out of the Zetec motor, roomy, looks wonderful, and plenty of space.. Finally a car that my girlfriend and I can like. Perfect car for the teenage group. Even is doing well in WRC.

weakness? Don't think so

At only 12,650 for the ZX3 that I purchased, this car is the best for the price. Not a single weakness and outruns must other little cars on the road.. I can go camping and even sleep in the back when the rear seat is down. Excellent.

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Echo, civic, neon

This car lives up to all the good reviews it is getting. Excellent build quality, handling. ergonomics, design, performance, "feel", etc......I have a se wagon with the ztec engine and this is a great car........also, lots of room for its size...great car.

nothing

$15,045, not counting dest. charge, tax, lic., with all options except engine block heater, side air bags, abs. We got this car as a second car for my wife but I really enjoy driving it too. The appeal of the car is very broad from a young family just starting out to a mid-income family, to retirement age. Read the reviews and then take a test drive...you'll be convinced.

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Quality is right up there with the Japanese. But in looks it looks European.

quick, fast reflexes, roomy for a compact, excellent fit and finish, quiet, solid

no available sunroof, and no power locks or tilt / cruise until mid - february.

For enthusiasts on a budget, the new ZX3 is an excellent choice. I'm a college student, and found that there's plenty of cargo room, especially with the 60/40 split fold back seat. The automatic is firm but smooth shifting (is that possible?) and the engine has a fairly wide power band. The 130 h.p. is more than enough for quick sprints around toiwn, and down right enjoyable on the open road. It felt stable at 100 mph (shhhh!) and at 75-80 mph, goes about it's business quietly. Overall, this one's a hit!

Very easy to drive and smooth controls. Feels like a really big car to drive. Overall modern design. Very competitive price with all the goodies and 2.0L engine!

Could be a bit more quiet on rough road surfaces. Eats quite much fuel if you don't watch out how you drive.

If you want to have an excellent car for everyday use, this is for you. Isn't perfect for sports car fanatics because of high and short structure.
Very easy to drive. Electric driver seat height adjustment and fully adjustable wheel make driving easy for everybody. The only thing a could really count as a weakness is the fuel consumption using 2.0L engine in the city driving (in the winter time almost 12L/100km). The smaller engines don't have the same feature, though.

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Compared to Peugeot 406, Toyota Avensis and Opel Vectra

A quieter and smoother ride than the 98 Contour I also own and great nimble handling and I love the "new edge" design and high seating position and the overall interior layout. Not bad performance either. Haven't had long enough for MPG assessment. I got the SE model with alloy wheels, tilt/telescoping steering and cruise control, tachometer, rear spoiler and fog lamps, side air bags and the Z-tech engine with 5-speed, cruise control and CD-player, I got the Fort Knox Gold color with the larger 60R/15 in. wheels. It's a sharp car.

None as of yet.

MSRP was $15,585 and I paid $15,000 even (prob. could have gotten a better deal), but I had Focus "fever" per se. I paid $159 extra to have extra sound insulation put in and yes I would highly recommend the car. I test drove the Toyota Echo, which is a very similar car in design, but the Focus seems more solid and has better ride and handling; I just hope the Focus proves to be as reliable as Toyota products. Good luck.

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98 Ford Contour, 94 Ford Aspire, 89 Ford Festiva, 77 VW Rabbit and 76 Audi Fox. So far, it looks like the Focus will be my favorite, although I do miss how easy my 77 VW Rabbit was to work on and change oil, etc. The oil filter on the Contour is very hard to get to and it probably will be also on the Focus. Wish they would make cars easier to maintain without going to the dealer, as dealer service departments are not as nice to you as the sales people are when they are trying to sell you the car (amen...)

Amazing ride for a small car, responsive handling, adequate power (Zetec engine). With this car you really need the manual transmission, an automatic would really be a dog. Plenty of room inside, I like the seating position. Controls are logical and well laid out. The standard CD player is comparable to many cars costing thousands more. Zero recalls since I have owned the car. I love the styling, many people don't, to each their own I guess. Gas mileage has been on an average 35 mpg, however the stock air filter is gone, replaced with a K&N filter - improved air flow, also this is based on highway driving, approx. 60 mph in 5th gear @ about 2600 rpm. Quiet at all speeds for a car in this class.

The rear trunck release and door locks using the remote are very noisy. When raising the rear hatch the interior security panel is attached using cable mechanisms, does not allow panel to raise high enough, causing one to hit their head if not careful. Choice of seat material leaves a lot to be desired. Dirt, lint and debris are attracted like metal to a magnet. Seat belt retractors at least on driver side don't do their job, retract all the way.

This car as its intended, is an awesome commuter car and does it very economically. I have read almost every review of the Focus on this site and quite frankly am miffed by some of the complaints. I have not experienced braking problems/noise, but maybe thats because I don't hit the brakes hard and utilize the tranny and downshift whenever possible. I mentioned above about the gas mileage. One thing I have noticed though, when the gas gauge reads empty you still have 3 gallons left, and the tank capacity is 13.2. Again zero recalls, maybe some of the recalls are dependant on how the car is equipped, example automatic transmission, cruise control etc. You may be better off buying this car as a bare bones vehicle. I would definitely recommend the manual transmission for reasons stated above. This is no luxury car and makes no false claims, just a fun economical way to get from point A to point B reliably.

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2000 Escort-rental car on a business trip. I could not wait to drive my Focus. 1999 Honda Civic not that impressive, considering all the raving from people. 1999 Nissan Sentra-overall prefer the Focus.

It looks great, handles great, has tons of room on the inside, and plenty of zip for 130HP (turn off O/D)

The fact that Europe gets the 5 Door Hatchback and a finer tuned suspension.

I recommend the Focus for anyone on a tight budget. You can't beat it on the price per performance scale.

As for all the complaints, all new cars have recalls, I've only had one recall on my car and that was a padding issue on the interior. I get about 25 MPG and have experienced to squeaks or other random problems. My Focus is pretty much perfect =)..

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Civic & Protege = not much competition