I used to own a 2001 Mustang convertible but had a terrible experience with the dealership (not the car) and fortunately got them to buy the car back (it was THAT bad, I might review this experience in the Mustang section).
I decided to give Ford a second chance and since in the meantime I had adopted a 100lbs. dog I decided to take a look at bigger vehicles.
With the Ford Escape in mind I went to a different dealership. While leaving the lot to take a Midnight Edition Escape I glanced at a bunch of little Focus Station Wagons and finally left the dealer in one of those.
The dealer had none of these wagons with manual transmission, traction control or airbags, so despite the fact that I was willing to pay the extra cash for such features I had to leave the lot in an automatic Ford Focus ZTW. This was way back in August and since the car is almost 5000 miles old I believe I can make a fair review.
The car is very well equipped for the money. Lots of space and nice unexpected features everywhere. Although the engine power is rather modest the wagon is kind of fun to drive due to great on road dynamics. Fuel economy not as good as advertised but pretty decent and improving with time. Now its making about 23 mpg.
So far I have not experienced any of the problems and mechanical failures that many people have reported here. Just a very annoying squicky noise in the rear that hopefully the dealership will be able to take care of when taken to the 5K service.
The front wheels are permanently dirty due to fast fading brake pads I suspect but so far the braking power has been adequate and enough.
I really like the instrumentation and the interior design. There is storage space everywhere in the cabin. Inside, the car feels much larger than it actually is. The only objection to the interior would be that the seat cushions feels short, I am only 5?” and not heavy and in long rides the seat makes its presence known (I mean a seat cushion is not something you should think about unless its really good), I don’t want to think how a larger guy would feel after an hour in one of these.
My dog loves the car and hopefully the trauma of riding in the minimalist back seat of the Mustang is forgotten and forgiven.
The other day I was looking at a sales brochure for the European Ford Focus and couldn’t believe how spartan the American version is when compared to the one over there. Features like climate control, better headlights, chrome inside door handles, hood lock, backseats headrests. No wonder is the best selling car in Europe.
The initial quality problems plus the failure to offer many of the features offered in Europe cemented Focus’ reputation as a very unreliable cheapmobile, bad for Ford and even worse for the owners whose resale value will be greatly affected. I own a 2002 version in which most of the problems supposedly have been already addressed but I suspect that such fact will be of little help when the time comes to get rid of my ZTW. In the meantime I am enjoying the ride and the money saved.
Focus is a very good car that Ford consciously failed to make a great car. Only they know why.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 15000

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