I recently had to rent a car to carry a bit more stuff than I could get on the back of my bike. Harper Rental, in Hilo, Hawai`i, assigned me a 2003 Ford Focus sedan with 8,365 miles on it.

When I rode over to pick it up, and first saw the car, I thought, "Gee! That's kinda pretty! I won't mind driving that around!" Well, it was nice in the PARKING LOT.

I was very grateful for the nice water-tight windows, and the heater/air con. But once I had loaded my amp(a Fender Accoustisonic Jr, not terribly big or heavy), a couple of small drums, other percussion, and my costumes, I had to pretty much floor the gutless wonder to make the speed limit going up the Volcano Highway. This made me think it would probably be a lousy family car, unless you just tool around town and use it for grocery runs so it doesn't have to work very hard.

Mashing the accelerator to stay with traffic sucked the gas down, so I lost any fuel savings associated with such a lightweight car. Acceleration was sluggish, so I was unable to pass any of the heavy equipment or horse trailers, which were averaging about 50 mph. This made me really wonder what it would have been like with four adults sitting in it. No idea what kind of engine was in it, but whatever it was, the exercise wheel could have used an extra mouse, or even an upgrade to a mouse or a gerbil. Perhaps adding a rubber-band auxiliary engine would have helped. Hmmmmmm. . . Guess I wasn't at all impressed with the powerplant.

Handling was pretty decent, though. On the return home, making the downhill run, the car had no problems staying with traffic, and handled quite well. Nice and tight steering, excellent cornering capability, comfy seating. At 5'3" tall (when I stand up reeeeeaaaaalllly straight), I found the leg and head room to be fine. I did bump my head once when I was squirming around trying to adjust the seat, so my 6' Sweetheart may not have been as comfy.

While the trunk CAPACITY was excellent, I found the high lip on the trunk painfully inconvenient. Lifting all of my gear that high was very hard on my back and shoulders. I almost couldn't get the heavier stuff into the trunk, and getting it back out was worse. I did like how far forward the load can sit, so the tail doesn't overload and lighten the front end.
Amount Paid (US$): 43.95/day
Condition: Used
Model Year: 2003
Model and Options: Sedan