2003 Ford Focus Zetec review from UK and Ireland

Only one actual fault - a rattling tailgate which was adjusted by the dealer and has been fine ever since.

Gearbox oil leak caused by incompetent servicing at the dealer.

Excellent car let down only by poor dealers and some cheap and nasty interior plastics.

Still a thoroughly superb drive with a fantastic ride/handling compromise, lots of steering feel and great brakes. Even the gearbox is slick. You get the impression that the people who set up this car really care about driving. Performance is good, although maybe not as good as you might think given the power output and size of car.

The car is practical with good space inside and a large boot. The seats fold totally flat for large loads, and interior noise levels are low. Unfortunately, the interior is where the Focus shows its age however, with poor seats giving no shoulder support at all, and cheap, hard plastics everywhere. Build quality is good though, and it all feels very well screwed together.

Since the warranty ran out, I've stopped using Ford dealers. They are usually merely indifferent, but I (or rather my car) was the victim of two separate acts of unbelievable incompetence. The first was when they "forgot" to refit the gearbox oil level plug (causing an oil leak which was thankfully caught in time). Naturally I never went back there, but during the next service at another dealer, some idiot mixed up my locking wheelnut key with another car's which subsequently left me unable to change a punctured tyre (the AA guy had a master key, thankfully!). Got a gruff verbal apology and that was my lot!

It was this, plus getting sick of paying through the nose to have the car returned unwashed with oily finger prints all over it, and never being able to get a courtesy car that made me start getting the car serviced myself, with major work being entrusted to an excellent local independent. No small garage has a problem with working on a Focus, and my local mechanic tells me they're "bloody brilliant motors to work on". Maybe now I won't get charged UKP 4.20 + VAT for topping the screenwash up, and finding out two days later that they just used tap water. Incidentally, OEM Ford oils, filters and spares are available through many independent specialists for about 2/3 of dealer prices.

Purely in terms of the car itself though, if it were stolen or written off tomorrow, I'd buy another without hesitation.