Faults:

Nothing too major has gone wrong with my Focus. I am pleased with its overall reliability. However the following has gone wrong:

Water was getting in the drivers side front and rear foot wells after heavy rain.

Rear near side wheel bearing went at 96000 miles.

Light bulb on the dash that illuminates the mileage and trip display has blown.

The fuel low warning light doesn't seem to work.

Rear tailgate has started to rust slightly just above the chrome strip of the number plate housing. The car is only 6 years old.

General Comments:

It took my local Ford dealer three weeks and a new windscreen to sort the water leak problem. It is now cured.

The drivers seat is quite comfortable on long journeys thanks to adjustable lumbar support, however the passenger seat is not.

All four electric windows make a loud thump after they go up into the door frame. Seems like there is no cushioning.

There is an irritating vibration noise from the steering column at 3000rpm.

The tailgate seems very weak and flimsy.

The parcel shelf rattles.

This is the Ghia model, but the plastic wood effect trim is very poor.

When driven hard, mpg can be as low as 20.

The interior cabin seems to steam up easily.

On the plus side, the car is very quick. The 130bhp 2.0litre engine pulls very well up to 6000rpm, but after this, the engine just seems to scream without pulling.

The car rides well on the motorway.

The boot is nice and big. When the rear seats are folded, there is a load of space.

There is plenty of room in the back seats for two adults.

The cabin controls are well laid out.

My car is 6 years old now with 100,000 miles on the clock and it still has it's original rear brake shoes that don't need replacing!

Insurance is low for a 2.0litre car with this much performance, only group 8.

Faults:

Driver's remote centrol locking failed.

Windscreen wiper judders.

Tiny amount of rust on one rear door.

General Comments:

Cheap as chips to buy and run.

Nearly as economical as most diesels.

Handles well for a family car.

Bulletproof reliability.

Dealers polite, helpful. If only they were cheap.

If you're prepared to put up with the "cheaper" feel of the interior and just how common these cars are - they really are common sense vehicles to own.

Faults:

In first year leak from front window resulted in water eventually getting to the front passenger foot well (yes, behind the dashboard!). Ford took the car back for 3 days under warranty and re-fitted windscreen and replaced the interior carpets. It was annoying, but these things happen and Ford (and the local dealer) did all that would be expected to resolve the problem.

Since then, nothing major has been faulty (90,000 miles, expecting it to do another 50,000 easily).

General Comments:

The car has been very reliable. I have it serviced regularly, but I'm not very good at keeping it clean and tidy. I use it for work which involves carrying awkward shapes which have marked the interior fittings in several places - although these are only cosmetic defects due to my particular use. If it was my wife's car it would be reliable and clean!

I have found it economic, getting 7.5 miles per litre of petrol. This has been consistent from when it was new to it's current 90,000 miles.

It is an Estate version. The load space is good in size and easy to access with large awkward objects. There are tie down positions with pre-cut holes in the boot carpet for access to them.

My model has no built in roof rack and uses the standard ford removable roof rack. This is good, as I don't need a roof rack too often. However, the standard 2 bar ford roof rack is a little noisy. It is fitted by bolts (8 in total) and therefore takes about 10 minutes to fit or remove. However, the roof rack can be disassembled to take up little space in the boot so it is always to hand when needed unexpectedly.

It cost £14,000 when new and is running so well I expect several more years from it yet. Therefore it has been good value for money over a long life.