Faults:

Changed oil and belts on time, the car got well looked after.

Went through pretty much the brakes and suspension components entirely over my ownership, but I did drive hard!

ABS sensor, alternator and battery changed.

Climate control broke.

Seats worn.

Terrible rust in the last couple of years of ownership and it failed an MOT leading me to scrap it at 11 years old.

General Comments:

My first car and I had it a long time, 1.6 LX Focus in blue.

Very good looking and great to drive. Handled very nice.

Not very fast though, but it was cheap to run and did 38 mpg on average.

Comfortable interior and well equipped.

In its later years I had to seek out an independent garage for servicing and repairs; Ford main dealer was expensive and uninterested in older cars I found in my experience.

Shame the rust killed it off, I would like to have kept it another couple of years. But overall it was a good car.

Faults:

Timing belt kit + tensioner, water-pump and alternator. Expensive, but good maintenance.

Springs and mounts, brake discs and pads.

Rear exhaust box.

Air con was useless and the rear electric windows would not move.

Regular oil changes.

General Comments:

2003 Focus with the Ghia trim (fully loaded) had electric everything and was fun to drive. Handling was sharp. 1.6 was not fast, but better than the 1.4; I would have preferred the 2.0 given the choice. Mine did do 40 miles per gallon on a good day though.

Interior was comfortable and stylish, even by today's standards.

It was one of my first cars and I cannot believe it was 10 years ago I sold it, feels like yesterday. Would love another, but the more modern ones would be a better bet, but I have heard they are not quite as reliable as the first generation Focus was. Most of the problems I had were wear and tear as the mileage rose, it never left me stranded.

Faults:

Had a few faults when purchased - needed tracking, spare wheel well had water, and one of the tail lights wasn't working.

Windscreen is scratched.

Carpets got wet as the pollen filter cover got damaged.

Heater fuse kept blowing.

The car had a flat tyre.

Air conditioning isn't that cold.

General Comments:

Back when the Focus was launched I was teenager. I wasn't a fan of its looks, but kept reading reviews of how good it drives.

Fast forward to today and I'm a fan after owning and driving one.

I originally bought this car as a cheap runabout to quickly replace my Fiesta.

Was very cheap, bodywork wasn't the best with rust on the front passenger door and a few dents, but had a solid chassis and underbody. Also it had a stamped service book which showed it had money spent on maintenance, even if it did look a little battered.

It did have a few faults - the tracking needed doing as the steering wheel didn't sit straight, windscreen has a scratch and the air-con wasn't cold.

Ended up spending a fair bit on servicing (cam belt, water pump, PAS fluid, gear oil and A/C) then a bit more on the front suspension to pass the MOT.

Driving wise - the agile chassis and revvy Zetec engine comes into its own. Its well balanced chassis and sharp steering means that on fast flowing A and B roads you can have a lot of fun flinging it and carrying speed through bends.

In town it's OK, doesn't crash over bumps.

Reliability/running costs - same as any other car, keep an eye on the fluids and service regularly. Mine's never given me any grief - driven in town I get about 35 MPG, but on a decent cruise it's 42+ MPG.

Would I buy another? Yes, either another 1.6 or the ST170.