Faults:

The air conditioner works poorly. Acceleration up hills and on the highway is very sluggish.

General Comments:

Although the car has a smooth ride for a small sedan, acceleration is poor when going up hills and when merging onto the highway.

The trunk is very large for a small sedan, however the seating is uncomfortable and too low to the road. Visibility is poor from the front and rear of the vehicle.

The power windows, sunroof, and locks work well. The audio system is outstanding. However, the air conditioning works very poorly and the car has even less power when the air is running.

Although the 2006 Focus SE has many nice features, the overall performance of this vehicle is very poor.

Faults:

Gasoline backs up and shoots out of the gas filler while fueling, requiring me to squeeze the handle gently while fueling.

General Comments:

My 2006 Focus ZX5 is fun to drive and economical.

However, if you're over 6'2" you'll not have adequate leg room. Also, the air conditioning is terrific, but with the air system turned off, you still have air coming through the air vents... there is no way to completely shut the air vents.

General Comments:

I got a brand new 2006 Ford Focus SE in October. Within a few weeks, I noticed a slight ticking or tapping in the engine that sounds like a lifter or oil flow problem.

The driver's side visor mirror cover broke at the hinge (the hinge is built like a toy meant to last about 2 days).

That middle arm rest stowage thing is not user friendly. In fact, very little of the car is user friendly. Most people can't pick up these faults on a test drive. We are only human.

Anyway, the thing that bugs me the most is the 6 CD changer constantly getting jammed. Often, it pops out a CD a whole day after eject is pressed. While that ejection delay is going on, perfectly good CDs can't be 'found' by the player. Then later, the same ones will play.

There needs to be more room to lay things in the driver area, without them slipping down into a multitude of hiding places. There should have been a deeper stowage tray beneath the radio. Even a ball point pen bounces out of it after a little bump.

The rear window lock switch by the driver doesn't allow the rear windows to work from the back doors.

The doors, especially the back ones, get hard to open after a little dust gets in them. I think there is plastic against metal or plastic against plastic in the lock mechanism, that allows dirt particles to embed in the plastic, increasing friction, instead of being pulverized as they would between metal surfaces. Kids simply aren't strong enough to open the doors when they get like that.

The rear tires are wearing twice as fast as the front tires. They are Goodyear. Most people say the front tires of a front wheel drive wear faster than the rear tires. But maybe if I don't use a heavy foot, the rear tires wear faster, since they are sort of forced around a curve, while the front tires are allowed to turn to line up with the instantaneous direction of travel. Otherwise, I suspect a factory installed tire quality conspiracy. A corrupt manufacturer might not dare to cheapen the front tires, but the rear tires might be the same model number as front, yet have shoddy construction.

The divider between the spare tire and the luggage compartment, is made of stupid thin crappy pressed cardboard stuff, that would be good only to construct something like a temporary shipping carton. The first time a few sacks of groceries are put on there, the divider pushes past the silly thin little metal tab that is supposed to hold it up. This bends the tab and notches out the papery divider. Go ahead, straighten that little tab easily by hand. It will bend again from the next grocery sack.

When I lean into the rear of the car at night, and want to turn on a dome light, it is up front, beyond my reach. The extra lights for the passenger or driver have rocker switches that are too tricky to turn off easily by feel, when reaching into the car at night.

The small vent hole in the muffler is to let moisture out, but does it have to sound like a big hole? Does it have to be in the front end of the muffler? Shouldn't it be in the rear end of the muffler? There are other things just as important, but I am pressed for time.

This Ford Focus cost me about $3000 more than a superior Hyundai or KIA or Toyota. Their warranties are better. I wanted to be patriotic and buy USA, but I am ashamed of many of our products. Many of them becoming a worldwide laughing matter! But I am not laughing about being tied to a piece of junk that has many more payments to go.