Faults:

Nothing as yet, only had for a week.

General Comments:

I have recently purchased the Ford Focus XR5 or ST as it is in Europe/UK.

I bought this car after much deliberation, needing something that was practical enough for day to day use, and would still be a bit interesting to drive without being tiresome in traffic.

With this criteria in mind, I decided that a decent size naturally aspirated or otherwise turbo engine was most likely required. I tested the 350z, which was a bit cramped, then tried a Vauxhall/Holden VXR, which I found a little underwhelming. Sure the power was there, but it was conspicuously turbocharged and noticeably ran out of pull after 5000rpm. I also found the four cylinder note (although it was not bad) a bit "farty". It was after this that I decided a four cylinder was not the way to go.

Not wanting a Skyline, Audi S4, BMW or other six cylinder available, it was almost an accident that I came across the Focus.

Suffice to say it ticked all the right boxes, the engine sounds refined at low revs and has the most lovely 5 cylinder growl when you get stuck into it. It revs out across the range with power seeming to build in a linear fashion with the revs.

The interior is not bad, although I would only have bought one with leather since it lifts the car a few notches on the luxury and aesthetic scale. It is practical, handles well and has a range of inexpensive options to increase power should you feel the need.

After a wait to find the right car, I purchased a 2007 LS model in black with leather. Although I have only had it a week, I am not disappointed a bit with my choice.

I can see that I will probably modify it a bit to get reliable and safe 300hp/400+nm. From my reading, this should only need an intercooler upgrade and ECU flash (approx $2200AUD for both). Once that is done, I can't imagine wanting for anything else in a daily driver.

If you're in the market for something practical, but with a lot of character, good power and good road oriented handling, try the Focus XR5/ST.

Faults:

Developed an annoying buzz in the headliner near the windshield above the driver's seat.

Developed a metallic vibration near the right rear speaker.

Was occasionally difficult to start if shut off soon after a cold start.

6 CD changer was buggy when playing MP3 CD's with folders.

Driver's seat side bolster showed wear quickly.

Handbrake cable wore out after 10k.

General Comments:

Overall my Focus experience was satisfactory.

Much better handling than other similarly priced American cars, but it's no Golf!

Engine delivers good performance with just enough grunt to make it fun, though sounds a bit bland.

Good driving position, but wish height adjustment would move the entire seat rather than just the base.

Fuel economy averaged ~28MPG with 70/30 City/Highway driving.

It looks and drives like a European car, feels and sounds Japanese. Price is 100% American.

Faults:

I rented this car for a week. I have no idea about its maintenance history.

However, I noticed that the Focus was missing five of its sixteen lug nuts.

Also, the air bag awareness sticker on one of the sun visors was peeling.

General Comments:

Well, my car (a 2001 Ford Taurus, review #110663) was in the shop for uncontrollable shaking upon a cold start. It turned out to be a valve cleaning worth approximately $3000. Time to trade it in. I drove this car while I was shopping around for another.

If the year were 2007, and I were looking at the 2007 Focus, I would not buy it. Let's start with the positives.

The front seats were definitely not of first class quality. They were sculpted well and made of a very durable cloth, however, that comes at a steep price. You are greeted with two armrests made of horrid plastic- one on the door and the other is the lid of the center console. The armrest on the door is too narrow for an arm but fine for your elbow. The console lid is only wide enough for one arm and is higher than the door armrest. In my example, both seats were manually adjustable. However, the seat would not latch into place after being adjusted fore-and-aft. The recline mechanisms was okay- but the seat stuck on its journey back up to the straight position. The back seat was worse. It was too narrow, too flat, had no armrest at all, had no headrests, and had no legroom.

It was clear that there was a four-cylinder engine in this car. I could tell by the way it sounded. It was loud and thrashy. Acceleration was incredibly poor and I not impressed. I did not bother to take the time to measure the fuel economy. Paired with a so-so transmission, any person with any amount of car knowledge could tell that this was definitely an economy car aimed for people on the lower side of the economy spectrum. I say this because I could hear every change of the transmission, very time. I knew when it went from 1st to 2nd, from 2nd to 3rd, and so on. I could also hear it downshifting, going from 4th to 3rd and on and on. Truth be told, hearing the transmission shifting provided a greater level of entertainment than listening to my iPod with my totally awesome mix of music.

The visibility was a good virtue.

The buttons on the interior were generally appropriately placed. They were also lit very well.

The trunk was big for a car this size.

I couldn't understand why there are so many Focuses on the roads, other than the reason that they are cheap. I can relate to the reason that they are so cheap. The comfort is so-so and and engine and the transmission are poor. The good is outweighed by the fair. There is nothing outstanding pertaining tho this car.

This car is not remarkably poor in any aspect, but it does not shine in any either. If you have any questions, post them and I will try to answer them.