2006 Ford Focus SE from North America - Comments

Front brakes pads wore out unusually early at approx 20000KM. After reading on the Internet about this issue (we usually get ~50000km out of brake pads), I decided to put higher quality Wagner brake pads. Time will tell if they will hold up, or if there's a design issue.

FYI this was the easiest brake job I've ever done; really straightforward. Kudos to Ford on a simple design.

We bought this car for the price. It was a leftover from the last year, and we got employee pricing + 0% financing. It was a few thousands cheaper than a smaller subcompact like a Accent or Yaris.

The car drives nicely. Steering is tight and precise. Engine is smooth and flexible. Clutch is light and intuitive. The suspension is honestly the best I've ever owned; it's comfortable and sporty, a perfect compromise. The front seats are very comfortable as well.

A/C, heat and defrost are powerful and this is a typical strength in American cars.

Now the 'bad':

- The interior finish feels cheap and the ergonomics aren't great, especially the cupholders.

- The shifter is notchy and squeaks on ours, though I've driven other Focus without this issue.

- Fuel mileage is nowhere near advertised; we get approx 8L/100KM highway and 10.5 city. Not horrible by any means, but 2L/100KM more than Civic / Corolla.

- Road and wind noise is loud on the highway.

- Car is quick around city, but loses steam at higher speeds. Lacks low end torque to pass in 5th. I had a hard time maintaining momentum while climbing hills in the Laurentians. My VW with similar power does much better in the hills and at higher speeds.

Final thoughts;

The car isn't perfect, but it's a great value for what we paid. I expect it to age well as it seems like a simple, straightforward design. It's in the 6th year of production on this platform, and most of the bugs have been worked out by now.

I'm impressed enough with the car that I might get a second Focus, probably a used ZTW wagon, as a second vehicle. The poor resale makes them a good buy when used. This is also a double edged sword; if you buy new, plan on keeping it a long time as resale is abysmal.

I currently own a Chevrolet Cobalt and am considering trading it for a Ford Focus. (I purchased the Cobalt for price - it was thousands less than the imports.) It's unfortunate that the best of these two cars couldn't be combined in one.

I find one of the Cobalt's strong suits is its surprising quietness and composure at highway speed. It also has good passing power for a compact car. The automatic shifts seamlessly. Fuel efficiency with the automatic is good in the pure city loop - approximately 9.2 L/100 km in the winter, 8.3 L/100 km summer - and very good on the highway -approximately 6.2 L/100 km.

Its weaknesses, however, appear to be the Focus' strengths. The Cobalt's steering is lacking in precision, its suspension is a little harsh over high frequency bumps, and its seats could be more comfortable.

Would you consider the Focus to be tossable in the corners?

I'd say that's about right actually. If you could drop in an Ecotec in the Focus you'd have one hell of a car! The Cobalt is more comfort oriented for sure, softer suspension, more sound deadening. Interior fit and finish in the Cobalt I'd say is a few steps above the Focus. The Focus since the refresh in 05 has a Cavalier level quality of plastics and assembly. The exteriors are about par though, gaps are tight, trim is solid, and the paint seems to be pretty good.

Cornering is the main strenght of the Focus by far. Yes it's very tossable and responsive. It will actually oversteer a little bit if you lift throttle in a hard turn. The clutch and shifter work well, and the gear ratios are close. It's not terribly fast, but it's responsive. I'd say it's comparable to a Mazda Protege (used to own one) or Mazda3 in that it leans very little, but it has less understeer and better ride comfort than thoses cars.

Thanks for the comparison. I think I will get a Focus and apply some sound deadening to it. http://www.quietcoat.com/index.html

We owned a great little bright yellow 2001 ZX-3 with every available option, and it was an awesome and totally trouble free car. I've also driven GM compacts, and have to agree that they are incredibly smooth and quiet. If I were buying a new economy car now, it would be a very tough choice between Focus and the GM's. I wouldn't consider a Corolla because of Toyota's awful reliability, and after a dear friend of ours was killed in her new Honda that crumpled like a beer can in a crash, I'm afraid of them.

Quick update on the car from the original owner:

- The rotors have warped prematurely with only 30000KM. This is not a huge deal to change and I will be sure to buy higher quality components to replace. I suspect Ford used the lowest bidder for the brake components... As long as the calipers hold up this isn't a huge issue.

Mileage has improved, my last roadtrip I averaged 7.2L/100KM which is about 33MPG. This was at 120KM/H, so overall not bad at all. City is still over 10L/100KM though.

The car is still pretty tight and rattle-free which is more than I can say for my VW Golf. Maintenance has been very reasonably priced. The wife broke one the side mirrors coming into the garage, and I was surprised to find that it was only a 25$ replacement brand new.

I still think it's a bargain. This is my first American car and I will buy American again.

To the second poster above, I will say that the Corolla is just about the most dependable car on the market and it also has some of the best fuel economy and ride comfort around. I'm not sure what the anti-Toyota stuff is all about, there's a reason that Toyota is widely regarded as the top manufacturer worldwide.

All things being equal I would have honestly bought a Corolla instead of a Focus, but supply and demand being what it is Toyota dealerships ask way more money, have way more hidden fees and more expensive financing for what is only a slightly superior product. The bottom line is that a Focus with incentives is 5 or 6K less which is 30-40% cheaper than a comparably equipped Corolla. Though it's less refined and a bit thirstier, it has good driving dynamics and should be fairly durable.

To illustrate this, the Focus has an engine derived from the very modern Mazda MRZ 2.0. It's been detuned by 12hp from the removal of vvt, but optimized for better fuel economy and low end torque. It's basically maintenance free and is designed to run 160 000KM before needing more than oil changes. It has a timing chain, platinum spark plugs, long life coolant and a maintenance free air filter. Running costs is truly minimal.

Please advise what source you are citing for the comment "The Corolla is just about the most dependable car on the market". Recent Toyotas are anything but "reliable". In 2006 more Toyotas were recalled than were SOLD. Even the normally biased Consumer Reports no longer recommends some Toyota models due to poor build quality.

I've never known anyone who got 100,000 miles out of a Corolla without major problems, and some Corollas reviewed on here had engine failures before 20,000 miles.

Due to all the ad hype, most people don't realize that the most reliable vehicle in Consumer Reports reviews is a Ford, not a Toyota (which as far as I know isn't on ANY "best" lists). The Yaris actually made a "10 WORST" list.

I realize most people are not aware of how far Japanese cars have slid in quality, but please, don't perpetuate such myths.

Well a quick look though the Carsurvey reviews about the Corolla from the early 1980s to 2007, shows that the overwhelming majority of owners have been satisfied. Those that aren't usually mention boring dynamics and poor performance, which is to be expected in a 4cyl economy car. This is probably the same reason the Yaris made it to a worst 10 list.

If Carsurvey's not a good source, I don't know what is. I honestly don't care about Consumer Reviews, I expect any American publication to be biased towards American cars and have a particular slant against Toyota, since they are the largest rival of the US auto industry.

Original poster again:

I now have roughly 50000KM and the car is running great. Not a single issue, odd noise or hiccup since we have bought it.

As I mentioned above, the car came equipped with platinum spark plugs, which have the advantage of lasting 160,000KM. The disadvantage of platinum plugs is their lower performance and the fact that they still degrade over time, probably much quicker than advertised. I usually replace plugs near 50000KM and decided to try a different set to see if there would be any advantage. I went for regular NGK copper plugs, and for a 7$ upgrade the engine is much smoother and stronger at low RPMs. My fuel economy has gone from around 9l/100KM (26MPG) to ~7.5l/100KM (33MPG) mixed city-highway. Best of all this is with the A/C on!

70,000KM now. Not one single issue to report. No weird noises, no vibrations, not electrical problems...

I am now changing the oil myself and it's very painless. I can get to the plug and filter without jacking the car up.

I still get approx 33 MPG in mixed driving, with a fair amount of stop and go. I drive about 110km/h (70mph) on the highway, but otherwise don't do anything special to preserve gas.

Overall very satisfied with the reliability and simple upkeep of this car.

If you are not aware that Ford owns approx 33 percent of Mazda. The 4 cylinders are Mazda engineered. I own a Mazda Tribute 2.3 liter Mazda engineered engine. Made in a Ford plant, same as a Ford Escape. The V6s are Ford engineered, not that bad of an engine either. Ford is a better bet than the other domestics.

Also people, stop your complaining about CD players that are crap in your cars, or plastics. This is what you get in this price range. The CD players can be changed.

Original poster again:

I agree with you, the plastic sucks a bit, but then again I paid 13k canadian for it brand new. It could be a lot worse. It doesn't rattle at least.

The stereo is great I find, if anything I would replace the front speakers, the stock ones always suck, but at least these are in a good location. Anyone who complains about this stereo should drive a Toyota or Hyundai... Those are brutal.

80000KM. Still running great. 33MPG combined, all I do to achieve this is cruise at 70MPH and shift at 3000RPM.

"33MPG combined, all I do to achieve this is cruise at 70MPH and shift at 3000RPM."

And you call that frugal driving? Try cruising at 55 MPH and shifting around 2500 RPM. You will be amazed to see what this car is really capable of when it comes to MPG.