2001 Ford Focus Zetec 3 door SE from UK and Ireland - Comments

Nothing yet (fingers crossed, touch wood, etc).

After one long weekend of driving around motorways and small roads in the mountains I have a big smile plastered across my face.

The drive is beautiful... silky smooth. Handling is very sporty on the Zetec. I'm able to drive 10 to 15 mph faster around bends than in the old Punto.

Looks fantastic with the partial dress-up kit (especially with black metallic paint).

I didn't think much of the quickness when I first pulled the car out of the dealership. Then I noticed that I had accelerated up to 80mph in no time at all (up hill). Overtaking is a comfortable, silent and quick operation in the 1.6.

Brakes (ABS) are very responsive. That took some getting used to but I like it.

Extremely comfortable to drive. Loads of room. I've a bad left knee and I have loads of room to stretch and get the kinks out.

6 CD changer/remote control is excellent. Not a single skip on the CD's after driving over pot-holed roads all weekend. The sound is great. Tape is superior to the Blaupunkt I had in my old Punto. The remote is conveniently placed and is quite solid.

Only complaints:

Boot needs to be firmly closed to shut it properly.

Biting point on the clutch is a bit high. I prefer it to be lower.

Don't be fooled, it will go wrong. The Ford garage you brought it from will not want to help in any way to put it right. You will be left wishing you still owned that Fiat.

That comment is a bit negative, isn't it? Ford, though it has far higher quality than its foreign competitors (or European/Japanese if you're not in the US), will have its lemons - but as carsurvey.org shows, this years model has fixed the most notable lemon-problems.

Update on my original review...

I've now put over 1000 miles on the clock. I still love this car. Still no problems. Heck, I make excuses to get out on the road to drive this car because it is a lot of fun to drive if you work the gears.

My original plan was to trade in next January for something much different. I've changed my mind... I want a 2.0 Zetec or I might just wait a while longer for the Focus RS to come out.

The dealers have been pretty good. They sent me a letter to thank me for my custom. A few weeks after, a rep rang up to see if everything was OK.

This car gets a definite thumbs up!

Ford make the best American vehicles on the road so it doesn't surprise me one bit!!! I have a 2000 Mustang GT and I can't brag enough about it!!! Ford tuff!

I have a Focus Diesel which is about a year old and has covered 16,000 miles so far which is brilliant, no problems whatsoever! I think that its the luck of the draw when it comes to dealers, the one I used was very helpful and do their best to make ownership of a Focus easy. I'm not impressed with the American Foci though (quality and looks) which is a shame...

You say you plan to buy the 2 litre Zetec next.

Why not save yourself £2000 and get the 1.8 Zetec. It's not much slower than the 2 litre, but has a useful 16bhp more than the 1.6.

Also, it uses less fuel.

I'll agree that Ford has built some bad cars in the past. (Oh, the Tempo...), but those days are LONG OVER.

The focus is a great, reliable car! The dealers are a mixed bag, but they're all far more helpful than any Toyota dealer from my experience.

Get out of the 80's. Ford's got great reliability! I wish I could say the same about GM. I guess they are getting better...

I'm now at 8000 miles on the clock. Still a fantastic drive with no problems.

Couldn't agree more, just try the 2 litre, my 2.0 Ghia. is a sheep in wolves clothing it goes like the stink. Apart from a few niggles its now done 42000 miles without a hiccough and when the RS. hits the showroom I'll be first in queue.

I thought I should add a comment to my review of the Focus at this time. I'm trading it in for a SEAT Leon Sport 20VT in 6 days. The focus has nearly 16,000 on the clock. There's a slight rattle behind the dash and the cigarette lighter is loose. The warranty was up before the niggles started so I have not had them fixed.

The car is a babe otherwise. A couple of salesmen test drive her and both were extremely impressed by her handling and looks. That just added to my ammunition when haggling over a trade in price. Still, it did depreciate pretty badly. There are just too many Focus's on the road in Ireland for them to keep their value. But it is a very desirable car for a young Irish male who wants something a little sporty as the insurance is not bad compared to that for it's competitors (I'm paying E1,300 - 28 years old, 3 years experience, no claims or points).

I'd recommend a Focus, but would warn of the depreciation. I guess that's a knock on all Fords in the UK and Ireland as they still suffer from their reputation of the 80's and early 90's.

I've had my Ford Focus Zetec 2.0 for a few months now. I test drove a 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 and for me, the extra pull in the 2.0 was definitely worth it. Only complaints are relatively poor fuel economy and a rattle with the dash in cold weather.

The comment at the top states that you'll soon wish you had your Fiat again - well I've got one, and the car and the dealers are the worst I've ever experienced in 12 yrs of driving.

I'm desperate to get out of the car, and into something like a Focus. I guess once you find a good car and dealership you stick with them. I'm sick of my lemon and if the Focus turns out to be as good as most of the contributers to this site say, then I'll keep it until it dies.

The Focus is a seriously tough car. My 2001 X 1.8 TD LX estate model has just gone back to the lease company, having racked up 90,000 miles. You would expect a diesel engine to cover 90k without trouble (which it did), but the real surprise is the rest of the car has stood up equally well. The load area is a bit battered through repeated careless loading and unloading, but the car has literally run between services without so much as a hiccup. Just a service every 10k and off she went again. The clutch, battery and exhaust were all original too.

The old Endura Di lump is a bit gruff, but performs superbly, with eye opening overtaking punch (200Nm of torque at 2,000 RPM - will out drag a BMW 320i in top -lovely!). All whilst returning a steady 45 mpg without trying, and 50 if you're light footed. The interior is not quite up to VW material quality standards, but remained squeak free, comfortable and fully functional all the way through. And even in diesel estate form, the Focus handles, rides and steers so positively and sharply that it makes its rivals feel lifeless and boring.

Apart from some cheap looking interior plastics, and occasionally intrusive engine noise, I really can't think of a single way to make this car better. After 30k a year for 3 years, that's saying something.

I agree with the comment above. It's a good, solid, affordable and reliable car that happens to be a bit of fun as well. A very rare combination these days.

38,000 Germans voted it most reliable car of last year in the ADAC survey as well. Kind of rules out the "pot luck" that one commenter mentioned. I'm on my second and both have been faultless.