19th Mar 2001, 19:51

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!

20th Mar 2001, 05:34

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...

19th May 2001, 07:45

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.

5th Jul 2001, 09:57

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...

30th Aug 2001, 09:02

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

11th Jan 2002, 12:16

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.

18th Dec 2002, 10:42

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.

8th Apr 2003, 17:03

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.

20th Jan 2004, 14:14

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.

11th Jun 2004, 08:42

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.