2000 Ford Focus Ghia review from UK and Ireland

Oil leak at rocker cover gasket - dealer promised to fix, but when I later took it to a mechanic for a service they said it was still leaking so I had to pay to have it replaced again.

All filters had to be replaced because they were full of oil (because of leak).

Water gets into the boot if you open the boot too quickly when it has been raining.

Rust on boot lid above number plate.

Traction control kicks in when I need to pull out quickly onto a fast road, causing the wheels to spin (this is embarrassing and makes me look like I can't drive).

Doesn't like starting in the cold, tends to cough and splutter and spews massive amounts of blue smoke out of the exhaust for about 5 min after starting.

Battery light comes on if I have the heater, radio and headlights on in peak hour traffic.

Interior fogs up in rainy weather even if I have the heater/demisters on - end up having to use the aircon which of course uses more fuel.

Drivers seat not very comfortable - get a sore lower back and numb left leg if I'm in the car too long.

The car was 8 years old when I bought it and it was quite cheap so I don't expect it to be perfect - I don't think any of the above problems are really that serious, although it did cost me £260 to get the rocker cover gasket and all the filters replaced, and the engine degreased.

Quite a comfortable and easy car to drive, sore back notwithstanding.

Have owned a Ford previously and I find the interior columns significantly obstruct my vision - eg when making a sharp turn to the right, I can't see where I'm going because the right hand column completely covers up what I'm trying to look at.

Doesn't seem to have a lot of power - just about everyone beats me off the mark at traffic lights, but I didn't buy it for that reason. I wanted something comfortable, easy to drive and anonymous for exploring the UK and this seems to do the trick.

Haven't had any contact with Ford dealers and don't intend to - the thing isn't under warranty so I will just take it to the local mechanic. With one exception - I wasn't given a spare key when I bought it so will have to go to a dealer to get one coded for me - I understand this is very expensive so am waiting for my next pay cheque first!