2001 Ford Focus ZX3 from North America - Comments

Nothing has gone wrong so far.

First of all, I had an excellent dealer experience - they even found me cheaper insurance than I had originally!

The exterior styling is unique and some say it's ugly, but it has way more character than similar Japanese vehicles.

Inside, it's as impressive - plenty of space and legroom (I'm 6'3"), nice interior styling too - comfortable seats, touchy-feely knobs and dials.

It has one of the best factory-installed stereos I've ever heard. Some reviewers agree (http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/comparison/articles/43900/page031.html).

The engine is peppy, but I think it could do with a little more power at lower torque, and maybe about 30 horses more, as there's quite a performance-hit with the air conditioning on. However, it's deceptively fast, but very quiet and smooth.

The car idles so silently, there's very little road noise, no squeaks or rattles. It feels very solid, and the ride feels like a much bigger sedan.

The handling is great, maybe it's the chunky 16" tires, but it can be thrown into corners at speed happily.

It came with some nice extras like remote keyless entry, power windows, electric mirrors, etc.

A few cons: blind spots take a while to get used to (needs an extra head turn compared to my old Integra), the indicator click is sometimes a little quiet. The elevated driving position is great for comfort and keeps you alert, but you can't see the front of the hood when parking, and may not feel 'sporty' enough for some. But driving the thing makes you realize it is very sporty.

Overall, I love my Focus! For the price, it is one of the best in its class. I just hope it holds up in the reliability stakes. The 2000 model was a first-year model, so had its problems, but so far the 2001 model has been immaculate.

As an update: I sold this car in 2005, but I was very happy with it during the entire time I owned it. There were a few recalls and one problem where the car died on me (turned out to be a fuel pump issue), but overall I really enjoyed driving this car and was pleasantly surprised by its comfort and quality.

I added 17" European Mondeo-style rims and sports tires, Apex Sports suspension kit, cold-air intake, aftermarket exhaust, and underdrive pulley. These all helped make the car a little more peppy, but best of all, handling was sensational with the suspension modifications, especially for an economy FWD compact.

I really regret not buying the manual transmission Focus though. Now I drive a 6-spd Audi A4 quattro, and I don't think I'll ever want to go back to an automatic or a car without AWD again.

However, for its price and value, the Focus was certainly a good little reliable car to own.

I've never seen such mixed reviews in my life. I'm considering buying one from my mechanic, it's got 138,000 miles, he's replaced the ignition, brakes, leaky, rusty oil pan.

Is $2900 too much?