15th Aug 2006, 20:45
The individual that stated he is 6' 6" and can fit comfortable in the Focus is very entertaining.
I am 6' and with the driver seat set to the max space my knees are rubbing the lower plastic dash; very tight & uncomfortable!
The back upper seats are suppose to fold-down flat in front of the back lower seat.
However, if one has either of the front seats in the max space position the latter is not possible.
I thought the rear brakes were disc, Ford is still using Drum brakes on the S and SE model, the ST may have 4 wheel disc...
Last week I ran over a street pot hole and cracked the white aluminium control arm.
Ford replaced the part, but when I viewed the broken component it was extremely cheaply made; casting reminded me of those old Chinese toys in the mid 70s.
I slammed the hood yesterday and it bent, this is one of the cheapest vehicles I have ever owned.
How this vehicle ever received a good safety rating is beyond my understanding, if my car was to get in an accident with a mid size car I would probably be trapped tightly inside like a skin on a sausage.
The air vents blow outside air regardless if they are on or off, I freeze my butt off at night.
I would never tell someone to buy a car like this for their son or daughter, it is a pile of cheap paper thin metal.
Today, fuel cost may be a little high, but one's life has to be worth something...
17th Sep 2006, 18:10
We bought a 2001 Focus ZX-3 in 2001. I'm also a big guy and I had not the slightest complaint with being crowded in it, nor did we ever have a single problem with the car. The quality was top-notch and the performance was great. If you're going to obsess about not being safe in a small car, go buy an army surplus tank. Otherwise, I'd recommend the Focus to anyone looking for a reliable, well-built car.
22nd Sep 2006, 21:56
We rented a 4 door Focus sedan last month and were impressed with the amount of passenger space. At one point we had 4 adults in the car:
1. Driver: 5'2" and very plump female (seat almost all the way forward)
2. Front passenger: 6'6", male (seat pushed almost all the way back)
3. Left rear passenger - 6'1", male
4. Right rear passenger - 6'1", male.
All 3 men said they had enough leg and head room and I was very comfortable as the driver.
My only complaint was not being able to see the hood made me feel as though I was driving a van. A very odd sensation.
17th Oct 2006, 15:45
Actually a person's physical proportions are really what matter in the seating comfort of a car. People with very long legs will have more problems that people who are tall, but have not quite so long legs. I'm a big guy, but my legs are not too long, so I'm totally comfortable in most any small car. We had a Focus and I had no problems fitting in it and driving comfortably.
24th Jan 2007, 20:16
I have an 07 Scion TC and I have the air coming through the vents as well, so I don't think the problem is exclusive to Ford. It freaked me out at first because I was paranoid about things not working properly in my brand new car, but now I'm used to it and actually don't mind it. I will try the recirculate button now though.
10th Apr 2007, 07:42
To "15th Aug 2006, 20:45", how about having your son or daughter get a job at the local supermarket buy their own car like a respectable parent, rather than spoiling them and buying them an SUV or whatever you have in mind?
10th Sep 2007, 15:31
To the real tall guys who like to entertain. I remember the times when people in Europe drove FIAT 500's and Austin Mini's. These were challenging to the tall guys. Some converted them into 3-seater's by taking the driver's seat out altogether!
30th Nov 2010, 22:33
I recently purchased a 2006 Focus ZX5 SES with a 2.0L Duratec.
This was back in April of 2010, it had just shy of 72,000KM.
It is now approaching December 1st 2010. I now have 100,100KM on it, so in 6 months I have put a lot of mileage on it, and have been in one collision with it (approx 12km/h).
Performance-wise, I've been very happy with the engine, and the transmission (5-speed manual) is smooth. I learned how to drive a manual transmission in this car, and it has taken the abuse admirably. It handles high revs nicely, and still sounds alright in the 6000+ RPM range, though I am NOT advocating pushing the car there, the tach has no defined "redline".
At current fuel prices (1.02-1.06/liter range) it costs me between $40 and $50 CAD to do a round trip from Windsor Ontario to Toronto, Ontario. I haven't had a chance to play with the car in the winter yet, but I'm looking forward to it as I had a lot of fun in my Grand Am the last 2 winters (may it RIP).
I do experience a brief, but loud, high pitched "WHOOOOO" noise (like a flute or blowing across a beer bottle) occasionally when taking off from a standing start, it only seems to be when it's cold and humid.
The heated seats are very nice.
I find that near freezing, the heaters can take quite a while to actually warm up the vehicle, once they do though it is very warm.
The same is true in very high temperatures with the A/C, but I find that cracking the windows to allow the hot stale air to circulate and setting the vents to recirculate helps.
The cargo room is very acceptable with the hatchback. If you fold down the seats, it's actually quite impressive, even though the back seats don't fold down flat; I've moved a 6 drawer dresser from Toronto to Windsor, along with other items packed. This brings me to another complaint:
Blind spot... I find it just atrocious on the driver's side. This could be very personal, as I have more trouble with looking around the head-rest than actually seeing out the window. The passenger side is OK, but I just get a haunting feeling that I"m missing something.
Passenger space and driver side space in the front is wonderful. I'm 6'0 and don't need the seat at max room. Foot room in the back is wonderful, but legroom seems narrow.
My one collision was in a parking lot. I T-Boned another car. Basically crumpled her rear driver's side door in. Her car was older and was written off. The collision was not hard enough to deploy the airbags. Impact on my car was the passenger side fender. Visible damage on my car was minimal; cracked bumper and scratches. Well, my grille was hanging a bit, but I snapped it back into place (for some reason I couldn't stand the sight of it). My hood would not open properly and there was some minor frame damage.
Fortunately, the frame was straightened and my alignment is holding nicely, so even though the value has dropped, the performance hasn't been affected. I barely even felt the collision aside from feeling like I was braking somewhat heavily and hearing the loud noise of impact. In older cars (for example a 1984 Mercury Grand Marquis), even minor collisions resulted in some injury in my experience such as whiplash.
I'm very impressed with this car, and thought that even if it's 4 years late, I should express it.
23rd May 2006, 15:09
As a follow-up... my Focus is in the shop having the fuel filler neck replaced. It was found to have been damaged i.e. "crimped" when originally installed. As a result, the gas tank could not properly vent once fueling began, thus causing the fuel to shoot out (immediately with tank empty). The dealer tells me there will be no charge and should be ready in a day or so.