2000 Ford Focus Zetec from UK and Ireland - Comments

Only a few small things really.

Fog lights mist up after its been raining.

The left front speaker blew.

Cigarette lighter broke.

Stereo is temperamental.

Handbrake became very loose and didn't hold on steep hills (apparently it is common and theres nothing that can be done to tighten it...mmmmm!)

The Focus is a fantastic driver’s car. It is a very comfortable and enjoyable car to drive and makes you feel quite safe. The interior is very spacious and there is adequate room to carry four medium sized passengers even in the three door model, although tall passengers over six foot may have problems in the back. The seats in the Zetec model are fairly sporty and are comfortable in the front. The back seats are also fairly comfortable so the interior is good all round.

Driving position is excellent; with an adjustable steering wheel and height adjustable driver seat you can get your perfect position. Interior controls are well laid out and easy to reach. I have to say the interior is very well laid out and scores a nine out of ten from me.

The engine is very strong in these cars as it’s built by Yamaha so the Japanese build quality should shine through. Its not exactly fast, but the 115bhp engine gives a constant supply of power right up to its top whack of 125mph. 0-60mph is just over 10secs and like most 16 valvers it has to be pushed over 3500rpm before you feel the power and between 3500rpm and 6000rpm its pretty swift in 2nd, and 3rd gears. The car feels very powerful and is very smooth and the engine has a nice grunt to it when pushed.

The handling is fantastic on this car. It just sticks to the road and lets you know when your pushing it too far well before it actually does snap. I was very impressed by the handling on the Focus. I just wonder how much better it would be if it was lowered with a sports suspension kit.

The Focus is a great looking car from the outside and looks very sleek in the three door form. But I really don’t think it looks nice with the five doors. It’s practical for families, I know, but I don’t like it. The RS Focus is just amazing! The problem with the Focus is that it’s so common now, which brings me to the bad points of the car…

If you are thinking about buying a Focus, you should be aware that they are loosing their value FAST! Good for anyone who buying one, but not so good for anyone selling or trading one in. Car prices in the U. K have dropped significantly over the past year anyway, and I was thinking of replacing mine with an MG ZR and was shocked when the garage offered me only £6000 trade in. Id paid £10,000 for it 15 months ago so that’s a loss of £4000 in less than two years! In little over two years the car has halved from its new price of £12500! You should only buy one if you plan to stay with Ford for life as they will give you good trade in deals which other garages won't.

Another bad point is that it drinks petrol. Mine is the 1800cc 16v and its fine on the motorway, but in town it’s terrible. I’m lucky if I get 22 miles to the gallon.

The Focus is a very good, reliable and practical car to own. It’s great to drive, has a very low insurance group, and is one of the best all-round cars, in its class, on the market. Unfortunately I now HAVE to sell it as I’m just going to cut my losses on the money I’ve lost on it and buy an MG ZR. Hopefully it will retain value better than the Focus. Fifteen months ago I was apprehensive about buying a Ford, but the Focus was just a fantastic car. Having owned one I can now say that the Focus is still a fantastic car, but I will never be buying another Ford.

Unlikely your MG Will fair any better than

the Focus

You would have been better in going for a Honda civic

or a golf!!!

An MG ZR will drop in value like a lead balloon. Rovers and MG's historically depreciate at an alarming rate. Bet I could pick up an 18 month old ZR for about £12k. Oh, and they're naf as hell. Why not, buy a 3 Series or even a new Mini, they hold their value much better and are also much better cars to drive!

I can only agree out of all cars on the market Rover/MG have the worst re-sale value.

Well, traded in the Focus and got my MG ZR. Got £5600 for the Focus and MG are selling the ZR 105 for £8995 new where I live in Scotland at the moment. Pretty good value if you ask me. What other car you gonna get like the ZR for that price?? Paid an extra £1500 to get extras like side skirts, 17'' alloys, metallic XPower grey paint and a CD player. The car is fantastic. I thought the Focus handled well, but the MG is like a go-kart. So much better. I totally love it! Its slightly faster to 60mph than the Focus, but tops out at about 115mph. But hey, its only a 1400cc compared to the 1800cc of the Focus. It's a fast little motor. Ill keep it for a year or so then get an Impreza Turbo when I turn 23 I think. Hehe.

P.S I'm soooo glad to have got rid of the Ford Focus. Can't stand the sight of them now!

I'm glad your happy with your ZR, but I hope you realise in 3 years time it will be worth less than your old Focus!

What a comical story!

Of course if you buy a car from a main dealer and then part ex with a main dealer 2 years later you will get fleeced - you're paying their profit margin twice. The Focus has actually done very well for residuals - beating most main stream family hatches (306.307, Megane, Astra etc)

PS - MG ZR's at auction on 52 plates for less than £5k with less than 10,000 on the clock. It'll be worth even less when MG goes out of business - why not jump ship now!

MG Rover are out of business - what on earth is your wise decision going to / costing you now?

It doesn't really make sense to buy these cars new if you're going to sell back to the dealer after a short time.

I used to buy little cars like these, then I discovered big BMWs.

Bought a 750iL a few years old, perfect condition, FSH, ran for a year with no problems, changed oil and filter once, sold at a nice profit.

Did the same with a BMW850 and a Toyota Avensis.

5k for the Toyota at auction, sold privately for almost 8k six months later.

Reckon I can run these cars, all things considered, for less than you are paying for the Focus or MG.

You don't have to stay stuck in this rut of running cheap cars at a high price.

I would suggest you venture away from main dealers otherwise of course they will offer you next to nothing for your car. As for an MG ZR, well that will be worth nothing in next to no time and probably break down on you more than once. Sorry, I do not understand your logic above. Also, the Focus still looks good next to more modern cars whilst the MG is prehistoric now!!!

The focus is miles better than the mg. Mine was a 2.0 3 door esp zetec and it held it value very well because of this. I found the mgs slow and dull compared to the focus. The performance of this car is underated and the handling is AMAZING.

Ha! I bet you didn't realise Rover were going to go bust though, did you? How's about that for depreciation?