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“I have owned a 1.6 Zetec Ford Focus for 15 months and...”

written by Jeff. on 12/10/2002

Good Points
Tidy handling with super road-holding. Refined cruiser. Very practical and comfy interior. Styling.

Bad Points
The engine feels weak and lazy to rev. Manual shift is tricky. Feels fragile. Lack of standard kit.

General Comments
I have owned a 1.6 Zetec Ford Focus for 15 months and each time I sit behind the wheel I feel on par with Coin MacRae. The handling is super...and I've driven loads of cars....and nothing comes close. Yet ride comfort is very good and shrugs bumps and thumps away with finesse. The interior is well designed and my wife finds it really easy to secure baby Emma into the baby-seat without breaking her back. The upright driving position is very comfortable and gives plenty of view of the road ahead. Though rear 3/4 view can be nasty. The boot is a bit of a tight fit, but all the shopping will fit no problem.



The glitches: I can't understand other people's complains about reliabilty. It's true that the car doesn't feel that sturdy as say a Nissan....but up to now....with 30K plus milage...absolutely no problem. The engine is the Focus 'weak' point. While it is happy to cruise along for the relaxed Joe, it is slow to pick up on revs and pile up speed. Dropping a gear is a must and revving hard is to no use as the engine is based on torque rather than high end power. Fine for plodding along in town traffic..but when the open road comes along..I'm found pushing hard to keep ahead. Then there's that transmission. It's bulky and slow. Changing a gear without lifting your foot from the accelerator is nearly impossible. Finally, the kit...it's shameful. For 13 grand there is no passenger air-bag or ABS! Shame on you FORD!



Overall, the Focus is a very nice car and, if you are an enthusiastic driver....it's definitely your car, but the motor isn't it's biggest asset!