Why (Not) the Ford Focus?
Ford Focus reviews by TrueDelta members get to the point: the best reasons for buying (or not buying) the Focus.
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Ford Focus
Non-members can see only fifteen Ford Focus reviews. Join us and see them all.
Ford Focus Reviews
| 05/28/13 0 |
Ford Focus - best bargain in the compact class A member from Manitoba, Canada Best Reason to Buy the Ford Focus: Past personal experience This is an exit review as we just sold this car. I'm actually sad to see it gone, but it's my wife's car and she wanted a new car after eight years. It was a 2005 ZX5 5-door hatchback, combining best-in-class handling with good looks, a snappy drive-train and good fuel economy. In eight years it had two "major" repairs (hatchback wiring harness and heater fan resistor were both replaced under warranty). We purchased a fully loaded model with every option available except the automatic transmission, and it returned stellar mileage (although my wife never liked taking it over 3000 RPM, which would explain the 27-28 MPG she usually returned in mixed driving). It was loud on the highway until I replaced the factory Pirelli P6's with taller profile Michelin summer tires, which made the cabin much quieter, other than for wind noise, which was acceptable for it's class. Best Reason Not to Buy the Ford Focus: Reliability & durability There are only three reasons why I would hesitate to recommend a used 2001 - 2007 Focus, and two of them are just picking nits. First reason, the side mirrors are two sizes too small. For what was a $23,000 car in 2005, the side mirrors speak to the decontenting in this class of car. I would have been happy for a trade-off of an extra $100(?) for better and larger mirrors. My other nit to pick was the heater fan - at maximum it sounded like a F4 Phantom was taking off inside the cabin.<br /> <br /> My only major complaint with the Focus is the appearance of rust. Throughout the model run the Focus ZX3 and ZX5 rusted in the same places - under the trim piece on the hatchback and the rear bottom corner of the rear passenger door frame. I regularly detailed the car, and the interior was absolutely mint, but even after giving up and having the hatchback professionally repaired, the rust had taken root. Other Reasons to Buy the Ford Focus: Powertrain performance This member used to own or lease the reviewed vehicle. read full review |
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| 05/19/13 0 |
A member from New York, United States Best Reason to Buy the Ford Focus: Past personal experience This is an "exit review" as I just sold the car. I bought this car new in April of 2005, and drove it daily, logging a total of 152Kmi.<br /> <br /> The car had but one major repair in its time with me, a failed ABS sensor early in its life that was repaired under warranty. That one episode aside, it was unflinchingly reliable, returned good fuel economy, and had an astonishing ability to swallow cargo. It was also reasonably comfortable and capable of handling long trips without punishing the driver. It also punched well above its weight class as far as handling was concerned. Best Reason Not to Buy the Ford Focus: Fuel economy Fuel economy at 30 mpg (average) was OK but not spectacular. I blame the 4 speed automatic for that and suspect I might have done better with the 5 speed manual. Other Reasons to Buy the Ford Focus: Fuel economy This member used to own or lease the reviewed vehicle. read full review |
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| 04/20/13 0 |
Overall We're Happy with the ZX5 A member from Michigan, United States Best Reason to Buy the Ford Focus: Cargo capacity & towing I've always loved hatchbacks, so I knew the ZX5 was going to be a winner in this regard. There's plenty of room for everything we ever need to haul around. Best Reason Not to Buy the Ford Focus: Color choices It's not Ford's fault we got a black car, but that's not going to happen again. It looks great for the first ten minutes after it's washed, but shows dust and road dirt within minutes after that. Other Reasons to Buy the Ford Focus: Ride smoothness, Fuel economy, Front seat room Other Reasons Not to Buy the Ford Focus: Fuel economy, Materials & workmanship This member owns or leases the reviewed vehicle. read full review |
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| 04/11/13 0 |
2007 Ford Focus ZX4 SES--My Experience A member from Oklahoma, United States Best Reason to Buy the Ford Focus: Fuel economy I have a 30 mile per direction commute to work, so fuel economy was of utmost importance. This car gets better than average fuel economy because it is very lightweight. However, I average around 32mpg highway (80% highway) and around 21mpg city (20% city). This is not the purported 38/29 highway/city mpg that was advised at the time of purchase. Best Reason Not to Buy the Ford Focus: Price or payments What can I say, it's a cheap car. At the time I purchased in 2009, the car was almost three years old and still had a sale price of $13000. It's currently only worth less than half of what was paid four years later. I purchased this car because of need and very limited time to make a choice. I knew I didn't want another Nissan because of their weak engines. My sister had just bought the 08 Focus SE model a few months before and was happy with hers, so I thought this might be an okay choice. Read on. Other Reasons to Buy the Ford Focus: Reliability & durability, Warranty, scheduled maintenance cost, Powertrain performance, Handling Other Reasons Not to Buy the Ford Focus: Materials & workmanship, Exterior styling, Ride smoothness, Quietness This member owns or leases the reviewed vehicle. read full review |
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| 02/14/13 0 |
2013 Focus ST A member from California, United States Best Reason to Buy the Ford Focus: Powertrain performance The chassis and gearbox of this monster are exceptional. It's an easy drive with a ferocious amount of power on tap. The torque steer can be alarming at times but adds to the fun. Best Reason Not to Buy the Ford Focus: Audio & nav systems Why? Why did Ford ever select the incompetents at Microsoft to build their computer system? It is the most inept, painfully awful computer I've ever dealt with. The dealer recently updated it. One flaw disappeared and five new ones replaced it. The incompetence is overwhelming. Here's but one example: Get in the vehicle. Connect my iPhone to the USB cable. Press the START button with the clutch out to power up the car without starting the engine. Enter a destination in the NAV system - which is painfully non-intuitive but seems the norm for these things. Then start the engine. The Audio system switches to A/V and then throws up an alert that has no buttons with which to dismiss it. What the hell is it doing switching to A/V in th Other Reasons to Buy the Ford Focus: Front seat support & comfort, Safety & braking This member owns or leases the reviewed vehicle. read full review |
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| 12/30/12 0 |
the Focus ST is a real do-it-all American car. A member from North Carolina, United States Best Reason to Buy the Ford Focus: Fuel economy Have never managed to achieve the posted fuel economy average for this car (26), even with extremely careful driving,70% highway. Driving it hard nets only a few mpg worse than hypermile type driving. Best Reason Not to Buy the Ford Focus: Fuel economy It's relatively easy in the other Focus models to average low to mid 30's for economy. This matches the EPA estimates. But the ST struggles to achieve anything close to EPA estimates in the real world. Mileage is more like a minivan than a small sedan. They should have included better engine management (like stop/start) or even separate fuel maps for economy and Sport modes. Other Reasons to Buy the Ford Focus: Exterior styling, Interior styling, Color choices, Powertrain performance Other Reasons Not to Buy the Ford Focus: Tires, Interior styling This member owns or leases the reviewed vehicle. read full review |
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| 12/29/12 0 |
A member from North Carolina, United States Best Reason to Buy the Ford Focus: Powertrain performance Engine is solid with no problems to date. Power is not anything to write home about, but the car gets out of its own way and does not feel dangerously underpowered. Transmission shits nicely and the clutch has an easy feel and takes little to no effort to drive in traffic. Best Reason Not to Buy the Ford Focus: Quietness Car is extremely loud on the highway. You tend to not notice it until you get out after a long stint on the highway. Other Reasons to Buy the Ford Focus: Front seat room, Reliability & durability, Fuel economy, Reliability & durability Other Reasons Not to Buy the Ford Focus: Interior styling, Driving position & visibility, Rear seat room & comfort, Safety & braking This member used to own or lease the reviewed vehicle. read full review |
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| 11/24/12 0 |
Somewhat disappointed return to Ford A member from California, United States Best Reason to Buy the Ford Focus: Exterior styling Good looking exterior and interior, especially with wheel package on Titanium Best Reason Not to Buy the Ford Focus: Handling Turning radius of a semi; terrible in tighter city situations Other Reasons to Buy the Ford Focus: Interior styling, Fuel economy, Feature availability Other Reasons Not to Buy the Ford Focus: Reliability & durability, Front seat support & comfort, Audio & nav systems This member owns or leases the reviewed vehicle. read full review |
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| 10/25/12 0 |
Great little car A member from New Hampshire, United States Best Reason to Buy the Ford Focus: Powertrain performance Car is very responsive and has plenty of power. Automatic shifting is not great but acceptable. Best Reason Not to Buy the Ford Focus: Fuel economy Great fuel economy. Abt 30 mpg with hard highway driving and abt 26-27mpg with all suburban driving. Other Reasons to Buy the Ford Focus: Fuel economy, Handling, Interior styling This member owns or leases the reviewed vehicle. read full review |
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| 09/16/12 0 |
A member from Pennsylvania, United States Best Reason to Buy the Ford Focus: Audio & nav systems SYNC is easy to use and integrates flawlessly with my phone. Voice commands just work, rarely have to repeat myself. Best Reason Not to Buy the Ford Focus: Safety & braking Spongy brakes! I've asked to have the brakes checked on a few occasions, but apparently that's just how they are. Other Reasons to Buy the Ford Focus: Price or payments, Feature availability, Fuel economy, Handling Other Reasons Not to Buy the Ford Focus: Interior styling, Exterior styling, Materials & workmanship, Ride smoothness This member owns or leases the reviewed vehicle. read full review |
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| 07/31/12 0 |
A member from California, United States Best Reason to Buy the Ford Focus: Powertrain performance Pretty quick with the 2.3l and a five-speed stick; enough to make me wish it had a limited-slip differential. Worst MPG ever was 24 - all city, max A/C. Best MPG was 37, at 75 MPH with A/C from Santa Rosa CA to Visalia CA. 140k miles; just passed smog. :) Best Reason Not to Buy the Ford Focus: Front seat support & comfort Driver's seat collapses like clockwork every 50,000 miles and needs to be replaced. With a used one from a junkyard, since dealer cost is over $1,000. Yeah - a thousand bucks for a manual cloth seat! Other Reasons to Buy the Ford Focus: Front seat support & comfort, Cargo capacity & towing, Tires, Safety & braking Other Reasons Not to Buy the Ford Focus: Quietness, Tires, Exterior styling This member used to own or lease the reviewed vehicle. read full review |
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| 07/27/12 0 |
A member from Alabama, United States Best Reason to Buy the Ford Focus: Fuel economy Good fuel economy, getting 30 MPG in town Best Reason Not to Buy the Ford Focus: Safety & braking Steering wheel locks when take key out of ignition. Have to "jiggle" steering wheel to unlock. Other Reasons to Buy the Ford Focus: Cargo capacity & towing, Feature availability Other Reasons Not to Buy the Ford Focus: Front seat support & comfort, Powertrain performance This member owns or leases the reviewed vehicle. read full review |
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| 03/05/12 0 |
A member from Illinois, United States Best Reason to Buy the Ford Focus: Handling I always liked how Focus rentals handled and this one was even better. Best Reason Not to Buy the Ford Focus: Front seat room Another two inches of legroom sure would be nice. Other Reasons to Buy the Ford Focus: Powertrain performance, Fuel economy, Brand reputation & image Other Reasons Not to Buy the Ford Focus: Quietness, Rear seat room & comfort, Color choices This member used to own or lease the reviewed vehicle. read full review |
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| 02/29/12 0 |
A member from Massachusetts, United States Best Reason Not to Buy the Ford Focus: Audio & nav systems I love music, and spent a lot of time just listening to car stereos. The Ford's stereos had too much thump-thump in them, like they were targeting 20 year olds. The Sony premium stereo was nice, but added a few thousand $ in required upgrades to get. Other Reasons Not to Buy the Ford Focus: Powertrain performance, Interior styling This member test drove the reviewed vehicle. read full review |
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| 10/26/11 0 |
A member from Michigan, United States Best Reason to Buy the Ford Focus: Controls and instruments The Sync system is powerful, convenient and simple to operate. The built in display in the instrument cluster provides a lot of useful info at a glance Other Reasons to Buy the Ford Focus: Fuel economy, Handling, Safety & braking This member owns or leases the reviewed vehicle. read full review |
Non-members can see only fifteen Ford Focus reviews. Join us and see them all.
