Faults:

Had to change a back strut bearing after 40000 miles.

Putting the shift stick in reverse can be a hassle sometimes. The stick tends to "jump out" into neutral if you give it some gas.

Rust sadly. The 12-year guarantee is a joke. This one rusts like any other old Escort.

General Comments:

My Focus is hands down a great car.

As you can see above, the workers of the Saarlouis factory clearly had a better day when they assembled my Focus.

The handling is the best thing with this car. The chassis ain't anything spectacular per se. Regular fine-tuned Ford parts from the shelves and light weight makes this car very enjoyable and communicative to drive.

The engine is also a quite enjoyable experience. Ford somehow managed to make the engine reasonably quiet under 3000 rpm, but if you floor it, the engine starts to accelerate and scream in a manner that would make a Corolla blush. I do have to say I enjoy this little extra effort from Ford.

The interior. I love it. Many people hate it. It looks cheap, it probably was cheap to build and it feels cheap. This isn't exactly the best thing with the car. Although, the setup inside is extremely logical and every button serves its purpose.

The seats are great for trips under 100 miles. Longer trips than that... take the Volvo. This is also a love-hate thing, because you sit very upright and the seating position is more like a MPV than a sports car.

Now, lets talk about the space! There's so much space inside this small car. The estate is phenomenal - everything fits in this car. Tubas, drunk passengers, lumber, tons of skis... and everything at the same time!

To sum it up. This car is equilibrium, because everything is so damn well balanced. You wouldn't want to change to a bigger engine, it would spoil the handling. You wouldn't want to change the seats, it would spoil the roominess inside. See where I am going?

Don´t be fooled by its weird design. This car is much more mature than many of the cars manufactured by premium car makers. This car is an extreme example of logic and pragmatism with a light touch of well... going on a small road 50 mph a spring evening, I am not sure I would rather drive an Audi or a BMW. Because right there... this car would feel so right.

Faults:

Not so much in 8 years and 205000 kilometers:

- 1999 the "dog-bones" had to be refitted (type fault).

- 2000 some computer problems with the ABS

- 2002 BIG problems with the paint : ( (type fault)

- 2005 Handbrake broke

- 2006 the "dog-bones" had to be refitted again (type fault)

+ New brake-parts at 180000km

+ New cooler and lower front because of a little crash with a fox in 140km/h : (

General Comments:

I'm very pleased about it. It had so few faults that I think it's much better than Golf or Corolla. The handling VERRRY GOOD, but not like my Peugeot 205 of course. ;)

When it's slippery, it's very easy to drive it (no ESP), maybe because of its long wheelbase (2610mm). It handles good on small roads too. Some times I've driven very fast on small road in the Finnish archipelago :D

The engine is quite good, but a bit lacking in torque 2000rpm >... but between 4000 and 6000 it roaaars and accelerates very quickly.

There is much room on all the seats, and the max load-space is 1600 liters. Once I slept in the car (not sitting).

The looks are great with the red pepper metallic paint.

0-100km/h 10.9s

Top Speed 185km/h

Max output 102bhp@6000

Max torque 145Nm@4000

Fuel 6,9l/100km