Faults:

The dashboard had to be replaced, that was about $700.

There were electronic complaints for 03, but that's it except for routine oil changes, etc.

General Comments:

Wonderful car! Ford had it right when they built this. For only 110 hp, the car was peppy... and wonderful on gas. I had a beautiful champagne color, and tan seats. Funny enough, it actually rode like a big car, slightly stiff, but very solid. It handled great.

The only complaint I had though, was that the road noise was too much in the back seat... especially on the highway. Other than that, I truly miss the car. A tank in the snow too. Despite the fact that I drive a Grand Marquis now, and a Lincoln Continental... I still miss the Focus.

Faults:

The main issue with the car was its automatic transmission. This car convinced me to look only at manual transmission cars in the future, and accept automatic ones if I decide to buy high end car only (e.g. Mercedes Benz, etc.) I went back to Ford while the car was still in its original warranty, and they tried to check and fix the transmission, with no visible results.

The gas mileage was way off from Ford's charts - I had an average of 10 liters per 100km in the city, and 7.9 liters on highways. Part of the blame I would put on the transmission.

General Comments:

Other than the automatic transmission and higher mileage, I loved this station wagon. Since I had accident and the car was completely written off, I did not hesitate to buy another Focus (newer and higher model Ford Focus station wagon again), but this time it's 5 speed manual transmission. I have noticeably more power, way better mileage and no issues with the transmission, and love my 2005 Ford Focus ZXW SES now.

Faults:

Alternator, 2x.

Engine mounts.

General Comments:

Bought this to replace my '97 Grand Marquis. My requirements were simple: 5-speed and 30 MPG.

Succeeded on the first requirement, failed on the second.

I've yet to see more than 28 MPG in mixed driving, even granny-shifting at 2000 RPM. Keep it below 2500 RPM for average fuel economy and no power to speak of, take it over 3000 RPM and it has some pep but your mileage will also drop. Tiny 13.2 gallon tank means you don't have much range (2.3 cars had a 14 gal. tank). SPI's do a little better on fuel mileage.

Lack of low-end torque makes it a challenge just keeping up with traffic around town. At high RPM's the thing just gets buzzy, and power falls off fast after 5500 RPM. (No redline on the tach, I shift at 5800-6000, no point in revving higher in spirited driving) Running the A/C bogs it down severely.

All regular maintenance is up to date.

I miss V8's...

Shifter is vague, some call it notchy, but nothing out of the ordinary to me.

Interior is pretty roomy for a car this size, leather seats are on the stiff side, but comfortable. But - no lateral support to speak of when taking a corner spiritedly, you're bracing yourself with the steering wheel and dead pedal. I'm told ZX3's and (obviously) SVT's are better with that.

Good suspension and chassis tuning keep most road irregularities from making it through the wheel or into the interior. It has too much body lean in turns, though grip is good. A stiffer rear sway and better springs would help.

Do your research if you plan on buying one of these. Common fail points are the brakes, coil springs (in northeast states, Ford has a TSB out, they like to crack), ignition switch, alternator, fuel pump on the earliest models... I figured I was (mostly) out of the woods on this stuff buying an '03 but I was wrong.

Fuel economy be damned, my lesson with this car is to drive what I like; time for another Mustang.