4th Jul 2011, 20:45

ORIGINAL REVIEWER HERE.

Nearly three years after driving this rental Focus for a few days, I own one myself. We got rid of the 2001 Taurus for a 2001 Camry, but when it was totalled in a ten-mile-per-hour collision. We traded it on a 2005 Taurus SE (a review is on the site, look for "obsessed" in the title).

I've only had the Focus for a month, but I know I made the right choice.

I'll keep you posted in a subsequent review when I write it in a few months.

One change to the original review: There IS a cabin trunk release; it is on the very bottom left of the dashboard. A renter would probably never find it, but an owner would.

Gas mileage is a little lower than the rental was, but it is still in the break-in period (4,500 miles versus 8,400). Since I have had the car, the computer says I have gotten 31.4 MPG (about 60 city/40 highway). I haven't hand-calculated it yet.

Now that I drive it (I was a passenger only at the time this review was written), I find that the mirrors are big. My father thought (and still thinks) they are small, but I am quite happy.

The location of the trip computer switch still bothers me, but not that much. It is easy to reach and find; it is just in the most illogical of places.

I look forward to at least 200,000 miles of easy motoring.