Before purchasing the car, I rented several. The Ford Focus stood out to me as the best car to drive in terms of handing, ease of parking and maneuvering in general. It wasn't too bad on gas mileage, though doesn't get the 25 mpg with either highway or city driving the dealer had advertised. Nevertheless, it's a great car. The only major thing that went wrong with it is one time it stopped altogether at an intersection. It turns out it needed a fuel pump. However, this was after I had deviated from the owner's manual which instructed not to put ANY additives in the fuel line, just fuel. I had gone to a quick oil change place where the slick salesperson said the additive was included in what I paid, so I may as well use it. Interestingly, once at an actual Ford dealer when getting the oil changed, they tried to sell me a fuel additive. I explained no, as the owner's manual recommends against them. They were surprised as they were supposed to sell the additive!! Other than a fuel pump, I've had no other major issue with the car.

I purchased my Focus with 0.3 miles on it. I now have over 150,000 miles on her and she is still running strong. In 2005 the Focus got a new trim design which made it look a little better than prior years. The ST version had a "sporty" interior with more side hugging seats and a two-tone red and black seat design (mine is cloth interior). It is a sporty, fun little 2.3L engine and the manual makes it quite a bit of fun to drive. In Minnesota and Iowa, where I have lived the entire time I have owned the vehicle, the winters can get pretty bad. But as long as I have good tires it does very well in the snow.