2004 Ford Focus User Reviews

Pros

good fuel mileage, excellent handling in city and on road, has a big car feel inside,

Cons

No cons for me

Purchased As New

I love my ZX3 and have been happy with it for the first 43,000 miles. It handles like a sports car but has the convenience of a hatchback, and my teenage daughter can drive it with happiness. It is pretty to look at and easy to park. I was stunned when I put my key in the ignition to leave the grocery parking lot and the wheel was locked and would not move, thus the car could not start. Tried everything to get it to move but it was frozen. Had to have it towed to the dealer. Cost a whopping $466 to get the lock/tumblers repaired. I've owned a lot of cars but never had one do this to me. Needless to say, I am a little wary of trying to keep it going for another 40,00 miles (what other little surprise might be in store). Because of this incident alone, I'm not sure how to rate the reliability factor....read morehide

Pros

CD player can read MP3 files, big cargo space, 2.3 engine produce good horsepower and fuel economy.

Cons

rear seats don't have head rests, rear seats a little bit too less legroom, no crossbar on roofrack.

Purchased As Used

2004 Ford Focus ZTW with 59000 miles brought it in 2007 for 12K. first there was lots of problems, tranmission died, emmision system light went on and off. But luckily i have the extended warranty that cover all this. Now, this car is good and love it. Big interior of the car. i would be nice if there is head rests on the rear seats. this car has a big window at the rear and when i am backing up the car i can see really well. comes with alloy wheels in ZTW, 2.3 engine provides good horsepower and power too. Never worry about entering highway. fuel economy is about 20 to 25 for mine and its good becuase its a station wagon. It doesbt come with crossbar on the roofrack thats the sad part but i barely put stuff on top since when you put the rear seats down, there is lots of room, it even fit a 8- key piano keyboard. Power everything. this car is just awesome the headlights look smart and the rear light look fine. The front turn signal light should be a little bit bigger, it would be more sporty if FORD put a spoiler even on a station wagon. But its stable on highway driving at 90 mph. Nice car first i think ford sucks now i changed my mind. Next car i think i will buy its either a focus or a mustang. 2009 focus looks sick and 2010 mustang looks sick too....read morehide

Pros

everything

Cons

everything

awsome car i cant bealieve you made a car this great. this wors out just great for me and my family. we thank you so much.

Pros

Comfort, Handleing, Feel, Smooth Crusing.

Cons

No Sync between transmission and Engine.

Ever since i tried to write a review for my 2003 ford focus ZX3, the yahoo was hving tech problems with it's rewiew site. Anyhoo now that i am able to i thought i'd give it a shot. I got the 03 ZX3 with front + side airbags, 6 disk indash CD changer, auto, AC, 16 inch pirellie alloy wheels and pwer steering.

I got to say the car is roommy than most in it's class and its great while it rides on the highway at 70 + miles an Hr. The car is soo stable and vibration free at high speeds. And definitly doesnt feelike like riding a feather like my dads 03 corolla. Steering, handleing and breaking impresses me.

Although some minor glitches i thought i'd mention. There was some noticably clunking noice with my car and i took it back to the dealership to ask about it. at the time i was about 1000 miles into my new car. The car was in the shop for about 4 days. They said they replaced a preasure switch. But as i am a member of myford.com according to that web site maintained by ford for "ford owners" the dealer ship wrote they had done some work relating to one of my axels. Hummm......got me thinking but i didn't make much of a fuzz about it since the clunking noice had been fixed. But it still was in the back of my mind.

Another thing i wanted to mention that i felt about this car was the performance interms of the engine and transmission. i got to say...this is the most unsync engine and trans combination i have ever felt in a car. sometimes with the AC ON or OFF coming to stop lights etc.....my auto trans down shifts too late. Just feel like the engine is trying to do something and the transmission is doing another. Also pick up is waaay low with the AC on. With the AC on with a slight slope hill the car doesn't shift down accordingly.......sometimes you hit the gas...then it shifts two grears down than one and then all of a suddent your engines roars at 3.6 + Rpm. Thats why i always felt either ford should decrease the wieght of the vehicle or put like a 2.2 or 2.4 litre engine for this car. Hey i'm not a tech expert but i think i know and experienced enough from my car to say that this is one of the most un syn engine + trans i have ever driven. Worst than a toyota echo. The echo is even less powerful (1.5 CC) than a focus but the engine and trans seem to be working in sync. But once up to speed and steady crusing my cars is a gem.

Oh another thing the Blue book value of this car is depreciating like crazy. 5 years from now dont expect to get as much as a equal class Honda or toyota. Your in for a good suprise. If your like me, intending to keep a car until it done then your fine. If you are someone who like chaning cars every 5 years then your at a little disadvantage....read morehide

Pros

Great price

Cons

A little noisy

I just purchased a Ford Focus SE. Mine was a Lease. I got a great deal and was very satisifed with the options. Ride is a little noisy. Looked a alot of cars and for the price a great deal. I got most of the bells and whistles and am very satisifed.

Pros

Good fuel economy, nice styling from "certain" angles

Cons

Ride is noisy, especially on bumpy roads

This is a great and affordable car to drive. I love my focus mostly because of its unique stying. But why does it have to be so underpowered? Ford releases the Focus every year as a homologation for entry in rallying (yes Ford uses the Focus as race car). Why not produce top of the line versions of the Focus, as Subaru and Mitsubishi have done with their rally based 270-300 horsepower Impreza STi's and Lancer Evolution's? The SVT Focus isn't quite much compared to those two.

But other than that, this is a great entry level car, especially if you are looking for good fuel economy!...read morehide

I bought a used 2004 ZX3 2.3l and its a real blast to drive . Jackrabbit starts that leave the suv's standing. Great cornering good MPG. I don't like boring econo boxes and this is not one of them. Can't wait till I install some bolt-ons.

lol are u kidding me i had a focus for a loaner and i couldnt even believe they made a car like this, and even worse that someone would buy it. I have a Matrxi XRS, it has 180 hp and i will own any stock focus. I destroy the SVTs like its my job.

People tell us that they like the looks of the car. My family really likes the car. They could have split the fold down rear seat and they could have put dome lights for the people in the back seat. There have been a couple of issues, a popping in the right front end that they have not been able to identify and some hesitation type symtoms. Decent miliage, we own the 2004 ZTW wagon and get 24 and 27, sometimes more and sometimes less. Overall, this is a great car....read morehide

I just bought this car a few days ago. It is superb! I bought a 2004 ZX3, automatic with the leather interior and moonroof and audiophile package. I took it up in the mountains and was amazed at how well it handled. The body leans a lot in curves but it grips the road like a baby to its mother. The acceleration is excellent for a 4-cylinder automatic. If you are looking for a lot of get up and go I would go for the shift. Great buy!...read morehide