2008 Ford Focus SE Sedan

Pros

Fuel economy, ride, appearance too many others to list

Cons

There are no cons

Purchased As New

My husband and I have owned our 2008 Focus for almost a year. We truly love this car. Everywhere we go people are always asking us about the car. Many people can't believe its a Ford. Some of our favorite things about the Focus is the ride, the layout of the interior, the appearance. I wanted a car with attitude and I got that in our Focus. We wanted a practical yet sporty car and we got that in our Focus. We love our 2008 Ford Focus. Ford has a winner with the Focus....read morehide

Pros

Everything. I love this car.

Cons

I scratch the bottom when parking, clunk noise when wheel is turned and in reverse.

Purchased As New

This car is so absolutely the best. I drive it hard, and it performs. It has umph. It comfortably seats at four, and on long trips I feel just fine. I love driving my car. Any excuse to drive it, and I've had it a year, and I still love driving it. Only problem I've had is the clunk noise when the wheel's turned and I'm going in reverse up a hill, and I tend to scratch the bottom when I park with the bricks lined up. Overall, though, no troubles....read morehide

Pros

Style, comfort.

Cons

Placement of accelerator, windshield wiper switch from 1992 Mercury Sable.

Got this as a rental for a week. Work as a security guard. Our patrol vehicle keeps breaking down. Boss rented this for us. I patrol a large open area. Spent 8 hous a day in the Ford Focus SE model.

Love the exterior styling. It just plain looks good. Entry is great for a compact car thanks to the tall roof-line. I'm just over 6-feet tall, and had no problem climbing in & out of this car on a routine basis. The Driver's seat is a bit snug. Adjusting the seat to a comfortable position was easy, but for larger drivers the rear seat just behind the driver's seat becomes useless.

Interior is nicely laid out. Except when it comes to turning on the lights. (That control is located just below the driver's side air-vent). Even worse, rather than moving the steering wheel stalk up or down to turn on the wiper blades, you have to rotate the knob on the steering wheel stalk to various settings. Same set-up as on my mother's 1992 Mercury Sable sedan. The problem?.... This set-up is notorious for breaking down after a few years of use. Why would Ford re-introduce this horrible set-up on a modern vehicle? No clue.

In general, the car performed well. But the accelerator is too far back from the brake peddle. In a compact, such placement helps to prevent the driver from accidentally hitting the gas, when he wants to hit the brake. But on the Focus, the placement is too far back. Sometimes while tapping the brake, then shifting my foot to tap on the gas, my foot would miss the pedal entirely. And one time, when needing to tap the brake, I took my foot off too quickly from the gas pedal; and nearly got my foot stuck underneath the side of the brake pedal! Not good, not good at all.

Overall: A good Daily Driver, but with what I consider to be a couple of odd design flaws....read morehide

Pros

Fuel Economy: In Town Avereage 31.1mpg On the Road: Average 40.2mpg

Original equipment tires are too aggresive and very noisey.

Purchased the auto July 4th 2008 weekend....Currently have 5,000 miles on the car...with 2 road trips from Melbourne Beach, FL to Warner Robins, GA....Averaged 41.2 mpg going and Averaged 39.6 return trip....Name brand gas going.....cheap brand on return trip.

Consistant 31.1 mpg around town....Love this mpg...much better than I had expected.......read morehide

Pros

Comfortable for front passengers, good trunk space, great on gas, love onboard computer checks

Cons

Poor rear comfot & space, ABS not standard, noisy brakes, no interior trunk release

I helped a friend purchase a kiwi green 2008 Focus sedan SE over a 2008 KIA Rio after her old 2004 Rio was totaled in an accident. She got ABS, the standard single CD radio with the AUX jack for your iPod, automatic, and power windows and locks. I have always loved Fords and it was a bit of a challenge to convince her to change since her family drove KIAs as well. But once she drove one she fell in love with it. I recently took a trip with her and her Focus to Philly with 2 other friends and our luggage and took about 5 hours to get there. Believe it or not we were able to get all of our luggage into the trunk! Its a fun car to drive, but the rear seats are very cramped and do not have headrest, which seems odd to me with as much hoopla going around about safety and rear end crashes. The standard CD radio is ok but should have better quality speakers. The rear seats only have one cup holder, and no overhead light for the rear passenger area. There are also no large hooks or handles in the rear to hang clothes from very easily. Acceleration is ok but needs much improvement for the highway. The car also bottoms out very easily on downtown Philly city streets. She has had a few things that she had to take the car into the dealership for repair. The center cover part of the steering wheel where the horn and airbag are located was not attached properly at the factory and was replaced, and also the front passenger side door rubber trim at the top of the window was mashing up into the groove where the window goes when its in the up position. Both items were replaced at no charge at the dealer. There was also a recall on the rear window defrost which has also been repaired. Overall the car is fun to drive and has great options that you can upgrade a new car with. Get the new Sync radio option if you get one. She did not get it, and opted for getting the ABS instead. Also get cruise control as well if you go on trips. She also did not get this option. She is very pleased with her car as am I, and I think it was a far better purchase over any Kia in its class....read morehide

Pros

Great little car for the money.

Cons

None

I never thought I would like a little car. After driving F-250 super cabs and large suvs for the past 15 years we bought the Focus in Kiwi Green for my daughter who just got her license. She gets to drive when her mom and I aren't using it! We can get all five of us in the car and all the groceries for the week too! Can drive all week (several trips to town,7 miles one way) for around $45 bucks! Compared to our "07 expedition we save enough in gas to make the payment every month! Today driving back from town with several hills in between I got 51.1 MPG! I was trying very hard driving About 45mph and a little coastin here and there, basically dinking around and got that kinda mileage. pretty impressive I thought, but we all love the little car. BEST OF ALL IT IS A FORD BUILT BY AN AMERICAN COMPANY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...read morehide

Pros

Great fuel economy 28-30 in the city 35.2 on the hwy, Sync System, USB port, Cruise Control, etc

AWESOME AWESOME car!! This is my second car but first new car and I am proud of my purchase! Gas is cheap on it, fits my budjet, the Vista Blue looks great!! Plenty of room except its a little tight in the back seat in the coupe model but thats expected.. I LOVE this car!

Pros

Excellent fuel economy, Great ride

Cons

Some of the trunk space should have been used for rear seat leg room

A great small car with excellent fuel economy. Fun to drive. Looks great inside and out. Drives like a mid-size car. Sync is a winner. I was surprised by how well it works. I get over 35 mpg in city driving with manual trans. Overall a very good value.

Pros

Great fuel economy, Cool styling, Great add-ons like sync

Cons

None

This car is great on mileage. I get 34 on highway; I get minimum of 33 even if I drive it bad. I do have to tell you about sync its cool, you can give voice commands and u just got to plug in your IPod.
The safety features of this car are better than any other car in this segment.
I did a comparison with Nissan Sentara, Hyndai Elantra Toyota yaris this was the best.
About the space, It has a huge trunk.
There a lot of other feature I had not explored.
By large this is the best car for this price...read morehide

Pros

Really fun to drive. I haven't had a stick since my Fiat. Love It!!!

Cons

The slippery steering wheel. A Leather cover should have been standard.

I LOVE MY FOCUS.
It handles nicely. The steering is quick and precise for getting out of the way of people that don't know how to drive.
I am 6 feet tall, and have no problem getting in and out of the car.
I like my steering wheel more level than the standard position.
In some cars, I would be bumbing my knees. Not the Focus.
The side mirrors are large to give a wide view of cars in different lanes.
I due plan on buying a high quality leather cover for the steering wheel.
I hate the slippery plastic feel. This is what I didn't like about my friend's '99 Camry, which I love to drive. You don't get a secure grip on turns.
Once a get a better grip on the steering wheel, I will be elevated to another level with my Focus....read morehide