Other Ford Focus (2011 - 2018) models:

  • Summary

    2 out of 5 2.0

    What does this car say about you?

    Practical - from the outside - but once inside, most people are impressed with the spec.

    What do your friends / family / neighbours think of the car?

    It's a smart car - practical size and looks good.

    Would you buy this car again and why?

    No - too disappointed with the reliability as soon as it was out of warranty - head gasket, heater matrix, even the windscreen washer pump has needed expensive repairs or replacement. Plus it has failed catastrophically on me twice and put me in danger - once when heater matrix exploded, another when the engine overheated and I lost all driving power in the third lane of a five lane motorway intersection.

    What are you likely to buy next?

    Considering a Nissan Qashqai.

  • Buying experience

    3 out of 5 3.0

    Type of dealer you bought from?

    Franchised

    Did you buy this car new?

    Yes

    What price did you pay?

    £20,000

    When did you buy the car?

    April 2012

    Did you get a good deal and why?

    Reasonable deal as willing to buy a car already in the dealership.

    Is there any special reason why you bought this car?

    Liked the drive and specifications of Fords.

    What was the dealer like?

    Polite, not entirely knowledge about what specifications came with each model which caused some confusion.

  • Driving it

    4 out of 5 4.0

    What's it like to drive?

    Handles well, quite punchy acceleration, steady on the motorways even in quite windy conditions.

    What's it like to park?

    Not bad - sometimes a little difficult to judge the front nose but if you tend to reverse park, as I do, it handles well and I can get it into most tight spaces!

  • Living with it

    1 out of 5 1.0

    Have you had any problems with the car?

    I've done a lot of miles (80,000) but at less than 4 years old and always serviced at correct intervals by a Ford dealer, I am very disappointed with how much has gone wrong in the last year - including the heater matrix exploding sending boiling steam into the driver footwell at 45mph.

    What's most practical about your car?

    Good size boot, very comfortable drive. Gadgets are all logical and intuitive to operate so a minimal distraction to the driver.

    Favourite gadget, option or accessory?

    I wouldn't be without cruise control but the Sony DAB radio is great too for long journeys.