Ford Focus

I'd been driving a Toyota MR2 for 17 years, and had owned 2 Honda CRXs before that, so at first, I was disappointed that a Ford Focus was all I could afford. This car changed my mind. It gets up and moves when I need to accelerate, stops quickly and evenly and handles curves at speed very well. The turning radius is much tighter than any American car I've driven, and U-turns can be made easily on even the narrowest 2 lane road. The Focus doesn't feel like a small car, due in part to the roomy interior and high seat position, but it handles as well as any small car I've owned.

The cargo cover in the hatchback is easy to remove and stow, and I can put the rear seats up or down in about 30 seconds. I love the keychain remote, which turns on the interior lights when I unlock the doors. I can lock or unlock the car without having to leave the house, which has come in handy more often than you'd think.

I only have three complaints. The first is the driver's seat. The headrest adjusts up and down, but does not adjust forward and backward, and it pushes my head too far forward and into an awkward position, unless the seat is tilted back further than I like. The seat has no lumbar support, so I sometimes use an aftermarket cushion I bought from the dealer, although it isn't comfortable either.

The second complaint is the gas mileage. This car has never gotten more than 24 mpg, which was the Consumer Reports estimate of "real" mpg, even when I was driving very conservatively with the A/C off. With the A/C on, as it is most of the year here in the desert, I only get around 20 mpg. (I was probably spoiled, driving cars that got 28-44 mpg in the city over the last 20 years, but why are all the new cars such gas hogs?)

Third, there is no ashtray. There is a totally useless little shelf where an ashtray would have gone. The aftermarket ashtray goes in the cupholder, which is so low, it's nearly impossible to hit the ashtray, even in daylight. Non-smokers have always used auto ashtrays for coins or trash, so why not just leave them in and give it a more politically correct name?

The seat position won't be an issue with anyone who likes to drive with the seat tilted back, 20 mpg is better than many people have ever gotten, and non-smokers won't care about the ashtray. So for most people, I'd think this would be a great little car. For me, it's a surprisingly good car, especially for the price, but not perfect.

Looking for a little fun with your fuel economy? The SVT Focus (avail. '02-'04) is an almost perfect combination of economical performance with good utility in a compact footprint.

The 6-speed transmission is a little clunky feeling through the gears, but shifts are clean and accurate and the light clutch has a very short take-up, making it especially easy to drive in traffic. I would prefer a lower first gear for better off-line starts with the AC on, and the 4-5-6 gear sets would benefit from a slightly wider spacing to allow lower RPM interstate cruising.

The structure is solid and tight with only an occasional thump from the rear hatch. Most SVTs come with all the goodies -- power driver's seat, heated seats and mirrors, leather-trimmed interior, moon roof, tilt/telescope steering wheel, 4-wheel disc ABS, etc. -- so you're not exactly roughing it in this economy car. SVT performance does require premium fuel, so be aware. But at 31 MPH highway, it's a reasonable price to pay for the fun you'll have pushing the loud pedal around town.