2003 Focus ZTS: Oddly Surprising

"Logansteno: Bought a VW?" (logansteno)
08/20/2016 at 21:56 • Filed to: None

So I have my cousin’s Focus for the day to change the fuel filter (which aside from dripping gas and one pesky clip, was easy to change.) I was driving it around to make sure everything was right, and it’s shockingly nice to drive.

This but dark red and a touch beat up

The little 2.0L motor has plenty of pep even hooked to an automatic and sounds nice IMO. The steering is great and the car handles really well. I knew this had a reputation to be pretty fun, but I didn’t expect it to be as fun as it was.

On the other hand, the interior is very funky. A little too funky for my tastes. Steering wheel is thick and feels good in your hand though. Plus Ford GT blinker stalks.

So yeah, color me impressed.

DISCUSSION (20)

whoarder is tellurium > Logansteno: Bought a VW?
08/20/2016 at 22:03

Aye, the Focus is definitely tossable.

Light weight car with European developed handling.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Logansteno: Bought a VW?
08/20/2016 at 22:05

You owe it to yourself to find a well sorted SVT.

Absolutely fantastic to drive.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
08/20/2016 at 22:09

I can only imagine if a regular old one drove this well what an svt would be like.

mazda616 > Logansteno: Bought a VW?
08/20/2016 at 22:18

Shares a platform with the first generation Mazda3. Platform was developed for Ford Europe by Mazda. :-)

They weren't bad cars by then. The 2000-2001s had major QC and build quality issues.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Logansteno: Bought a VW?
08/20/2016 at 22:22

My mom had a manual 2003 ZTW, with the 2.3l Zetec. It was supposed to become my first car when I turned 17, but in 2005 my dad insisted that she needed to trade it for an AWD Escape instead. I hated it, my Mom hated, my dad never drove it. My mom and I are still mad about it.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > mazda616
08/20/2016 at 22:24

Well, that explains a whole lot. Makes even more sense now that I remember they both had the same powertrain choices.

Early generation 00s American cars with quality issues? Nooo, never.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
08/20/2016 at 22:25

Escapes are fun in their own bouncy way, but the focus is better to drive by a long shot.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Logansteno: Bought a VW?
08/20/2016 at 22:31

Maybe the escape would have been okay if it was manual, or a V6, unfortunately it was neither. It actually got handed down to my grandmother and then blew itself up at about 130,000 miles.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
08/20/2016 at 22:33

Oh yeah that’s a bad combo. My friend’s Escape is a FWD V6 and it’s pretty ok to drive.

Busslayer > mazda616
08/20/2016 at 22:43

Actually, the C1 engineering was shared equally between Ford, Mazda, and Volvo but was done under the oversight of Ford Europe in Cologne.

C62030 > Logansteno: Bought a VW?
08/20/2016 at 22:47

I rode in one of these once. My lasting impression is that it had very strange air vents.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > C62030
08/20/2016 at 22:49

Air vents, radio bezel, some button locations. It's a strange interior.

Busslayer > Logansteno: Bought a VW?
08/20/2016 at 23:05

I bought a 5 speed 2005 Focus with 100k miles 4 years ago as a cheap place holder car while I was paying off some other obligations. I still have it now with 150k miles. I have grown to really like it. I liked it so much I bought another 05 for my kids. Theirs is an automatic. I gave found that the 05-07 models in particular are almost bulletproof. In the 50k miles I’ve had mine the only thing I’ve had to replace were the front sway bar end links. And I will admit I beat the snot out of it. The 2.0 with manual trans combo isn’t really fast, but is fast enough to not be boring. It is really tossable and it is easy to get the tail to rotate off throttle. If you need a cheap, fun, and reliable car, I think they are great. I prefer the Duratec models (05+) vs. the earlier Zetec as they don’t require timing belt changes and have a little more power.

Me beating on my focus (@~140k miles).

Frenchlicker > Logansteno: Bought a VW?
08/20/2016 at 23:13

My mom has one of the first Focuses to roll of the line. I love that thing like no other. It replaced our Jeep Liberty, which replaced a ZR2 Sonoma, which replaced a Dodge Dakota with the “Magnum” engine, which replaced an older S10, which replaced a Buick Century. It was the best of that whole line.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Logansteno: Bought a VW?
08/20/2016 at 23:33

Sublime.

I miss mine dearly. There is quite a bit to be said of having torque, and especially in the mid-range like my GTI. But the SVT is so utterly joyful when driving it makes up for lack of power by being such an eager, willing, and able driving partner. My GTI is fun, but it feels like I am asking it to make more of an effort than it would prefer to when you really toss it around.

I am working on fixing that laziness asap.

C62030 > Logansteno: Bought a VW?
08/20/2016 at 23:46

Ford Engineer: “The Germans’ interiors are so well-thought-out and nicely designed.

We should do the exact opposite.”

Ford Boss: “Brilliant, Billy Bob Joe Jim! Take my keys and my wife!”

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > Logansteno: Bought a VW?
08/20/2016 at 23:46

This was my first car. It's amazing how much better the same 2.0 engine was in the Focus vs. the Escort.

and 100 more > Logansteno: Bought a VW?
08/21/2016 at 00:08

A coworker friend of mine had a ZX3, even though he was a big-time sports-bike guy. He said he tried all other kinds of cars, but the ZX3 was what really did it for him, fun-wise.

Take that for what it’s worth.

bhtooefr > C62030
08/21/2016 at 03:34

Of course, the Focus, being a Ford of Europe product, was one of the Germans (and simultaneously a British car, although it looks like Ford never assembled the Gen 1 Focus there). (But, a Frenchman and an Australian were responsible for the design, so...)

duurtlang > Logansteno: Bought a VW?
08/21/2016 at 07:13

I learned to drive in one; my driver ed car was a then new 1999 Focus (hatch, turbo diesel, manual).