Ford Focus LS (2005-2007)

Most Reliable car ever – We purchased 2006 Ford Focus (LS) Zetec (manual) in Aug 2007 for $24K with around 10,000km. We sold the car in 2022 with just over 160,000km. It's the most reliable car we ever had. It had been our family car. Kind of regret selling it. During the 15 year period, the only replacements we had done apart from tires were the thermostat and the oxygen… Read more

sensor (just over $400). Some of the main reasons why it lasted long without any issues were we did oil changes every 6 months with full synthetic 5w30 oil regardless of the kms driven plus we also serviced it every year. Cooling system serviced every 4 years. Frequently pressure tested the cooling system. If you look after this car, it will look after you.

Good enough that I traded it in for another Focus – Bought it at 50000km, traded it in at 260000km, by which time it was admittedly a bit tired (burning oil and pinging a bit, probably due to valve seals, clearcoat suffering from a dozen years of sunlight). Thumbs up: - engine smooth and quiet (certainly compared to the ZZE122 Corolla it replaced). Did have to wind the lacky up to get the most out… Read more

of the engine though. - audio system was reasonable for a stock system. Too much to expect bluetooth in 2005 I suppose. - reasonable fuel economy (averaged 7.2l/100km). - fold-flat rear seats

Thumbs down: - alternator failure. I read somewhere that proximity to hot parts of the engine is often a contributing factor. To be fair, I did have plenty of warning of this failure (whining noise, both audible and electrical). Amongst other things, I discovered power steering becomes unhappy in the presence of power supply problems. - thermostat. Resulted in the engine running cool for much of its life. - vacuum hose leak failure. Resulted in all manner of idling and throttle issues. - excessive tyre wear on front inside edge. - continuity problem with one of the rear indicators. Ended up wrapping a bit of foil around one of the contacts.

Can't really complain for 8 years of largely reliable use.

2009 Ford Focus sedan -Ford Australia uninterested – At 92,000 Km the 2009 Ford Focus developed an alarming intermittent habit of dropping into 'limp mode'. Per error readout a new throttle control body was installed by our local Ford dealer - though the problem persisted and could not be found. Despite several requests Ford Australia refused assistance and since the car remained unreliable I was… Read more

unable to sell the car in good faith. The local dealer was courteous throughout the 6 months saga and ended up buying the car for $500 - a loss of around $3.5 - $4k. Disappointed that Ford showed no interest in sorting out the issue or at least meeting some of her loss. Despite its age, the car had been well looked after and only travelled 92,000Km. The main problem seems to rest with the electronics (CPM) which when faulty destines the car to scrap and Ford Australia are unwilling to back their product.

Pleasantly surprised! – I would normally never consider a European Ford but when I managed to buy my current car for a very small amount(a third of what it's worth!) I was pleasantly surprised by an amazing handling and very responsive car. The car is a bargain basement version of the Focus and so has very little in the way of luxuries or conveniences. There is a great… Read more

lack of storage in general. Only 2 shallow cup holders in the centre console. It has very little space in the boot although the back seat does fold down to create more. The leg room for the rear passengers is great and tall adults are very comfortable back there. Only the front windows are electric but like my wife says it's good to have two that will open no matter what, in case of the electrics failing. It has a tiptronic gearbox which is backward in operation compared to our Nissan Elgrand so it takes focus :) to get it the right way around. I would definitely keep this car because of its economy and its great handling zippy drive! I however need more than just a daily to work kind of car so I need something with a little more space. I have 3 cars at the moment so at least one has to go. I will keep either this one or the RAV4 and as I prefer a manual the RAV4 might win but the Ford is making me doubt because of its great drive and economy something the RAV4 lacks a little.

Engine Light – I purchased a second hand 2005 Ford Focus for my wife as a learning purpose. I purchased it from a car yard dealer. It was in good condition although it was a 12 years old car. After I purchased, in the second week, transmission light was on and off. I spend a few hundred to fix it. A few months later, the engine light was on. I spend another few… Read more

hundreds to fix that too. However, the car itself works well. Just the computer things got issues. Hopefully, just my bad luck to purchase such an issued car. I already get rid of it at a low price.

GREAT CAR – I brought my ford focus in 2007 brand new it was sitting on the lot but yes at the time I was looking at another car at that time I was looking at a Holden at the time cause I am a big holden fan I found the ford focus sitting on the lot and it just caught my eye. and friend of mine owned one of the previous models and yes I fell in love so I… Read more

wen't to the car dealer to start the process by it end of the day I had the finance and started signing the contract I love my ford focus since having my car I have started spending money on it buy buying new alloy's beefing up the suspension tinting the windows and a lot more but no I would not update to the current model as the boot is smaller as well as the engine.

User friendly – We've had this car for a few years now. It's reliable and is easy to manoeuvre. The boot is surprisingly very spacious for a hatchback. We've looked at other cars and none of them have boots as spacious as the focus. Drives very smoothly too. We're planning to buy a newer version of the focus soon.  Show details

Average car with various annoyances – I owned this car after buying it second hand. The aux port was inside the glove box for some strange reason which was not only impractical but difficult to plug in. The side skirting was cheap and easily came loose. Apart from that the fuel mileage was good but the suspension could have been better.  Show details

Nice car, handles & drives well – Ford focus 5 door hatch, 2.0L engine, 5 speed manual, nice car to drive handles nice, fuel economy is great, the down side is parts are way over the top, ford has priced parts so high its there way of getting owners into ford dealers to get them to do the work this way they keep getting our hard earned cash over & over again. Spark plugs range… Read more

from 4 × $27.50 each $100 plus, air filter $30 plus, Driver side wiper blade $27 passenger side $27, rear hatch window $27 3 × $81!! Absolutely madness & that's not counting oil filter, cabin filter, motor oil, coolant ect, its a shame because I found ford focus a really nice car in just about every other area, but car company's finding it harder to sell there product and even before they started doing it a bit harder they just wanted to keep us coming into there yards & given us no other option but to get them to do the work on our cars and they keep getting more & more of our hard earned.

Ford Focus. Sporty and efficient – The Ford Focus is a really fuel efficient car that has the best of both worlds. It is an amazing first car for a learner driver. It has a strong engine with a strong Ford backing behind it. The costs are low for fuel and the benefits are endless. It is really cheap on tyre's as well. The design is sleek and modern, the shifting between gears is smooth and it is a really quiet car with multiple benefits.  Show details

Pleasantly suprised. Economical. Hardy & cheap to repair – Suprisingly tough car, economical on fuel, minimal issues & all able to be repaired quite promptly & financially competitive. Feels safe & perfect for a family car. Quite spacious interior & generous boot. Obviously works better with 6 monthly services or starts to guzzle fuel & try & steer clear of white. They tried to think of all convenient extra functions  Show details

One of the best cars I've owned – I bought this as a low kms (600kms) used car owned by Ford HQ and then sent over to dealer in Perth. I was worried about reliability but this was an extremely reliable car. Even with a flash tune which gave the car an extra 50kw and 80nm of power the car never missed a beat. I owned it for 4 years and 60k kms and the only problems I had were: … Read more

1. Car going in limp or shutting down few times - thought it was my aftermarket ECU but turned out loose battery terminal, problem fixed

2. Replaced alternator - this was a weak point of this engine and affect this generation of models including the Mondeo version. Check to see if alternator was replaced or be prepared to cough up later, I think they sorted it out with the later version around 2009.

3. Clunk movement in gearbox - this is just a design trait you will feel movement in the driveline and if you listen really carefully a tiny clunk sometimes, it doesn't cause problems and isn't annoying or intrusive you can get aftermarket mounts

The 5 cylinder Volvo sourced engine is one highlight of this car - it is the sweetest sounding engine, smooth, truck loads of torque and extremely durable and proven going back to the early 1990s. It does feel a bit breathless and benefits greatly from a flash tune and a modified air intake (the stock has the ECU sitting inside the air box blocking airflow!). The other highlight is the sublime handling, extremely flat cornering, comfortable but loads of fun as you can chuck it around and get plenty of lift-off oversteer.

The car is pretty basic and even the engine by modern standards is pretty straightforward so there isn't too much that can go wrong provided you service it properly and regularly. Unlike my Octavia RS, there isn't a myriad of electronics and sensors that can go or does go wrong.

With proper check and maintenance these things should go for at least 200k kms without a problem, there is also great variety of parts and after market parts from UK and Europe.

Nice car, but – I had a 2007 Ford Focus 2ltr tiptronic for 3 years. Lovely car, easy to drive, parking a breeze, comfortable, plenty of punch......but the constant road noise/rumble was awful for a car of that age. I changed the tyres, and front shock absorbers, but to no avail. Two people I work with also had the same make/model and year, and had the same issue.… Read more

Investigation showed that the sound-proofing was woefully inadequate and for me to rectify this would have cost around the $NZ2000 mark, so I sold the car which was a shame considering all the other positives about it. Here's hoping they addressed this problem with later models.

Terrible road noise – I owned a 2006 LS Ford Focus LX sedan for 2 years.I sold the car because of the road noise.It had very uncomfortable seats, the build quality was terrible.Front wheel bearings failed at 125000 ks.Fuel economy was good for an auto.Shocking car on a long trip,space saver spare was useless.Best thing about it was the stereo.By far the worst Ford i have ever owned.Drive a Corolla or Mazda 3 before you think about a Focus,mine was a dud  Show details

Wonderful hot hatch – Having owned 3 new XR8 Falcons and numerous other European "luxury" cars, the Focus delivers a level of quality, power and refinement I'd expect to find only in far more exotic vehicles. The wonderfully tourquey engine combines with the slick six speed gearbox to provide an easy and relaxed drive during the daily commute, and plenty of surprises… Read more

for other "hot" hatches when the need arises. Ford has done wonders with the exhaust and it produces a fantastic sound inside and out of the car when the pedal is pushed. Focus XR5 Turbo: Awesome vehicle! Smooth, powerful, deceptively fast, excellent handling, and brilliant value for money. Nothing yet!

7 years on and still going strong – I studied the market very hard when trying to look for a new small fuel efficient car and found this one to be the best value for money with all the features i wanted plus it looked great too. What sold it for me though was when i took it for a test drive it was PERFECT! So easy to handle and it took to the road perfectly and i knew it was just… Read more

for me. I did intend to kit it out with a new stereo etc but realised that the stock one was pretty good so to this day still havent changed it lol. You can even plug in your ipod/mp3 player very handy feature though i wish you could switch songs etc through the car stereo instead of through the ipod itself. Overall I absolutely love this car just like the day i bought it (and it still drives like the day i bought it). I cant highly recommend it enough if you are on the market for a great fuel friendly car! 2007 CL model: Great to drive, safe, fuel efficient, great power for a small car, easy clutch and gears, FOUR doors, body looks sleek, massive boot for a hatch plus back seats can flip down for more room, comfortable seats, backseat roomy with headrests, seat belt height adjuster, nice dash, i know ppl have complained about the plastic but its so easy to just wipe down, back windscreen wiper, hood popper nicely tucked under the ford symbol, stock stereo is brilliant, aux plug in glovebox for my ipod, never had any problems with it (4 years and lots of driving later!)and finally just great value for money! Stock tyres were crap, need to get used to european style left hand indicators, air con could be colder, had to get the windows tinted seperately, oh and i wish i bought the model with cruise control.