2004 Ford Focus Review

The one big fault of the highly functional European-style Ford Focus was a lackluster four-cylinder engine, which provided marginal acceleration -- and thus anxious moments when quick moves were needed in fast traffic.

Happily, the 2004 Focus now has a strong new 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine with 145-horsepower and good torque. As a bonus, the new engine has exceptionally low emissions. The engine is a modified Mazda unit and shows that ultra low emissions and good power are not mutually exclusive.

Put your foot down hard and the Focus with the new engine eagerly leaps forward during merging and passing. It's no hot rod, but fast traffic no longer should be a concern of Focus owners.

Engines with displacements under 2.5 liters generally get robbed of too much power by an automatic transmission. But my test $17,985 Focus ZTW wagon with the 2.3 engine and its slick $815 four-speed automatic transmission was nearly as responsive as with its standard five-speed manual gearbox.

There's a whole slew of $13,425-$19,330 Focus sedan, hatchback and wagon models for seemingly every taste. The new engine is standard in most of them: the ZTS and ZTW models and in the ZX3 and ZX5 Premium versions. It's optional for the ZX3 and ZX5 Comfort models.

Last year's Focus had a 2-liter 110- and 130-horsepower four-cylinder engine, which was OK for life in the slow lane. There also was a hot rod 170-horsepower SVT 2-liter version, but it had a four-cylinder engine that became tiring because it called for high revs to get the best performance.

You can still buy a 110- or 130-horsepower Focus -- and even the rather costly SVT version. But the lower-horsepower engines are mainly for those concerned with getting the highest fuel economy, although it's not much better than the economy delivered by the new engine.

The new engine provides an estimated 25 mpg in the city and 33 on the highway with a slick manual gearbox and 24 and 30 with the automatic transmission.

Figures for the most economical Focus engine -- the 110-horsepower unit -- are 27 and 36 with a manual and 26 and 32 with an automatic, and the lowest economy is with the SVT engine, which comes only with the manual gearbox and is rated at 21 city, 28 highway.

The Focus has been fun to drive since its arrival as a 2000 model. Ride and handling were tuned by Ford's European operation so it has quick steering, sharp handling, solid braking and a firm-but-supple ride. The steering is a bit heavy, but has a nice hefty feel and good road feedback. The brakes also stop the car with authority, but too bad the rather costly $1,625 anti-skid system has been dropped.

The Focus is among the roomiest small cars, with the wagon especially good in that regard. My test ZTW had a large cargo area even without flipping the rear seat entirely forward for a truly impressive 73 cubic feet of cargo volume.

The Focus wagon puts larger, highly regarded "crossover'' vehicles such as the Toyota Matrix and Pontiac Vibe (both 53.2 cubic fee) to shame. Chair-height seating helps maximize people- and cargo-carrying capability, and the wagon's squared-off back end allows plenty of cargo space.

Oversized outside door handles help allow easy entry, although rear doors should open wider. There's good room up front for two tall adults in big, supportive seats. Rear seat room is good, although it gets a bit tight for a 6-footer behind a driver with his seat pushed all the way back.

There's virtually no room between the front seats and the doors and center console area; drop a piece of jewelry or pen between the seats and you almost need to remove them to recover the dropped objects.

Gauges can be quickly read, and the smooth controls are exceptionally large and easily reached -- especially those for the climate and sound system controls and for the power windows. Cars more than twice the size of the Focus have smaller controls. Even the dual front cupholders are nicely positioned at the front of the console, although the rear cupholder looks like an afterthought.

There's moderate wind noise in the airy, mostly quiet interior above 65 mph, but Ford clearly has done lots of work to make the Focus more refined since its debut. It now feels more solid, and drives like a costlier vehicle. There were early niggling reliability issues, but they've apparently been solved.

The Focus always has been practical and fun, and its new engine allows it to qualify as one of the top small-car buys.

2004 FORD FOCUS ZTW WAGON

Prices
$17,985

Likes
Strong new low-emission engine. Nice ride. Sharp handling. Roomy.

Dislikes
Rather funky styling. Moderate wind noise. Anti-skid system dropped.