My wife and I have a 2001 SE Wagon with the 2.0 Zetec engine. In the two years we have owned it, the Focus has served us reliably. We special ordered our wagon with the manual transmission and that makes it a lot of fun for me to drive, the wife doesn't like the manual so much. Positive comments: - The gas mileage is great. Power is ample, even with a canoe loaded on top. - Best bang for the buck for a wagon in its class, although the Suzuki is worth looking into from what I have heard. - Handles very well, even when avoiding road objects at 100kph which we unfortunately had to experience. - Lots of cargo room in the wagon.
Negative comments: - The seats are very poor, they hurt my back on extended trips. We will probably replace them when our finances improve. - The air conditioning can be a bit smelly when you initially turn it on/off. - Low end torque leaves a bit to be desired.
Minor problems so far. A couple of engine sensors died making the car feel like it was missing and hesitating. Both times the dealer fixed it up under warranty no problems. At two years old we are happy with our purchase and unless there is a time bomb somewhere in the vehicle, we will continue to be happy for then next six or so. We feel we got our moneys worth.
Try and get the Zetec, the SPI will probably dissapoint you and may be the source of many of the issues that are out there. Had we not wanted a wagon, in all honesty we would have looked at a Honda Civic.
Tim.