A One Year Review of the 2007 Ford Focus

Approximately one year ago, I purchased a 2007 Ford Focus from a local dealership. I read some fairly decent reviews of the Focus and I was moving from a Ford Escort. The old Escort was a good vehicle for me, so I decided to try the Focus.

The vehicle now has about 12,000 miles on it and is treating me well so far. Most of the miles have been a combination highway and city miles. I drive approximately 50 miles a day round trip to work. About half of those miles are highway and the other half are stop and go city traffic, etc.

Tires -- The tires on this vehicle have been holding up quite well. They have been rotated once at approximately 6,000 miles and are due to be rotated again in the next few weeks. However, looking at the tread on the tires, they appear to be wearing evenly and actually show surprisingly little wear.

Handling and Performance -- This little car handles quite well and has a nice little pep in the engine. Living outside of Pittsburgh, PA, I constantly have to go up and down hills. I have yet to have problems accelerating, even when going up hill. I have not had any problems with the car wanting to slip on the roads, etc. Even in snowy weather, the car seems to behave quite well and hold the road.

Mileage -- As far as gas mileage is concerned, I'm a little disappointed in the gas mileage that I get with this car. I retired my old car, a 1996 Ford Escort that was getting approximately 30 miles to a gallon all the time. The new Ford Focus only seems to be turning between 27 and 28 miles to a gallon. That is a bit of a disappointment considering the window sticker claimed 28 city and 34 highway.

Road Noise -- The 2007 Ford Focus has a very acceptable amount of road noise. So far it has not seemed to get any louder than when I first bought the vehicle. I understand that this is not a high-end luxury vehicle, so some road noise is to be expected. In the case of my Ford Focus, there is actually less road noise that what I would expect.

Overall the Ford Focus has so far been a very solid little car for me. My only real complaint to date has been with the gas mileage. It's not quite what I expected from a brand new car, but the handling and engine performance of the car have made up for the gas mileage. All in all, I'm very happy with my 2007 Ford Focus and I will definitely consider something from Ford the next time I have the desire to go buy a car.