Overview & Reviews

While not completely new, the Ford Focus gets a significant refresh for 2008. Many of the mechanical components are unchanged, but the car gets a new look inside and out. Ford's hands-free Sync communications system is added to the options list and the base 2.0-liter engine gets a slight power increase. The 2.3-liter engine is dropped, as are all wagon and hatchback versions. A coupe version of the Focus is also new for 2008.

• Plush ride quality, responsive steering, simple controls, very good fuel economy, quiet interior, low price.

• Bland interior design and materials on most models, no rear headrests.

User Reviews:

Showing 1 through 10 of 252.00

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  Reliable with minor issues - 2008 Ford Focus
  By willt5 - March 23 - 5:37 pm

  I bought this Focus because it was affordable and was known for being reliable. So far my experience with the car has been good. Ive owned it for about a year and a half and so far have changed the notoriously bad motor mounts and sway bar links. Other repairs that will be needed in the future are the control arms due to the bushings going bad. Car only has 65,000 miles on it and basic parts are starting to wear. Otherwise, it has been fairly cheap to maintain and reliable.

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  I hate this car - 2008 Ford Focus
  By dieguito06 - July 22 - 7:23 am

  The only reason I bought this car was because I lost the 2005 Impala in a crash & I needed A car in a hurry.A week into the car the carpet on the pasengers side started to came off ,every time I would fix it it would come right off ,then a year later the passenger door wooden open I used the warranty & had it fix two years later the same door the same problem but this time my warrranty was out so I had to pay $200 to get it fix. now the other door is having the same problem.another thing wrong with this car is the sway bars I had to replace them too

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  At 30 K starting to get worried - 2008 Ford Focus
  By UH oh - November 15 - 2:00 am

  My 1st us car but took the plunge. At 1st noticed the acceleration seemed off but I figured perhaps this was an us car thing (hesitation&jump). At 20 k tune up was told the transmission fluid was low (hmm). At 30 k tune up asked them to check transmission & said acceleration led 2 hesitation (bad 4 hwy merging) gears were fixed under warranty. Noted raw gas odor and rotten egg odor abt 10x in yr in stop/start city traffic. Listened to svc mgr mumbo abt computers&catalytic converters reconfiguring then he mentioned other complaints about the rotten egg smell. Sounds like bad computer programming 2 me? Will this last 20 yrs like my Nissan or Toyota? Hmm. I pray to the ceo at Ford. Help.

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  Problems before 30,000 miles! - 2008 Ford Focus
  By S - October 12 - 2:00 am

  Expect problems before your 30,000 miles are up. Im a great driver, no tickets, no accidents, and I take great care of my car. I was tricked into buying two of these cars and the first ones transmission dropped. It was at 30,000 when the second one started having gasket problems leaking transmission fluid. The struts are starting to seep but they wont fix it because they technically dont consider it a "full leak". Pieces simply fall off, such as buttons etc. For no reason. Poorly made car, and Ford is a shifty company.

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  Non-working doors - 2008 Ford Focus
  By CP - March 22 - 8:57 pm

  I do love my economic little Focus and how it handles great in the snow, HOWEVER, I am livid that my car is only two years old and the car door latches are rusting and making it hard to open the doors. My passenger side door will now no longer open from the outside. Is anyone else having problems with this? I called my dealership and they said they didnt think it was covered under warranty but I feel that Ford should be willing to fix doors rusting shut on one of their two year old cars when one of their customers is still paying on the car for three more years, I feel like I have a clunker again!

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  Tire Problems - 2008 Ford Focus
  By Ricky - March 18 - 10:01 am

  I am having the same problem as the other guy. Around 16,000 miles my car started to shake really bad when i drove it so i brought it to the dealership to find out what was wrong.They said that two of my tires are bald and defective so they replaced them for free. So at about 27,000 miles i start having the same problem the bumping while i am driving so i bring it to the dealership again and they say they cant find anything wrong. I told them to do an alignment because there was something wrong. I got the report and the alignment was off and said it wasnt under warranty so i had to pay. Ok so now i am at 34,000 miles with the same problem and they balanced my wheels this time what should i do

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  Not Happy, Got big lemon. - 2008 Ford Focus
  By Andrew - March 7 - 1:48 pm

  Weve had too many issues with our Focus. We had it in twice because of a faulty stereo. Next was a metallic squeaking noise coming from the rear suspension, supposedly from broken brake cable brackets. The suspension makes a huge racket whenever we go over small bumps. The tires got worn fast, it was way out of alignment when we purchased it. The interior plastic is way too soft. We have scratches all up and down both doors and the passenger-side dash. Our crank pulley BROKE. And currently the car does not idle smoothly, sometimes vibrating heavily. This and all within 33,000 miles. Best of all, it was in numerous times for many of these issues. Will not buy a Ford for a while.

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  Tire Problems Persest - 2008 Ford Focus
  By Riverrat - March 2 - 5:56 pm

  Bought new in May 2008--gets great mileage, about 36-38 on the highway but has a serious tire problem, we replaced tires at 15,600(cost nearly $500), also had the front end relined, talked to service manager at our Ford dealer and he told us that we were about the tenth person to come to him with the same problem--he was unable to do anything under warranty, even the reline job wasnt covered now have 31,000 miles on it and tires are shot--daughter has a 2003 Focus and they have to replace tires yearly(wish she had told me about it before we bought the new one)

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  Be careful when buying a Focus - 2008 Ford Focus
  By Irriserv - October 23 - 3:34 pm

  Overall the Ford Focus is a nice fun to drive small car with nice looks and great MPG. The build quality seem ok however there are design problems and areas that Ford cut corners to save money that you will pay for. One of the most noticeable areas is they left off the spare tire. So if you get a flat reach into your wallet and expect to pay for a tow. The other areas that we have found is that the defective door latch that will keep you from getting in the car is still a problem since the first focus. Also there is no seal on the break cable so it will sound like an old buggy if you drive on dirt roads. Nice car but I wish I bought a Toyota instead. I would have saved hassle.

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  It WAS ok until... - 2008 Ford Focus
  By beckyk - July 2 - 1:35 pm

  Ive had this car for a year and a half now and was mostly pleased with it until I had to take it in for a tire rotation only to find out that the suspension/alignment is TERRIBLE on most ford focuss. With only 30,000 miles on my tires I was forced to buy all new ones. So I was not pleased with that. Only a year left on my lease and will definitely be trading this in, probably for something other than ford, unfortunately...