Overview & Reviews

Minor changes are in store for the 2003 Ford Focus. Two new trim levels increase the breadth of prices for Ford's economy car; a base trim for the three door hatchback renders air conditioning optional and only comes with a manual transmission. For the five door hatchback, a tilt and telescoping steering wheel, cruise control, front reading lights and a center console are available when you step up to the comfort trim level from the base level. Heated front seats are a new option, as is a traction control and ABS package. New colors for the exterior brighten up the color palette, and the interior is freshened with two new fabric trims. Finally, a CD/MP3 player is now standard on the ZX3 and ZX5. A SVT version of the ZX5 is also scheduled to appear later in the year.

• Thoughtful ergonomics, large interior, smooth ride, sharp steering, impressive selection of body configurations and features.

User Reviews:

Showing 71 through 80 of 353.00

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  Electronics Stinks - 2003 Ford Focus
  By LIONDRAGON - January 16 - 2:00 am

  Ive owned this car for 5 months. From the first week it has been in the shop SIX yes 6 times for the same problem. The "check Engine" light keeps coming on then goes off then comes back on!!!!! The battery light goes on and off. The traction assist light goes on/off, on/off. Hey, Ford techs do you ever check the wiring harnesses before putting them into the cars???????? Even the horns worked when "THEY" wanted to.......

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  Fun comes in small packages - 2003 Ford Focus
  By Deepwoods30 - November 4 - 10:00 am

  I bought this car for my teenage son to drive. I fight with him over who gets to drive it. For the money, a great deal!

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  Vancouver ZX3 owner - 2003 Ford Focus
  By o1_zx3 - September 17 - 10:00 am

  Great car all-round except the gas mileage which averages 20mp US gallon around town. Im lucky to get 31mp US gallon on the highway. Cheap to maintain. Very reliable up to now. Great service department at the dealer. Looks great. DONT BUY A BLACK CAR IT SHOWS THE DIRT BIG TIME but it looks great when its clean. Stylish, believe it or not the car attracts glances from people saying they like the look of the car. Space, the trunk is HUGE!

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  My experience with my SVT - 2003 Ford Focus
  By Kelly Majors - August 7 - 10:00 am

  At first I really enjoyed the car. It is great fun to drive. The 6 speed provides good pull at every shift. I have experienced some problems with the car however. It has been back to the dealership 4 times with clutch problems. One of those times I had to be towed in. Finally all the clutch assembly, slave cylinder etc. had to be replaced. Needless to say with less then 20,000 miles on it, I have lost some of my confidence in the car. Gas mileage is good but the car requires gasoline rated over 91 (super premium). With prices over $2.00, it can cost well over $20.00 to fill the tank. I will not buy another Focus SVT again.

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  SVT Power - 2003 Ford Focus
  By gvran7171 - May 14 - 10:00 am

  Lots of bang for the buck. real xenon lights, not those fake aftermarket lights. Need to keep revs up to enjoy engine. Unreal handeling. kept up with bmw 330 series no problem. very stable at high speeds (110 plus).

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  Not bad so far - 2003 Ford Focus
  By BadAndy - February 17 - 2:00 am

  The Good: Spacious Front/Trunk. Premium Sound with mp3/cd player. Thoughtful moveable driver hand rest/item bin. Power everything AND Cruise control. 6 speed int. wiper. 24/27 mpg w AC, 30/33 mpg w/o AC. Low/Mid highway road noise. The Bad: Gear change hangs/jerks from zero to low-very annoying, thoughtful hand rest not so thoughtful for bigger people (gets in way of seatbelt buckle when down). Trunk lid doesn’t pop all the way up, gets very uncomfortable after long period of driving. The Ugly: The gear change ratio makes an otherwise very peppy, sprightly car feel grossly underpowered.

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  A beautiful hypochondriac girlfriend. - 2003 Ford Focus
  By gukin - February 11 - 10:00 am

  We started off well, me and my orange Euro appearance SVT when the clutch starting making odd sounds around 6000 miles. I brought it into the dealer where he replaced the clutch & flywheel. He also borked the exhaust system, alignment, and shift linkage. I brought it back because my SVT steered like a cow and the dealer aligned it and "balanced" the tires. He actually "unbalanced" the tire and now my car shakes like a paint mixer. The shift linkage broke three miles from home so I drove at 6000 RPM in first gear. The dealer repaired the shifter but crashed the front-end which now squeaks like an old rocking chair. Ford built it badly and the dealer has finished it off.

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  ZTS not too bad! - 2003 Ford Focus
  By Kurt S - January 24 - 10:00 am

  After driving an SUV for the last 5 years, I had forgotten just how much fun a small car can be to drive. The suspension is softer than i expected, but the 4 wheel disc brakes (part of the advance-trac package, are superb, and the Zetec motor, while a little short on horsepower is fun to rev out and has a really wide powerband. the gas mileage has been astoundingly good, despite driving it quickly up in the winding mountain roads west of Denver.

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  Focus SE 2003 4 door model - 2003 Ford Focus
  By gerd knaak - December 24 - 3:20 pm

  Reliable car, fun to drive with the Pirelli tires. Good handling, sluggish automatic transmission. Mileage in town not that great for a small car. Excellent 5 disk CD stereo. Should have more power for a 2 L engine.

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  2003 focus - 2003 Ford Focus
  By blvd4by - October 24 - 10:00 am

  do not really know yet but apppears to be well built fairly comfortable pretty quick but a little slow off the line