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I would highly suggest a KIA, if you're buying new. You can't really beat their warranty. I mean 10yr/100k miles? The best I've seen locally, is 6yr/60k miles. My girl loves her '03, and is looking at a newer '09 Optima. We've test drove a lot of vehicles in the past few months. Mainly KIAs, due to the warranty. We drove a '10 Focus SES, and although I'm not a huge FORD guy, I really enjoyed this car. Smooth ride, and gets up even with it's 4cyl... Even the most basic S model was comfortable, and pleasing to drive.
 
I would highly suggest a KIA, if you're buying new. You can't really beat their warranty. I mean 10yr/100k miles? The best I've seen locally, is 6yr/60k miles. My girl loves her '03, and is looking at a newer '09 Optima. We've test drove a lot of vehicles in the past few months. Mainly KIAs, due to the warranty. We drove a '10 Focus SES, and although I'm not a huge FORD guy, I really enjoyed this car. Smooth ride, and gets up even with it's 4cyl... Even the most basic S model was comfortable, and pleasing to drive.

I have to disagree with the previous gen Focus being an enjoyable car to drive. We looked at a '09 Focus when my brother was looking for a car and while the it was in great shape and reasonably priced the poor driving experience ruled it out as an option.

The new Focus is completely different though and a vastly superior vehicle.
 
I have to disagree with the previous gen Focus being an enjoyable car to drive. We looked at a '09 Focus when my brother was looking for a car and while the it was in great shape and reasonably priced the poor driving experience ruled it out as an option.

The new Focus is completely different though and a vastly superior vehicle.

What exactly strayed you so far away from the second gen Focus? Did you actually drive the car, or ride in it? We test drove one for a week. (Insurance rental car actually) We drove it on city streets, interstate highways, lake roads (extremely winding here in MO) and gravel roads. Overall, it was a very enjoyable car to drive, other than in stop and go traffic of the city streets, due to the stiff accelerator. That made it seem like I was pulling from a green light of a drag strip.
 
What exactly strayed you so far away from the second gen Focus? Did you actually drive the car, or ride in it? We test drove one for a week. (Insurance rental car actually) We drove it on city streets, interstate highways, lake roads (extremely winding here in MO) and gravel roads. Overall, it was a very enjoyable car to drive, other than in stop and go traffic of the city streets, due to the stiff accelerator. That made it seem like I was pulling from a green light of a drag strip.

No I didn't drive it so I'm just passing along the comments he made. They said it had a cheap interior, weak brakes, and a generally poor ride. After trying the Focus they tested a 07 Camry SE with considerably higher mileage and said it was literally a night and day difference. The Camry handled better, was quieter, had a more comfortable ride, had a vastly shorter stopping distance than the Focus and a much more upscale interior.
 
No I didn't drive it so I'm just passing along the comments he made. They said it had a cheap interior, weak brakes, and a generally poor ride. After trying the Focus they tested a 07 Camry SE with considerably higher mileage and said it was literally a night and day difference. The Camry handled better, was quieter, had a more comfortable ride, had a vastly shorter stopping distance than the Focus and a much more upscale interior.

I'll agree with the interior, it was VERY bland. I mean, it had a center dash display, that looked like it was from the '90's. The gauge cluster wasn't terrible. The SES we drove had very responsive brakes though, so can't agree with you there. We did see a little body roll while driving near the lake on the winding roads, but not anymore than what would be expected from "taller" car. It hugged the corners well though. I would never compare a Camry to a focus though, it's a more upscale mid size sedan, verus the compact that is the Focus. Put the Camry up to a Fusion, Malibu or Altima, and then compare it. They are 2 totally different classes of cars compared there.
 
Just stay away from the mazdas that have rotary engines... Horrible engines.

If you are partial to Ford, look at the Fusion, Honda Civics are claimed to be reliable, I see them running all the time, but usually in horrible shape, but they manage to go still. I would think of the Honda FIT as a shoebox :-\
Me and Top Gear tend to disagree. The Rotary engines are great.

I would highly suggest a KIA, if you're buying new. You can't really beat their warranty. I mean 10yr/100k miles? The best I've seen locally, is 6yr/60k miles. My girl loves her '03, and is looking at a newer '09 Optima. We've test drove a lot of vehicles in the past few months. Mainly KIAs, due to the warranty. We drove a '10 Focus SES, and although I'm not a huge FORD guy, I really enjoyed this car. Smooth ride, and gets up even with it's 4cyl... Even the most basic S model was comfortable, and pleasing to drive.
Do NOT get a Focus. My sister has an 03 at 80k and the **** thing is falling apart after her having it for 2 months. She barely drives the thing around!

Have you tried looking into used Cavaliers? You can probably get an 04 model really cheap and it'll go a long ways if you just take care of it like we did ours.
 
We didn't get out to look today as we decided to sleep in instead. :D

Thanks for the additional info.
 
How can you seriously compare a 03 and a 11?

They arent even the same car. I think theres a model inbetween.

Basically youre saying you wouldn't buy a Hyundi because of the Pony.
 
All Focus's have had a bad name and besides, an 03 is more realistic for the budget. The Focus is 00-07 and then they change it up a bit but it's basically the same thing. Kind of like the difference between a Cavalier and a Cobalt.
 
You could easily get a newer Focus than a 2003 on his budget. While I'm not a fan of the first two generations the new model has been universally praised and is one of the top compact cars on the market. Unfortunately that popularity means they aren't giving them away.
 
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