We feel confident in telling the Blue Oval folks (and all of their customers) not to worry. Go ahead and kill off the Escort and Contour and save yourself some production costs, Ford. The Focus is a winner.

OK...well, technically it's not the winner of this test. But it came in a strong second and is far superior to those older Ford model lines. Like any vehicle that places well in a truly unbiased comparison test, the Focus' greatest strength was its lack of any real weakness and an overall solid balance of attributes (much like Honda's Civic, except the Focus isn't a five-year-old platform). Going from value to feature content to editorial picks, the little Ford with the big interior never scored below 82.7 percent. Only its performance and evaluation scores were less than stellar, though they still came in at 67.8 percent and 74.3 percent, respectively.

High on our editors' list of reasons to own a Focus is the truly non-economy car feel it imparts. After opening its large doors and gracefully slipping into the roomy interior, it becomes instantly apparent that Ford has packaged a lot of space and value into this vehicle. Interior design and materials received some of the highest marks in the test. With massive amounts of head-, hip-, and legroom, even adults over 6-feet tall will find plenty of space to get comfortable. Much of the legroom comes from the high-mounted seats that give passengers an almost mini-SUV viewpoint; not a bad thing in today's world.

Soft-touch material is everywhere, including the dash, seat covers, headliner and door panels. Gauges are large and clear, radio and climate controls are easy to reach, and everything is properly labeled. Two large cupholders in the center console will swallow 1-liter bottles while not blocking a thing. Ford went so far as to add soft-touch textures to items like the audio control knobs and to place rubberized material in the Focus' many storage bins to reduce rattles when driving. It's this sort of attention to detail that won points with our editors. While ergonomically sound, the Focus' interior, like its exterior, displays much of Ford's "New Edge" philosophy that had editors split on loving or hating it.

Agreement was reached on how much fun the Focus was to drive. Though not quite as sporty as the Protege, Ford engineered a fantastic combination of steering response, suspension tuning and solid brake feel. Riding on 60-series Firestone Firehawks that provided superb grip and a quiet ride over most surfaces, the Focus was hard to fault from a driver's perspective. Unlike the Protege, Ford dialed in a fair amount of suspension movement to keep the Focus from jarring passengers. This, in turn, allows for more body roll than the Protege had which, combined with the high seating position, left some drivers feeling a little intimidated by the Focus' "tippy" nature. But those who abandoned their sense of self preservation and flogged the car during canyon runs found it to be stable and predictable at the limit.

Drivetrain characteristics, much like the suspension tuning, were not overtly performance-oriented. At 130 horsepower and 130 foot-pounds of torque, the optional 2.0-liter Zetec engine had its hands full getting the 2,600 pound SE sedan moving from a dead stop, mostly because max torque didn't come until 4,250 rpm and peak horsepower needed a rather high 5,500 rpm. Once underway, the ultra-smooth engine would happily fling the car into extra-legal speeds and the precise, if somewhat notchy, five-speed manual tranny was a joy to shift. The Focus neither ruled nor cowed in the performance arena, finishing mid-pack in every test (there's that "balance" thing again).

Massive interior space wasn't all we found inside the Focus. Our test model had air conditioning, power door locks, power mirrors, remote keyless entry, and a driver's seat height adjustment all as standard equipment. It also had some much-appreciated options like a tilt and telescoping steering wheel, side airbags, power windows, cruise control, a CD player, a removable stereo faceplate and antilock brakes, along with the more powerful Zetec engine. We'd like to see Ford put rear disc brakes on this car, but at just over $16,000, we feel confident in calling the Focus SE sedan a bona fide bargain. How did it beat the similarly capable Protege? By achieving its blend of performance and comfort for over $2,000 less than the Mazda.

So what kept the Focus out of the winner's circle? Those of you who said "build quality issues" are correct. The Focus was one of the favored cars going into this test, and the editors were fully prepared to crown it "King Economy Sedan." Then we got our test unit and gave it a good going-over...D'OH! The final tally nearly broke our hearts: loose driver's door window trim, misaligned hood and trunk, loose and misaligned interior driver's door panel, crooked rear fascia, misaligned headlight seals, and a driver's side interior A-pillar cover/power mirror pod that basically fell off. (Sigh) So where are the Civic's keys?

This was an unfortunate aspect of our test unit because the build quality issue basically torpedoed an otherwise stellar vehicle. Had it not been for the many misaligned and dangling parts the car would have had a shot at the title. Earlier Focus test cars we've been around have not displayed this abhorrent level of build quality, so we're not ready to call it a definite problem...yet. But we'd suggest that potential customers give their cars a close inspection when picking them up at the dealership. As long as you get one that is properly screwed together, you'll end up with a great economy sedan.

Editor Comments

The Focus earned my number-two pick for its edgy styling, buttery-smooth powertrain and comfy interior. The Focus is the 2000 version of what the Civic was five years ago, only much better. Out of all the cars tested, the Focus impressed me with its quiet cabin, communicative steering and roomy interior. While the performance was lackluster compared to the Nissan and Chevrolet, the Focus still pulled strongly out of the box, thanks in part to the manual transmission that was perfectly geared to match the powerplant. Unlike some of our editors, I found the driving position well suited to my frame...once I had positioned the telescoping steering wheel to a position that was comfortable. -- Scott Mead

No, I never thought I could desire a Ford, but now I do-at least I've picked one of daring design, inside and out (conveniently launched while Honda is appealing to the Puritan crowd). It feels so fast and handles so confidently on the freeway. I love the ergonomics and the aesthetics, especially the thick, substantial steering wheel, meaty shifter and well-cushioned center armrest; a perfectly matched triad that makes even backed-up freeways a pleasurable driving condition. Although the pedals feel a little awkward, I know that I could adjust, because only the Ford allows me to sit high without the fuel expense or stigma of driving a SUV. Build quality ought not to make Ford's Focus hazy. -- Erin Riches

I should be an NFL talent scout. I attended Ford's first media preview event for the Focus in 1999, and I could see this gangly youngster from Detroit had the ability to make it in the pros. Pitted against the stars in our comparison test, the Focus didn't shirk. Yes, the build quality was disappointing on our car, but the Focus still represents an excellent value. -- Brent Romans

It's too bad our test car has such poor build quality, because otherwise we likely would have ranked the Focus closer to the top of the scoring, if not in the winner's circle. Still, this is a solid effort from the boys at the Blue Oval. With decent performance, excellent interior ergonomics, responsive handling and a distinctive design, Focus is going to be a huge hit for the company. Roomy, functional, comfortable and fun to drive, Focus' primary strength is that it doesn't feel like an economy car from behind the wheel. Now, when can we take delivery of an SVT Contour replacement? -- Christian Wardlaw

Specifications and Performance - 2000 Ford Focus SE
Stereo Evaluation - 2000 Ford Focus SE
Rear Seat/Cargo Area Evaluation - 2000 Ford Focus SE