Ford Focus ZX5

focus090 · November 2002

dont worry - it isnt that the light doesnt work, its just that that doesnt happen with the zx5, or any other new focus i believe. as it states in the owners manual (which is a nice thing to just thumb through and check out once in a while), the light dosnt go on, it'll just start blowing a/c out. which, i liked it before when i could just click off the a/c button right away before it kicks on, and starts to drag on the engine. its something that i dont keep on full cold blast in the winter, i just stick mine a bit to the right of the middle in the temp selector.seems to be fine. i liked it better when the light popped on though.

focus090 · November 2002

i also had a 2000 se sedan, and i knew exactly what you were talking about zizi.....

focus090 · November 2002

Dearborn to Focus On Headlamps -
The next iteration of the popular Ford Focus is in line to receive a new low-cost 'active headlamp' designed with Visteon. The system eschews the increasingly popular gas-discharge "xenon" setup (which has recently become available on certain models of the Focus) in favor of less expensive halogen bulbs. The difference? Steering and suspension input are processed to control the angle of the light cast - the lights are redirected to follow the car's path when turning.

jkidd2 · November 2002

Okay...I've gotten use to that annoying blinker tone, but how come no interior lights except for in the front? Its pitch black in the back seat and cargo area....found myself already several times having to go get a flashlight to locate something back there.

Hey...but I love this car! :-)

focus090 · November 2002

i agree, thats one other small complaint i have as well. that, and no rear headrests - in a rear-end collision, those guys in the back are going to have some hellacious whiplash.

mroland · November 2002

My trunk has a light. It isn't too bright but its there. It is very dark in the back seat at night.

focus090 · November 2002

yeah, the trunk light is fine, its bright enough...the trunk isnt that big, you wont lose anything in there.

focus090 · December 2002

CONGRATS! to the focus for making Car And Driver's 10Best list for the fourth year in a row! each and every year it has been in production.

mroland · December 2002

I was really surprised, I thought it would drop off. What is even more amazing is that the three cars that did not return from last year are standards of the idustry

BMW 5-series
Audi A4
Mazda Miata

Beating out those is quite an accomplishment. I wish they made some stickers so I could show off!

focus090 · December 2002

focus090 · December 2002

i think i'll make one of my own

mroland · December 2002

It was the Honda S2000 and not the Miata that dropped off from last year. Same idea, different car! Let me know if you make any stickers, I might have a plate frame painted. But what if it does it again next year?

focus090 · December 2002

i dunno about making any stickers, i dont have that great of a computer or the hook-ups to get someone to do it for me, i may make something and stick it in my very rear side window. i think it;'d be great if it made it again next year, i think what really helped again this year was the intriduction of the zx5 svt and the svt zx3 that was already out there, and of course the different statement cars that have been produced.i hope it makes it next year, the redesign is supposed to be for the 2004 model year, which is coming quickly, and if ford plays its cards right and makes that redesign look sharp, it'll make the list again that year. but we'll see, i think the new body is sharp, more upscale looking.

mroland · December 2002

Do you have a picture of t. from what I have seen of the advance for the Euro model, I like my ZX5 much more. The styling seems a little watered down. I am skeptical about the second gen Focus, multiple generations of cars tend to get worse as they go on. Witness what happened to the Taurus, a real segment breaker in 1986, now bland as white bread....

vadp · December 2002

It's likely that Ford will release the second gen Focus in Europe first.
Then, a year later in 2005 - in N.A.
Regarding the next gen styling.
All the pictures floating around the net are the photoshops(including the shots in the auto mags).
At the moment there are NO real or even disguised photos available.
Ford is closely gurding the real stuff.
BTW the styling won't be watered down. The Ford design studios were producing very good looking cars lately.

focus090 · December 2002

go here for a soundbite from one of the ford designers on the next gen focus

http://media.ford.com/digital/audio/Castelli5_Next_Spring_New_Look.mp3

focus090 · December 2002

2004 Focus:

New 2.0L and 2.3L engines available on sport models.

It will be the same 2.3 DOHC Duratec that is in the Ranger now. About 145 HP.

focus090 · December 2002

focus090 · December 2002

unfortuinately you're proibably wrong about the revamp for 2004....reason being is that here in n.a, it is tradition to have a redesign after four years, and ford will not wait 5 years to freshen the focus, with slightly slow sales, it needs something other than a new ad campaign to increase sales....also as it says in that soundbite i posted, they will be doing the 2004 redesign. who cares about europe anyhow? lol

focus090 · December 2002

here is a pic of the 2004 model, whihc is not a photoshop rendering, and a possible next-gen

svthttp://www.geocities.com/focus090/focuszx5.html

focus090 · December 2002

here is the website address, minus the svt whihc shouldnt have been in front of the above one

http://www.geocities.com/focus090/focuszx5.html

vadp · December 2002

That sound bite is talking about the changes in appearance for the 2004 model. Where did it mention the next gen model or redesign plans? You can only speculate at the moment.

A term freshen describes changes in the headlight/taillight treatment, cosmetic appearance etc. while the car remains mostly unchanged.

Regarding the link - that picture is a very old photoshop. Nice try though.

Do you wanna see the original? Here we go:

http://www.fordeurope.net/downloads/pictures/2002focustrend/2002focust- rend-03.jpg (copy the link and paste in a new window if it doesn't work)

Here is another photochop:

http://www.wordzone.co.uk/samples/spyshots/fordfocusfs.jpg

focus090 · December 2002

alright, i'll give you your props.

mroland · December 2002

That is the photo I have seen before with the full grill and the block style lights. Boring!!! Not my next Zx5 if thats what is to come.

focus090 · December 2002

it looks a bit classier, definitely not following the 'new-edge' theme that they went for to begin with, which i think they should stick to

mroland · December 2002

Thats what I mean when I say the second generation will have a tendency to be watered down. I love the way my ZX5 looks, nothing like on the raod. (well the Matrix is close, but I thought Toyota ripped off the styling.) Mine definately makes a statement, the bright blue 4 door hatch with such funky styling. Well, I plan on keeping this one for a long time anyhow.

focus090 · December 2002

that twilight blue is so damn sharp...especially all clean. thats a really nice color...i saw it first on the street edition focus, and loved the way it looked on the zx5, but decided to stick with silver just like my se sedan previously. but that blue IS really nice

mroland · January 2003

The Twilight Blue is the more "normal" navy blue. Thanks for the compliment. The first ZX3 I saw was in Maliblu, and I had to have it.

Maliblu has been dropped for 2003, leaving the interesting French Blue. Mine will be the only year a ZX5 was offered in this color. I know of one other person who has it with a stick.

focus090 · January 2003

damn, i am slipping. sorry bout that bud. yeah the malibu. damn, and i knew that one too. i know all the damn colors too...damn...i pass the yards at the focus plant where they keep all the 'fresh off the assembly line' foci. so i see all the damn colors.

lngtonge18 · January 2003

Which blue is the one that looks like a deep royal blue pearl? It's a very pretty color. I think I started seeing it on 01-02 models, but not sure.

mroland · January 2003

That would be the Twilight Blue. Available on all Focus models.

I doubt you saw the Maliblu much at the Wayne plant, for the Focus made there it was only on the limted edition Street Editions. Otherwise you'd have to go Mexico. How big is the Wayne Plant? Is it an older plant or pretty new? Do you know what they made there before Focus>

brickhouse · January 2003

I have been researching the Focus for some time as I was looking for a "good" third car for better gas mileage. I wanted to go for value, mileage and style. The Focus zx5 seems to fit the bill. Today I purchased a 2002 zx5, premium package, manual shift, malibu blue(love the color) with everything including abs and trac control. 18k miles, one owner. Sticker for $18k plus when new. Settled for $12,700. Only defect are burn holes due to the previous owner being a smoker. Did I get a good buy? What do I need to beware of and better yet, look forward to?

vadp · January 2003

Check the brake pads.
The factory front brakes tend to wear out fast.
And the usual stuff: oil and fluid levels etc.
The '02 model is not supposed to have any recalls, still if you change your oil at the dealer, I suggest you ask them to run your VIN through their computer system and see what it will come up with.

focus090 · January 2003

i believe they made the escort four doors there until they finally did away with those. yeah, pretty sure about that. the size of the plant is pretty damn big, but cant really tell by just driving past. right next door if the truck plant where they make the ford trucks, now that plant is enormous. you can definitely tell by looking at it. neither plant looks ancient or anything...more like well kept.
i did see a real good amount of the malibu blue street editions when they were making 'em. there was a lot of street edition cars out in the holding lots during their production run. i saw a lot of the malibu blue and the egg-yoke yellow as well. but that was a while ago. one new color for 2003 that i noticed is that real light forest green color. its pretty classy...i myself wouldnt get it, but i think its nice.

mroland · January 2003

yes you got a very good deal. I paid 16,700 new for my Maliblu ZX5. That makes three Maliblu sticks I have heard of. A very rare combo, espceially since the color was dropped for 2003.
The brakes are better than the ones they put on the first one. It depends on if the first owner broke them in correctly or not how long they may last. I have 16000 on mine and they are still very good. I would clean the brake dust off the front wheels regularly though. Wax them too, otherwise it will eat away at the finish. The stock pads produce a lot of dust. There are replacemtns on the market that are much better.
The 2002 hatches seem to have bearing problems. Listing for whirring or roaring from the rear when going down the highway. Report to the dealer if its seems unusual.

focus090 · January 2003

and with the front rims i have noticed with my 2000 and now this one, that when u use any type of tire shine that attracts the brake dust, the overspray from when u did the tires, no matter how careful u are, will get ya.

focus090 · January 2003

what have they done to our beloved edmunds.com? i think its pretty nice....

revka · January 2003

Glad you like the new look. Feel free to also share your thoughts in our News & Views Town Hall New Look discussion. Thanks for the feedback! ;-)

Revka
Hatchbacks & Wagons Host

focus090 · January 2003

whats goin on folks? anything? i started getting this hellacious squealing noise from one of my passenger side defogger fans...no biggie though, with the way the weather has been the past week+, the cold will do that to any vehicle. still runnin' great though.

mroland · February 2003

Snow is what is new. And Road salt. I hope the Focus is well protected. With yesterdays latest batch, I have tried to park the Focus and drive the beater Subaru around. Can't wait for spring time to give the underbody a real nice going over.

fairlanecobra · February 2003

I'm almost ready to buy a 2003 ZX5. I've picked the ZX5 Premium with 5 Speed, ABS, Side impact Air Bags, Upgraded stereo system, Weather package. Anyone have suggestions to the color? I'm leaning towards the twilight blue or the Liquid grey. Any other comments on this car. Looks like my price before rebates is 16550.
Thanks

mroland · February 2003

Mine is a dsicontinued color called Malibu Blue. It is a bright blue. The French blue is nice and certainly different. I didn't like the twilight, it seemed to dark to me. Looks almost black at night and shows off lots of dirt. I would go with the Liquid Grey that looks really nice on the ZX5s.
Your price is very good - I paid 16700 in late 2001 for mine and I didn't get a weather package.

fairlanecobra · February 2003

I ended up settling for a Pitch Black ZX5. I could not find any other color that had all the equipment I wanted. Picking it up at the dealer tomorrow

revka · February 2003

on your new ZX5! We look forward to hearing all about your delivery experience.... Happy motoring! ;-)

Revka
Hatchbacks & Wagons Host

fairlanecobra · February 2003

Picked it up on Saturday. Experiance was less than fun. I have never figured out dealerships. They are the most unproductive businesses I have ever done business with.

Got a Pitch Black ZX5 Premimium, with ABS, Traction Control, weather package etc.. Salesman, like all salesman I have ever dealt with knows virtually nothing about the car other than what they just read out of sales broucheure. They are not allowed to discuss certain things, like financing, warranties. That is for the finance manager or the sales manager. Thier knowledge is certainly limited also.

I showed up to take delivery at 10:30 am. Ended up driving home at 3:00pm. During that time the salesman could not find that car or the paperwork. Than the used car manger could not be found to process my trade in, The sale manger and finance manager wanted to sell me everything they could when I made it clear not to waste my time or thiers. They wasted anyways. Long story short. I got everything I wanted on my terms walked out with the exact deal I wanted, but took way to much time.

This was my 15th new car since 1982. With the exception of some computers here and there dealers are still doing business the same way that did 20 years ago. This segment of the new car business is long over due for moderizing.

focus090 · February 2003

then again, it all depends on the dealership - one bad one can taint your feelings toward all.

tgneil · March 2003

I took delivery on Friday of my silver ZX5 Comfort model with ABS. I didn't have quite the bad experience as fairlanecobra had.

I got a good quote from a dealer on a grey one with no abs using ford direct and edmunds quote requests.(not sure which they were responding to.) Then I did another search on Ford direct for the exact one I wanted and gave them my quote. This dealer responded in a couple of hours and added the ABS to my original quote and subtracted another 50. So I got in at 250 under invoice and the 2000 rebate.

Talked to the fleet manager for 5 minutes when we went to pick up the car. Then had to wait an hour to pay for it.Then had to wade thru thefinance person offering us other financing than we had lined up already. Fended her off and then read and signed papers for 10 minutes, then had to wait another 10 to checkout with our car.
I took about 105 minutes to get everything done. At least there was no pitches for under coating, vin ecthing, ect..

Very happy with our new ZX5. Thanks Edmunds and all the townhall members for all the info found here.

Now I hope the 2003 model doesn't have 9 recalls on it

revka · March 2003

and thanks for sharing all the details of your purchase experience! Sounds like you have a lot of experience buying cars. Glad everything went well for you. We look forward to hearing more about your ZX5 experience. ;-)

Revka
Host
Hatchbacks & Wagons Boards

focus090 · April 2003

well, after my friend and i had spent many a weekend in my zx5 out and about on the town (and in another country - canada), he went to go get a new car and chose a zx3, the zx5's little brother. he loves it, and is shocked by its peppiness and great gas mileage. i was like, duh. keep on truckin folks!

silverzx5 · April 2003

This replaces my '00 ZX-3. Negotiating to near invoice price took only a few minutes. With rebate on top of that, this car represents an absolutely amazing value. The fit and finish are excellent. Build date was 03/12/03 and purchase date was 04/02/03, so this baby was really fresh off the truck. A wonderful car and a very good dealership experience thus far. Car has the Blaupunkt radio with MP3 capability. Gas mileage reports as I break it in. Plan on driving to Canada from Texas in May. Can't wait!

Ford Focus ZX5

Comments

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles