Focus voted used car of the decade

novarapid

saw this on yahoo today, do ye agree? I think if I was buying a used car it would be top of my list.

As 2009 draws to a close the latest award winner is Ford's humble Focus, or specifically the original 1998 - 2005 Focus, which has won CAP's 'Used Car of the Decade' title, as well as the 'Best Medium Used Car of the Decade', while VW, Audi, BMW and SEAT scooped the other trophies.
The CAP awards apply to cars that fit the simple criteria of 'A used car model range that existed as a three year old car at any point during the decade from the beginning of 2000 to the end of 2009' and all relevant cars were judged on the following:
- Affordability and practicality of ownership
- Trusted reputation
- Sustained popularity
- Inspired product improvement across the whole industry
Launched in 1998, the Focus was a radical departure from the staid Ford Escort that preceded it and given the consistent high sales numbers, it's a gamble that paid off handsomely for Ford.
Mark Norman, chairman of the CAP judging panel, said of the Ford Focus:
"The Focus shook up a conservative small family car sector in which the only truly desirable car had, for a long time, been the Volkswagen Golf. The introduction of the Focus was also a truly brave move by Ford. In reinventing their offering to that core sector Ford chose to drop the 'Escort' name, a brand which was woven into the fabric of British motoring.
"Instead of simply re-vamping this trusted name, Ford began with a blank sheet and created a new vehicle completely from scratch. Every aspect of the car was different from its predecessor, from the radical external styling to the new 'command' driving position."
Ford's Ka attracted the accolade of 'Small Used Car of the Decade', while the VW Passat, Audi A3 and BMW X5 won the awards in the categories of Large Used Family Car, Executive Used Car and Luxury Used Cars respectively. Additionally, SEAT took home the 'Most Improved Used Car Brand of the Decade' prize'.
CAP has been in the automotive industry for thirty years now and is an acknowledged expert in used car pricing.
Shane O' Donoghue

unkel

Fair enough on the Focus and Ka.

That said, the Passat, A3 and X5 are all overpriced second hand imho. And how the latter wins the "luxury car" category is beyond me.

chillywilly

i have a 99 focus and i love it....i have also had people drive it and said they prefer it to their own car(comfort and control).

Martron

the focus is a great car.

i had a 04 , 06, 08 , all company cars. and i never had a single problem with any of them . i well i broke one but that was my fault. but it wasa quite minor.

brilliant car.

Stark

Focus is a nice car. Pity about some of the secondary controls like the indicators and the main beams switch though. Very annoying to use.

seanybiker

Never drove a focus meslef, me father has one for work and he loves it. I never heard any of the people I know who have them complain.

the audi A3 is a lovely car to drive.

Hal1

+1 for the focus. The mk1 is the best designed focus with great handling and I prefer it over the mk2/3. I still like the A3's but haven't driven one yet so can't really comment on them.

Ush1

Stark wrote: »

Focus is a nice car. Pity about some of the secondary controls like the indicators and the main beams switch though. Very annoying to use.

What's wrong with the indicators?

Stark

If you're not used to them, it's easy to hit the opposite side indicator by accident when cancelling an indicator. Also easy to accidentally trigger an indicator when switching between dipped beams and main beams.

Martron

i think in the 04 if you went around a slight corner the indicator would not turn off. not sure what the problem with the high beams were.

thing that really bugged me was the electric window did no tclose by itself. you had the hold the button until it was closed

Hal1

Ah so it wasn't perfect sure what car is? /me puts fingers in ears

Stevie Dakota

+1 for the Focus, I have a mark 3 and have been hugely impressed. It's pretty much all the car you'll ever need.

Stark

Martron wrote: »

i think in the 04 if you went around a slight corner the indicator would not turn off. not sure what the problem with the high beams were.

thing that really bugged me was the electric window did no tclose by itself. you had the hold the button until it was closed

It's a 04 I have myself. The problem with the high beams is if you want to flash someone, you have to pull it half way, whereas it's full way to fully switch to mains. Therefore it's very easy to accidentally do a full switch when trying to flash. Also if you don't do a direct perpendicular pull but rather pull at a slight angle, then one of the indicators will come on for a second or two.

With the electric windows, it's a case of applying gentle force to do a partial close and applying full force (so you hear a click) in order to close the window fully without keeping the button held down.

Everything else about the car is great though.

Eoin

Is the A3 considered an "executive class" car? I'd have thought that meant 5 series / E Class / Lexus GS / A6 / S60 and so on.

maidhc

I have a 03 Focus TDCi, and it is hard to beat. It hasn't been perfect reliability wise, but it is a wonderful car to drive and still once of the best looking cars on the road.

VolvoMan

eoin wrote: »

Is the A3 considered an "executive class" car? I'd have thought that meant 5 series / E Class / Lexus GS / A6 / S60 and so on.

The S60 isn't an executive class car either. That is more the S80's role.

I don't understand what is so good about the Focus, or any other Ford product for that matter. They may supposedly handle well, but they mostly feel cheap and look like sh1t.

mumblin deaf ro

VolvoMan wrote: »

The S60 isn't an executive class car either. That is more the S80's role.

I don't understand what is so good about the Focus, or any other Ford product for that matter. They may supposedly handle well, but they mostly feel cheap and look like sh1t.

Do you include Volvos in your definition of Ford product?

VolvoMan

mumblin deaf ro wrote: »

Do you include Volvos in your definition of Ford product?

The current generation, yes.

THEDONWALDO

Ive just bought a 02 1.6 H/B, and Im delighted with it!!:D

Ush1

Stark wrote: »

With the electric windows, it's a case of applying gentle force to do a partial close and applying full force (so you hear a click) in order to close the window fully without keeping the button held down.

I can't get this to work. I have a 04 Zetec, is that on all models?