Its first appearance was in the European market in the fall of 1997. It finally made its way across the Atlantic in the year 2000 winning numerous "Car of the Year" awards. The Ford Focus is a direct replacement to the pricey Ford Escort. It has been said that "for every Escort that was built, Ford lost money."

Being the most popular and best-selling car ever built this past summer, Ford made all attempts to hide this fact for fear of generating negative consumer behaviour and thus losing sales. The Ford Focus is currently the most value-packed and affordable automobile a North American can buy. They come in the following trims and models:

Four-door sedan - SE (base)
Four-door sedan - ZTS with the 2.0 Zetec engine
Four-door wagon
Three-door hatchback - ZX3 with upgraded suspension and the 2.0 130 HP Zetec engine.
Focus S2 - sportier variation of the ZX3 and available in Liquid Grey.
Focus Street Edition - sportier version of the SE/ZTS models with an upgraded audio system and European-tuned suspension.

MSRP starts around $16,595.00 CDN

New for 2002:

SVT Focus (based on the ZX3 model). For full details, check out http://www.svtfocusonline.com .

Also:

ZX5 - A five-door hatcback based on the ZX3.
Sport version of the wagon.