The Mark 1 Focus was the real game changer, so different. It was a disappointment when the Mark 2 looked much like every other car. Sill in 2012 I bought a 59 plate TDCI estate, which I ran until last autumn with 220k miles on the clock. I have replaced it with a Mark 3 67 plate 1.5 TDCI, I might have gone for the Mark 4, but my wife has struggled with electronic handbrakes on hire cars, so took one of the last Mark 3s. I have not missed the extra space of the estate, the car feels nippier and fun to drive. Over the 8k miles I have put on it the trip computer tells me that I've averaged 66 mpg, and on a long (180 m) motorway 60 mph roadworks journey it returned just under 80 mpg. ULEZ compliance meant I had no problem attending a funeral in central London last month, and a trip to Paris later this year will not be an issue. Had the Mark 2 lasted a couple of years longer I would have gone for an EV, but I think that we will be running this one for quite a while.

Always a pleasure letting JJ borrow my vehicles (and if you're reading this so should you) Building a microcamper next, looking forward to backseat JJ's review!

Still drive my 2014 ST every day, and loving it! Bought the Focus Mk3 ST new and only issue was with the steering wheel at dead center felt it did not want to stay at center. Ford replaced the steering rack before 1000km and no problem since. Just keep on producing smiles. Oh its should clock over to 200 000km this week! Thanks for the review JJ!

I have a ford focus MK3 from 2011 and its an really nice car! Stone grey color nice black wheels on it!🙂

Nice video, I agree on your positive view of this model. I recently bought a 2012 Titanium with the 1.6 ecoboost (182PS) engine. Makes the car really come alive. Absolutely love it!

The eco boosts petrol’s (or ecoboom) are best avoided due to the wet timing belts failing way too early and oil pumps getting clogged up with fragments of the belt, which then starves the engine of oil. All the diesels are pretty reliable if well maintained so recommend going for those over the petrol. I have the later 1.5tdci and it’s been brilliant.

I own a 2015 focus sw titanium with the 1.5 tdci 120hp i can managed 4,5l/100km and it's really a joy to drive even as a station wagon. Nice reviews JJ 🙌🏻

Nowt much to say JJ. Always liked them, never had one but, as usual, thoroughly enjoyed your review. Cheers.

If you enjoy driving for fun then these cars are a very good buy. Precise steering. Great feedback through the wheel, excellent brakes, nice driving position and gearshift

Just 2 months ago I bought my first car that’s Ford Focus Zetec Navigator 2014 it’s1.0L turbo ecoboost 99bhp 5 speed manual transmission ….. really amazing car fun to drive…

The Mk3 Focus is worthless here in New Zealand, I feel sorry for anyone that brought one (new or used). As we only received the terrible powershift dual clutch here, it ruined the reputation of what once was the best family hatchback you could buy.

Great car, never knew about some of the features to be honest it's quite surprising

I love my focus, this review is really accurate. Don’t touch ecoboost though. It does have annoying faults like issues with door seals & letting water in. My car is 1.6 ti vct titanium and I have to say the driving feel is fantastic. It does what a ford should make you smile whilst driving it. I hope they bring it back.

I recently bought a 62 plate Titanium X (coming from a 20 plate 1.0 Ford Ecosport Titanium) and couldn’t be happier. Bullet proof 1.6 diesel engine, miles better fuel economy and doesn’t feel like a downgrade at all. The Focus has more tech and features than my old car, which was 8 years newer. The best part it only cost £4k exactly. It’s in “ink blue”, 91K on the clock, flawless MOT history, full service history and has had water pump and cam belt done. I couldn’t be happier with my purchase! Amazing cars!

Just bought the same one ('12, moondust silver, the station/wagon though) coming from a MK2 i didn't think it would be such a step forward. Lovely cars, pretty quick/nimble eventhough it's ''just a 1.6''. Like the video JJ :)

I was really impressed with the styling when they first came out. I thought about getting one, but didn't - partly because I like bigger cars (at the time, I had a Falcon), and partly because I didn't like the placement of the air vents on the dash. I live in Australia, which can get very, very hot, and I ordinarily like to have cold air from the air conditioner blasting directly at my face. Unfortunately, the placement of the air vents on the dash meant that it froze my left hand before I could get to a comfortable temperature in the cabin. I now drive a Mk5 Mondeo, and I like that the face level vents in the cabin are mounted high - above the screen, where they should be.

2015 1.5 tdci zetec S estate here, and as much as I want a volvo xc70 P2, I can't find any reason to dislike the Focus and try and sell it on. it looks good, the style bodykit makes it stand out - there are none around a 30 mile radius where I live that I've seen on the road - fantastic fuel consumption - 60mpg on a 3hour mixed road drive with a fully loaded boot (Seats down), and the turbo doesn't let you down, fast, nippy, and the lowered suspension makes it feel like it's on rails. getting it dechromed next week.

I owned a 2014 pre facelift 1.0 Ecoboost Titanium, had it six years. It wasn't especially quick but it kept up with traffic adequately. Ride, handling etc were decent. Overall I was happy with it. Beware though, water leaks in the boot are common on the MK3, I had that problem. The other issue is the wet timing belt on the Ecoboost engine can crumble and clog up the oil strainer, resulting in engine failure. I was quoted £1400 to replace the timing belt. Given that on most cars the job costs about £400, I suspect most owners won't bother, shame.

I've always thought of the focus as a great family car. The 1.6 diesel is good all round engine although I'd be tempted to go for the 2.0L just for the extra ummph. Great review as always JJ.

Passed my test in a focus titanium with the AA and I've also owned a few fiestas of the same era fantastic to drive nice design, I have a vauxhall astra k at the moment and I would say the quality feels a bit better than the equivalent focus but the ford definitely has the edge on sharp handling.

Ive got a 2.0TDCI titanium X 2015 model and love it. Done 50k in 1.5 years and hasnt caused a single problem. My spec has xenons, heated screen, adaptive cruise control, heated wheel and seats, keyless entry etc. great car and plenty of power at 200bhp 👍

My old man had one. Damn shame they're discontinuing the Focus 😢 Very handsome car. Lovely to drive. Found the dashboard controls a bit fiddly, but as soon as I managed to link my phone up then no worries. Rated the zetec engines as well, much better than the ecoboost minefield that followed. Nice video JJ 👍

I remember when this focus launched, I was 8. I was immediately taken with it. Great car, almost everyone I was at school with had one of these at some point. The only slightly disappointing thing is the lack of interior colours (I like white/cream interiors)

I liked the drive in these. But prefer the facelift. The triangle grills and square headlights looked fussy.

I've had this same car for 3 years always had a clunk noise when changing gears 2and and 3rd mainly sometimes 4th gear. Recently had new clutch and flywheel and still does it. Anyone else get this

My 2013 titanium x estate has steering adjust up and down and in and out

Great video, I think Gen 1 - 3 where game changers! The Gen 4 is a bit wishy washy.

You should try doing a review on the Mk2 Hyundai i30 (2011-2017)

These cars where quite ahead of their time, not only in looks and styling but with technology also. They’re rarely seen with many options in the UK, but you could option things like adaptive cruise control, lanes assist, traffic sign recognition and as ford call it “active city stop” which was unheard of in a car of this segment in 2011, especially on a car with a starting price of as low as 16k.

You talk about the diesel, and the puny 1.0 petrol. We had a Mk2 Focus with a 4 cylinder 1600cc normally aspirated petrol engine which served us well for many years (not a fan of turbos - jet engine technology at car prices, which will always have reliability question marks). When it was time to change, we looked at the current Focus - a silly 3-cylinder small capacity turbocharged petrol (don't want dirty diesel - don't do the miles to justify the diesel downsides). So we bought a Mazda CX30 4 cylinder normally aspirated 2.0 petrol. It's lovely. Ford have lost the plot.

The problem with Ford is the Powershift transmission. I passed my driving test in 2022 in a Ford Puma powershift auto and it was good but a little bit jerky when driven quickly. I was in the market to buy a ford because i really enjoyed driving the Puma but the powershift transmission just isnt reliable and people don't maintain them so thats what scared me away from buying a ford focus. I ended up buying a Honda Jazz CVT which i found out has a bad transmission 😢😭😭 and will need the entire gearbox replaced because no one wants to repair a cvt. I'm in the market to sell the Jazz and buy something else ..... I feel i have had bad luck 😞 with cars

I agree with you regarding the grill being better on the pre facelift. Also i find the facelift is more bland inside also the hatch rear lights on the facelift leave too much metal below them. Basically usually original designs trump facelifts as facelifts are an after thought imo. Also mate the 18 inch wheels werent standard on titanium or titanium x they were an extra. And the stock titanium came with i think 16s and x came with 17s

I had a mk3 diesel and my mates all had faster cars be it vxrs or bmws and my focus would hold its own when we went on late night drives. It just handled, in the corners it was just easy to keep up. I did over 100k in it over 4 years. Weve just bought anothet one for my mrs but an ecoboost made me realise how well the mk3 really does drive.

In Thailand this model has been discontinued due to criticism from the gear system that has jerking problems when driving. I have a MK2 and it is a very good car, but the MK3 I have always been interested in and would like to get. Possession but must cancel that idea.

In argentina we have the aspired 2.0 version 170hp, but only 5 speed manual... 6 is a must, i didnt knew that that version existed. Anyways is a great car. The interior here (SA versión) is different, much prettier in my opinion, and the screen a lot bigger, leather seats... The one on the video feels like a base focus or middle one, not titanium...

The MK3 Focus certainly has a nice exterior, but I'm personally not a fan of the dashboard design, especially the infotainment area... I prefer the interior design of the MK2 Focus, despite it being a generation older... I might be biased as I do own a MK2 ST225, or XR5 Turbo as we call them here in Australia.. I'd also like to add that the Focus is quite an overlooked car in general, and it's a shame that the Focus nameplate is gone in 2025...

Sorry JJbut mk 1 was the game changer and imo the best

I noticed your pronunciation of 'Hyundai' was old school, but it's a habit you may eventually get out of - just like 'Skoda' is now being pronounced 'Shhkoda'! 🙃 I'm sure the Focus is a very capable car, but not one I've ever really been interested in, purely because it's so common to see on the roads. I was the same with the Escort and Fiesta - their commonness put me off. Not very scientific or rational I know.

The estate is better looking