Generally, the interior is well designed, and of high quality, although the design of the centre console is a bit of a mish-mash, and the gearlever and handbrake surround looks and feels like it's made of cardboard. Not sure how easy it is to keep clean, either: mine has picked up some fingerprints already. Time will tell.

My first long journey was from where I picked the car up (Yorkshire) to where I lived (Wolverhampton) so it was going to be a good mixture of motorway and A roads, with a few twisty bits and some urban driving. I loved the car's handling, but that's not surprising, given I drove a Fiat Marea before. It was quite windy that day, but the Focus stayed put. A little deflection could be detected when passing trucks, but it was easily dealt with.The steering is in a class of its own. Ford has done a great job here: the minimal movement when overtaking is impressive. Feel when cornering is also good. I feel very confident in this car. Initially I thought the weighting was a little off, but I have got used to it - perhaps the Marea was too light?

The car accelerates more quickly than I thought, but I find driving at 30 mph a little jerky because of the throttle - initially there is little power, and then just a slight pressure seems to make the car jolt. I don't know whether this is a bug or just me. Once up to slightly higher speeds, it's fine.

The brakes are very good. I don't have ABS (shame - it should be standard on a car like this) but I can modulate them very well most of the time. I initially thought the gearchange was a little clunky, but it snicks from slot to slot precisely and smoothly, and the clutch is superb - it doesn't make my leg ache in stop-start traffic. I think Ford could have put in a clutch foot rest, however.

I haven't yet driven it in the dark, but the lights look very bright. I wasn't too impressed with the dash illumination, though: it's either too bright or too dark.
The other features that have impressed me are the air-con (very useful in this bout of summery weather) and the radio, lack of autoreverse notwithstanding. The speed-sensitive volume gadget is also clever and thoughtful.

The Focus is pretty well sorted in the security department - although it took me some time to work out how to deadlock the car with the remote (Note: read owner's manual) - and the bonnet lock is a pretty neat idea. Having a remote boot release is also useful, although the position of the release in the car is, I reckon, a security risk as it can easily be accessed from the window.
All in all, I'm very impressed with the Focus and would urge anyone thinking of changing their car to give one a try. I'm already saving for the RS.