Affordable yes; enjoyable, interesting not so much

Author's Rating:

Pros: Affordable, mostly reliable, decent fuel consumption, wagon is spacious with no similar entry level competition

Cons: Cheap looking and feeling, coarse drive, dull.

The Bottom Line: 
If price is your main consideration, shop carefully and it should be perfectly serviceable.

If a well built compact car that is also FUN is your goal perhaps look elsewhere.

Author's Review
This is a long term review of the 2004 Focus wagon model.

I bought this for my mother almost four years ago to replace a minivan she wasn't comfortable driving. She felt the minivan was too big but was accustomed to the kind of space offered--that is the main point in favor of the Focus wagon model: in North America wagons and hatchbacks (though hatchbacks are on the upswing) are not in favor and the Focus is/was one of the few. I am in Canada, generally speaking, wagons and hatchbacks are more popular here than large SUVs and few automakers offer (Subaru does an excellent wagon but is a whole other level of car).

What was required of the Focus: in-city driving only, space, affordable to purchase, decent on gas.

What the Focus has delivered: did not cost much (was relatively new, bought as a Ford certified used vehicle from a Ford dealership), it is spacious, it is decent on gas, it handles fairly well.

What the Focus has not delivered: for not much driving (and this is my mother, an easy-on-the-car driver) it has required a fair number of repairs (far more than my heavily driven 8 year old Mazda), it's loud and coarse, it feels cheap (well, it is and yes this is part of the appeal), acceleration is rather poor, we have had a 2 year irritating tire issue (the Ford dealership has attempted numerous fixes for ongoing leaks to no avail).

I've always thought the design of our Focus (Europe's is shockingly more contemporary looking, we are getting it finally) from day one is just tired, bland. The wagon of course is essentially the Focus with a box on back.
Specifically on the exterior I don't like the shape of the large headlights and the cheap looking black plastic grill but this is subjective of course (and if you are looking for cheap transport it truly doesn't factor).

The interior I find terribly unappealing, the dash is an array of swooping lines, the plastic is cheap looking and feeling but everything does function as it should. Seats are relatively comfortable for the price, fabric seems to withstand the years, good for families likely.
One thing to note--we have a 'plush' sort of fabric, there is also a flat nylon feeling interior fabric used and when shopping for this car, most Focus we saw with this nylon fabric seem to stain very easily.

Our Focus has a decent array of options given the price: 130hp engine with auto transmission (there is a base 110 hp engine likely best avoided, feedback suggests it's sluggish; car is FWD which you likely assumed), power windows (which are smooth, fast, quiet) and locks (with the super annoying auto lock feature that kicks in at low speed, you can have this disabled), ABS, disc brakes, strong and effective HVAC system!, remote entry, power mirrors, just OK stock stereo/CD/no aux input ie iPod.

I must say the car physically has held up well now being 7 years old.
Interior bits are still doing their job and are where they're supposed to be ie no plastic bits have broken off; interior fabric has held up well; we are in heavily salted Ontario Canada and the car has yet to rust.

I have driven this car a lot and I think for those looking for simple, cheap to buy, basic transportation it's likely fine especially in wagon form if you need space. Even with repairs it's a domestic auto so inexpensive to fix.
Though I myself would not buy a Focus having driven this one I'm also more concerned with the driving experience and find other compact carmakers offer a lot more bang for not much more money.

A recommended rating for those where purchase price rules.