Focuses are excellent little gems. I've had mine since '01 and bought it after being really taken by them while bouncing around europe in '99. They are light weight, have neutral, well balanced handling and are numerous enough (best selling car in the world, I believe) that there are loads of aftermarket goodies available.
Mine has a Cosworth ~ Powerworks (now owned by Mahle) supercharger and makes circa 220 HP. 85k and not a rattle or squeak - best car I ever bought.
With the weight and HP advantage both going to the car on the left, guess which one hauls the groceries back from the store quicker? Biggest challenge with the Focus is keeping traction. Can get expensive smokin' those SO3's on a regular basis - but damm it's hard to resist...
Latest versions of the Focus get the duratec engines that are found in the Mazda products.