Pssshhh... I've already driven them!
Personally, I think the exterior is a huge step forward from the 05-07. I like the GFX package, but for the other 99% of the 05-07's, they're just so lame looking. The 08 is much more stylish.
I don't like the high beltline, mostly because they kept the wheel size the same, and thus the proportions are all off. The wheel wells are too small. High belt lines are bold looking on the DCX sedans, because they matched them with wheel sizes that work. Just raising the belt line on the Focus makes the wheels look puny. No amount of lowering or rim size will fix this. It's what was wrong with the Tiburon.
The interior is simply a quantum leap better than the 05-07. I don't know if I like it better than 00-04... I'd say it's a worthy successor. The 05-07... dark days, so I'm glad to see this change. Makes you wonder though... why did they even spend the tooling on the 05-07?
Unfortunately, I'll never be able to own one. My cars must be wagons or hatches. Trunks are completely impractical, at least for my family. I don't know why anybody buys them. At least they could have made the coupe a "liftback". Oh well.
I HATE the chrome grille and the rear lights thought. The grille is easily fixed with a little Krylon. I hope somebody makes classic tail lights for it.