I rented a Citroen Xsara (bizzara?) and a Ford Focus Diesel and both were great engines/gearboxes.
1-The diesels are quiet, very torquey, shifter were very easy.
2-They are all manual transmission, and you have to actually know how to drive, shift, and rev. NO automatics or the performance or fuel economy goes to ----.
3-The Citroen was a boat to drive (and ugly!), terrible Toyota-like center dashboard, but the Focus was fun- cornered well, rode well, and roomy. Not related to the US Focus.
4-People actually know how to drive vs. the USA. So they know how to rev and shift at the right time.