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Focus

Passion, instruction, buying, care, maintenance and more, any form of vehicle discussion is welcome here
Leothebear
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Focus

#474332

Postby Leothebear » January 19th, 2022, 9:52 am

I'm think of buying a new or nearly new Ford Focus. Fords have worked well for me over the last 20 years, I've found them to be robust, reliable and good to drive.

Trouble is I'm unsure which model to go for. I'm loath to get a 1 litre model because that seems too feeble to power what has become a sizable car.
Diesels abound but are being strongly discouraged.

I want a 5 door hatch with a lively engine, spacious and comfortable. I'd add with a minimum of electronic gizmos but all modern cars abound with them these days, I suppose.

My annual mileage is < 10,000 miles.
Budget < £20,000

I'd welcome suggestions.

Regards

Leo

redsturgeon
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Re: Focus

#474342

Postby redsturgeon » January 19th, 2022, 10:14 am

Do not get the 1 litre ecoboost engine
https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/car ... gines.html

The focus is generally a good car but I'd seriously consider the Mazda 3 as an alternative. About the same size but much better reliability and the new "skyactiv" engines have a good reputation.

John

CliffEdge
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Re: Focus

#474344

Postby CliffEdge » January 19th, 2022, 10:20 am

Google ecoboom

I'd never touch another Ford. Had a three year focus lease agreement. Chopped it in six months early as I was terrified it would blow its engine.

Peace of mind, you'll never have it with a ford. Almost the worst thing is Ford's treatment of those who suffer failed engines.

People's lives have reportedly been ruined.

BigB
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Re: Focus

#474352

Postby BigB » January 19th, 2022, 10:32 am

redsturgeon wrote:Do not get the 1 litre ecoboost engine
https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/car ... gines.html

The focus is generally a good car but I'd seriously consider the Mazda 3 as an alternative. About the same size but much better reliability and the new "skyactiv" engines have a good reputation.

John


I have recently test-driven both skyactive G and X versions of Mazda3 - the X is the more fancy and updated with mild hybrid support. Would fit the brief of the OP for a lively engine (I don't think the G would). Either is very good to drive, a good chassis, good steering and a superb 6 sp manual.

From the brief I'd also consider a Seat Leon with 150 TSI engine. Not driven one recently, but would meet my search/review criteria of good driveability and lively engine. Drove one as a hire car 2 years ago with the DSG gearbox - very nice.

swill453
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Re: Focus

#474357

Postby swill453 » January 19th, 2022, 10:36 am

If you're set on the Focus, and don't want the 1 litre, then surely the obvious choice is the 1.5 petrol?

Or are you looking for alternative suggestions?

Scott.

ten0rman
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Re: Focus

#474367

Postby ten0rman » January 19th, 2022, 10:47 am

Like one or two others on here, don't buy a Ford, and especially a Focus. I had one, once! Never again. It was the most unreliable vehicle I have ever had the misfortune to own. Over four years and about 60K miles, I had: replacement fuel filter, replacement clutch, replacement engine, three full sets of tyres. With the passage of time I can't think of anything else, but you get the idea.

It's Japanese replacement, and for that matter it's predecessor a Peugeot, were far, far better.

Apologies for being so negative, but when even my wife started complaining about the length of time it was spending in the garage, then that might give you some idea.

ten0rman

swill453
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Re: Focus

#474373

Postby swill453 » January 19th, 2022, 10:58 am

With that money I'd personally go for a Seat Leon a couple of years old. 1.5 TSI EVO Xcellence Lux DSG, to be precise.

Scott.

Leothebear
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Re: Focus

#474456

Postby Leothebear » January 19th, 2022, 2:36 pm

Thanks for the helpful info guys. Looks like I was right being suspicious of the 1.0 Eco boost engine.
I'm still driving a 1.4 13 year old Fiesta that has been almost bullet proof, so I'm sad to hear that Ford has taken such a decline.

I'll be widening my net in my search.

Leo

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Re: Focus

#474505

Postby AF62 » January 19th, 2022, 4:52 pm

ten0rman wrote:Like one or two others on here, don't buy a Ford, and especially a Focus. I had one, once! Never again. It was the most unreliable vehicle I have ever had the misfortune to own. Over four years and about 60K miles, I had: replacement fuel filter, replacement clutch, replacement engine, three full sets of tyres. With the passage of time I can't think of anything else, but you get the idea.


And to counter, I had a Ford Focus and put 80,000 miles on it - an awful lot of which was done in the first four years as I commuted to an office 40 miles away, and then damn all for the last five as it was used as a 'shed' to drive to the nearby railway station and abandon at the side of the road.

For the first four years it had a cheap Ford Rapid Fit service and then all it got was a £30 oil change at a fast fit place every year. However other than that all I spent on it was (as expected) a set of front brake pads and a couple of sets of tyres. Never failed an MOT.

redsturgeon
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Re: Focus

#474513

Postby redsturgeon » January 19th, 2022, 5:18 pm

AF62 wrote:
ten0rman wrote:Like one or two others on here, don't buy a Ford, and especially a Focus. I had one, once! Never again. It was the most unreliable vehicle I have ever had the misfortune to own. Over four years and about 60K miles, I had: replacement fuel filter, replacement clutch, replacement engine, three full sets of tyres. With the passage of time I can't think of anything else, but you get the idea.


And to counter, I had a Ford Focus and put 80,000 miles on it - an awful lot of which was done in the first four years as I commuted to an office 40 miles away, and then damn all for the last five as it was used as a 'shed' to drive to the nearby railway station and abandon at the side of the road.

For the first four years it had a cheap Ford Rapid Fit service and then all it got was a £30 oil change at a fast fit place every year. However other than that all I spent on it was (as expected) a set of front brake pads and a couple of sets of tyres. Never failed an MOT.



I had a Focus Mk3 1.6 diesel for a couple of years from new and it never missed a beat. It was well built, well equipped, comfortable and handled well, nothing fell off. I was happy with it. The 1.0l ecoboost however has been known to have issues.

John

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Re: Focus

#474547

Postby swill453 » January 19th, 2022, 7:05 pm

redsturgeon wrote:The 1.0l ecoboost however has been known to have issues.

The article you linked to earlier only referred to engines built up to 2014. They've probably made a few hundred thousand since then, they might have ironed out the gremlins by now (since it's obviously in their own interest).

Scott.

ten0rman
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Re: Focus

#474582

Postby ten0rman » January 19th, 2022, 9:24 pm

The Focus that I had, see above, was an 07 diesel bought at 2 years old with 27K on it. We ran it until it was 6 years old with 85K on it.

I do accept that we were perhaps unfortunate in that it was a Friday pm & Monday am car rolled into one, especially when my brother's diesel Focus is still going strong many, many years later. Nevertheless, after an experience like that, you will understand why my opinion of Fords is about as low as it can be. Hence why I cannot recommend them.

ten0rman

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Re: Focus

#474648

Postby DrFfybes » January 20th, 2022, 9:02 am

Buy the RS, a early one is within budget if you don't mind it having done 100k or so.

Loads of performance, and unlikely to depreciate much, which will more than counterract any running/repair costs.

:)

Paul

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Re: Focus

#474659

Postby jackdaww » January 20th, 2022, 9:44 am

.

my experience of ford , some years ago .

ford granada , lovely car but --

engine replaced once - cylinder head.

auto gearbox failed twice .

cant recommend .

:(

MyNameIsUrl
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Re: Focus

#474685

Postby MyNameIsUrl » January 20th, 2022, 10:46 am

Leothebear wrote:I'm think of buying a new or nearly new Ford Focus....


I don’t think anecdotal evidence is much use to you, but anyway:

I got my first Focus in 1999, sold it in 2012. I got another in 2005 (sold in 2014), another in 2009 (sold in 2016), another in 2010 (sold in 2020), another in 2016 (sold in 2018), and another in 2018 which I’ve still got. As the cars got older I passed them on to my sons, so I had up to four Focuses at one time.

I never had an mot failure, and the worst fault was a leaking heater matrix. I had them serviced regularly at a small independent garage.

The early cars were 2.0 Ghia, the latest one a 1.5 turbo Titanium. The Focus has got bigger with each model update, so the latest car I bought was a Fiesta. The 125hp Fiesta is great in town but I prefer the 150hp Focus on motorways.

The average depreciation I suffered over the five cars sold was £59 per month.

People with unlucky experiences with Fords may feel I’ve been lucky, but I don’t think any of us as individuals can predict what your experience might be.

redsturgeon
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Re: Focus

#474693

Postby redsturgeon » January 20th, 2022, 11:07 am

MyNameIsUrl wrote:
Leothebear wrote:I'm think of buying a new or nearly new Ford Focus....


I don’t think anecdotal evidence is much use to you, but anyway:

I got my first Focus in 1999, sold it in 2012. I got another in 2005 (sold in 2014), another in 2009 (sold in 2016), another in 2010 (sold in 2020), another in 2016 (sold in 2018), and another in 2018 which I’ve still got. As the cars got older I passed them on to my sons, so I had up to four Focuses at one time.

I never had an mot failure, and the worst fault was a leaking heater matrix. I had them serviced regularly at a small independent garage.

The early cars were 2.0 Ghia, the latest one a 1.5 turbo Titanium. The Focus has got bigger with each model update, so the latest car I bought was a Fiesta. The 125hp Fiesta is great in town but I prefer the 150hp Focus on motorways.

The average depreciation I suffered over the five cars sold was £59 per month.

People with unlucky experiences with Fords may feel I’ve been lucky, but I don’t think any of us as individuals can predict what your experience might be.


Great "anecdotal" info from over 40 years of Focus use. This concurs with my own experiences of Fords over the years, from Cortinas, Sierras, Galaxies, Focuses Fiestas and Kas.

Did you ever have any with the 1.0 ecoboost?

John

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Re: Focus

#475208

Postby tsr2 » January 21st, 2022, 8:07 pm

Another anecdotal.

I've had 2 Fords. My first was an A reg Sierra 1.6L. It was probably about 10 years old, bought as a stop gap and it was a complete dog. I would hesitate to generalise from that experience as I suspect it was poorly maintained by previous owners, but it did not inspire confidence in the Ford brand.

My 2nd Ford is a 2011 Grand C-Max 1.6 Zetec which I bought in 2015 and still have. It has been reasonably reliable and drives well although it's performance is a bit of a let down after an Octavia vRS. Having said that I'd happily replace it with another Ford, but probably not a 1.0 Ecoboost.

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Re: Focus

#475598

Postby airbus330 » January 23rd, 2022, 5:54 pm

The problem with modern high performance little engines is they need the love of proper servicing. The Ford 1.0 had early issues but is dead reliable if fed the correct oil. Skyactiv's can be truculent too. I'm not keen on Fords build quality but a new Focus is a really good drive but a Mazda is, to me , a nicer place to be seated.

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Re: Focus

#475605

Postby monabri » January 23rd, 2022, 6:25 pm

I've still got a 2001 Mondeo -diesel from new. It's been an excellent car - bit of a sofa (soon to be replaced with an Audi A6). My wife has a 2006 Mondeo Diesel TDCi...an even better car engine wise and goes like a train (the car ;) !). I had an XR3 once..bought 2nd hand, it had probably been thraped..needed an new engine (which I fitted). I quite like Fords. The fully comp insurance on my Mondy is just over £100.

I had a few probs with my Mondeo, a spring coil broke and the rear bushes were replaced (parts were ~£50 and fitting £100 ish). A new exhaust and tyres. The front window heaters have failed but everything else still works (ok, the tail gate has a habit of trying to decapitate you when you get something out of the boot).

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Re: Focus

#475669

Postby bungeejumper » January 24th, 2022, 8:59 am

monabri wrote:I had a few probs with my Mondeo, a spring coil broke and the rear bushes were replaced (parts were ~£50 and fitting £100 ish). A new exhaust and tyres. The front window heaters have failed but everything else still works (ok, the tail gate has a habit of trying to decapitate you when you get something out of the boot).

That's not bad at all. :) Unfortunately, my 2002 Focus TDCI was a different kettle of nuts and bolts. It was one of the earliest common rail models that Ford ever made, and unfortunately they made all their developmental mistakes at my expense. :( The car was a joy to own until it got past 110,000 miles, and then the bills started piling in. Including a turbo, an aircon compressor, and two sets of fuel injectors. :shock: Cost me £3,500 for repairs over two years, and that was at an independent garage.

Two sets? Yes, because (with technical hindsight) Ford had installed the pressure sensors in the wrong damn places on the common rail pipes. That meant that the fuel pressure at the injectors was so high that it literally ate away the metal from the injector bodies until they failed. But by the time the first set of injectors went duff, my car was already seven years old and well out of warranty.

In the end, the head gasket started to fail. (Air in the expansion bottle.) It was time to be rid of the bugger. I gather that Ford resolved all these issues with the later models, such as Monabri's, but it shook my faith in the brand pretty badly. On that evidence, I'd sooner accept Boris Johnson's word on a Downing Street party than Ford's total commitment to its loyal customers.

BJ

(PS: If Monabri's tailgate prob is the gas struts, they're a piece of the proverbial to replace.)


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