Ford Focus 1.8 TDCi Hatchback

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On arrival at Ford we were greeted with the sight of a Ford Focus Zetec 1.8 TDCi in silver with the climate pack for just over 10 grand (with 15K miles). We test drove the car and it's higher powered brother (the one with 115 horses as opposed to 100 horses) and didn't find much difference so decided to opt for the slightly cheaper 100bhp Ford Focus. With hindsight we should have had more than one test drive although that was not really encouraged ...
...thinks.

The Ford Focus has had rave reviews since it's inception in 1998 and is probably the best selling car annually. The Focus raised the standard for cars in this class and well in my opinion stopped.

I have now had the car for over a year and been driving it everyday. I've done the best part of 20k miles in it and frankly have had enough. While the car has seemingly wooed motoring journalists into thinking it a ... more

When I got rid of my Fiat Punto 1.9 JTD this time last year I was in the market for a slightly larger vehicle. I was having a love hate relationship with the back end of the Renault Megáne and the Citroen C4 was not released then (what it is about me and French cars I don't know!) although I thought that would be the ideal car. Nothing much was doing it for me (it's all about emotions when I buy a car) so we decided to go and have a look at Ford, in particular the Focus. We had heard great things about the Focus and it seemed only natural to go and see what they had on the forecourt.

On arrival at Ford we were greeted with the sight of a Ford Focus Zetec 1.8 TDCi in silver with the climate pack for just over 10 grand (with 15K miles). We test drove the car and it's higher powered brother (the one with 115 horses as opposed to 100 horses) and didn't find much difference so decided to opt for the slightly cheaper 100bhp Ford Focus. With hindsight we should have had more than one test drive although that was not really encouraged by the dealer. Alarm bells should have rung quite loudly at that point me thinks.

The Ford Focus has had rave reviews since it's inception in 1998 and is probably the best selling car annually. The Focus raised the standard for cars in this class and well in my opinion stopped.

I have now had the car for over a year and been driving it everyday. I've done the best part of 20k miles in it and frankly have had enough. While the car has seemingly wooed motoring journalists into thinking it a wonder car it had left me less than impressed, that's before you even start me on the dealership! As mentioned I purchase this car for just under £11,000 in May 2004. It is an 03/03 model and had just over 15,000 miles on the clock. When we went to test drive the car I was impressed by the torquey engine, although there was quite an obvious turbo lag which would take a little adjustment to.

RELIABILITY

By all reports the Focus has an excellent record for reliability and in fact took first place in a reliability test for cars one-to-three years old in 2002 in Germany. They obviously hadn't tested mine then! Within 2 weeks of having the car I noticed a serious lack of power when accelerating. This progressed to a shuddering of the car which my other half said was probably a misfire. We returned the car to the dealer who fixed the problem (after a couple of visits and a few carefully worded comments from us). Unfortunately whilst they were fixing that problem they demonstrated the apparent flimsiness of the bodywork by denting the car. Again some careful words were exchanged and the car was returned to me in one undented piece.

So, on passes the summer and we take the car on long trips. It is unquestionably more comfortable than the Fiat Punto that we had previously and this I am grateful for. So picture it now, the nights are drawing in and it's starting to get a it frosty in the mornings now. On getting in the car you turn the key, wait a bit for the glow plugs then start the car… Yeah, right. My Focus does not like starting in the winter months. I can keep the key turned and hear it try to fire about 5 times before it actually starts;. That was not what I expected with a car less than 2 years old. To confound the problem the car has now started to cut out whilst slowing down leaving you without brakes or steering. A return visit to Furrows establishes the fact that the dealers are absolutely useless and we should never have bought a Ford. Aside from that the problem continues throughout the winter and into the early spring. Now that the summer is here (fingers crossed), we only have to try starting it once and it catches on the second go (mostly) although chucks out a big black cloud of smoke.

SAFETY & SECURITY

The Focus has twin airbags and apparently received 4 stars in some crash testing thingy (I'm a girl, don't ask me). The car does not however have ABS as standard (as Matt found out at the crest of a blind hill!) this does mean that if you need to stop in a hurry you are likely to quite literally skid to a halt. Later models come with ABS however which should improve things a bit. In my opinion the number of cars getting 5 stars in the NCAP thing shows that the Focus isn't that great on all things safety. I'm not an expert however and you should really experience these things for yourself. What I would say is that I don't have complete confidence in the car and feel it could stall at any moment when pulling out of a junction, in my opinion, this means that the car is not particularly safe at all. I certainly don't feel that safe in it and find myself taking extra cautions.

SPACE

Compared to my previous car the Focus is more spacious but that was the reason I needed the car in the first place. The cabin feels quite spacious although once you start putting stuff in the car it starts to get slightly cramped (by stuff I mean all the necessary bits and bobs that girls carry around with them at all times!). I can sit in the car comfortably and my head won't touch the ceiling in the front or back. In terms of what I can fit in the boot I find around £90of TESCO shopping in the boot quite easily (am lazy and try to shop only once a month, am not extremely rich!) In terms of carrying passenger I have had 3 adult passengers quite comfortably but would not like to travel with 3 adults in the back for any long journeys as it could get a bit cramped.

COMFORT

This car is more comfortable than the Punto, although I wouldn't like to do very long distance in it like I would the Subaru Legacy. I would say you could sit in this comfortable for around 2-3 hours. In fact we took it to Edinburgh but had to stop ½ way (before Carlisle) to stretch out and get rid of the numb bum!

HANDLING & PERFORMANCE

Well, when the car is going I find that it handles very well indeed. It will stick to the road in the corners well and is quite a responsive little beast. The amount of torque makes it quite responsive at lower speeds (or so the other half says) with a lot of pulling power. I try not to drive it too fast round the corners (not as fast as this car drives me round the bend) so always feel in control, the other half lives a bit more dangerously than me however and flings the Focus around as if he was driving his old Impreza (although mine doesn't go that fast). The Focus performs quite well and he likes driving it so that's all alright then!

If you are like me and don't really enjoy throwing yourself round corners then you'll want to know what the car is like when driven normally. I drive 20 miles to work with around 17 of these being on a motorway. Aside form the problem of pulling out of junctions and the occasional stalling the Focus performs quite well. I can sit at 85mph quite easily and keep the speed going up the hills unlike some other cars I pass. I can also corner quicker than other cars on the road meaning I can razz past them on the road island (naughty I know but I'm always in a hurry!). When I get into town however if I don't remember to change gear then it's not that bad because the engine can cope with 30mph in 5th gear quite easily. Lower than that and you would start to feel the shuddering though. In terms of economy I find that the car doesn't live up to it's figures or reputation. I get just under 45mpg from this car where I was told to expect closer to 50 mpg. While this is not that important to some we like to know these sorts of things. If we didn't do the sums ourselves however we wouldn't have a clue what the mpg was as the Focus has no trip computer or stuff. More about that in a bit! All in all, the car handles very nicely.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

I got this car from Furrows in Telford. Never again will I go there. They have had the car in numerous times and failed to find any fault with it when it clearly had one. They also seem to think that customer service is not necessary in their line of work and we have occasionally been left at the service desk for 10 minutes whilst the staff chatted through a glass wall in full view. The salesman was pleasant however and threw in the floor mats we had asked for! At this point in time I am still too mad to comment objectively on customer service so will decline to do so. What I will say is that I will never ever buy from Furrows again, nor will I buy a Ford again.

INSIDE STUFF

What I like most about cars tends to be the things inside it. The Focus has very handy audio controls underneath the indicator stick which I will find it hard to live without. The headlights however (rather bizarrely) are not located on the sticks but are on a knob at the bottom right of the steering wheel. To me this doesn't make sense! My car has the optional climate pack and I find this to be a god send. In the winter, or when it's all steamy and warm and you're having trouble seeing through the windscreen you just press a button and wait a couple of second. Bingo, the windscreen is clear. Genius addition. The air-con is quite efficient too and I find it gets quite cold in reasonably time. In the winter when you need hot air the car warms up relatively quickly. Although patrol cars will be warmer quicker this car doesn't do too badly in comparison. The stereo is compatible with a 6 CD autochanger although one wasn't fitted in mine. The sound from the regular CD is OK and the radio work fine with all the usual features like travel and stuff.

To me the focus is far from ideal. I know it has had rave reviews but I can not see the substance behind them. It's just like any other car to me, nothing stands out as exceptional and I for one will not be sorry to see it go tomorrow. I know it shouldn't be like this but cars are emotional purchases for me and I had no love for the Focus, in fact on occasion I had hatred, frustration and loathing for it. I have driven it for a year now and am disappointed. I was expecting more and the car failed to deliver. So tomorrow it goes and in it's place I'm getting a Renault Megáne Sport Tourer. Already I feel a bit of love for it and know that I will readily forgive its faults and that's what I think I failed to do with the Focus. I couldn't forgive its faults because the rest of the car didn't hold me captivated. A disappointment.
 

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