Ford TDCI 1.8

Advantages: Full house
Disadvantages: Boot space

...Well living here in South Africa Ford is not one of the more popular rides to buy. Most of the people I know look at me funny when I tell them that I have bought a Ford. Well that is until I have taken them for a drive. The car really impresses me on how it just seems to glide no hassles to it. I have had my TDCi now just over a month and love every kilo of it. There are little changes to get used to, as my prev car was opel astra petrol. I wanted to buy a diesel car for so long and after taking the TDCi for a test a came back and signed on the dotted line. Getting used to the turbo and the diesel took some but I am fine now. The car goes up to 180 km per hour like nothing and doesn't really drop speed. I can cruise on 160 up and down hill no prob's at all. My fuel consumption is still a bit high but with only 1600km...

roid_rod 30.07.2004 · Read review
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Review of Ford Focus 1.8 TDCi Hatchback

Focus 1.8 TDCi - a great not so little car

Advantages: Fantastically economical for its class
Disadvantages: High torque from engine can be expensive on tyres

...I've had a Focus 1.8 TDCi for a little over a year, following a two year stint from a Fiat so I may be a little over enthusiastic about the Focus! However, I've been driving for over 20 years (Oh God that long...) and have driven a silly number of cars over this time. I think I've found a car I finally can settle with for at least the rest of the finance term!!! Which is unusual as I get bored very quickly! The feel of the car overall is one of comfort but without the disconnected feel you can get in some larger cars and you really can have the confidence in the motor to pull hard when you need it. Inside, the car feels roomy for its class and the seats seem to hug you quite nicely. I used to have to sit at a slight angle in many of my older cars to reach pedals and steer yet in the Focus I can sit in a relatively normal position...

S1monPage69 12.09.2008 · Read review
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Review of Ford Focus 1.8 TDCi Hatchback

FORD FIESTA DIESEL 1.8 LX 5 DOOR

Advantages: CHEAP TO RUN, CHEAP SERVICING, CHEAP TO BUY
Disadvantages: SLOW, CAN BE CRAMPED

...I BOUGHT MY FIESTA ABOUT 3 YEARS AGO NOW AT A PRICE OF £1650 IT HAD DONE 68,000 MILES AND STILL RUNS A TREAT. Since then i have covered more than 30,000 miles and the only problem i have has was a seized front brake caliper, the reason for this was the fact the car was left stood for 6 weeks in portsmouth dockyard, the salt caused it to seize. It only cost me £100 for a new caliper, a pair of discs and brake pads. MAINTENANCE: I do most of the serviceing my self, i change the oil every 5000 miles this only cost £25 and is one of the best things you can do for a high milage diesel. I replace other consumables in accordance with ford and i buy the parts from Halfords. Timing belts should be changed every 70 miles according to FORD, this will cost you around £160 at a garage. As for tyre life i have done more then 20...

daniel_keenan_2004 13.04.2007 (08.06.2007) · Read review
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Review of Ford Fiesta 1.8 D

Best diesel hatch now at bargain prices!

Advantages: Performance, Economy
Disadvantages: No ABS

...I bought my Ford Focus 1.8 TDCi Zetec (52 plate) about a month ago. I?m impressed with the interior design of the car ? it?s well laid out and the driving position is excellent. The seats are comfortable and my car came with a climate pack (air-con, heated front screen and door mirrors). The heated front screen is particularly useful. Needless to say, being a Focus the handling is excellent. The Zetec model has sports suspension and really does grip the road exceptionally well. What makes this car special is the TDCi engine. It has 113 Bhp, which isn?t exceptional, but when combined with the huge amount of torque on offer (250Nm), delivers powerful and effortless acceleration, even from low revs (anything above 1500 rpm). The ?overboost? function is also useful, delivering a short burst of extra torque when the pedal is fully...

James_titcombe 27.01.2005 · Read review
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Review of Ford Focus 1.8 TDCi Hatchback

Ford Focus 1.8 Zetec C-MAX.

Advantages: Roomy, upmarket quality & quiet.
Disadvantages: Hand brake position needs getting used to.

...7 footers! Upholstery is plain side panels with inset silvery zig zag finish, it comes in 2 colours according to the paint colour.ie Dark has light upholstery & light has dark finish. TOYS, adjustable steering column, upwards & in & outwards. Intermittent variable wipers with the advantage of speed for front match the speed for the rear wiper. If the front wipers are on and you go into reverse the rear wiper automatically wipes. Built in computer, giving mileage, MPG, amount of fuel left in tank, average speed, low outside temp and for those of you that go abroad changeable miles to kilometres. The engine, comes in 1.6 petrol/1.6 turbo diesel, 1.8 petrol & 2litre turbo diesel. Rated at 110 BHP for 1.6's, 120 BHP and 136 BHP. Fuel consumption so far has been impressive, todate I am achieving 36-36.5 MPG. Mileage is now at 23...

Beefy 28.11.2003 (14.09.2007) · Read review
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Review of Ford Focus 1.8

Toyota Avensis T4 Spirit Auto 1.8 saloon

Advantages: Great value for money, reliable, looks good, very safe car, loads of gizmos
Disadvantages: no rear wash/wipe, no MP3 dock, not brill on MPG, expensive parts

...the day - actually they seem to get dimmer at night when you put the headlights on. Hmm.. You can press the remote control thing twice and it double locks if you are outside the car (not if you are inside so the emergency services can get in more easily in a crash, apparently), child locks, and remote transponder key fob thingy. The bad things are the road noise is quite bad on some surfaces and the ride can be less than smooth at times. It doesn't exactly roar away at the lights with having only a 1.8 engine. Mind my last car had a 3 litre engine so I did notice the difference. It has a turbo thingy which gives it a bit of welly when you overtake on a motorway. It is a bit thirsty on the old petrol, being an automatic - it does about 25-30 MPG for me in town, about 35 if I'm on a motorway all tank, unless it's very uphill, when it...

sadoldbag 23.01.2008 · Read review
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Review of Toyota Avensis 1.8 VVT-i Saloon

Vauxhall Zafira Elegance 1.8

Advantages: Roomy, easy to drive and fairly economical
Disadvantages: Horrible blind spot and electrically unreliable

...I have owned my Zafira (elegance 1.8) for coming up to 3 years. It is a V reg. and has been a lovely vehicle to drive, comfortable and easy to get passengers in and out. Children love it due to the height and added visibility for them. The 7 seats have been a godsend at times, but having to remove the boot cover bar each time and store it at home can be a pain in the proverbial. The boot space with 5 seats is very spacious, but minimal with 7. I do have a huge concern with the visibility from the windscreen ,on each side, due to the roof support blocking a significant amount at certain times, e.g turning out from a junction. I've only had one near miss (that was one to many for my liking) and the experience taught me to be even more vigilant when checking the coast is clear. This is a common complaint from others I know who...

007addict 16.10.2007 · Read review
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Review of Vauxhall Zafira 1.8i

MGF 1.8 - REWRITE

Advantages: Good looking, fast, good handling
Disadvantages: Requires careful maintenance

...This was my very first opinion on Ciao, and I thought that now I have had a touch more experience writing I would take a chance and re-write. So here goes… My husband convinced me to buy an MGF when I was looking for a new car in October 2000. Well he didn’t have to twist my arm that hard, but having always been quite ‘sensible’ in my choice of car, it was a big step for me to even consider being behind the wheel of a little sporty number! I had in mind another small car to replace the Vauxhall Corsa I had at the time, and was considering a Ford focus, Renault Clio or similar. I reconsidered and decided that it was about time that I had a fun car, and we bought a 4-year-old MGF from a car supermarket in Birmingham. We had the choice of three MGFs. We eventually settled on the Red 1.8 model, which suited...

Shufflebum 02.10.2001 (24.02.2002) · Read review
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Review of MGF Roadster 1.8

Ford Focus TDCi 1.8 Ghia (2004)

Advantages: High MPG, Comfortable, Quite and plenty of leg room.
Disadvantages: Extra costs hidden in services

......

BAZ1951 05.12.2006 · Read review
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Review of Ford Focus 1.8 TDCi Hatchback

MX5 1.8 Sport

Advantages: Dead easy to drop the top (and put it up again)
Disadvantages: Fuel economy coulld be better

...For the Summer I purchased a second hand MX5 1.8 Sports. It was 4 years old and had the matching hard top as well as the permanently fitted cloth soft top. I had done my home work and this was the one that every review was recommending. It is one of the limited edition Sports and as such comes with leather heated seats. First things first, off came the hard top and into storage until winter. The hard top was very simple to remove and the soft top just flips up and down. However neither my wife or I can pull the soft top up when sitting in the seats. One of us has to get out. Both the hard top and soft top have a heated rear window which is essential and in a two seater cabin. The fold up rear wind deflector is not that good so long hair still gets blown forward. Top Gear did an effective demonstration of the difference...

ForlornHope 23.07.2007 · Read review
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Review of Mazda MX-5 1.8i