Ford Focus or Fiesta ?

blacksta

Sorry in advance for my rambling -

I cant seem to make up my mind- it is always like this every 4 to 5 years when i am thinking of changing my car- Wife is already fed up as i keep showing her different cars whilst driving on the road. " do you like this one "

So kind of narrowed my options down to Fiesta or Focus 1.6 auto

For now i do mostly motorway driving but that could change next year and i hate the sound of diesel engines ( seems like something is broken in the Engine) and dont really mind shelling out petrol - I also understand with diesel engines once something goes wrong the fuel savings becomes irrelevant as it is costly to fix.

Once again i apologise and would welcome your comments

Lum

Same as I said in the last thread, the Focus will be more comfortable on the motorway due to the larger wheelbase.

I guess it comes down to how many miles you will be doing on a regular basis. If your commute is something silly like 4 miles motorway and 1 mile urban then it probably wont be such an issue. The quality of your local motorway may also make a difference.

I'd suggest test driving both on the actual bit of road.

rodenal

Focus, no contest as I intimated previously too.

Drive both, try and also drive a focus with a bigger engine and an auto or the 1.6 diesel (if they do an auto one). 1.6 will be horrid

UncleZen

I also understand with diesel engines once something goes wrong the fuel savings becomes irrelevant as it is costly to fix.

Mmmmm, not sure thats true. less moving parts, no ignition system therefore less to go wrong

OTOH if the turbo goes its goodbye £700 at least

Lum

UncleZen wrote: »

I also understand with diesel engines once something goes wrong the fuel savings becomes irrelevant as it is costly to fix.

Mmmmm, not sure thats true. less moving parts, no ignition system therefore less to go wrong

OTOH if the turbo goes its goodbye £700 at least

Turbo, Particulate Filter, Dual Mass Flywheel.

Admittedly the filter is less likely to be an issue if this is going to be a motorway car.

OP says they aren't too bothered about fuel costs either.

blacksta

UncleZen wrote: »

I also understand with diesel engines once something goes wrong the fuel savings becomes irrelevant as it is costly to fix.

Mmmmm, not sure thats true. less moving parts, no ignition system therefore less to go wrong

OTOH if the turbo goes its goodbye £700 at least

Magic Word - I would simply start crying OR Be forced into a starvation mode - if i had to spend that KIND of money to fix a car

Wayne3765

rodenal wrote: »

Focus, no contest as I intimated previously too.

Drive both, try and also drive a focus with a bigger engine and an auto or the 1.6 diesel (if they do an auto one). 1.6 will be horrid

What Car actually recommend the 1.6 as the best one to go for , there's 2 versions of the 1.6 petrol , commonly known as 100 bhp or 115 bhp.

Confusingly, there were two 1.6-litre petrol models from launch, with either 99bhp or 113bhp. The latter is best, because the first is a little slow and noisy. However, Ford decided to drop the better option when the model was face-lifted in 2008.


Test drive the 99bhp version, especially if you’re doing less than 12,000 miles a year, or look for the well-rounded 1.6 TDCI diesel model. It will cost more to buy, but gives much better fuel economy and has better resale values.

Avoid the pointlessly expensive 2.0-litre petrol model and, to a lesser extent, the 1.8-litre version.

I'm looking into buying a focus and have the figures for (manual gearbox ) petrol engines -

1.6 ( 100 ) 42.4 mpg combined , 0-62 11.9 secs ,max speed 112 mph, Road Tax £165

1.6 ( 115 ) 42.8 mpg . 0-62 10.8 secs , max 118 mph , Tax £165

1.8 ( 125 ) 40.3 mpg , 0-62 10.3 secs , max 123 mph , tax £190

2.0 ( 145 ) 39.8 mpg , 0-62 9.2 secs , max 128 mph , tax £190

Automatics are different from above figures , e.g

2.0 auto = 35.3 mpg , 0-62 10.7 secs , max 121 and tax £245

giraffe69

I bought a Focus 1.6 last October and do some motorway miles and also some round town. I've been very satisfied. I decided against diesel becuase I don't do the overall miles to justify it. I considered a bigger engine but in the end have been satisfied with a. performance at speed and handling in town. Fiesta is a bit cramped if you have four in the car but cheaper than the Focus of course.

WobblyDog

I've never driven a Focus, but I've recently bought a 2011 Fiesta, with the 1.25 82PS manual petrol engine.

Compared to my old 1998 Fiesta, it feels like a much larger car, both inside and out. The increase in internal width is particularly noticeable, and the boot is a bit bigger as well. There's lots of leg room in the front. Externally, it's almost as large as a Mk1 Focus, although considerably lighter.

For me, the Fiesta feels quite large and smooth enough for long motorway journeys. If I was frequently carrying more than 1 passenger plus luggage, I might want a larger car.

worried_jim

If you are unsure about petrol/diesel get this weeks auto express- brilliant article about the often false economy of buying a diesel engine.

getmore4less

its catch 22 most modern cars are more reliable on basic numbers but have more to go wrong and are more expensive to fix when they do.

Some are fussy about things like oil changes.

my 98 1.9d 306 has no turbo, no dpf, no dmf. not to bad on the motorway happy between 70-80 but sluggish. 45-50mpg did 105k on the cambelt does not care much about getting serviced.


Why change every 4-5 years?

If not worried about consumption why go small?

Go bigger and keep longer might be a better solution