MK4 Astra 1.6 -vs- the Focus 1.6

Nine_Lives

On a £2k budget, i'm sure the Focus would be a MK1.

Anyway, my mum is on the hunt for another car & for her criteria she's looking at these two.

Having a 1.8 MK4 Astra myself, i know a bit about them. Quite reliable mine has been & she's driven it & likes it.

Rather than being close minded, the Focus has been thrown into the mix too as it ticks the boxes for what she needs, but i know sod all about them.

For anyone who's owned both, or just the Focus, then some gen feedback on them (specifically the 1.6 as she wouldn't be buying any other engine) would be brilliant.

benham3160

The 1.6 mk1 Focus is a little diamond, it's plenty quick enough for most people, and the Zetec-SE engines are damn reliable, a family member took a 1.6 mk1 Focus to over 150,000 with absolutely no major issues, and sold it for £1800 seven years later.

They're not the most economical engines though, this is where the Astra gets some points, I currently have a new Astra in the household fleet at the moment and it's startlingly brilliant to drive compared to the Astra of old, but I don't know which particular Astra you are talking about.

Both are pretty reliable, Focus more-so, Astra is probably cheaper to run. Both can be serviced for pence, the timing belts on the Focus 1.6 are genuinely good for 100,000 miles which may be something to factor in. Focus is more dynamic to drive by quite a margin, but if you're not interested in cornering ability then the Astra is probably more practical.

Regards,
Andy

forgotmyname

£2000 i would be looking for a MK2 focus.

MK2 2004 onwards? I know they are cheaper but i bought a 2004 mondeo diesel estate for just over £2000, That was 2 1/2 years ago.

Just looked 54 plates for £1800. 1.8 diesel.

benham3160

forgotmyname wrote: »

£2000 i would be looking for a MK2 focus.

MK2 2004 onwards? I know they are cheaper but i bought a 2004 mondeo diesel estate for just over £2000, That was 2 1/2 years ago.

Just looked 54 plates for £1800. 1.8 diesel.

A decent mk1 over a mk2 everytime though.

The mk1 is the better car of the two, Ford just rehashed it for the mk2, then sucked the liveliness out of it.

I agree on the Mondeo though, it's a better car all round, and they're nailed together bloody well!

Regards,
Andy

funkycoldribena

forgotmyname wrote: »

£2000 i would be looking for a MK2 focus.

MK2 Focus for 2k? Cant be many at that price?

AlexisV

How about a Mk1 Leon?

Same mechanicals as a MkIV VW Golf.

http://www2.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201220471840782/sort/pricedesc/usedcars/price-from/1000/price-to/2000/model/leon/make/seat/keywords/1.6/page/1/postcode/m54uu/radius/1501?logcode=p

benham3160

AlexisV wrote: »

How about a Mk1 Leon?

Same mechanicals as a MkIV VW Golf.

That's the worry!

AlexisV

LOL.

Mine's on 85k and the only problem I've ever had is a coilpack failure. £50 fix.

benham3160

AlexisV wrote: »

LOL.

Mine's on 85k and the only problem I've ever had is a coilpack failure. £50 fix.

You're lucky.... .I can give you some stories that'll make your blood run cold if you'd like!

Then again I drive a 160,000 Peugeot that's never given me a moments bother so.....

Norman_Castle

Is rust underneath a problem on a Mk 1 Focus?.

benham3160

Norman_Castle wrote: »

Is rust underneath a problem on a Mk 1 Focus?.

Yes, some of the early (and not so early) mk1 Focus do have some corrosion issues.

Depends what you mean by "rust underneath" though.

Regards,
Andy