Ford cars

Annie1960

Any idea what Ford would be roughly equivalent to a Vauxhall Astra? Are they any good these days? My first two cars were Ford Escorts, but that was a long time ago!

prowla

A Focus is about equivalent.

Mind you, I don't buy Fords; every one I've owned has had some strange problem that simply couldn't be fixed no matter how many times it went back, so I've simply steered clear of the brand (and their garages).

Annie1960

prowla said:

A Focus is about equivalent.

Mind you, I don't buy Fords; every one I've owned has had some strange problem that simply couldn't be fixed no matter how many times it went back, so I've simply steered clear of the brand (and their garages).

This is the problem I'm having with Vauxhall at the moment. At least the Ford garage is nearer to where I live.

I'd be interested in other's views, or suggestions about more reliable brands.

Goudy

If you are looking at new or nearly new I would also look at:
Toyota Corolla
Mazda 3
Skoda Octavia
Kia Ceed
Hyundai i30

The Ford Focus probably drives better then all the above, but they do tend to suffer a fair few problems, though the Focus and Astra tend to beat the competition on price.

mgfvvc

prowla said:

A Focus is about equivalent.

Mind you, I don't buy Fords; every one I've owned has had some strange problem that simply couldn't be fixed no matter how many times it went back, so I've simply steered clear of the brand (and their garages).

I've had 2 Fords. My first was a 1980s Sierra bought as a banger that was not a good experience.

My current Ford is a 2011 C-Max that has been pretty reliable. OK, it has a weird, but minor, problem with the driver's window control that I've never been bothered to put any effort into sorting. Based on this car, I have no reason to steer clear of modern Fords and every local garage has plenty of experience of Fords.

For maximum reliability I would say that Honda Civics used to be hard to beat. I don't know if that's still true?

Annie1960

Goudy said:

If you are looking at new or nearly new I would also look at:
Toyota Corolla
Mazda 3
Skoda Octavia
Kia Ceed
Hyundai i30

The Ford Focus probably drives better then all the above, but they do tend to suffer a fair few problems, though the Focus and Astra tend to beat the competition on price.

Thanks for your list. I'll take a look, and also check out if any of them have garages near me. There used to be loads of different car brand dealers and garages near me, but many of them have gone.

Grumpy_chap

The Ford Focus is the equivalent to the Vauxhall Astra.

I have always really liked Fords and found them to be very reliable, but their prices are rather high at the moment.  Fords are among the best handling cars around - most of the time handling is not particularly important.

Annie1960

I think that a problem with some modern cars is that they have so many sensors that light up the dashboard, and when you take  them in to be checked there's nothing wrong (or at least nothing can be found).

Jaybee_16

Had a Ford Focus for the last three years and been fine with no problems. One Ford recall for wiring around the gearbox problem but that's all. 

Before that I owned a Ford Kuga for five years. On the tow truck once due to fuel injector problem but only traded it in for the Focus because I'd had it five years and wanted a change. 

Next car probably won't be Ford for no reason other than I now live rurally so need to look at dealers within reasonable distance, whereas the nearest Ford dealer is about 30 miles away .

400ixl

What age car are you looking to buy?

Some manufacturers have longer warranty periods, Kia 7 years, Hyundai 5 years which may mean you can buy a used model with manufacturers warranty still on it.

Alanp

I have a Ford puma, it’s a great car , had a few niggles early on but all sorted under warranty by the dealer, the problem with ford is it’s dealers, it’s a bit hit at miss with them, if you find a good one then you are ok,