Focus - too many engine choices.
Discussion
I have a 1.6TDCi 06 plate - had with about 17K on the clock around 18months old from what was Ian Shipton's in Burton-upon-Trent (now Arnold Clarke) - although Honest John's site says this model from this era was not one of the best I think it's been the best car I've had - I agree - the turbo hose was a problem - it split twice and the bonnet catch failed and had to be replaced but I'm struggling to think of anything else. It was MOT'd a few days ago and there were lots of warnings about rust over the last 2 years - so we had a spot of welding done on the sills for the past 2 years - honestly - looking at both sills - there is a lot of surface rust and maybe you cold bodge holes through without to much effort with a screwdriver and there were advisory notes about corrosion on both suspension arms and even seat belt fixings. It has 148K on the clock. It's had a bit of clanking noise on cold startup for several years but no one had been able to identify what's causing it - 2 garages looked at it.
Anyway - I think the time has come to replace it and I'd consider another Focus but I'm thinking I should stick with diesel simply for the economy and the joy of driving with torque when you need it - I only have 9-10.5K to spend and I don't want to consider the petrol ecoboost but I couldn't find any recent reports on the econetic diesel engine - only a couple of reports when it was new (2013-ish?). I'd like to go down the hybrid route but have too many concerns about costs of unreliability on top of all the other issues - vehicles are just way too expensive for me and with battery/engine management technology advancing so quickly why buy a vehicle with out of date technology?
The car will need to do 13K a year mainly just for work and back - that is about what is has done on average over the ~11 years we've had it.
What diesel engines/Focus models would anyone recommend we look for or avoid?
The alternatives we are considering are the Honda Civic D-Tech 1.6i - maybe the estate if we can find one as we have a dog (kids left home now & at uni) although I'm yet to go out and look at one - I read the seats are uncomfortable. Beyond that I haven't really got many other ideas about what to go for - my daughter & her bf both have Skoda Fabia's but maybe the estate is something I'd consider (although I think it looks horrible) so I am open to suggestions. I looked at the Hyundai i30 Tourer (another compact estate) but really didn't like the look of it. maybe we'd consider a Focus estate. I'd probably want a tow bar but only for a trailer for garden waste & camping gear - no plans for a caravan. We will be driving abroad in Europe.
So the car just got MOT'd and I'm at the start of the replacement process so I don't have any time pressures - if I can buy a car next week or next month or in 6 months time - that will be fine. We're only considering Honda for reliability and economy and the engine spec has <100g/km CO2 zero road tax - I'm hoping engines with spec will be less subject to punitive changes in tax in the future than a more polluting engine (notwithstanding particulates and NOx's)
Anyway - I think the time has come to replace it and I'd consider another Focus but I'm thinking I should stick with diesel simply for the economy and the joy of driving with torque when you need it - I only have 9-10.5K to spend and I don't want to consider the petrol ecoboost but I couldn't find any recent reports on the econetic diesel engine - only a couple of reports when it was new (2013-ish?). I'd like to go down the hybrid route but have too many concerns about costs of unreliability on top of all the other issues - vehicles are just way too expensive for me and with battery/engine management technology advancing so quickly why buy a vehicle with out of date technology?
The car will need to do 13K a year mainly just for work and back - that is about what is has done on average over the ~11 years we've had it.
What diesel engines/Focus models would anyone recommend we look for or avoid?
The alternatives we are considering are the Honda Civic D-Tech 1.6i - maybe the estate if we can find one as we have a dog (kids left home now & at uni) although I'm yet to go out and look at one - I read the seats are uncomfortable. Beyond that I haven't really got many other ideas about what to go for - my daughter & her bf both have Skoda Fabia's but maybe the estate is something I'd consider (although I think it looks horrible) so I am open to suggestions. I looked at the Hyundai i30 Tourer (another compact estate) but really didn't like the look of it. maybe we'd consider a Focus estate. I'd probably want a tow bar but only for a trailer for garden waste & camping gear - no plans for a caravan. We will be driving abroad in Europe.
So the car just got MOT'd and I'm at the start of the replacement process so I don't have any time pressures - if I can buy a car next week or next month or in 6 months time - that will be fine. We're only considering Honda for reliability and economy and the engine spec has <100g/km CO2 zero road tax - I'm hoping engines with spec will be less subject to punitive changes in tax in the future than a more polluting engine (notwithstanding particulates and NOx's)
I found the MIL a 2015 1.5 tdci Titanium X with 25,000 on the clock for £10500.
Her usage is pretty similar to yours and she wanted something with all the kit, which is why I had to hunt for the Titanium X model. Only 3 came up on Autotrader and after a few phone calls I had to do a 200 mile drive to Birmingham to go look at it. To be fair a Titanium has enough kit to suit most people but I wouldn't be looking at anything below "Zetec" spec.
It's a very nice car and the 1.5 tdci puts out about 120hp (from memory), it's not fast but it's fine for motorway cruising. You could always look for the 2.0 tdci if you want more power.
Take a serious look at the ecoboost engines though and decide what's more suitable for you. I was weary of them too but after having a rental with one I've been fan of them since. They feel nothing like a small engine and it reminded me of how the Zetec engines used to feel.
ETA: The Econetic spec you mention is just a version of the Focus which has slightly improved fuel efficiency. They usually have skinnier tyres and a different ECU. The 1.5 tdci achieves tax free status even without the Econetic modifications though and I would say it isn't worth the premium you'll pay for one, unless you were doing serious mileage.
Her usage is pretty similar to yours and she wanted something with all the kit, which is why I had to hunt for the Titanium X model. Only 3 came up on Autotrader and after a few phone calls I had to do a 200 mile drive to Birmingham to go look at it. To be fair a Titanium has enough kit to suit most people but I wouldn't be looking at anything below "Zetec" spec.
It's a very nice car and the 1.5 tdci puts out about 120hp (from memory), it's not fast but it's fine for motorway cruising. You could always look for the 2.0 tdci if you want more power.
Take a serious look at the ecoboost engines though and decide what's more suitable for you. I was weary of them too but after having a rental with one I've been fan of them since. They feel nothing like a small engine and it reminded me of how the Zetec engines used to feel.
ETA: The Econetic spec you mention is just a version of the Focus which has slightly improved fuel efficiency. They usually have skinnier tyres and a different ECU. The 1.5 tdci achieves tax free status even without the Econetic modifications though and I would say it isn't worth the premium you'll pay for one, unless you were doing serious mileage.
Edited by The Turbonator on Wednesday 5th June 21:49
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