2.0 TDCi Focus and Mondeo (2011 onwards)
Discussion
Hi
I am considering my car options at the moment.
A couple of years ago I was stung by a Friday afternoon very early mk3 Focus estate titanium with the 2.0 TDCi. Looking at my requirements and cars on the market, the Focus still looks good on paper.
Two problems I experienced with the Focus mk3 were:
Vastly over assisted brakes and made driving in anything but almost bare feet very difficult, otherwise I would be standing it on its nose at traffic lights. (Not the case with my current x type or Mondeo mk3 which preceded the focus)
Huge throttle delay, ie pulling out of junction in gear and press the accelerator. You could count to three sometimes before the car responded to the pedal input. I am led to believe this was an emission control thing but could make fast flowing roundabouts dangerous by not being able to get moving! Are the later cars any better or is that the case with all Focus mk3 and facelift with the 2.0 TDCi?
Thanks
I am considering my car options at the moment.
A couple of years ago I was stung by a Friday afternoon very early mk3 Focus estate titanium with the 2.0 TDCi. Looking at my requirements and cars on the market, the Focus still looks good on paper.
Two problems I experienced with the Focus mk3 were:
Vastly over assisted brakes and made driving in anything but almost bare feet very difficult, otherwise I would be standing it on its nose at traffic lights. (Not the case with my current x type or Mondeo mk3 which preceded the focus)
Huge throttle delay, ie pulling out of junction in gear and press the accelerator. You could count to three sometimes before the car responded to the pedal input. I am led to believe this was an emission control thing but could make fast flowing roundabouts dangerous by not being able to get moving! Are the later cars any better or is that the case with all Focus mk3 and facelift with the 2.0 TDCi?
Thanks
We have a 61 plate one of these (2.0 TDCI Focus Titanium Estate manual).
I get what you mean on the pedal feel, I have to adjust a bit when I drive it as the brakes seem almost "overbraked" for the weight of the car. That passes in a few seconds of use though.
The throttle thing, i don't get a delay but it does have an anti stall/hill start system which means you can pretty much let the clutch out without any throttle. If a bit too much manual throttle is applied at just the wrong point then it can kind of lurch. Again less than a mile of driving and I've got back used to it (my 330d is an auto)
We had a Mk2 Focus before, again 2.0 TDCI Titanium but it was a hatch - the MK3 is a much better car. I haven't found the above to be a reason to move the car on as it's well spec'd with everything except sat nav. We changed from Mk2 to Mk3 as my other half is a district nurse team leader and needed a much bigger boot than the hatch, the Mk3 does have huge capacity for it's class of car.
My biggest gripe, which I understand affects a lot of these of this age is the door handles/locks playing up in cold weather. The handle won't return to the seated position properly when it's cold or icy, so the door won't latch shut. I've had it apart a couple of times, nothing appears amiss. I plan to take another look when the better weather is here, as something must be worn that affects the handle returning in cold weather. The only way to close it when it happens is to pull the door shut and lock from the inside.
Only other minor annoyances I find is that it doesn't like being in 2nd gear at low RPM, say like when you might pull out of a left hand clear give way. It also has the multispoke smaller 18 inch alloys, they are a pain to keep clean but the size does mean that we can run michelin cross climate tyres so it's reasonably good in snow like these last few weeks have had. These are a bit noisier than normal tyres but again not enough to be a factor in changing it. Ours is white which takes a bit of keeping on top of.
We had planned to only keep it for 18 months, but it's been a decent car so far. Just had it serviced and MOT'd, noted a failed light seal and I know it's due a cambelt shortly (125k or 10 years) but we're keeping it for the foreseeable, as it's cheap to run (40mpg on just local use, no motorway or A roads) and maintenance and insurance is cheap. I just need to sort that door handle issue for next winter.
I get what you mean on the pedal feel, I have to adjust a bit when I drive it as the brakes seem almost "overbraked" for the weight of the car. That passes in a few seconds of use though.
The throttle thing, i don't get a delay but it does have an anti stall/hill start system which means you can pretty much let the clutch out without any throttle. If a bit too much manual throttle is applied at just the wrong point then it can kind of lurch. Again less than a mile of driving and I've got back used to it (my 330d is an auto)
We had a Mk2 Focus before, again 2.0 TDCI Titanium but it was a hatch - the MK3 is a much better car. I haven't found the above to be a reason to move the car on as it's well spec'd with everything except sat nav. We changed from Mk2 to Mk3 as my other half is a district nurse team leader and needed a much bigger boot than the hatch, the Mk3 does have huge capacity for it's class of car.
My biggest gripe, which I understand affects a lot of these of this age is the door handles/locks playing up in cold weather. The handle won't return to the seated position properly when it's cold or icy, so the door won't latch shut. I've had it apart a couple of times, nothing appears amiss. I plan to take another look when the better weather is here, as something must be worn that affects the handle returning in cold weather. The only way to close it when it happens is to pull the door shut and lock from the inside.
Only other minor annoyances I find is that it doesn't like being in 2nd gear at low RPM, say like when you might pull out of a left hand clear give way. It also has the multispoke smaller 18 inch alloys, they are a pain to keep clean but the size does mean that we can run michelin cross climate tyres so it's reasonably good in snow like these last few weeks have had. These are a bit noisier than normal tyres but again not enough to be a factor in changing it. Ours is white which takes a bit of keeping on top of.
We had planned to only keep it for 18 months, but it's been a decent car so far. Just had it serviced and MOT'd, noted a failed light seal and I know it's due a cambelt shortly (125k or 10 years) but we're keeping it for the foreseeable, as it's cheap to run (40mpg on just local use, no motorway or A roads) and maintenance and insurance is cheap. I just need to sort that door handle issue for next winter.
Hi,
Thanks for the reply.
Interesting what you say about not experiencing the throttle response delay. Perhaps mine had a fault. You mentioning the anti-still reminded me I was not convinced it worked properly on the one I had. If I were slipping clutch and adding a little throttle, as you do when pulling away from stationary, the car would raise the engine rpm above that of what I was requesting and then drop the engine rpm a second or two later. The effect is that the clutch would then bite as the rpm dropped to idle and lurch the car forward or cause it to kangaroo. I take it yours does not override / add to the throttle pedal input?
Thanks,
Thanks for the reply.
Interesting what you say about not experiencing the throttle response delay. Perhaps mine had a fault. You mentioning the anti-still reminded me I was not convinced it worked properly on the one I had. If I were slipping clutch and adding a little throttle, as you do when pulling away from stationary, the car would raise the engine rpm above that of what I was requesting and then drop the engine rpm a second or two later. The effect is that the clutch would then bite as the rpm dropped to idle and lurch the car forward or cause it to kangaroo. I take it yours does not override / add to the throttle pedal input?
Thanks,
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