Easy TSI

I am thinking of changing my 2006 Focus 1.6 (113) Zetec for a new Octavia with the 1.4 turbo petrol engine. I would appreciate your view on small turbo petrol engines in general and this one in particular....

Ghia change

I want to change my car, a May 2005 Ford Mondeo GHIA Petrol 2.0 litre. In very good condition, it has done 71k miles with FSH and warranty to April 2010 and taxed to March. Having been really pleased with...

Completely pluggered

Recently I took my 2005 Ford Focus 1.6 Ghia for its 40,000-mile service to my local Ford garage from which I bought it new. They could not remove the sparking plugs to change them because the plugs had...

Histyrey lesson

The low profile 195/45 R16s on alloy wheels on my 08 Fiesta 1.4 TDCi seem increasingly inappropriate for our winter snow-covered, year-round speed humped and potholed roads. I'm fed up of the hard ride...

Cinq, or swim?

I test-drove a FIAT 500 Lounge at Parkside Garage, Twickenham. There's no doubt, it has bags of style and character at a very, very attractive price (though they tell me now that If I placed an order today,...

Mr Softy

I would like to know what reasonably-priced cars have a soft suspension as my wife has back problems.

Higher cars

I am looking to replace my ageing 2000X Ford Focus with an auto that has a higher driving position. I have looked at the Honda CR-V, Nissan Qashqai and Ford C-Max. Any other ideas or suggestions as to...

Fine mass you've gotten us into

Do the current Ford Fiesta 1.6TDCI cars still have dual mass flywheels fitted that were so troublesome on previous models?

Not fade away

My wife has just purchased a new Ford Fiesta in red coloured non-metallic paint (after waiting an incredible 18 weeks for delivery). The dealer offered a paint protection system. How effective is this...

The generation game

I bought a focus ST on 31-03-06. On 16-10-09 the alternator failed after only 16,053 miles. Due to my health I can't walk far and when I reached seventy the Ford dealer could not lend me a loan car so...