Ford Focus Estate / Fabia Estate / Peugeot 206SW - High miler turbo diesel estates? Or petrol?

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
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Sat 30 Dec 2017 00:35
Ford Focus Estate / Fabia Estate / Peugeot 206SW - High miler turbo diesel estates? Or petrol? - fuzzyduck

Hi - time to upscale my wheels, thanks to getting a dog who struggles getting in and out of my old Toyota Yaris! Need to keep it cheap, I have been looking at older (<2007) and high mileage (>100K) estates. Something between £1k - £1.5k.... Focus or Fabia Estate, Peugeot 206 / 207SW are on my radar.

Is it better to go with a petrol, or a turbo diesel? I read lots of threads discussing problems with the latter. Never owned a diesel, the fuel economy appeals but I read a lot of threads discussing expensive issues with the turbo diesels, e.g. the Ford Focus Estate TDCI1.6 problems, concern me. Would it be better to go with the Focus in the 1.6 petrol unit?

My motoring consists mainly of local trips but with longer work-related trips from Nottingham to the Bristol area and back five or six times a month.

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Sat 30 Dec 2017 09:00
Ford Focus Estate / Fabia Estate / Peugeot 206SW - High miler turbo diesel estates? Or petrol? - elekie&a/c doctor
Plenty of very good and serviceable Focus 1.6 petrols around for this money.Steer clear of any diesel at this age.
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Sat 30 Dec 2017 09:57
Ford Focus Estate / Fabia Estate / Peugeot 206SW - High miler turbo diesel estates? Or petrol? - argybargy

I had a 2007 Focus 1.6 petrol, the slightly more powerful Ti version. In my limited experience its an engine that takes some beating, and the car itself ain't bad either. Only negative in 7 years of ownership was that the clutch went at 50k miles.

Heard loads about problems with the diesels so would definitely leave those alone.

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Sat 30 Dec 2017 10:13
Ford Focus Estate / Fabia Estate / Peugeot 206SW - High miler turbo diesel estates? Or petrol? - SLO76
On your budget forget diesel, they’re much more complex and vastly more likely to go wrong. The Mk II Focus Estate is a great option and the sweet revving 1.6 is a Yamaha design with a great reputation. The larger 1.8 and 2.0 petrol motors are Mazda designs and equally as longlived but they have the bonus of having no timing belt to worry about while the 1.6 should be changed at 8yrs.
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Sat 30 Dec 2017 10:53
Ford Focus Estate / Fabia Estate / Peugeot 206SW - High miler turbo diesel estates? Or petrol? - fuzzyduck

Thanks guys. I'll look out for a mk2 1.6 with a recent cam belt change or try and get a new one fitted by the seller as part of the negotiation. The 1.8 sounds worth a look even if it's slightly less economical.

The fabia 1.4 16v might be worth a look also although there's less space for a greyhound to spread out in there ;)

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If you cover no more than 100 miles per day and have easy access to a charging point at home or work, then an EV is ideal for you.

Is an electric car right for me?