"Why do you want rear discs? More expensive to maintain, and dont make any difference to braking performance."
They look better through alloy wheels than puny drums.
But no-one has really explained why all the motoring press swoons over the Focus as a step forward equivalent to the discovery of penicillin. Maybe it's great at ten-tenths on the track; but guys, life ain't like that on Britain's crowded roads.
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"Maybe it's great at ten-tenths on the track"
I think you're onto something here.
I've driven two. One on Motorways in Scotland and one on twisty and fairly empty roads in Italy.
I thought the car was OK but nothing special in Scotland but was *hugely* impressed in Italy. The difference was that the handling came into its own there!
BTW my Lexus doesn't even have a gas strut. Should I be complaining?
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BTW my Lexus doesn't even have a gas strut. Should I be "complaining?"
Send it back, peterb. Lexus owners shouldn't have to prop their bonnets up.
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Drove a 1.8 Zetec a couple of years ago. Seemed to handle tidily enough & build quality absolutely fine, but it seemed very over-geared (i.e. you got the sort of acceleration in 3rd gear that you would expect in 4th, and so on). Ride wasn't all that amazing.
The Astra (of which we had a few as pool cars at my old job) is the better drive of the two, in my view.
Speculating here, the reasons why everyone in the motoring press swoons over the Focus could be
1) perceived improvement over the last Escort
2) aggressive lobbying of press by Ford.
As I say, mere speculation.
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Well, my contribution for what it's worth....
I sat in one at the first motorshow at the NEC after it was introduced - my overriding impression was of lack of rear legroom, and generally claustrophic conditions for the rear seat passengers - the dropping roof and rising waistline at the rear combined to produce a feeling I've not felt in any other car, and one which I certainly wouldn't care to inflict on anyone. That, and combined with it being one of the ugliest cars (vans?)produced recently, meant that quite frankly it would never figure on a shortlist of cars to own, so I've never bothered driving one. But I do appreciate that despite their aesthetic shortcomings they are pretty good to drive - like the originator of this thread, I can't understand why mags like Autocar seem to dribble at the thought of the "class leading" Focus......
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oh dear the ford knockers are at it again, this thread seems to be very very biased anti ford as usual. if the same car had a BMW badge everyone would love it.
i've never owned a focus but my view is if people didn't like them they wouldn't buy 'em. it is a constant best seller after all.
i'll take HJ's word for it in car by car breakdown. the focus is RECOMMENDED and thats good enough for me.
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"if the same car had a BMW badge everyone would love it."
love a BMW? On this forum?
I'll get my coat...
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"Why do you want rear discs? More expensive to maintain, and dont make any difference to braking performance."
Are you serious? Of course they make a difference. Why don't all cars have drums all round then? I've never seen a Ferrari with rear drum brakes! Wash your mouth out.
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When you brake heavily the weight of the car is transfered to the front wheels. The front brakes do the overwhelming majority of the braking effort. A focus 1.6 etc really doesnt have the power to warrant rear discs in the way a Ferrari might- the potential speeds it is designed to brake from are vastly different. On short run or rarely used cars, which are not driven hard, discs can rust calipers can seize etc. Indeed it looks better, i just dont see the need for discs on such modestly powered vehicles.If you fitted drums to the back of a focus 1.6 and performed an emergency stop from 70 i dont think you would notice any difference. It all depends which drums of course, but you get what i mean. The Focus RS is a totally different case though!
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"if people didn't like them they wouldn't buy 'em"
It's not that simple.
Some people buy cars without a test drive. Some test rive just one car and buy it 'cos it's better than their current vehicle.
Others buy a car because they trust the dealer or because there are no other local dealers (one reason why Ford and Vauxhall sell lots of cars is that they have lots of dealers).
Some pick a manufacturer whose name they are familier with.
Others have their company chosen for them (often from a "volume" manufacturer).
etc. etc.
Let's face it, Ford (and Vauxhall) have produced some good cars and some bad ones, but the good ones have still sold fairly well.
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Doh!
.. but the *BAD* ones have still sold faily well.
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Some people buy cars without a test drive. >> Others buy a car because they trust the dealer >>
WHAT PLANET ARE YOU ON?????
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>WHAT PLANET ARE YOU ON?????
Tis true, there was a guy on here complaining about his Laguna gear ratios, and he admits he never had a test drive.
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I used to have a dealership selling new cars and I would guess that only 50 to 60 % of potential buyers wanted a test drive!
THe PX allowance (not difference to change) was the overwhelming concern - so £1000 minimum PX for any old heap was a winner!
Roger.
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oh dear the ford knockers are at it again, this threadseems to be very very biased anti ford as usual. if the same car had a BMW badge everyone would love it.
This isn't about knocking Fords. I had a Mondeo (1997 facelift 2.0LX as a company card, did 45000 miles in 20 months - it looked good, was comfortable and roomy, and was a good drive. It was totally reliable. Owned privately, I can see that it would be a good buy. If I was in the market for that type of car, I'd go for it.
BMWs? Same comments as the Focus for the three series - cramped & claustrophobic, a poor man's beemer. Now the 5-series is a different kettle of fish......but the point is, IMHO, the 3-series has got the same problems as the Focus - and, by the way, the same problem as the Mondeo & the Focus, which is that you can't walk round any car park with tripping over them!
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oh dear the ford knockers are at it again, this thread seems to be very very biased anti ford as usual. if the same car had a BMW badge everyone would love it. i've never owned a focus but my view is if people didn't like them they wouldn't buy 'em. it is a constant best seller after all. i'll take HJ's word for it in car by car breakdown. the focus is RECOMMENDED and thats good enough for me.
People in Britain will buy Fords over other choices, whether they are good, bad or indifferent. It has been that way in this country for over 40 years. After all the last Escort sold very well when, at various stages in it's various forms, it was a poor to indifferent car compared to some of the opposition (like the Peugeot 306). The same was the case with the Fiesta, when compared to the Peugeot 205. I once remember hearing someone on a TV programme saying that an Escort looked a million dollars in comparison to a 306 (one of the prettiest medium hatchbacks ever to hit the market). I think my jaw hit the floor!
I have heard many people say that they would only ever consider buying a Ford, so lets not talk about Ford knockers in this country, as it is mostly the other way around.
I am prepared to accept that the Focus will have decent handling, I just don't like the look of them and they are cramped in the back if you are tall. However, we are told much the same story about the Mondeo being a class leader. Well I had a test drive in a new Mondeo TDCi about a year ago and eventually we replaced our nine year old Xantia with a C5 diesel. The reason was simple - much more refined engine, a lot of equipment and much cheaper than a Mondeo TDCi. The Mondeo is a nice car, with good handling and good space, but it is not (in my opinion) a much better car than a C5, which tends to be underrated by the motoring press, in much the same way that the Xantia was at one time.
For those of you who are sensitive about criticism of Fords, Citroen owners have a lot more to put with ( and our Xantia has been the most reliable car we have ever owned).
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I have never been able to understand the motoring presses support for the Ford Focus,if you check it in Car by Car breakdown it says and I quote "Pin can drop out of pedal assembly leaving the driver unable to declutch or brake" in spite of this it was voted car of the year.Says something for Fords publicity or should I say hospitality department!!,
ndbw
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i suppose if we took all the bad points on board in the car by car breakdown we'd all still be riding around on horses...
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I'd take an Astra over a Focus (except the RS), anyday.
Astra = v. under-rated car......
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I'd take an Astra over a Focus (except the RS), anyday. Astra = v. under-rated car......
come on! the astra although reasonable to drive has the most unimagitive dash design i've ever seen it was 10 years out of date when car was launched and that was 5 years ago whereas the focus dash is a masterpiece of clarity and function.
i recently had a '53' reg hire car astra auto and it felt like a 10 year old car especially inside. the focus interior doesn't look dated at all.
i think that the problem the focus has is simular to the 1982 sierra it is years ahead of the compitition when it was launched.
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>> I'd take an Astra over a Focus (except the RS), anyday. >> Astra = v. under-rated car...... >> come on! the astra although reasonable to drive has the most unimagitive dash design i've ever seen it was 10 years out of date when car was launched and that was 5 years ago whereas the focus dash is a masterpiece of clarity and function. i recently had a '53' reg hire car astra auto and it felt like a 10 year old car especially inside. the focus interior doesn't look dated at all. i think that the problem the focus has is simular to the 1982 sierra it is years ahead of the compitition when it was launched.
I'd agree with you on the design. I've driven both the Astra and the Focus extensively and had a Focus 1.8 when it was first released in 1998.
It was a revelation, compared to the Escort, nice sharp lines, etc. I didn't want to give it back.
The Astra, in comparison, is nothing to look at and dull inside.
To drive - I was impressed with the handling of the Focus, but the engine/tranmission were left wanting on the motorway - it simply felt underpowered/and the gearing was all wrong. The ride quality wasn't great either.
An Astra 1.6 (manual - autos don't give a good account of themselves), in comparison, had more composure and was better on the Motorway. I think Lotus has had some input into the chassis - and I personally prefer driving it to the Focus for long-distance stuff.
There have also been some serious reliability/safety issues with the Ford - these have been well documented.
I'm not knocking the Focus, because it raised the standard when it was released, it's just that the Astra is under-rated in comparison.
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I have never been able to understand the motoring presses support for the Ford Focus,
By contrast, I've never understood those who just love to have a go at Fords on the grounds that they used to make escorts and cortinas which didn't deserve to be sold.
Modern Fords are well up with the opposition. The Focus is a solid, reliable car - looks good, drives well. Most people don't want anything else! I'm currently using a new Astra hire car and, in comparison with the Focus, it is a spineless drive, the car looks boring and drives like a sponge on an ice-rink. But it, too is not a bad car so I can see why people would buy it...I wouldn't, though.
I think we just have to recognise that people's tastes differ. But the bottom line is that the Focus is not a bad car - it doesn't deserve slating - in fact it is really pretty good! Why is it that if something is not spell-bindingly brilliant, people lay into it?
Splodgeface
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I laid into it originally because I was dead disappointed - though I can understand that others (like some backroomers) aren't fussed about what I see as shortcomings.
My point is that the motoring journos wax ecstatic about the Focus: a) I didn't find it an impressive sensory experience in everyday usage, and b)I thought it basic and low-rent in some key places. For me ownership satisfaction is about more than fantastic handling (that maybe you can appreciate only a little of the time.
Mind you, you can carry that philosophy too far. Soggy corpulent luxobarge with leather and loadsa electric gizmos: I don't think so...
BTW, no synchro on reverse: clonk, graunch. Man, that's annoying!
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Drove a Focus 1.4CL 5-door for a week last year and did 600 miles in it. I thought it was a pretty good drive - decent handling and ride, and the engine was quite smooth although lacking in enough punch to give confident overtaking in the 40-60mph range. Gearchange was a bit notchy and it didn't seem too roomy in the rear or the boot, and some of the dashboard plastics were a bit hard and shiny (but these days, whose aren't?). This one didn't have the heated screen to the best of my knowledge, and the equipment was a bit stingy (no aircon on an £11k car is a bit mean). Didn't notice the lack of syncro on reverse but then probably didn't use it enough.
Basically though I thought it was a competent car and perhaps 70% deserving of all the hype, but then I don't doubt it's more of a driver's car in it's more powerful versions. I haven't driven much of the competition (apart from the Almera, which was a lot better than it looked) so can't comment on it other than in isolation, but I felt comfortable and happy enough with it to expect to live with one for a while.
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There have been so many posts of people ripping into the Focus -how long did you expect before someone was going to come and sing it's praises. Before I start this thread, I don't wish to offend anyone who hates the Focus or disregard any of their posts - this is simply my opinion.
I'm a young lad of 18 so I am not experienced in loads of other cars but I have driven other cars to use as a benchmark and can quite happily state that my Dad's Focus is one of the best cars I have driven. Granted, it's not to everyone's taste but so far (touch wood) nothing has gone wrong. I learnt to drive in it and although it's a big car to learn in (saloon), I'm glad I did as it's good to start early. The ride is solid, handling superb and it feels and looks like a good car. The Ford CD player sounds great (I think it was mentioned earlier that the cassette player was awful but I thought all Ghias had CD players although I could be wrong. Admittedly, the cd player stopped working but when a little girl manages to ram 3 cds into it...Also - at first, I thought the heated screen elements would get on my nerves but I can honestly say, not one have they bothered me. I think you notice them more when you first get the car but they have never given me a headache, nor have they obscured my vision. I think someone said before that it's not worth it as you can use de-icer (may have been Dave so...sorry) but if you have it, you're glad of it when it gets cold.
Anyway - that's my rant over - I just thought I'd better say something good about is. Oh - one improvement I'd make - the 2.0 litre lacks punch - a nice 2.5 in it would be nice but I know they've put a 1.6 in the new saloon - how can a car that big be pulled by that?!?
ANyway - sorry if I have written contrary views to everyone else - but it's a great car!!! I'm not biased - honest!!!
--
"Ah...beer - my only weakness - my achilles heel if you will"
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Don't apologise for posting your opinions - they are as valid as anyone elses!
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I had a 1.6 LX for about four months as a company car and covered 12,000 miles from new in it. My only complaints were that it was a bit flat at motorway speeds in fifth and the boot space was poor.
Compared to the Merc 190E I owned at the time it was a revelation in terms of driving quality and equipment.
With regard to the cassete player - try a head cleaner. It's fine when working as it should
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Glad you survived the loft.
I thought you would give us an update on how your plumbing problem was solved.
The Ford CD player sounds great (I think it was mentioned earlier that the cassette player was awful but I thought all Ghias had CD players although I could be wrong.
I use a 2.0 Ghia hatchback with Cruise control, leather, ABS, traction control. It has a 6 CD Ford autochanger which I thought was standard.
I do not have any big complaints about it. I have been a passenger in Golf GTI 150 but not driven it so difficult for me to compare.
I thought the heated screen elements would get on my nerves but I can honestly say, not one have they bothered me. I think you notice them more when you first get the car but they have never given me a headache, nor have they obscured my vision. I think someone said before that it's not worth it as you can use de-icer (may have been Dave so...sorry) but if you have it, you're glad of it when it gets cold.
I agree
Mad Maxyno synchro on reverse: clonk, graunch. Man, that's annoying!
I agree with others who needs sychro on reverse?
What are you trying to do 60MPH to minus 20MPH in???
Three things do annoy me.
The headlamp flashing stalk has to be daintily pulled towards the wheel else it full beam on. In my old Sierra you just pull for flash and let go. Why screw it up Ford?
Oil filter is at back of the engine and a pain to get at.
Mk2 has the front indicators in the headlamps.
I would prefer the saloon to the hatch as it is quieter and and a better rear view.
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Henry,
*plumbing update* - the plumber told us off for messing with the valves which we didn't need to touch AT ALL. It turned out one of them had broken inside so although it was in the OPEN position, it wasn't. This is how it got explained to me anyway.
Thanks very much for your help - moreso because I found some old music in the loft!
Many thanks
Adam
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"Ah...beer - my only weakness - my achilles heel if you will"
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I bought a Focus last year and it's the best car I've ever owned!!! Admittedly the other cars I've owned have been a 20 year old escort that was fortunately painted the same colour as the rust, and a '96 AX 1.5D - a very slow car with broken CV joints and a screaming clutch!
When buying my Focus I did look at several Astra's and found the Focus to be much better, None of the Foci seemed to have any of the problems noted by HJ whilst all the Astras exhibited several.
I think you're expecting too much from the Focus. It's a car designed for the average man/woman on the street who wants a car that's cheap, rides well and doesn't break and in that it excels. If you want something with oodles of poke and skirt lifting looks then buy a Lotus
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I had to drive a 03 reg Diesel Focus Saloon last week seemed to be ok, went well, 12000 miles no rattles , nice i thought .Yet at the moment i have a new ZETEC 1.4 LX Fiesta ( courtesy car) What a difference that car is when you compare it to earlier Fiestas. Ford has improved it products in leeps and bounds but the most improved model has to be the Fiesta.
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I rented a Focus for a month in 99 and found it ok but not inspiring. It was new when I picked it up and I used it constantly during that time and put several thousand miles on it. It went fine, gave no trouble and had plenty of room in the front. The interior was cheap and tacky - they couldn't even manage a non slip surface or a lip on the shelf beneath the dash. Road holding was good, engine adequate but rear vision was appalling. Dangerously bad. I now own a Mazda 323 which I find suits me better than the Focus. The interior has more useful spaces for things like sunglasses, the rear seat has more legroom and the rear is styled like an estate resulting in lots of useful boot space.
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Colleague of mine had a Saab 9000, which had synchro on reverse. With no warning/opposing graunch, it was completely happy to let him (accidentally) snick it into reverse when he was travelling forwards at about 5 mph. He let the clutch out, and promptly stripped all the drive dogs of the reverse gear. Gearbox repair job required.
Sounds to me like a good case for NOT having synchro on reverse!
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Can someone please enlighten me as to why anyone would want to put a car in reverse gear whilst it is moving forward?
I have never had a reverse synchro, and very, very rarely hear even the slightest hint of crunching, when I do it is normally my own stupid fault. Hope no one takes offence but, if it isn't possible to drive a car without a reverse synchro then I'd recommend more lessons! :-)
Blue
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Here we go.....
Having owned 2 I think I qualify for an imput on this thread. I used to own a 1999 1.8lx and apart from the stalling that used to happen, until I had the speed sensor changed, I never had any problems. The handling of the car I have always found superb and the driving position very comfortable although in my latest one I did find that I got ankle ache on my throttle ankle but that was rectified by altering the seat further away.
I've now been driving my new 1.8 Zetec for about 3 weeks now and am very impressed! The acceleration seems quicker and the ride is smoother. I have rear discs and have found the brakes much sharper and the old one wasn't that bad either! I have the added protection of side air bags and the traction control comes in very handy but is a bit of a pain when trying to race someone off the lights!(not that I do this often)
As for the heated front screen I've had 2 years of my other half telling me how good it is and I now have my own. Only one problem-it aint been frosty since I picked the car up!! :-(
I do have the privilage (or NOT) of driving my works company Astras and there simply is no contest! - GIVE ME A FOCUS ANYDAY
GC
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I've owned my Focus 2.0 Ghia 5-dr hatch since June'01, in which time I've travelled over 30k miles in it, and think it's a fantastic car, the best in it's class until recently with the release of the new Golf and Mazda 3. After this much time I still enjoy driving it, be it a cross-country jaunt or a blat down the motorway.
I would rate it for it's handling, steering, ride (slightly firm, the way I like it), brakes, dashboard ergonomics, seat comfort, excellent packaging (for it's class it's plenty spacious front and rear) and reliability.
Items I would rate as merely ok include the engine refinement, gear change and trim quality.
The only item I would say is below par is the negative image of the Ford badge on the bonnet!
Before you think "well he wouldn't know better", I get to drive a wide variety of motors since my dad is a journo, including the VW Touraeg 5.0 V10 TDI a few months back and the BMW 330D Sport I've been blatting around in over the past week to name but two. Jumping from motors such as these back into the Focus isn't as much as a come-down as you might expect!!
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