So, it seems that Mrs North and I need to move on her MX5. At 5 years old, we've had some ace fun in it, but for various reasons – mainly carrying bikes and other people – something a little more practical wouldn't go amiss.

Part of me wants something swanky, but a bigger part of me is feeling parsimonious and doesn't want to spend too much cash.

The Mazda will be worth £5k max (and less on trade in), so I'd quite like not to spend more than about £10k (before trade in) and s/h Focus seems to obvious alternative.

I know I'll die a slow and tedious death, but apart from that is there any reason not to buy one?

Old or new shape?

Nowt wrong with A focus. I had a 04/1.6. Make sure you dont go for a 1.6- its a lovely drive- just not peppy.

To be fair to the Focus, they are more fun to drive than anything else in the segment so good choice.

Which model has caught your eye?

Go for it, they're great. I'm on my 3rd one at the moment. I have an 06 plate 2.0d with 90k on the clock (all my miles) I can easily get 50+mpg & it'll go like stink if you want

Old or new shape?

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Which model has caught your eye?

Err…

Dunno. Whatever I can get for the money – needs to be 1.8 I guess. Is that the Zetec? Oh, and 5 doors. Beyond that, I'm not really bothered about trim levels, save that AC might be nice for trips to warmer climes. Most likely petrol (I know, goes against the million miles to the gallon of diesel…).

Suggestions?

I'm v happy with my 05 (mk2) 1.6 Zetec. Huge boot for bikes and other stuff and dead nice to drive. They come out way cheaper than Golfs too

For £10k you'll be looking at a new shape. Superb handling round the corners; leaves most others in their class standing. I've got a 1.8d and regularly get 55mpg. Loads of room in the back, especially with the seats folded.

They go through front tyres quite quickly. That was true of my 1.8 Zetec and is even more true of my ST.

You want a heated front windscreen though. You may not know it yet but you do. Trust me.

Henry Ford was a racist.

why coz he only made black cars?

What about reliability? Ive read a acronym that Ford stands for? I'm too in the market for a new car soon (bigger estate- could be a focus).

Borrowed a new shape estate for a day, nice car. Felt more like my mondeo on the motorway than I expected it to (a good thing). Feels like a bigger car than it is. Nicer to drive than a golf (which i've also driven a fair bit), though not as nice to sit in, if that makes sense?

Parent's have one, 1.8 giha (zetec engine?) ace car, not great mpg though. Apparetnly the 1.6 was more economical without loosing too much power.

A few minor problems, coolant hoses needed replacing at 40k, something amis in the steering/Cv joints at 60k (knocking sound and can be felt through the wheel at full lock). But then it has a hard life compared to most cars as they live prety much on a farm.

Diesel will do more MPG, but will cost more to start with, services cost more, fuel costs 10% more and the DMF will write off all remaining savings if you keep it long enough.

Family member has a focus, no end of niggling faults.

Know of two fleet managers who both have vowed to find cars other than fords for their next batch.

But many seem to have no problem at all, so I guess it's each to his own, and can be engine-specific, asking if a model of car is any good isnt really helping yourself as they can range from dire to great with a change of engine and spec level.

If you go for the Zetec, make sure it's a Zetec Climate, the basic Zetec doesn't have A/C.

You are in the same boat as me I am trying to decide what to get. Other contenders are Kia CEED (cheap with extended warranty) Hyundai I30 (same as CEED) Golf, or Audi A3.

I fancy getting a Focus, they drive well. But its a Ford innit !

That means its going to fall to bits, dealers are rubbish and everyone's got one.!!

Go and find something else, Golf, Civic, Auris, anything but a Focus.

Simon.
Senior Sales Executive for Ford…..

That means its going to fall to bits, dealers are rubbish and everyone's got one.!!

Neither of mine "fell to bits". Granted the old one did have quite a lot of things wrong with it in the end but after 10 years and 112k on the clock, you can't really expect everything to be perfect. They are quite common, but ubiquity has never really bothered me.

On our second Focus here.

Our 51 plate 2.0l petrol did 140k miles and was still running nicely when I gave it to my sister at Christmas. One expensive MOT last year but otherwise fine.

I'm now in a 57 plate 2.0l Ghia (or Titanium can't remember) coming up for 35k miles and doing fine so far.

You want a heated front windscreen though. You may not know it yet but you do. Trust me.

+1, especially in the recent weather! Heated seats rock too.

I quite like my y-reg focus. First car, had it 6 months and no probs to report.

I'm guessing the 2.0 petrol is the most bombproof as its been around a longtime?

Done 80K in mine in 18mths and have done my best to kill it wanted somthing with a better image nothing has gone wrong with it (company car) Zetec Derv Dog . Great car now considering getting another as a replacment.

Our 06 focus 1.8d estate has been fine – reliable, cheap to run and relatively economical. Only did 37,000 miles on the first set of tyres though.

Most likely petrol (I know, goes against the million miles to the gallon of diesel…).

Do it. The petrol engines are lovely smooth, revvy, zingy little engines. I massively prefer our 1.6 to my sisters TDCi. It's more responsive, and you can really feel the heavy old diesel lump wanting to make the car plough straight on in the corners. Dynamically, the diesel engines fall far short of the equivilent petrol engines. But that's always the case.

If you go for the Zetec, make sure it's a Zetec Climate, the basic Zetec doesn't have A/C.

I think you'll find it does. Zetecs are fairly high up the range. The 'climate' pack is simply a heated front screen and washer jets. 🙂
(which is really worth having though. I feel sorry for non-Ford owners scraping their windscreens every morning!)

Go and find something else, Golf, Civic, Auris, anything but a Focus.

Why? Golfs are overpriced and the Jap stuff is boring as hell. I'd rather drive a dustbin. Focus is consistently 1st or 2nd in it's class, and having had ours a year, I can see why.

The trouble with Ford and their like is that there are a thousand variations on each model. The Mazda was great: "We have three models, all with set trim levels. You want the Sport – blue or silver..?"

OK, heated screen sounds nice, but not essential. Heated seats OTOH, Mrs North will insist on.

I have no desire to own a Golf. Or an Audi A3. If I'm going to buy an Audi, it will be an A4 Avant.

What's the Focus boot like – is there much of a lip from the sill to the floor? Mrs North's only tiny and can't be doing with too much reaching.

I had an old shape 1.8tddi jobbie. Great car, nothing wrong with it, but…

Boring as hell, common, and boring.

Get something different. I'd go for a Seat Leon. VW/Audi car, but cheaper 😀

We have two brand new ones (less than 3 months old) at work. They are pony. The gaps between the end of the dashboard and the door are so big I can get almost my whole hand in, the parcel shelves have both fallen apart, and both have been back to have new instrument units fitted. The plastic trim on the inside of the doors seems to be of a similar standard to the plastic tray in a box of chocolates. Not impressed at all. (These are police cars. I have wondered, but don't know, if Ford sell cars that didn't pass quality control cheap to police forces. I can't believe they are all like this given that a lot of people are very pleased with theirs).

A colleague has just got a brand new Hyundai i30, and having borrowed a Kia Ceed for a few days, both appear to be well made cars.

I really like my (05 1.8d) focus estate.
It's spacious, handles well, economical, room enough for a couple of bikes in the back…

There are no reasons why you shouldn't buy one.

A colleague has just got a brand new Hyundai i30, and having borrowed a Kia Ceed for a few days, I would have either of those over a Focus any day.

Continuing my ignorance. WTF are those? And the last Kia I saw was Mother North's Sportage, which was a pile of sh*te. Have they improved?

Old or new shape?

is there much difference aside from the bodywork?

I heard the service intervals were longer, is there anything else?

Continuing my ignorance. WTF are those?

They're essentially the same car (in the same way as a VW Sharan and a Seat Alhambra are essentially the same car).

In essence, Kia/Hyundai decided they wanted a slice of the European car market, so they hired a team of European designers to take Golfs apart, work out why they were so good, and then built their own in a brand new European factory, with lower prices and big warranties.

I borrowed a Kia Ceed for a few days when they first came out. It's a good solid car.

I had an old model, 4 doors, lovely car. Until some stupid woman decided to overtake into the front of it 😥

No major problems with reliability, except shortly after changing the timing belt the engine started overheating due to a faulty thermostat – I wouldn't be surprised if the mechanics hadn't messed up the timing belt job and left a loose lead or something.

Iv'e got a diesel estate. 1999 with 137000 miles on it. Still goes well and has a bigger car feel to it. Not very flash though. i'd have another.

I've got an 06 Focus LX (new shape but not the newest new shape if you see what I mean – different front wings). I've had it since new and have been very happy with it – nice to drive, reliable (caveat below), plenty of space and for a 1.6 perfectly quick enough unless you're convinced that you're a racing driver.

We've had a couple of niggles though
– the A/C failed about 3 weeks from new – after 6 visits to the garage (Ford Dealer) they eventually replaced the right bit – just a duct that had a leaking seal and it's been fine since. The initial problem was obviously Ford's fault but the rest due to a crap garage IMO. All fixed under warranty.
– The power steering failed after about 2.5 years – slow leak on one hose spat oil out. Fixed quickly under warranty
– Agree about tyres – we're on our third set (just recently) and don't drive big miles though maybe I do floor it a bit 🙂

thegreatape: maybe they downspec the cop cars or something but that doesn't sound anything like mine. All the interior trim is pretty sturdy and nice cushioned plastics etc.

That's why I wondered GrahamS. The general consensus seems to be that owners are generally pretty pleased with them. If our cars were typical examples I don't think they would be. In hindsight, it probably wasn't worth posting.

my supervisor at uni had a kia rio, I will never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever buy one

The suspension would bottom out going up a hump in the road, then bottom out again on the way down. But show it a high frequency load (speed bump, pothole etc) and you had better make sure you had medical cover as your going to need a chiropractor to re-build your spine!

And we're not talking about its performance on the limit here, just driving arround town!

Seems like it is, on the whole, reliable, OK to drive, but boring. So far soo good.

So if buying a 3 y/o car, do you reckon niggles would have been sorted under warranty by that point, or better to buy newer and have the benefit of the warranty to deal with the niggle directly?

S'pose that applies to all cars really….

My father-in-law has a 55-reg diesel Focus C-Max that we've borrowed fairly often. Sooooo plasticy inside compared to the Clio and Scenic we used to have and to the Corrolla we have at the moment. My wife hates driving it.

It also belches black smoke out the back which covers the rear of the car in black crap, but which my father-in-law insists happens to all flat=backed cars.