[Closed] Ford Focus - 1.6 or 1.8?

The 1.8 has quite a bit more oomph than the 1.6. It feels like a much bigger difefrence in engine size. I used to have the 1.8 . They're a great car! I got a 1.6 as a hire car and it felt really gutless

Get a 1.8

Diesel or petrol?

Generally, I'd always go for the biggest engine you can afford, but then my milage is pretty low. Running a 12 year old 2 litre Focus here which still runs too well to justify replacing. Friend of mine had a 1.6 diesel estate and seemed happy with it.

1.8 will be a bit quicker but there are less of them around I found. Its nearly all 1.6 & 2.0. 1.6 will be better on fuel too.
We have a 1.6 estate and it's fine, but everyone else will tell you it's gutless. They're wrong, they're just used to diesel torque!
If buying again I'd try and find the newer 115bhp 1.6 (ours is 100)
which is also more economical I believe. I'm currently averaging a REAL 40.5mpg measured over 24,000 miles.... Not trip computer lies! I don't do much town driving and I'm seriously good at not using fuel though. Best I've had is 49mpg, worst about 34 in the snow last winter. I'd expect 37mpg ish for more average use. 🙂

EDIT
I was assuming you meant petrol. I wouldn't touch a Ford diesel with a barge pole, especially the 1.6. I've driven my sisters and it's a shite engine.

I only ask because I was told the 1.8 and 1.6 diesels are different engines altogether and the 1.8 suffers from a lot of problems.

Sorry.... missed the edit window looking at boblo's thread from the other day.

Petrol.

I drive a 1.6 from time to time, and tbh I don't like it much- quite a lot of go up top (it's noticably more powerful than my bilge-pump diesel Focus when it's spinning) but not very much at all in the middle. More fun to try and drive quick than mine, but not as nice for just general driving around, which tbh is what a 1.6 Focus is probably [i]for.[/i]

TBH I don't think it's a petrol vs diesel thing, it's just this particular engine, it seems tuned for top end for some odd reason. I've driven less powerful petrol cars that have a better midrange.

I opted for a 2.0 petrol. Tried a 1.6 and the difference is massive, but then I only manage to average 34mpg.

My dad bought an Astra 1.9cdti same time I got the focus, much faster and much more economical so if I had the cash I'd go for one of those instead.

It will be a second car, so ought to do less mileage the the other one (a 2 litre Mazda 3 - thirsty!). Diesel won't get the savings.

My dad just went from a 1.4 Fiesta to a 1.6 Focus (2010) and whilst they have the same bhp he reckons the focus is far more torquey, if you are bothered by such things.

He spent ten grand though for which price he could easily have got a diesel, just older. So his outlay was the same and his fuel costs will be higher. Go figure, as they say.

The 1.8 is more grunty esp at motorway speeds, where the 1.6 will feel a bit lethargic. There really isnt much difference in fuel economy either between the two. The 1.8 is one insurance group higher. The road tax is more expensive on 1.8 too. But the bigger engined car still drives better and sounds better (bit more of a roar!!)

I had that 1.6 engine in my fiesta - you had to drive it fairly hard when carrying passengers and luggage, so I think it might struggle a little in a Focus. On the plus side, it was pretty economical.

I'd go for the 1.6 diesel over both though - enough oomph and very economical.

1.6 is better on fuel on paper, but may not be unless you tailor your driving to that, and aren't accelerating harder to compensate.

I'd still go for the 1.8. I like to have the power to spare when overtaking and cruising on mways.

I have the 1.6 tdci.. FANTASTIC on fuel but wish I'd gone for the 1.8 for the extra pulling power as the fuel economy difference looks tiny on paper..

Go for the 1.8 or 2.0 if you're doing DC or m'way driving.

Old man has a mk2.5 1.6 and I've got a mk2.5 1.8 and it's noticeably better than the 1.6 for example when you are queued behind a lorry doing 60 and you need to pull out into faster traffic to overtake. Always feels a bit dicey in the 1.6, even dropping to 4th.

The 1.6 drives pretty well around town or on country lanes though.

edit: both engines are petrol

I have a 1.6 (08) petrol and would agree its a bit lacking on motorway & overtaking so would be tempted for the 1.8. On the plus side it does make you more sensible...

My 1.6 Gets about 37 mpg for general duties and up to 42 - 45 if you drive like my dad in 5th everywhere.

We have a 58plate 1.8 8 valve focus tdci economy wise it's averaging 46.something to the gallon (using car's trip computer so not definate ). It has plenty of power and is fast and quiet acceleration is good. I find it drives like a petrol in that it doesn't like being in a high gear at low revs. My sister has a 1.6 tdci and loves to tell me her fuel consumption is averaging 72mpg! I think they require short service 10000miles to reduce problems with turbos Our 1.8 is a ford made engine whereas the 1.6 is a peugeot built one.

I had an 02 3 door 1.8 for a good few years, went really well and had no troubles with it at all and I got about 350 to 400 miles out of a tank. I now do about 25k a year so it got chopped in for an oil burner which ironically has a bigger engine, goes better and does about 1.5 times the mpg 🙂

Back on the point, unless you're fanatical about economy, go for the 1.8 although you may find them a bit harder to find than the more popular and less fun 1.6. Avoid the 1.4 at all costs.

Took our (new to us) focus 1.8tdci to a ford specialist. He commented the engine was a great unit, and to avoid the 1.6 or 2.0 diesel versions due to very expensive servicing costs (something about special oil needed that costs ££££)

Drove the 1.6 petrol it felt pretty gutless to be honest. I'd go for the 1.8 petrol (out of your choices) or the 1.8 diesel (very pleased with ours)

DT78 - Member
Drove the 1.6 petrol it felt pretty gutless to be honest. I'd go for the 1.8 petrol (out of your choices) or the 1.8 diesel (very pleased with ours)

I wouldn't say the 1.6 is gutless in normal driving, it's pretty good fun to be honest. Lots of revs needed to make progress. Like I said though, on the m'way, the lack of torque can be a little irritating.

Don;t get a 1.6 diesel as they have a habit of going bang in a big way.
Its a peugeot engine and has many problems, just google it.
My girlfriend bought one after owning a 1.8 tdci and it blew its turbo after 4 months last year, thats a 06 plate with 50k on it.

Aaahhh a Focus thread, my natural home 🙂 Mrs Boblo had a MK1 100bhp 1.6 and it was a lovely car. You needed to drive it properly by being in the right gear and using the right revs at the right time. It handled well and was as pretty as a picture. No faults at all in 5 years and 60k miles from new. We then bought a Mk2 2.0tdci and have had that 5 years and ~60k miles. See the other thread for details but it wasn't a completely happy time and has convinced me not to buy diesel cars again until the technology becomes a bit more reliable/less costly.

I drove a friends Mk1 1.8 petrol for a 1000 or so miles to Scotland and back and it was a bit peppier than the 1.6 (which it didn't really need) but was a lot worse on fuel. mid 30's against low 40's. I wouldn't bother with that engine in that car.

We tried the current (Mk4?) 125 bhp 1.6 Petrol Focus and it felt a bit gutless and uninspiring. The weight has gone up from the Mk1 so the performance has dropped off and it doesn't handle as well. Whereas the Mk1 was was a joy to drive, I found the Mk4 a chore.

We went for a 1.8 vtec Civic (mostly selected by STW 🙂 ) which feels quicker (acceleration), is better on juice and feels slight better than the diesel donkey to drive (less front end weight). The one we got was about the same price as a Focus as well (though has less kit than the current model).

Does that help?

drove a friends Mk1 1.8 petrol for a 1000 or so miles to Scotland and back and it was a bit peppier than the 1.6 (which it didn't really need) but was a lot worse on fuel. mid 30's against low 40's. I wouldn't bother with that engine in that car.

The engines are pretty different between the mk1 and mk2/2.5 which the op is considering.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Focus_(second_generation,_Europe)#Engines

I've got a 1.6 petrol (mk2 Focus - 115hp). It's fine. If you think you're the next Vettel, it's probably not for you. If you're a bit more realistic than that, it's spot on for non-boy racer driving. I've never really thought it gutless, more pretty much where you need it to be for normal driving, overtaking, etc.

retro83 - Member

I wouldn't say the 1.6 is gutless in normal driving <snip> Lots of revs needed to make progress.

😕

I find smaller engines are more economical if you drive them like an old fart, but in reality you just accelerate harder to get the thing moving, making it the same or sometimes worse of fuel.

Worse than that though, the car feels like it is being powered by a rodent on a wheel.

Wife had an 08 cmax with the 1.8 petrol for 3 yrs. over the 20k miles of short trips and school runs it averaged 28.6mpg. traded it in december for a 1.6 petrol kia soul which so far has averaged 35 mpg for same trip profile.

Cheers all. Much appreciated.

06 plate 1.6 petrol here. Haven't tried any of the others listed so can't comment but for me, the missus and the wee man it's fine. Get between 320 and 410 miles from a tank depending on driving style and road type. Pulls fine all up and nippy enough but never gonna set the world on fire! It's not the most powerful engine in the world but apart from a power steering pump failure and a problem with water build up around the plug wells it's been great.