Useful for cycling probably…

We've got an '06 1.8tdci zetec climate focus estate – goes, stops, goes round corners. Has been reliable so far, although the our neighbours are doing their level best to take all the corners off the bodywork.
Even better our local Ford dealer is actually interested in making sure that its customers are happy – so different to Citroen UK who in 3 years never actually managed to do any of the things which I'd asked them to do when being serviced.

Useful for cycling probably…

No No No. Don't mention the "C word". This is a car for kids and prams… not bikes that are too filthy for the afore mentioned mighty (and exciting) Vectra.

I meant the "small willy and a big chest" rather than the car

This is a car for kids and prams… not bikes

In that case you won't want to know that two bikes with front wheels off fit very nicely in the back of a mark 1 Focus with the back seats down.

I have done more miles in Ford Focus than any other car i have owned. I did 140mls round trip every day for 4 years in them.

Whoever commented earlier that the Mk2 version was a nicer handling car than the Mk1 is off his head. The Original focus wiped the floor with the Mk2 as a drivers car. Much more invlolving and sharper car.

I liked my company car so much that i bought one for the wife. I got the 1.8LX with air con etc, but as you have had to repeatedly point out, performance isnt an issue so its not up for debate. I got mine when we had our first little lad and they are the perfect town car. Easily get your pram and shopping loaded and not too big that the wife hates driving it.

Reliability, well i have run VW's Fords & Mercs and the fords win hands down in running costs. I think the worst i ever had was a washer pipe came off and soaked the boot area. Sorted in 5 mins. I bought mine (Trade) for £3000, ran it for 4yrs and still got £2000 back.

As there are literally thousands about, you can also be choosey.

sofatester – Member

Indeed. but then not all of us need our car to make a statement about ourselves since we have personality of our own…

Says the man who thinks a Vectra is an "exciting" car to drive!

Check over who said what 😉 I would never call a Vectra 'exciting'…

Whoever commented earlier that the Mk2 version was a nicer handling car than the Mk1 is off his head. The Original focus wiped the floor with the Mk2 as a drivers car. Much more invlolving and sharper car.

The Mk1 has much better steering as it has a fully hydraulic system rather than a part electric system like the Mk2.
However, the Mk2 is a more balanced car, is grippier and understeers less than the Mk1 in my experince.

The Mk2 felt like driving sofa in comparison. Isnt the Mk2 just a rebadged Mazda 3 series

It doesnt matter what you think it's like to drive, owning one is bad enough 😀

sofatester – Member
It doesnt matter what you think it's like to drive, owning one is bad enough

Oi! Don't disrespect The Big V!

😆

All VAuxhalls are excitement-free zones.

My Corsa was pretty exciting for the 2.5 seconds I was wrestling with it to keep it going straight on at a roundabout. Needless to say it ended up kissing the barrier arse end first.

RE: the ford patent on the heated windscreen- it runs out in a couple of years. Should be ubiquitous thereafter. Its FANTASTIC in the winter.

Gotta 2000 Focus estate and it's certainly the most reliable car I've ever owned – 90,000 on the clock now. Ditto the remark on page one about front tyre wear – they seem to need replacing at twice the rate of the wife's Fiat tyres.

Other than that, just as has been said – nary a problem other than the usual exhaust, tyres kind of stuff. Spares are readily available too – any scrappy will have replacement wing mirrors and other bits and bobs in piles.

+1 On crappy astra handling
My brother's got a 56 plate 1.6 model and it's soft as hell and understeers if you give it the slightest of beans. Nice and comfy though.

Which ever you go for get the quick clear windscreen, its fantastic on winter mornings.

Be aware some people (eg. me) hate these for driving at night as they generate a fuzzy halo effect around oncoming lights etc.

Then again, not everybody seems to be bothered by this.

We had(well it was the wifes car really)both from new a 51 plate 1.8 Zetec Focus and then a 54 plate 1.8 Astra Design

The Focus was better in every respect on the road, it was the only car she said she would have bought.

Had a hire 1.4 Focus for 1 day (very strange having driven the 1.8) but it was still a Focus in the respect it handled beautifully.
The new Focus might be more solid but its like a Golf to drive – dull, compared to the old one

elliptic – get your eyes tested!

I find the quick-clean windscreen difficult to look through at times, particularly at night.

Definitely not my eyes! the one I drove was a company pool car, I had my own car (405 estate at the time) for comparison.

Unless they've improved them since – that was an '01 Focus, or thereabouts.

The filaments in the windscreen of my new Focus ('07) are much finer than the ones in my old focus ('98)

Had a 1.8 focus for 3 years and 90000 miles, very little went wrong and was great fun.

Now have a vectra diesel and whilst it's a size up and an SRI it is utter dross compared, not as comfortable, handles terribly, boot is smaller than focus.

Exciting would be the fear as it understeers straight on as you try a corner at 2/3rds the pace the focus took with no probs.

Anyway, millions of foci around, hunt for a good one.

Had several now have a 1.8 zetec estate, go for the 1.6 with aircon if poss. Its all the car you'll ever need.