Owner PeachorLemon_Archive    Posted in Ford Focus   Comments 0

Really pleased with it so far. "Old" 1.8 TDi engine is gruff and rattles like its got no oil in it when you start it from cold (weve nicknamed it "the tractor"), but its sprightly enough and gives eye opening midrange grunt Big rev range for a diesel too - turbo is awake by 1,500 RPM and it pulls hard right to 4,700 RPM. Returns 45-50 mpg with mostly motorway driving. Lovely gearbox as well - the proverbial knife through butter Car handles beautifully. The Focus is one of the few cars, which is still thoroughly enjoyable in estate form. It turns in sharply and can be adjusted on the throttle like a good hot hatch. The steering is also superb with lots of weight and feel. Drive a Golf or Astra after this and it feels numb, vague and woolly Reliability has been first class (never broken down and only needed an auxiliary belt and a set of brake discs and pads in 60,000 miles), but build quality could be better At 60,000 miles, the tailgate squeaks loudly over bumps, the driver’s door trim creaks and the faux silver plastic trim is peeling off the gearknob. A shame as the dash design and ergonomics are faultless The Focus is a nice car to live with, and has some very thoughtful touches Quickclear windscreen and heated washer jets are marvellous in the frost and snow. Sitting snugly in your ten grand Focus, watching owners of £30,000 BMWs and Mercedes struggling with scrapers on cold mornings is quite enjoyable There are other nice touches too, like two 12 volt power sockets in the car, a pen holder, a decent sized glovebox and wash/wipe that gives an automatic additional wipe after about 5 seconds to clear up the straggling bits of washer fluid that blow or run onto the screen after the wipers stop Its a shame this thought didnt extend to providing a boot release button on the outside of the car (you need to use the key or the button on the dash) Id buy another Focus without hesitation. Good looking, reliable, fun, economical. Just a rough engine and some iffy trim quality let it down, but not enough to make me think twice about another.

PoL Comment: Nice one, PoL.