Ford Focus FFV 1.8 lx

gerrycollins

Anyone else drive one they only newish and work on the FlexiFuel. test drove one today,
FlexiFuel is a mix of petrol and a cheese by product(i kid you not) only 90c a liter available at a few maxol stations around the country and in the meantime also run on basic petrol
Drove it today with the FlexiFuel in it today rather powerful car for a 1.8 petrol performance engine only two thirds the cost,about 125BHP
The LX version costs under €25k,looks good(nothing fancy tho)but you can get under 3k VRT back as it a hybrid kinda car sadly the motor tax or insurance dont see it that way
Anyone own one was gonna buy it but just out of my price range

colm_mcm

Ir runs on Bi Ethanol. and AFAIK theres only one petrol station in the country selling it. There needs to be a complete fuel tax exemption as is Sweeden to make it worthwhile.

They're not on sale here as of yet

gerrycollins

colm_mcm wrote:

Ir runs on Bi Ethanol. and AFAIK theres only one petrol station in the country selling it. There needs to be a complete fuel tax exemption as is Sweeden to make it worthwhile.

They're not on sale here as of yet

sorry colm read my post i nearly bought one today but was a grand or two out of my price range
there are some stations across ireland using it Maxols mostly
i agree with the fuel exemption but the fact that it can run also on regularl petrol makes that impossible unless there was some sort of recording device to prove use of bi ethanol and get a yearly rebate

colm_mcm

Didn't know about Maxol selling Bi Ethanol.

They're not actually on sale yet though are they?


Just checked Maxols website:

"E85 is currently available at:

Maxol Service Station, Beach Road, Sandymount, Dublin 4.
Maxol Service Station, Cromwellsfort Road, Crumlin, Dublin 12.

E85 will soon be available at:
Maxol Service Station, Lower Glanmire Road, Tivoli, Cork, Co. Cork.
Maxol Service Station, Richmond


not exactly a huge network........

maidhc

I think when you run on ethanol you are only looking at about 200 miles/tank with the FFV. Still an interesting option though.

colm_mcm

I still don't particularly want a 1.8 Focus though.

maidhc

colm_mcm wrote:

I still don't particularly want a 1.8 Focus though.

Thats only because it would a heresy to drive one into toyotaland.

A 1.8 isnt an optimum sized engine for a Focus, pity it isnt a 1.6.

gerrycollins

maidhc wrote:

I think when you run on ethanol you are only looking at about 200 miles/tank with the FFV. Still an interesting option though.

<600km to a tank 53ltr at 90c a litre

gerrycollins

colm_mcm wrote:

Didn't know about Maxol selling Bi Ethanol.

They're not actually on sale yet though are they?


Just checked Maxols website:

"E85 is currently available at:

Maxol Service Station, Beach Road, Sandymount, Dublin 4.
Maxol Service Station, Cromwellsfort Road, Crumlin, Dublin 12.

E85 will soon be available at:
Maxol Service Station, Lower Glanmire Road, Tivoli, Cork, Co. Cork.
Maxol Service Station, Richmond


not exactly a huge network........

the cars are on sale i nearly bought one,its a dublin/cork based trial only currently

gerrycollins

maidhc wrote:

Thats only because it would a heresy to drive one into toyotaland.

A 1.8 isnt an optimum sized engine for a Focus, pity it isnt a 1.6.

for a 1.8 it has a 1.6 performance so the extra road tax for nothing turned me off it

colm_mcm

maidhc wrote:

Thats only because it would a heresy to drive one into toyotaland.

A 1.8 isnt an optimum sized engine for a Focus, pity it isnt a 1.6.

Who the hell wants a 1.8 Focus,, secondhand values should be crap unless the scheme takes off.

Whatever happened to LPG?

ninty9er

Correct me if i'm wrong, but haven't VOLVO and more recently SAAB been selling these things in Ireland for years.

colm_mcm

Sure Volvo are doing Bi Fuel. LPG and Unleaded

Saab don't do them anymore. LPG hasn't been promoted in Ireland and very few garages sell it.

ninty9er

So why the big fuss about Focus FFV now

colm_mcm

cos it runs on Bi Ethanol.

It's the future apparently. made from grass or sausages or something

Matt Simis

colm_mcm wrote:

Sure Volvo are doing Bi Fuel. LPG and Unleaded

Saab don't do them anymore. LPG hasn't been promoted in Ireland and very few garages sell it.

Saab are backing E85 in a big way. Their cars get more performance out of it than Petrol now:
"Saab reports that the 9-5 BioPower produces more power and performance when running on E85 than on conventional gasoline. The engine delivers 180 brake horsepower (bhp) with E85 and 150 bhp with gasoline. In addition to this 20% increase in maximum power, 16% more torque is offered with E85 over gasoline. "
http://www.ethanol.org/PressRelease8.3.05.htm

Colm, read up on Ethanol on that site!
Im more interested in BioDiesel myself.


Matt

Matt Simis

ninty9er wrote:

So why the big fuss about Focus FFV now

E85 is 85% BioFuel (Ethanol, usually corn based), 15% Petrol.
LPG is 40% Petrol, 60% some sort of Bio mix.
BioDiesel is anythere from 5 to 100% BioDiesel (Veg Oil based usually), remainder is petroleum diesel.

LPG is a more messy and complicated (costly) solution, as well as having lower "green" benefits compared to the other new fuels.


Matt

colm_mcm

Matt Simis wrote:

Saab are backing E85 in a big way. Their cars get more performance out of it than Petrol now:
"Saab reports that the 9-5 BioPower produces more power and performance when running on E85 than on conventional gasoline. The engine delivers 180 brake horsepower (bhp) with E85 and 150 bhp with gasoline. In addition to this 20% increase in maximum power, 16% more torque is offered with E85 over gasoline. "
http://www.ethanol.org/PressRelease8.3.05.htm

Colm, read up on Ethanol on that site!
Im more interested in BioDiesel myself.


Matt

I don't really car what goes on in Sweeden. It'll be a flop over here.

ninty9er

ANything thats cheaper will work.

We're not really bad off in comparison to other EU countries when it comes to fuel prices.

There was an International expert at UL on wednesday/thursday who said that petrol only 45c a cup. Consider that coffee is renewable and costs 1.00-2.50 a cup

Matt Simis

colm_mcm wrote:

I don't really car what goes on in Sweeden. It'll be a flop over here.

No offense Colm, but you are seriously out of the loop on the Fuel and Environmental situation. I suggest you readup on recent EU directives and so on. UK and Ireland have already agreed to 5% of all cars running on BioFuels by 2008-10. E85 is on 50% VRT and reduced tax, Irish Government has €260m spending money to promote BioFuels in general (they handed out 40 grants already to get BioFuel plants operational in Ireland, yes we are now producing our own fuel). If all that doesnt sway you, its cheaper at the pump and is getting cheaper to produce than Petrol and supply doesnt rely on OPEC whims.

Why are you so ready to dismiss something you dont seem to have spent more then 3min thinking about?


Matt

maidhc

Matt Simis wrote:

No offense Colm, but you are seriously out of the loop on the Fuel and Environmental situation.

I think to be honest the government are making the most pathetic attempt imaginable at promoting biofuels. Farmers for example would grow whatever they were asked in the morning, but just wont do it at present because there is no guarantee they will be able to sell their rapeseed/willow/miscanthus. I only read this morning to my horror that they are plands to build a NATURAL GAS power plant in whitegate.

Likewise with biodiesel and ethanol. It appears they have to pushed and shoved to do anything; things are happening, but so slowly it isnt funny.

gerrycollins

i was prepared to buy one yesterday except it was 2K over my budget,im mad now works out cheaper to run but the road tax is the same for a 1.8 so no saving there and the insurance dont seem to care what its made of,there needs to be a big promo on it from all,the fuel is cheaper and at the current rate and the middle east, even was thinkin of diesel cause you can convert to veg oil for a grand or two
will definetely go for it in a year if there is more incentive to have one

colm_mcm

If the only option available is a 1.8 Ford Focus then it's not going to work.

Especially since the road tax is so high. It'll cripple the used values and put off potential buyers, who will pay tax for a large diesel engine, but are wary of new technology.

Countries like Sweeden are great at doing stuff like this, but your Irish buyer is more conservative. I'm all for cheaper motoring, but I fear this will not be a massive sucess unless more mainstream manufacturers get on board

Anan1

ninty9er wrote:

ANything There was an International expert at UL on wednesday/thursday who said that petrol only 45c a cup. Consider that coffee is renewable and costs 1.00-2.50 a cup

With the greatest of respect, this is a ridiculous analogy. If you were buying 55 litres of coffee at a time and didn't want to drink it in a cafe then you'd be paying a hell of a lot less than "45c a cup".

ninty9er

Anan1 wrote:

With the greatest of respect, this is a ridiculous analogy. If you were buying 55 litres of coffee at a time and didn't want to drink it in a cafe then you'd be paying a hell of a lot less than "45c a cup".

But we generally don't

maidhc

ninty9er wrote:

But we generally don't

Amateur; you need to feed your addiction.

halkar

Future is here wood-gas

colm_mcm

I like the way the tank neatly fits in with the already dodgy styling!

Anan1

ninty9er wrote:

But we generally don't

Exactly. And we don't buy petrol by the cupful in cafes. This is why it's a ridiculous analogy.

Esel

I get almost 300km per cupful - of coffee that is!

cargrouch

gerrycollins wrote:

FlexiFuel is a mix of petrol and a cheese by product(i kid you not) only 90c a liter available at a few maxol stations around the country and in the meantime also run on basic petrol

An interesting tangent to this - that cheese byproduct (ethanol)was initially seen by a certain vodka manufacturer as a cheap alcohol source. Obviously they were gonna clean it up and all, but they got shot down on it because vodka is distilled alcohol from natural fermentation - not filtered cheese cleaner. If you're talking about "price per cup" then you can't beat vodka!

colm_mcm

and vodka tastes nicer than petrol. not as strong, but nicer

Burnfort Boy

This Flexi Fuel is not alone available in the Focus Hatchback and Wagon but also in the Focus C-Max. A lot of people don't know that including the main dealers. I bought one last week and I believe that they will soon out sell the petrol models. Why ? ..... cost of fuel.... VRT refund.... and if you care about global warming. Also the government will commit to this type of car into the future.

JHMEG

The whole VRT and road tax regime is going to change next year, in favour of flexfuel/bioethanol/biodiesel/hybrids.

The fact that that Focus is 1.8 won't matter, I'm expecting the road tax to be close to free on it when the regime changes. (Like in the UK)

This country has been doing so bad in terms of CO2 emissions and the Kyoto protocol that the exchequer is now spending huge amounts on CO2 credits (did I hear €140 million in the budget for 2007). Cars powered by alternative means (mentioned above) are the government's way out.

Spit62500

I read somewhere that flexi-fuel cars are very heavy on fuel in congested areas - that makes it a non-runner (as it were) for the likes of Dublin. The 30% saving on fuel is negated by the 30% increase in fuel consumption under normal conditions.

Henry Ford III

Gentlemen.

Time to dispell some myths here.

1/. The FFV will run on biofuel or will be equally happy on ordinary 95 u/l.

2/. It's a 125bhp 1.8 engine. That's 1.8 performance, not 1.6. In a Focus it is quite lively.

3/. The 50% VRT rebate makes it very attractive price wise.

Granted the annual road tax is a little higher, but that won't destroy the used values as Colm suggests. Infact the govt's budget announcement that VRT and raod tax will be emmisions based in future will make this type of vehicle increasingly attractive.

The LX only spec. for me is a negative. That will change though as sales increase.

ninty9er

E85 now available in Limerick for anyone interested

CrowdedHouse

Henry Ford III wrote:

The LX only spec. for me is a negative. That will change though as sales increase.

The GF is getting a new Focus and that was one of the reasons she wouldn't buy an FFV.

She tells me a dealer in Galway was really doing a hard sell on them(must have a few on his hands with no buyers !)

As she does 90% town driving she stuck to the 1.4 zetec(connection)

munchkin_utd

Resurecting this old thread but it's bang on topic to my problem.

I have a focus estate 1.8 petrol 125 hp.
great car if not a bit thirsty which is turning into a costly exercise with petrol at 1.50 upwards nowadays.

Anyhow. When I was in getting the tyres changed, the quick fit type place identified the car on the reciept as a flexifuel model. I don't know if this was by them making a mistake or whether the car model id was entered and their system thinks or knows it's a flexifuel.

The sticker on the petrol cover flap only mentions Unleaded petrol though

So im just wondering how do you find out if a specific car is flexifuel or not without having to go into the dealership and trying to wring some info out of them?

Alanstrainor

Please start a new thread. No need to drag up a 5 year old topic, there's no continuation of this thread.