Focus 1.4 and competitors

FrontDoor

Looking for a car to do largely urban mileage of around 8-10000 pa.

Dropping off kids, shopping, etc with a weekly 50 mile round trip.

I understand cars like the 1.4 Focus are not well regarded around here from a performance perspective, but how are they at this kind of job? We have another car for anything long distance.

What is the real world fuel economy like? Reliability? Looking at 2005/06 versions. How about the 1.6?

There are some 1.4/1.6 Focus estates about. What are they like?

What about the competitors then? Golfs are more expensive. How about Mazda 3s?

All these cars seem relatively expensive compared to cars in the class above. For instance, Nissan Primera 1.6

Reliability, cheap to run, practical, etc are key considerations.

Stark

The fuel economy in the 1.6L is a good bit better. The engine in the 1.4L version tends to labour under the weight of the car and that causes it to drink fuel.

theteal

I had a 3 door 1.4 focus for a couple of years. It was a great car but it was waaaay too heavy for the 1.4 engine - not a chance I would recommend the heavier 5 door or estate versions.

Hal1

They have a real heavy chasis in the mk2's. I would avoid that generation of them completely. What I would get given your criteria is a mk1 estate 1.6. It's a much better car in every way.

FrontDoor

Thanks for the feedback.

bazz26

Hal1 wrote: »

They have a real heavy chasis in the mk2's. I would avoid that generation of them completely. What I would get given your criteria is a mk1 estate 1.6. It's a much better car in every way.

The 1.6 MkII Focus is more than enough for what the OP requires. Advising to avoid them altogether is over the top imo. The MkI Focus is old these days in comparison especially from a safety perspective. ABS, curtain air bags, etc were rare on the MkI but standard on the MkII, important things to consider if you are ferrying kids around.

Hal1

I don't argue that the mk2's are safer than earlier ones at all. Having driven both cars, all I'm saying is from a power / economical perspective the mk1 is better in my opinion. Sure it should be up to the buyer to check the ncap rating on the car their buying.

fasttalkerchat

I was looking at the 1.6 petrol. Saw that is also comes in 1.8 petrol and 1.8 diesel.
The diesels had higher mileage and showed it.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Also, what's the website with a list of known problems with each car?

Francie Barrett

Stark wrote: »

The fuel economy in the 1.6L is a good bit better. The engine in the 1.4L version tends to labour under the weight of the car and that causes it to drink fuel.

This kind of nonsense has been repeated so often now it has become a mantra. It is incorrect.

The 1.6 unit will unquestionably have better performance, but the 1.4 will actually deliver slightly better performance.

Focus 1.4 - 42mpg
Focus 1.6 - 40mpg

For dropping kids off to school, you will actually be better of with the 1.4 engine as I would expect it to deliver superior economy in stop-start traffic.

osheen

Www.honestjohn.co.uk is a good site for reviews pros/cons and checking recalls for all cars

fasttalkerchat

Francie Barrett wrote: »

This kind of nonsense has been repeated so often now it has become a mantra. It is incorrect.

The 1.6 unit will unquestionably have better performance, but the 1.4 will actually deliver slightly better performance.

Focus 1.4 - 42mpg
Focus 1.6 - 40mpg

For dropping kids off to school, you will actually be better of with the 1.4 engine as I would expect it to deliver superior economy in stop-start traffic.

You're comparing a 1.6 5door with a 1.4 3door there. Also those figures are for the 98-04 model.

fasttalkerchat

osheen wrote: »

Www.honestjohn.co.uk is a good site for reviews pros/cons and checking recalls for all cars

cheers thats the one i was after. will bookmark it.

Francie Barrett

fasttalkerchat wrote: »

You're comparing a 1.6 5door with a 1.4 3door there. Also those figures are for the 98-04 model.

Whether it's a mk1 or mk2 generation or a 3 or 5 door model, it will make almost no difference to mpg figures.

MuppetCheck

Francie Barrett wrote: »

This kind of nonsense has been repeated so often now it has become a mantra. It is incorrect.

The 1.6 unit will unquestionably have better performance, but the 1.4 will actually deliver slightly better performance.

Focus 1.4 - 42mpg
Focus 1.6 - 40mpg

For dropping kids off to school, you will actually be better of with the 1.4 engine as I would expect it to deliver superior economy in stop-start traffic.

As someone that's had experience of both you can quote all the manufacturers figures you like the 1.6 is lighter on juice in the real world simply because the 1.4 is dangerously underpowered.

It needs working hard to get up to speed and often dropping multiple gears on hills.

Francie Barrett

MuppetCheck wrote: »

As someone that's had experience of both you can quote all the manufacturers figures you like the 1.6 is lighter on juice in the real world simply because the 1.4 is dangerously underpowered.

It's not just manufacturers figures, it's real world too. The fact you called the 1.4 dangerously underpowered only shows you have an emotional bias in the argument.

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/RealMpg/Results?manufacturer=ford

1.4 43 REAL WORLD mpg
1.6 36.4 REAL WORLD mpg

MuppetCheck

What emotional bias?

From owning one I know exactly what the car was like thanks.

Hal1

osheen wrote: »

Www.honestjohn.co.uk is a good site for reviews pros/cons and checking recalls for all cars

I don't think they like honest John in here :pac:.

FrontDoor

How wide a sample is used in the honest john thing?

One thing that leaps out for me is that my other car has road tax Band D, a 1.9TDI and I usually get 50 mpg from it.

The new model is a 1.6 TDI and is Band B.

Honest john seems to indicate about 1 mpg between them in real world figures. The official suggest 8-9 mpg.

Meanwhile I pay 200 quid extra a year in tax.

Is 'dangerous' an accurate adjective to use when describing a 1.4 Focus? I realise they are slow, but there are thousands of them and similar Golfs about and they don't seem to attract any increased insurance loading.

Francie Barrett

MuppetCheck wrote: »

What emotional bias?

From owning one I know exactly what the car was like thanks.

You either owned a dud or you were driving it in an unusual way if you managed to get poorer economy from the 1.4 than the 1.6.

shanec1928

theres a 1.4 in our house and it give a crap return. thats with town and urban driving which the op is looking to do. would avoid it if at all possible it lacks power

Francie Barrett

FrontDoor wrote: »

How wide a sample is used in the honest john thing?

It's based on real users apparently.

http://www.spritmonitor.de also do mpg monitoring based on real world consumption. Once again, the 1.4 on average comes out as being more frugal than the 1.6.

But hey, who cares about real world evidence as opposed to the random opinion of one person who claims to have driven both cars.

scudzilla

I've had an 03 Focus 1.4l for 3yrs now and it's awesome, never let me down, for the 1 or 2 things that have gone wrong they've been relatively easy and cheap to fix.

Moved out to Trim last week and work in City Centre, filled the car up to the top with juice, done 2 return trips to work and back (120miles) then filled it up again.

Using my App on phone worked out to 40.23mpg which i think is astounding.

A lot of people say that the 1.4 wouldn't pull the knickers off a dead woman but it's been pretty good for me, and is very spacious inside.

Oh, and my insurance is cheap, 340euro a year, fully comp wit NCB protection

Burt Lancaster

I've driven both and the 1.6 petrol is far better than the 1.4 petrol.
If its a choice between the two, make sure you get the 1.6 petrol.
World of difference. Test drive both to see for yourself. MPG is about the same, in a fact in the real world the 1.6 will give better mpg because you can drive day to day it without having to always thrash it, unlike the 1.4, which is way underpowered for the car.

Burt Lancaster

scudzilla wrote: »

I've had an 03 Focus 1.4l for 3yrs now and it's awesome, never let me down, for the 1 or 2 things that have gone wrong they've been relatively easy and cheap to fix.

Moved out to Trim last week and work in City Centre, filled the car up to the top with juice, done 2 return trips to work and back (120miles) then filled it up again.

Using my App on phone worked out to 40.23mpg which i think is astounding.

A lot of people say that the 1.4 wouldn't pull the knickers off a dead woman but it's been pretty good for me, and is very spacious inside.

Thats the mk1 focus, 1.4 engine might be ok for the mk1, but not the mk2. OP's query relates to the mk2 focus.

Francie Barrett

Burt Lancaster wrote: »

MPG is about the same, in a fact in the real world the 1.6 will give better mpg because you can drive day to day it without having to always thrash it, unlike the 1.4, which is way underpowered for the car.

More rubbish.

Are you saying the hundreds of users over in spritmonitor and parkers are falsifying refueling records just to make the 1.4 look more economical than it is? Or are you talking through your arse?

FrontDoor

What about these yokes?

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/3530168

They seem to be very practical.

fasttalkerchat

Francie Barrett wrote: »

More rubbish.

Are you saying the hundreds of users over in spritmonitor and parkers are falsifying refueling records just to make the 1.4 look more economical than it is? Or are you talking through your arse?

To be fair you're the only person I have seen defending the 1.4 against the 1.6.
I have heard from about 10 people this week.

osheen

FrontDoor wrote: »

What about these yokes?

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/3530168

They seem to be very practical.

I have the 1.6 diesel no probs after 110k but sorry i didnt get the hatch back feck all differance in interior space but worse to driveand worse to look at.
The new model is much better but so is the new focus hatch

Francie Barrett

FrontDoor wrote: »

What about these yokes?

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/3530168

They seem to be very practical.

That C-Max is fairly heavy would be pretty heavy on petrol, do you need that size of a car?

Would a Honda Jazz be a contender? Out of all the cars listed, it would be the most frugal and would arguably be the most reliable. They are that little bit more pricey though.

FrontDoor

Nope, I don't need that size car. Presumed it would be similar mpg to a hatchback Focus.

Anything in that Focus class really. Mazda 3 any good?

Ideally, I'd like a TDCI Focus or the like and use it to cover some of the miles the other car is doing. IT certainly wouldn't end up with a blocked DPF.

They are dear though and generally wrecked at that age. That 1.6 CMax mentioned earlier would be spot on. Cheap to run, loads of space for buggies, etc.

Francie Barrett

fasttalkerchat wrote: »

To be fair you're the only person I have seen defending the 1.4 against the 1.6.
I have heard from about 10 people this week.

Different strokes for different folks. I drive a 140bhp diesel Passat, my wife drives a 75bhp petrol Golf 1.4. She does what the OP does, pootles around town to drop the kids to school or to go to the shops and gets 38mpg. I drive in what you could describe a spirited manner usually, and get about 36mpg, even though I am in a diesel. Lots of folks like my wife only care about getting from A to B and really don't have a need of paying the higher insurance/tax costs for higher performing cars.

Burt Lancaster

Francie Barrett wrote: »

More rubbish.

Are you saying the hundreds of users over in spritmonitor and parkers are falsifying refueling records just to make the 1.4 look more economical than it is? Or are you talking through your arse?

lol

FrontDoor

Francie Barrett wrote: »

Different strokes for different folks. I drive a 140bhp diesel Passat, my wife drives a 75bhp petrol Golf 1.4. She does what the OP does, pootles around town to drop the kids to school or to go to the shops and gets 38mpg. I drive in what you could describe a spirited manner usually, and get about 36mpg, even though I am in a diesel. Lots of folks like my wife only care about getting from A to B and really don't have a need of paying the higher insurance/tax costs for higher performing cars.

This pretty much describes how the car would be used, with maybe half the driving on country routes at 50-60mph.

Burt Lancaster

We use our second car like this too, and i'm telling ya, the 1.4 mk2 petrol focus is not worth it, there's no saving. Test drive both, you'll see what people are talking about. 1.4 anything else, golf, corrolla, whatever. Fine for the job. Not a 1.4 mk2 focus. Francie can burst a blood vessel all he wants, he's reccomending the wrong car to you. Mk2 focus, you need the 1.6 petrol instead of the 1.4. A much better car. Drive both before you make up your mind.

FrontDoor

I will. Thanks for the feedback.

Francie Barrett

FrontDoor wrote: »

This pretty much describes how the car would be used, with maybe half the driving on country routes at 50-60mph.

Did you see my suggestion about the Honda Jazz? It's frugal and is well regarded in terms of reliability. Not as widely available, but would certainly would trump a C-Max.

FrontDoor

Francie Barrett wrote: »

Did you see my suggestion about the Honda Jazz? It's frugal and is well regarded in terms of reliability. Not as widely available, but would certainly would trump a C-Max.

Its a bit smaller by the looks of it?

And expensive.

A civic on the other hand would appeal.

Burt Lancaster

Jazz much smaller car.

FrontDoor

That german site looks very interesting, if l/100km is your thing...

Focus 1.6 estate

Focus 1.6 hatch

Focus 1.6 diesel lots of maintenance with that one.

shanec1928

FrontDoor wrote: »

I will. Thanks for the feedback.

bring the kids when your test driving it as they will mostly be with you in it and go up a steep hill and watch it struggle up it. to be fair if the car was just for you on your own where you would never have anybody else in the car or any weight in it it would be grand for ya..

MuppetCheck

Francie Barrett wrote: »

You either owned a dud or you were driving it in an unusual way if you managed to get poorer economy from the 1.4 than the 1.6.

Did you own one? Or both?

The car was fine and my driving style is just fine.

fergiesfolly

Just my tuppence worth.
I have a 2007 1.6 focus, which I bought from new. I've posted elsewhere on this forum how much I've enjoyed the car so won't go into that.
When I first bought the car,I test drove the 1.4 and 1.6 models for four days each, doing a mix of urban and rural(long runs) trips.
Firstly,I found the difference in fuel economy quite noticeable. The 1.4 being heavier on fuel especially around town,which surprised me.
Secondly, I found the smaller engine completely inadequate when moving away from lights,entering roundabouts in towns and either labour to get going,or need a lot of revving.And very slow when overtaking on the long runs. That's a safety issue to me and one that made it a lot easier to choose which engine to go for.I've since been behind many 1.4s at traffic lights etc and they take forever to get going, making me gloat slightly over my choice.What can I tell ya, I'm shallow.
Having said that, my sister has the mk 1 and the 1.4 is a lot peppier than in the the mk2.
The mk 2 feels a more solid car and is better equipped as regards airbags, etc. Also, you'll get a well speced 2007 model for 6-7 grand max, which I think is good value.Keep an eye out for "collection" models from that year, as they come with some nice toys(keyless entry is brilliant when loading up kids and shoppin,especially in the rain)
Hope this helps

Henry Ford III

fergiesfolly wrote: »

Just my tuppence worth.
I have a 2007 1.6 focus, which I bought from new. I've posted elsewhere on this forum how much I've enjoyed the car so won't go into that.
When I first bought the car,I test drove the 1.4 and 1.6 models for four days each, doing a mix of urban and rural(long runs) trips.
Firstly,I found the difference in fuel economy quite noticeable. The 1.4 being heavier on fuel especially around town,which surprised me.
Secondly, I found the smaller engine completely inadequate when moving away from lights,entering roundabouts in towns and either labour to get going,or need a lot of revving.And very slow when overtaking on the long runs. That's a safety issue to me and one that made it a lot easier to choose which engine to go for.I've since been behind many 1.4s at traffic lights etc and they take forever to get going, making me gloat slightly over my choice.What can I tell ya, I'm shallow.
Having said that, my sister has the mk 1 and the 1.4 is a lot peppier than in the the mk2.
The mk 2 feels a more solid car and is better equipped as regards airbags, etc. Also, you'll get a well speced 2007 model for 6-7 grand max, which I think is good value.Keep an eye out for "collection" models from that year, as they come with some nice toys(keyless entry is brilliant when loading up kids and shoppin,especially in the rain)
Hope this helps

Connection not Collection I think.

fergiesfolly

My bad -tis 5 years ago since the purchase and still get it wrong when I mention it

fasttalkerchat

fergiesfolly wrote: »

Just my tuppence worth.
I have a 2007 1.6 focus, which I bought from new. I've posted elsewhere on this forum how much I've enjoyed the car so won't go into that.
When I first bought the car,I test drove the 1.4 and 1.6 models for four days each, doing a mix of urban and rural(long runs) trips.
Firstly,I found the difference in fuel economy quite noticeable. The 1.4 being heavier on fuel especially around town,which surprised me.
Secondly, I found the smaller engine completely inadequate when moving away from lights,entering roundabouts in towns and either labour to get going,or need a lot of revving.And very slow when overtaking on the long runs. That's a safety issue to me and one that made it a lot easier to choose which engine to go for.I've since been behind many 1.4s at traffic lights etc and they take forever to get going, making me gloat slightly over my choice.What can I tell ya, I'm shallow.
Having said that, my sister has the mk 1 and the 1.4 is a lot peppier than in the the mk2.
The mk 2 feels a more solid car and is better equipped as regards airbags, etc. Also, you'll get a well speced 2007 model for 6-7 grand max, which I think is good value.Keep an eye out for "collection" models from that year, as they come with some nice toys(keyless entry is brilliant when loading up kids and shoppin,especially in the rain)
Hope this helps

Did you notice it getting noisy on motorways?

fergiesfolly

Bit more than a saloon, but not necessarily more than any hatchback I've been in.
Why do you ask?
Having said that, there's a rattle coming from the passenger door recently thats been doing my head in. Been into Ford twice and they can't find a reason for it.
I'll be starting a thread soon, asking how to remove door cards etc