Opinions on a 09 Ford Focus 1.8 Diesel

satnavadays

Hi all,

Just wondering what are the 1.8 diesel Focus like in terms of power and economy and in particular are they good on a motorway?

I'm considering looking at this car tomorrow just to see, what are the general thoughts/opinions on it?

http://www.motorpark.ie/used-cars/Ford/Focus/STYLE-1.8/34413632605212920/

DIESEL TOM

I getting 5.7l to 100km.

bazz26

That's expensive for a 2009 base model Focus diesel. Here is a higher spec Ghia asking €1k less:


http://www.driving.ie/used-cars/Ford/Focus/Ghia-1.8TDCi/29113439027998390/

FrontDoor

Are they a better bet than the 1.6 TDCI in terms of reliability?

That car seems quite expensive and has had 3 owners.

colm_mcm

I'd have the 1.8 all day over the 1.6

satnavadays

Just a quick update - went to view the car today & his best offer is €11k for the Galway car. I rang the ad above and his best (so far!) is €11.5k, but I'm thinking of going to view it.

Is there much of a difference between the base and the ghia? All I know of are auto wipers/lights and the different alloys! From what I can see from the pictures the base seems to have reverse parking sensors but the ghia doesn't?

Thanks for feedback so far.

maidhc

Had a 1.8TDCi from 2003, but more or less identical engine. Bought it with 63k on the clock and it was sold with about 150 iirc.

Pros:
Decent power
Very quiet
Reasonable MPG (50ish dropping to 45 during winter commute)

Cons:
Expensive to maintain (DMF + alternator cluchfailed during my tenure, had an EGR and cam position sensor before I bought it)
Crap power delivery
Randomly down on power in the cold

It is an engine I simply never warmed to. The 1.6 is so much nicer to drive.

mullingar

colm_mcm wrote: »

I'd have the 1.8 all day over the 1.6

And I would have the more modern 1.6 all day over the old 1.8.

bazz26

satnavadays wrote: »

Just a quick update - went to view the car today & his best offer is €11k for the Galway car. I rang the ad above and his best (so far!) is €11.5k, but I'm thinking of going to view it.

Is there much of a difference between the base and the ghia? All I know of are auto wipers/lights and the different alloys! From what I can see from the pictures the base seems to have reverse parking sensors but the ghia doesn't?

Thanks for feedback so far.

If the Ghia is in the same condition as the Style and you can get the seller down to the same price or close then I'd take it over the Style. The parking sensors were not standard on any of the Focus models back then, they were either ordered as an option or fitted aftermarket. They are not that expensive to have retrofitted.

Ghia also has air conditioning, electric rear windows, front arm rest and cruise control over the Style.

dr.fuzzenstein

maidhc wrote: »

Had a 1.8TDCi from 2003, but more or less identical engine. Bought it with 63k on the clock and it was sold with about 150 iirc.

Pros:
Decent power
Very quiet
Reasonable MPG (50ish dropping to 45 during winter commute)

Cons:
Expensive to maintain (DMF + alternator cluchfailed during my tenure, had an EGR and cam position sensor before I bought it)
Crap power delivery
Randomly down on power in the cold

It is an engine I simply never warmed to. The 1.6 is so much nicer to drive.

2003? That is the 1.8 TDDI, much narrower power band (I had an 04), all the power between 2 and 4 k RPM with nothing above and below. You definitely had to keep that thing in the power band, great fun if you know how.
I currently have the 06 TDCI, and the power delivery is great, from 1200 rpm all the way to the red line, though there is absolutely no need to ever rev it that high, the torque is very helpful. Deffo more than the 1.6.
I'm currently getting 48 mpg and I'm no slouch on the motorway.
All in all, it's a great engine and fairly indestructible.
I have put at least 400000 km on 4 different 1.8 TD's, TDDI's and TDCI's and apart from a clutch and a dodgy fuel line, nothing, but nothing has ever gone wrong with them.
Yes, it has just gone in for a clutch and DMF (E850 cost), but that is at 250000 km, I think that's none too shabby and that job would definitely cots you more on a Beemer, Audi, VW or Merc. As far as problems go that will cost you thousands to fix, no problem.

mullingar

I thought that too until recently when i was corrected, the Focus TDDI stopped in 2001 with the TDCI replacing it. Same engine, newer injection system.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_DLD_engine

dr.fuzzenstein

mullingar wrote: »

I thought that too until recently when i was corrected, the Focus TDDI stopped in 2001 with the TDCI replacing it. Same engine, newer injection system.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_DLD_engine

Hhhm, odd that. I had an 04 Ford Focus 1.8 TDDI.

Henry Ford III

mullingar wrote: »

And I would have the more modern 1.6 all day over the old 1.8.

Same here - and I've had quite a few of them. 5 I think.

George Dalton

Both TDDI and TDCI were available simultaneously in the Mk1 Focus right up to 2005.

The 1.8 TDCI in the Mk2 Focus is a much more refined engine with a far superior power delivery to the earlier versions.

dr.fuzzenstein

George Dalton wrote: »

Both TDDI and TDCI were available simultaneously in the Mk1 Focus right up to 2005.

The 1.8 TDCI in the Mk2 Focus is a much more refined engine with a far superior power delivery to the earlier versions.

Absolutely. The TDDI had zilch below 2000 rpm, then went nuts till about 4 and then zilch again. Was fun to get all the power in one go. And the old Focus actually got you lif-off oversteer. It was quite a fun car for a daysul.