05 Ford Focus 1.4 petrol - any good?

raher1

I am thinking I might buy a 05 Ford Focus 1.4, the new model type.
Are they any good? Any faults etc!

Littlehorny

If you in any way like driving don't buy one, they are cronically slow. They just don't pull at all in the lower gears leaving you afraid to overtake a slower vehicle. Why not get the 1.6? Not exactly fast but a much better drive.

colm_mcm

they are quite slow and heavy. but immensely popular so dependin on what you want out of a car it could be fine

ProfessorChef

I have the 2005 1.4 Ford Focus LX

Steady car and not much faults with it, as for speed I have no problem overtaking it definitely has the power to do so.

draiochtanois

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ProfessorChef

draiochtanois wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Haha it's been my first car at a young age so I suppose I'm going to say that. Obviously acceleration wise it can take a while to get going but it's a comfortable ride. If I'm gonna make a jump might as well jump high

bazz26

ProfessorChef wrote: »

I have the 2005 1.4 Ford Focus LX

Steady car and not much faults with it, as for speed I have no problem overtaking it definitely has the power to do so.

I think you might need to broaden your driving experience of similar cars for comparison.

Arkady

The MK1 1.4 petrol focus was grand.
But if you're getting a MK2, get the 1.6 petrol. Much harder to find in Ireland though.
The MK2 1.4 petrol was a sluggish paddyspec VRT special.
The motor tax is only marginally more, and the MPG will probably actually be better.

PukkaStukka

Arkady wrote: »

The MK1 1.4 petrol focus was grand.
But if you're getting a MK2, get the 1.6 petrol. Much harder to find in Ireland though.
The MK2 1.4 petrol was a sluggish paddyspec VRT special.
The motor tax is only marginally more, and the MPG will probably actually be better.

Agree with this. The 1.4 is not particularly economical. Performance is ok if you you are not in a massive hurry

mikeym

Going up hills is a struggle for a 1.4 Ford Focus.

I had one (2007 1.4) and had no problems bar the lack of power.

A mate of mine had one and he hated it and had problems.

raher1

PukkaStukka wrote: »

Agree with this. The 1.4 is not particularly economical. Performance is ok if you you are not in a massive hurry

What the miles per gallon, normal cars are 44 miles per gallon

Mycroft H

raher1 wrote: »

What the miles per gallon, normal cars are 44 miles per gallon

You're not going to see near that I'd say. 35-37 combined mpg.

Have a look on spiritmonitor.de for real life figures.

raher1

Arkady wrote: »

The MK1 1.4 petrol focus was grand.
But if you're getting a MK2, get the 1.6 petrol. Much harder to find in Ireland though.
The MK2 1.4 petrol was a sluggish paddyspec VRT special.
The motor tax is only marginally more, and the MPG will probably actually be better.

i was looking at mk1 types, is there much of a difference between both models?

Arkady

The mk1 was a good car in its day, but the mk2 is roomier, and is a considerable step ahead in terms of safety and comfort, when it's paired with the correct engine for the car. I'd take a well looked after mk1 1.4, over a 1.4 mark2 though. They never should have put a 1.4 engine in the mark2. As I said its a paddyspec special, the mk2 in the UK did not have any 1.4 petrol option.

athtrasna

raher1 wrote: »

i was looking at mk1 types, is there much of a difference between both models?

I have a 04 mk1 1.4l petrol focus and I love it. It's coming up to upgrade time for me and I'd love a newer focus but might have to trade down a little. Only time I notice the car labouring on a hill is the Dundrum ramp on to the M50 north, never notice it anywhere else

With the Mk1 focus, i had a 1.4 hatchback, and a 1.6 estate, and driving them were night and day comparisons. 1.6 was like a sports car in comparison (that said, the 1.4 was my first car, so it was plenty fast for me). But the 1.4 was, as said above, very sluggish with overtaking or building up speed.

Building up speed from a stop isn't so bad, but when merging onto motorways or overtaking or anything that involves building speed when the car's already moving is a tedious prospect.

My friend has a 1.4 Mk2 that I've drove a few times and it's very similar to the Mk1 in how it acts.

jones 19

Very reliable car and that's what counts.

colm_mcm

So is a Suzuki liana.