Ford Focus

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levelpar

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I see that the Focus 1.4 has now the same car tax rate ( 430 euro) as the 1.6. Apparently, the 1.4 is a 157 co rating and the 1.6 a 159 rating.

I would imagine that unless Ford bring down the co on the1.4 , there will be less sold than the 1.6. Anyone any thoughts on this?
 
You might save a few euros a year on fuel and insurance with the 1.4 ,but the 1.8 tdci is cheaper more economical and better on juice as well as €150 a year tax,so why go for the 1.6 either?
 
The 1.4L is just not powerful enough; so unless you do high miles forget the diesel and get the 1.6. Its much smoother that either, and enough go for what you'd want a hatchback to do. If you want it to be faster, buy a bigger saloon car.

I've driven that 1.8D in the new Mondeo and its got simple unacceptable turbo lag (was a friends company car. He wants his 1.9D Passat back). The lighter Focus should be a little better, but if diesel go 2.0L, nothing smaller
 
Thanks for replies.

unless you do high miles forget the diesel and get the 1.6
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The 1.6 petrol is the ghia model(which I fancy) but the cost is 25,445 euro whereas the 1.8 diesel (which is the basic interior Style model) is 21,800 euro.

the 1.8 tdci is cheaper more economical
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I dont really want the 1.8 diesel but the petrol model is a bit more than I would like to pay trading in.
 
levelpar said:
Thanks for replies.
The 1.6 petrol is the ghia model(which I fancy) but the cost is 25,445 euro whereas the 1.8 diesel (which is the basic interior Style model) is 21,800 euro.
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I forgot about the diesel price changes in July. The 1.8D is low emissions because it has no power; you'd just be getting diesel for diesel's sake. The power is all at the top of the rev range, and arrives (only via the turbo) in one big lump, just as you need to change gear. Absolutely useless, and my friend says his fuel consumption has been woeful (for a diesel) as you always need to stay on the boost to keep it going. Cutting out in 1st and 2nd with the low rev's is a very common problem for him too.

The Zetec is a much better value spec over the Ghia, especially at the other end when it comes to selling.
The list on our 1.6 Zetec was 25k, and we paid 22.8k cash.
 
paddyd said:
I forgot about the diesel price changes in July. The 1.8D is low emissions because it has no power; you'd just be getting diesel for diesel's sake. The power is all at the top of the rev range, and arrives (only via the turbo) in one big lump, just as you need to change gear. Absolutely useless, and my friend says his fuel consumption has been woeful (for a diesel) as you always need to stay on the boost to keep it going. Cutting out in 1st and 2nd with the low rev's is a very common problem for him too.

The Zetec is a much better value spec over the Ghia, especially at the other end when it comes to selling.
The list on our 1.6 Zetec was 25k, and we paid 22.8k cash.
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Nah. The 1.8 TDCI has 115bhp, which is 15bhp higher than the corresponding 1.6 petrol.

All diesels have a relatively narrow powerband.
 
RS2K said:
Nah. The 1.8 TDCI has 115bhp, which is 15bhp higher than the corresponding 1.6 petrol.

All diesels have a relatively narrow powerband.
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the 1.6 is now a duratec, available for the past 2 years (to the diesels duratorq). Its also 115, but the advantage of being a petrol, and a much smoother power band. Most of the 1.6's will be the 100hp though.

To be honest, I'd like to think the 1.8D can't be as bad in the smaller Focus as it is in the Mondeo. In fact it could be a nice match.

I guess what I'm getting at is that if you don't do much miles, it generally means you do a lot of city/slow driving, and I think you'll agree the 1.8D is not very adept at that type of driving. cut-outs and the like will be the least of your worries, in a very unenjoyable drive.
 
paddyd said:
the 1.6 is now a duratec, available for the past 2 years (to the diesels duratorq). Its also 115, but the advantage of being a petrol, and a much smoother power band. Most of the 1.6's will be the 100hp though.....
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No.

1.6 petrol engines have been labelled Duratec for a few years now. The vast majority will have 100bhp and come in all LX/Style & Zetec trim levels. This engine is still on fitted today.

A few Ghia and Titanium trim level have a variable valve timing version of the 1.6, which indeed does have 115bhp. They are rare though.

In everyday driving it's difficult to tell the difference between the two, although the ti-vct uses a bit less fuel.
 
paddyd said:
the 1.6 is now a duratec, available for the past 2 years (to the diesels duratorq). Its also 115, but the advantage of being a petrol, and a much smoother power band. Most of the 1.6's will be the 100hp though.
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RS2K said:
No.
1.6 petrol engines have been labelled Duratec for a few years now. The vast majority will have 100bhp and come in all LX/Style & Zetec trim levels. This engine is still on fitted today.
A few Ghia and Titanium trim level have a variable valve timing version of the 1.6, which indeed does have 115bhp. They are rare though.
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you say 'no', and then say the same thing as I did :)

Pedantic Pat.
 
The Zetec is a much better value spec over the Ghia, especially at the other end when it comes to selling.
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I prefer 4 door saloons and neither the Zetec nor the Titanium 1.6 are in saloon form.

I read somewhere that the 1.8 diesel can cut out unless you give it more pedal moving off.
 
levelpar said:
I prefer 4 door saloons and neither the Zetec nor the Titanium 1.6 are in saloon form.

I read somewhere that the 1.8 diesel can cut out unless you give it more pedal moving off.
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You certainly can buy a Zetec saloon. It's possible stall pretty much any car.
 
levelpar said:
I read somewhere that the 1.8 diesel can cut out unless you give it more pedal moving off.
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This has been my experience, and as I said above my friend is very sorry he picked the 1.8 and not the 2.0 diesel; due to cut-outs and lack of power. He does about 40k miles per year
 
Not sure that it's particular to the Focus diesel - people moving from petrol to diesel often find that they stall more than usual for a while until they get used to the generally lower revs.

I know it happened to me and a few others I know.
 
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