Nigel H

SB is right - my VTS was MUCH faster than the Focus in a straight line. I'm not a good enough driver to speak for twisties, but I'd guess the Focus was better.

I imported mine from www.fordbrugge.com. Very highly rated. Not sure how they compare on price with supermarkets at the mo.

Paid £12k 3 years ago, sold it for £7.5 18 months later. So depreciation was no worse than expected. Speaking from experience (I bought the Focus 'cos of a growing family ) go for the 5 door, it'll make getting kids in the car much[n] easier

I rate the scoob as a better family car though - mainly 'cos of the boot.

[Edited by Nigel H - 11/7/2002 4:43:40 PM]

Devil's Refugee

Looking for some real life experience of these motors.
Which is the better car to go for, in terms of general road use and performance/ tuning.

Also, does anyone want to part-ex one for my Scoob ?

brickboy

My bro-in-law test drove the 1.8 and 2.0 versions, and went for the 2.0. He reckons the bigger motor made a much bigger impression and better drive on the road than the bhp difference between the two motors suggests.

He's an "enthusiastic" driver too -- likes the car a lot.

Still economical because of the car's relatively small size and weight.

Scoobybits

drive em both,bet you go for the 2.0 better to drive,imoho!!!

Nigel H

Had a 2.0 Zetec for 18 months. Didn't even think about the 1.8 'cos is it only had 115 bhp and the 2.0 had 130.

In short - a good car, but a bit underpowered for me, hence the 2001MY now. Also it didn't have the thrill/special factor, sure its good, but I didn't get much of a buz from driving it.

Had a few problems with it - water pump went, ford fitted a mondeo exhaust manifold by mistake , also had a brake recall.

None to economical - 30 mpg cf 26mpg of Scoob. Cheap to insure.

LG John

My VTS used to waste focuses (they kept trying it on, on the bypass for some reason). Anyway, one night I came round the Gogar onto the bypass side by side with a 2.0 and we had the road all to ourselves. We floored it and I was expecting to burn off another focus but no!! I was quicker but he was keeping up very well IMO. The 2.0 isn't marketed as a performance car but is actually quite quick.....I still hate them though

dazc2

prehaps it was a diesel you raced that night then SB

Devil's Refugee

Cheers guys, on the lookout for a 2ltr then !


Really want a 3dr but I suspect with the baby on the way, I'll need 5dr "practicality", sob

TurboBoost

Devils Refugee, just be warned depreciation is horrendous on Foci. You can get a 5 door ST170 import with no wait for the same price as a 2.0 Zetec from an official dealer.

I thought the 2.0 Zetec was utterly flat, if it kept up with a Saxo VTS it doesn't say much for the Saxo.

Devil's Refugee

Had my contract extended so I'll buy an RS instead ;o)

Thanks for this mate, which import site ??

TurboBoost

Several different car supermarkets and importers doing them, look in the back pages of Autocar.

Hmmm, you mention wanting 5 doors. Having driven them both I'd pick a Leon Cupra over the ST170 anyday. It feels much quicker even as standard (feels much more than just 10bhp more, mainly due to the torque delivery) and a chip can give it around 210bhp. Available for similar money to the ST170 as an import, and a UK dealer was offering me £1000 discount on new 2003 pre-registered Leons the other day. The new one is a pretty mean looking car.
It has the added bonus that you don't have to deal with any Ford dealers ever.

LG John

I sort of assumed it was the 2.0 given that I was only pulling a car length or two on it (in a fairly lengthy run). It didn't look like an ST170 or modified but you never know. Best thing to do is drive it theo and see how they feel.

Toonman1

We got rid of our Focus 1.8 Zetec about 3 weeks ago - awful car.

The "thrill" of ownership lasted 3 days for my Wife when the Windscreen wipers packed up in the dark - it was raining of course. During the next 2+ years, attention was required for the following:

Rusty Driver's Door
Rusty Rear Hatch
Jumping out of 1st Gear
Refused to go into Reverse
Assorted Blown Fuses
Poor Starting
Faulty Front Fogs
Duff *** Lighter
Awful MPG - 25 fairly normal
Rattle from Facia
Rattle from Hatch
Rattle from Glovebox Lid
Loose trim
3 faulty Remote Locking receivers
Bang from rear suspension
Leak from n/s Rear damper
New Radio/Cassette
Broken Driver's seat back
New Battery (9K)
New Front Brake Discs (at 9K)
Delivered without interior hatch light (still on order as the car went back...)


Ford dealers (all 5 of them in 3 Counties) were useless. Ford refused to give us a new car. The only ones that came out of this were the Leasing Co., who let us out of the agreement early and for quite some time, agreed not to take lease payments.

Never again (any kind of Ford).

Glenn_R

I have been running a 3 door 2.0 Zetec for the past 18 months as a company car. Its covered 23K and I've had absolutely no probs with it. Its not very quick - any decent hot hatch will mince you in a straight line but the steering and ride are absolutely superb (you get 205/50 16's on the 2.0) - you'll fly around them in the corners. The ESP traction control isn't up to much but you can switch it off.

Overall I really like it - it looks good (Panther Black)and drives great. The only real downside is the fuel economy which is dreadful which is where you may want to go for the 1.8. Its just that the 1.8 doesnt look as good on the smaller wheels. I have driven the 1.8 and there isnt much difference performance wise.

Then again, I do have the P1 for the weekends!!!!!

Crush

I've just made the switch from a 95 Impreza to a 1.8 Focus. I don't regret it at all

Of course, it's not fast in a straight line I couldn't care less though. If i wanted to race, i would buy a lamborghini or something

Take one for a drive, you'll probably be quite surprised! i was! and that was after me slagging them off for years!

max_b

have driven then both

if you want better economy go for the 1.8, but if economys not your top priority then the 2.0's got to be the one,
you get 16" alloys which look a lot better then the standard 15's
and a bit more kick, realy depends on what your used too performance wise
better than nothing

just my experience
max

Devil's Refugee

Bl**dy eck, Crush, I thought you were wanting an Evo !!!

Thanks for all this info guys...I'm looking for a panther black jobbie, but will plump for silver if pushed.
Have seen a nice 5dr black 1.8 Zetec and a 5dr 2.0 Ghia in silver, so it's make the mind up time....assuming I can sell the Scoob this weekend.

Nigel H

Silver is much better colour to keep clean (if that sort of thing bothers you

I had the black one and it was a bu55er to keep clean. Supposed to be easier to sell black ones as well

Crush

I still do But given that i had to sell the impreza due to the costs spiralling out of control, an Evo wasn't an option

Now i'm struggling to keep the Focus as standard Those AP 4 pots are pretty tempting

Ross9

Dissapointing performance in a straight line I thought, the fact on the open road up to X mph , and up the 1/4 mile, my 1.4 outran a 2.0 Zetec verifies this.

However a Focus is supposed to handle extremely well on the twisties, obviously not to the extent of an Imprezza etc, but then its a 4WD so its not a fair comparison anyway.

ST170 is supposed to be much better as it actualy has some get up and go.

never had the experience of beeing anything but passengers in themso cant comment on the actual drive.

LG John

I'm really beginning to wonder what this focus was Seems the 2.0 according to most people's experiences are slow and my Saxo was a proven formula and was pulling well that night. Oh, well - in the past now.

The_Gza

Theo - noticed Arnold Clark are advertising Focus ST170 (5dr) in the paper for £13.5k

Devil's Refugee

Thanks for the tip Chris !
Will check it out.....

ids

I had a 2001 Focus 2.0 3 dr (that replaced my old MY96 WRX) for a year.... now 'come back' and have an STi 7 - bit of a difference I know.

I test drove a 1.8 - the performance between the two was minimal but the 2.0 had:

1) Better brakes - 2.0 have disks front and rear (Good feel and can stop quite well) , 1.8's are disk/drum rears.
2) Better gearbox in 2.0 - 1.8's have that pap box all FWD fords have had for years.
3) ESP is OK but as one of the other posts said - you can turn it off. Sometimes useful
4) Handling is supurb for the price you pay for the car.
5) Interior is the same on both cars really, except you get better seats in the 2.0 that have more side bolstering
6) The 2.0 gets 16" wheels also, and wider tyres (205/55 16" ?) - same as my old MY96 - with F1's fitted it was awesome (for FWD)
7) Fuel economy wasnt bad either... compared to my old MY96 but I dont really bother about that kind of thing

Why did I get wrid of it..... well after driving the STi 7 I realsised what I was missing.

If I had to spend that much cash on a car - definatly what I would get.

Ids

HamsterWheel

I bought a 1.8LX Estate from TradeSales for £9,995 a year ago. It has been excellent and not missed a beat or visited a garage yet. Handles well (my other car is an Elise) and came with all the bells and whistles - Air con, ABS etc.
Bargain, swallows luggage like crazy !
I note that Ford are quoting some German survey saying the Focus is the most reliable car out there - have to agree in my case.