New Ford Focus

[embee]

Possibly of help, What Car? run the J.D.Power owners' surveys, the 2011 results for that sector are


and the 2012 Dealer satisfaction ratings are

[Bibio]

the new KIA cee'd is supposed to be good.

i had a loan of the new focus and would not touch one with a barge pole. horrible car to drive and i felt closterfobic in it.

[widepants]

thanks bibs , someone who has had direct contact with one , and the jd power report doesnt look good.

[Bibio]

i'll admit one of the things i did like was the keyless entry and start. very cool, card in pocket walk up to the car and the doors opened. open door sit in the car press the button and away you go. don't know if it was because of the stop/start but the clutch was horrid and like most cars these days the rolling pull was crap. for instance approaching a roundabout and it's clear to go so you select 2nd/3rd gear foot down and nowt till it got going. my c-max suffers from the exact same thing.

one car i was impressed with is the Fiat Punto, fantastic little car but has a tiny boot.

[Sir Trev]

I have the current shape Focus with the 1.6 Ti-VCT non-turbo unit (now discontinued). The car is excellent to drive, comfy and just the size/cost I wanted. BUT - the engine has very little pull at low revs if you're in a hilly area - I find I hold lower gears longer to compensate but it is a bit irritating and not so good for economy. Speaking of which I get 40mpg if I'm lucky, not 47 per the brochure!

The 1.6 turbo is a much better engine but was almost two grand more when I went to buy a 6-12 month one earlier this year. Wish I'd saved up a bit more now. My Titanium spec is not bad - cruise and climate, electric/automatic bits and all that. I know the new 1.0 turbo triple has the same 125ps as my old-tech 1.6 (and more torque) but the old phrase of "no replacement for displacement" does not make me warm to them.

Cannot comment on the diseasals.

[DJ123]

TBH ignore surveys like that, they are an average of everything and of opinions from people with different standards.
Best to go see a car yourself and decide if it is for you or not.

Originally Posted by daddyjob

TBH ignore surveys like that, they are an average of everything and of opinions from people with different standards.
Best to go see a car yourself and decide if it is for you or not.

Yeah i mean the skoda got a 5star for performance! How many people could really rate a car properly beyond yeah it goes and didn't brake down! Try and get 24hr test drives.

[embee]

Just a note on the J D Power survey, hopefully put it into context.

I've worked in the motor industry (car/engine manufacturing) and the J D Power survey is the one survey which carries some weight. It started in the USA I believe, where they are big on consumer rights (Lemon Law/Ralph Nader etc).

It's a very big survey, so statistically significant, and covers all aspects of "ownership", a proper customer satisfaction rating. Very few people are really interested in cars, they just want it to work how they expect it to, and that's pretty much the measure of the results. Hence you have to put the results in context, what someone who runs a Fiesta expects from it is different to what a Ferrari owner expects, so different standards apply.

Where it is of use is that it gives a measure of how people who are of a mind to own/run a certain type of car, actually find it to live with. If you choose a car at the top of the ratings, you'll probably be unlucky to be disappointed, conversely if you choose one from the bottom don't be surprised if there are issues. That's it really. Fortunately there are very few real "lemons" out there nowadays, just that some cars are "more equal" than others.

In the end we all make choices, and the fact that someone asks for opinions/views/experiences shows that they are prepared to consider comments, so surveys have a place. They're not gospel, just another tool.

HTH

[Sir Trev]

Thread resurrection alert.

Bit of a follow up. My 61 plate 1.6 petrol Focus just gets worse and worse. In the cold it just will not rev and the economy is going down and down. Replaced the air filter and cleaning the mass airflow sensor got me a little bit of flexibility back but I bit the bullet at the weekend and tried then bought a 1.6 petrol turbo instead. Lots of low mileage 1.6 Ti-VCT engined ones on the market right now and I'm not surprised. Avoid!

Still find the car comfy, well equipped and very nice to drive but roll on next week when I can swap it for one that actually goes when you step on the loud pedal.

[BanannaMan]

Question:
How long to you plan to keep the car?

Even cheapies like Hyundai's and Kia's are great cars till they get 100k on them.

If you're looking long term, maintenance/repair costs on VW, BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Volvo's will do them in.
Still they are popular cars, and nice ones at that, just be prepared to pay a little more when it goes to the shop.

Can't beat Honda or Toyota's for long term durability and fair maintenance costs but be prepared to pay a bit more for the purchase.

For the cost, I think the Ford Focus is a good deal.
Can't comment on the motor, a 2.0L Ti-VCT direct-injection I-4 engine is the only thing offered here.