Ford Focus 1.8 petrol car. Please tell me about them if you know

[LittleBella]

And if you don't, do you know of a website like Mumsnet except full of very dull men who know nothing of art, culture, literature or the finer things of life, but can give me the total run-down on cars?

I want to know how much it costs to run and whether it's any good (have a possibility of getting one cheap)

Dp has one.

An average week running around town £2o per week.
Good car though.

I got my fabulous Ford Focus (Diesel) from here. Smal garage FULL of nearly new and older Fords.

My Diesel is sooooo economical I would thoroughly recommend.

WE had a 1.6 zetec focus till recently - had no problems with it and was great to drive. REasonable on petrol too - full tank lasted about a fortnight - mostly shortish (is that a word?) journeys.

I had one. It was bloody brilliant. 1.8 zetec is a great engine. Mine never gave me a moments worry. Very, very reliable. Fun to drive and a good family car to boot ! Quite cheap to run too.

I used to fill the tank (£42) prob every 4 weeks. Insurance for me (25, 3yrs no claims) was £255, so good value to insure too.

www.honestjohn.co.uk (or is it .com?) is a good place for unbiased reviews.

also try www.parkers.co.uk

this is my new car! it's great, i go on alot of journeys but put in £20 a week max

Mine had 76k on the clock when I got rid of it an it still drove like new. In fact it drove better than most of the newer cars I test drove and was planning to replace it with !

We have just brought one it's a 1.6 7 is great, lots of boot space & good for driving around town, school runs etc, i love it.

IF anything was to go wrong on it (unlikely ime) becasue they are Fords they are v cheap to buy parts for, repair and servicing costs are low too.

Ooh that was quick

NdP, can you say how many miles you would do for that full tank of £40 ish?

This is really what I want to know. ATM I do about 250 miles for £25 ish in my crappy little car, am a bit worried that a 1.8 engine (petrol) will be a lot more expensive to run.

I am a Focus evangelist (even though I don't own one anymore....)

my 1.4 astra used them same amount of petrol as the 1.8 focus

Because I was doing mainly town driving, my mpg wasn't that great (same in any car), but on longer motorway journeys it was pretty good.

On average I reckon I got around 280-300 miles out of a full tank (working on avergae of 32.5mpg)

It was also good to drive on the motorways, so many of the smaller town cars are terrible on the motorway, rattly, uncomfortable and sluggish, but the 1.8 had a nice bit of poke and was spacious enough for us all.

Gosh. Do you know how many miles you got to a tank SEA (and how much it cost)? I know they go on about gallons but I don't understand that...

Hmm, I get that with my little matiz NdP - for about £25. Mind you, the engine has all the power of a hairdryer and I feel like fred flinstone in it...

Yes, but your Matiz is an 800cc and weighs about as much as an egg box (with the same crash safety rating)

argh now you're talking maths! i dunno, it goes a long way

yes I HATE my Matiz

Asked a friend what he thought of Ford Focus and he said "too chavvy"

But Matiz was "housewife's car"

Pah

Focus, chavvy ?

Ermmmmmmmmm. Only if you get a hideous orange one and cover in Halfords crap and wanky bodykits.

Some people are weird.

(I am def not 'chavvy')

What was your mate's alterntove suggestion ?

Has s/he driven one ?

They were the best car in their class (beat the pants off the Megane, Astra, et al) for years and when the newer model (Mk2) came out it was the top of the class again.

no my focus hasn't got a big enough exhaust to be chav.

I think he's just prejudiced against Ford. He didn't have an alternative,
, he's right about the matiz though. crap car

I long for the days of my old diesel corsa which did over 500 miles to a tank for £27. It is so inconvenient having to fill up every 4 days