FORD FOCUS HATCHBACK REVIEW

My car

Having had nearly all the fast Fords from the early escort XR3i Escort Cosworth plus the MK1 Focus RS before this, this is the Daddy!! The handling is superb, the accelaration is phenominal. In the cabin it is very good the Sat Nav been 6 digit postcode is accurate, I bought this car new in the very loud Ultimate Green with every extra and i can say it all works great. Yes it is hot on fuel, but would you buy an RS for the economy? It pulls attention wherever you go and looks the part, This car is not for the faint hearted, so if you can't stand the attention don't buy it. The Bluetooth and the voice control are about the best on the market, with the addition of the reversing sensors you also get a reversing camera and with such a large boot overhang is very impressive in use. At this time it is hard to find any fault with the car but then i like Ford hot hatches.

My car

I bought this car used with low milage, because it was good bit cheaper than many rival cars on the used market. The car is spacious and good to drive, has plenty of boot space and is very practical.

However fuel economy is poor compared to other cars I've driven in this class. In the time I've had the car I've often had difficulty with starting first go, but it will always turn over 2nd time, a couple of electrical issues which were fixed under warranty and a problem with the rear brake sticking if the car has been parked for a couple of days.

I was disappointed with these problems especially with the rear brake which was never fully resolved by the dealership. Would I buy another one? Probably not after my personal experience.

My car

I part exchanged my 3 year old Volvo S40 for this car one year ago. Although my Volvo was more comfortable on long journeys it's not in the same league when it comes to driving pleasure. My Focus is absolutely brilliant! It's practical, well made and always a pleasure to drive. I haven't reset the MPG computer at all and I'm averaging 38.5 MPG. For a 2 litre petrol that's brilliant. One of the big differences between this and my Volvo is servicing costs. It's about a third of what I was paying, so I'm very pleased. The car can only be critisised in two areas. One is that the interior plastics are not the quality they should be and when you're on the motorway the road noise can be obtrusive but it's not annoying. Overall I think this is a great car.

My car

Bought this car from new. My stipulation was something with cheap running costs to get me about day to day. It's a 08 plate purchased in Jan 09, so 1 year old.

Some numbers for you: Road Tax £35 per year. Insurance £262 Fully Comp with £100 excess & legal cover for 2 drivers. 1st year 12,500 mile service = £144.00.

Fuel economy is good. I have recorded my average fuel economy for each 1000 miles driven. After each 1000 miles the trip computer was fully reset. This is across all road types, driving carefully with use of cruise control where possible. 60-65mph on motorways & duel carriageways. These are the results:

Distance: MPG Average: 1000 44 2000 50.6 3000 53.1 4000 57.7 5000 54.7 6000 59.5 7000 58.2 8000 58.5 9000 58.5 10,000 58.1 11,000 62.5 12,000 58.7 13,000 57.8 The overall average mpg to date is 56.3. This is below Fords advertised 62mpg.

It's reliable, comfortable, cheap to run and does what it says on the tin. It's not fast and some of the interior plastics could be better, but it's great to get the scuba diving kit in, the girlfriend and get away for a long weekend.

If I want to have fun and go fast, I get on the CBR600RR!!!