Ford Focus long-term test review: report 8

The car Ford Focus 1.5 TDCi EcoBlue ST-Line Run by Claire Evans, consumer editor

Why it’s here The latest Focus is a big seller and good enough to have been shortlisted for What Car?'s 2019 family car award. It's therefore important to find out what it’s like to live with 

Needs to Dispatch the daily commute in a fun yet frugal manner and dispel the popular myth that all diesels are evil

Mileage 14,089 List price £22,850 Target Price £20,983 Price as tested £25,200 Test economy 55.2mpg Official economy 80.7mpg Extras Convenience Pack (£750), Driver Assistance Pack (£500), Sync 3 DAB navigation system with 8.0in colour touchscreen (£350), Ford Pass Connect (£250), Frozen White metallic paint (£250), rear privacy glass (£250)

5 August 2019 – Speedy repair 

Unusually, my car insurance doesn’t cover damage to the windscreen, so when a stone caused a small chip on the passenger side of the Focus’s glass, I had to search online for someone to fix it. The chip was only 4mm across, but I was keen to get it fixed before any external factors made it grow.

I decided to book the car in with Halfords, to be fixed at a local store by its We Fit staff. I was able to do so a few days in advance and was given a one-hour time slot.

When I arrived, the technician examined the screen and pointed out that because my car has a heated windscreen with squiggly heating elements embedded in the glass, the chip and subsequent repair would affect that area of the screen’s ability to defrost. However, because the chip was so small, I decided to go ahead with getting it repaired rather than replace the whole screen.

The technician cleaned up the chip, heated it up and then filled it in, all in around 20 minutes. He did such a good job that the only way I could tell where the chip had been was to spot the tiny break in the heating elements. The work took far less than the hour I’d been booked in for and seemed like great value at just £30.

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