2 useful votes
Review Ford Focus 1796 tdi 1999
Submitted by francis146
Key strengths: comfort and fuel econmony.
Areas for improvement: fuel pump system. paintwork finish.interior fittings.utlity spare wheel
Having read favourable reviews on this car i decided to purchase a 1999 1796 cc tdi Ford focus estate.However, after only owning the car for five months, one morning it refused to start.Prior to this the car had been running extremely well and i was begining to believe that the reports that i previously had read were indeed true.Imagine then to my suprise, i was told that the chip in the fuel pump had failed.No problem,i told myself,it shouldn,t cost all that much to replace so off i went to arrange to have the car taken to a garage to have the problem resolved.A much bigger surprise awaited me however as i was then informed that the chip could not be replaced in the pump for this particular model and that a replacement pump was the only solution to put the car back on the road again.I then was told that a fuel pump would cost me approx £700 + vat and another £100 for someone from Fords to come out and recode it ( In my estimation a blatent rip off by Fords )Fortunately i was put in touch with a company (P.B Usher of Southhampton) who could supply me with a Bosch pump at the cost of £499 + vat and that it would not require recoding.I have also now found that the problem of fuel pump failure on this particular model has proved to be a very common fault.If any one out there owning a similar Ford focus who finds that his fuel pump suffers a failure sometime in the future,take heed ! Do not take it to Fords to have a replacement pump fitted by them.....It will cost you dearly ! B.Powell.
The running costs for Ford Focus 1796 tdi are normal
Areas for improvement: fuel pump system. paintwork finish.interior fittings.utlity spare wheel
Having read favourable reviews on this car i decided to purchase a 1999 1796 cc tdi Ford focus estate.However, after only owning the car for five months, one morning it refused to start.Prior to this the car had been running extremely well and i was begining to believe that the reports that i previously had read were indeed true.Imagine then to my suprise, i was told that the chip in the fuel pump had failed.No problem,i told myself,it shouldn,t cost all that much to replace so off i went to arrange to have the car taken to a garage to have the problem resolved.A much bigger surprise awaited me however as i was then informed that the chip could not be replaced in the pump for this particular model and that a replacement pump was the only solution to put the car back on the road again.I then was told that a fuel pump would cost me approx £700 + vat and another £100 for someone from Fords to come out and recode it ( In my estimation a blatent rip off by Fords )Fortunately i was put in touch with a company (P.B Usher of Southhampton) who could supply me with a Bosch pump at the cost of £499 + vat and that it would not require recoding.I have also now found that the problem of fuel pump failure on this particular model has proved to be a very common fault.If any one out there owning a similar Ford focus who finds that his fuel pump suffers a failure sometime in the future,take heed ! Do not take it to Fords to have a replacement pump fitted by them.....It will cost you dearly ! B.Powell.
The running costs for Ford Focus 1796 tdi are normal
Safety: 75
Reliability: 39
Equipment: 34
Comfort: 76
Design: 39
Driving: 81
0 useful votes
Review Ford Focus 1.8 zetec 2000
Submitted by pat
Key strengths: very smooth and great driveing position
Areas for improvement: remote for the radio i know im being fussy
only had the car 3 weekks no trouble much nicer to drive then my last car a rover coupe only 1 thing i have is i do a lot of motorway running and when i stop i get a burning smell from the drivers side wheel arch my dad says it might be the stuff they used to clean the engine wish people would not do that but hay other wise everythink is great the car is smooth very comfy and the 1.8 engine is great has a bit of go to
The running costs for Ford Focus 1.8 zetec are normal
Areas for improvement: remote for the radio i know im being fussy
only had the car 3 weekks no trouble much nicer to drive then my last car a rover coupe only 1 thing i have is i do a lot of motorway running and when i stop i get a burning smell from the drivers side wheel arch my dad says it might be the stuff they used to clean the engine wish people would not do that but hay other wise everythink is great the car is smooth very comfy and the 1.8 engine is great has a bit of go to
The running costs for Ford Focus 1.8 zetec are normal
Safety: 100
Reliability: 100
Equipment: 88
Comfort: 100
Design: 100
Driving: 100
0 useful votes
Review Ford Focus 1.7 petrol Manual 2005
Submitted by shawn22
Key strengths: well put together and so far has no major problems
Areas for improvement: suspension, noise
This is my company car and I did not have much of a choice since they did a fleet purchase and I must admit I was skeptical. But the car is better than anticipated, I had some ill-fated experiences with Fords in the nineties. Although this car is well put together and so far has no problems with it, I'll rate it miles below VW and Audi or Toyota for that sake. The code word is attention to details or lack of it, for example the Ford is many steps behind my Audi in the quality department. Some examples:
-- Why have they used the cheapest possible plastics many places in the interior
-- The ESP is not very responsive and it seems it takes the computer a sec or two to realise that the car is skidding
-- Although the heater in this car in ultra effective the AC is not and it struggles to keep the car cooled in a hot summer day. Takes ages to cool the car down.
-- The outside temperature indicator is 2-3 degrees off and is useless when the temp is around freezing
-- When you shut the luggage compartment door it's not with a reassuring thud, but more with a is-it-falling-apart? sound.
-- The window washer design is less than optimal and it's difficult to get the window 100% clean
-- The rain sensor controlled wipers, well they do not work especially well. Either too much or too little.
-- The suspension sqeaks when driving over speed bumps
-- But the main irritation point is the noisy and uncultivated engine they've put into this car, it just ruins the driving impression and I've had passengers that think I'm driving a diesel.
I'd rather spend a quid or two extra and get a fully kitted Golf.
Nothing has gone wrong with this car in 15 months I've had it, just minor irritations (see below). Ford seem to be miles ahead compared to the cars they put out 10-15 years ago. But they still have a bit left to reach the top.
The running costs for Ford Focus 1.7 petrol Manual are normal
Areas for improvement: suspension, noise
This is my company car and I did not have much of a choice since they did a fleet purchase and I must admit I was skeptical. But the car is better than anticipated, I had some ill-fated experiences with Fords in the nineties. Although this car is well put together and so far has no problems with it, I'll rate it miles below VW and Audi or Toyota for that sake. The code word is attention to details or lack of it, for example the Ford is many steps behind my Audi in the quality department. Some examples:
-- Why have they used the cheapest possible plastics many places in the interior
-- The ESP is not very responsive and it seems it takes the computer a sec or two to realise that the car is skidding
-- Although the heater in this car in ultra effective the AC is not and it struggles to keep the car cooled in a hot summer day. Takes ages to cool the car down.
-- The outside temperature indicator is 2-3 degrees off and is useless when the temp is around freezing
-- When you shut the luggage compartment door it's not with a reassuring thud, but more with a is-it-falling-apart? sound.
-- The window washer design is less than optimal and it's difficult to get the window 100% clean
-- The rain sensor controlled wipers, well they do not work especially well. Either too much or too little.
-- The suspension sqeaks when driving over speed bumps
-- But the main irritation point is the noisy and uncultivated engine they've put into this car, it just ruins the driving impression and I've had passengers that think I'm driving a diesel.
I'd rather spend a quid or two extra and get a fully kitted Golf.
Nothing has gone wrong with this car in 15 months I've had it, just minor irritations (see below). Ford seem to be miles ahead compared to the cars they put out 10-15 years ago. But they still have a bit left to reach the top.
The running costs for Ford Focus 1.7 petrol Manual are normal
Safety: 70
Reliability: 72
Equipment: 78
Comfort: 70
Design: 75
Driving: 71
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