mk1 Focusesses. Are they nice?

[dugong]

Weird dashboard.

 

Handling y0.

 

Like to rust.

 

ST170s now a fast wee car for not a lot of cash.

[twosmoke300]

St170 is actually a nice car . Just the right amount of power for the chassis much like an mx5

[Pillock]

They start at not a lot of cash for one that's seen more tinted windows and cheap lowering springs than servicing and valeting.

 

Mind you, I would assume there's a scene tax for these just around the corner.

[egg]

Not a lot of love then, but give it 5 years and they'll be all over the ebay tat thread on here!

[twosmoke300]

Don't think we would / far too many sold

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Don't think we would / far too many sold

What, like Mk1 Mondeos ?

[I_am_Diesel]

They aren't too bad, a previous boss had one as a company car. For some reason it was always blowing brake light bulbs and the drivers door handle failed after a while. The only engine issue we had was a starter motor and a PAS pump.

[purplebargeken]

Get it, drive it and see if you like it. Roffle the loser on here.

 

Win Win!

[Bren]

Focus v astra?

 

Astra is easier to work on, has cheaper bits and better mpg (diesel). And it rusts less.

 

Focus is MUCH better to drive.

[twosmoke300]

That is true - Astra is like porridge to drive

[Felly Magic]

I very briefly owned a mk1 saloon in Ghia flavour, 1.8 Zetec manual, went like a stabbed rat and handled well, was really comfy to drive, wasn't too bad on fuel either. Had very little rust on for a Mk1 as well. Shame some old twunt went in to the back of it

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Most Focussesses are wanked out rubbish, but as they were a superb car new, a good one will be a pleasure to drive - they really do handle well. The Mark 2 drives a bit better and the interior/dash are much nicer but you aren't being offered one of those for free.

 

 

Go for it, nice to drive and 50 odd mpg.

[Station]

I don't like Fords, but found the mk1 Focus to be really nice to drive, I don't know what it was, it just drove what I think is fairly correctly. I thought the same about the mk1 Ka.

[sierraman]

As above, a good one should prove a worthy steed. A bag of shit will be... A bag of shit.

 

I've not a lot of love for the Astra G. It looked awful, the steering was far too light and the engines all felt lifeless. Interior wasn't inviting at all. Anyone that says they are easy to work on obviously hasn't done the thermostat on one.

[Station]

My brother's ex had one, it was a bag of poo, but it was still felt OK.

[danthecapriman]

As above, a good one should prove a worthy steed. A bag of shit will be... A bag of shit.

I've not a lot of love for the Astra G. It looked awful, the steering was far too light and the engines all felt lifeless. Interior wasn't inviting at all. Anyone that says they are easy to work on obviously hasn't done the thermostat on one.

I can't stand the Astra personally, or for that matter any Vauxhall after the Cavalier ended.

 

On the subject of mk1 Foci I was behind a T reg one the other day, my god was it hanging! There was rust, not just surface rust but actual rot, all over the bottom half of it. Remember how a rough Cortina looked in the 90's? Well this Focus looked exactly like that.

Got to love them for that alone surely!?

[matty879]

i had a pez 51 plate with 200,000 miles on it and it drove like a new one,ive heard pervs say the tddi is the one to have.

[twosmoke300]

If you like a boat anchor of an engine with its roots from the mk3 escort !

Of course that's perfect for here I suppose 😄

[sierraman]

As far as I know the CVH is completely unrelated to the Zetec SE that's in the 1.4/6 or the Zetec E in the 1.8/2.0. The TDCI had roots in the 1.6 Deutz based unit from the Escort but that's a bit like saying a fried breakfast has its roots in a chicken. Only the block would share any vague similarity.

[Felly Magic]

The TDI lump is the old Tubot unit carried over from the Mk6 Scrote, the MOD had a fair few of them in estate form

[twosmoke300]

The tddi/ tdci is a development of the cast iron 1.6d from the mk3 scroat .,didn't know it was deutz designed

[Cavcraft]

They also have a tiny boot (for a hatchback) and consume wheel bearings like there's no tomorrow. Not impressed with the way they drive and the interior is only midly less likely to make you mentally type out an email to Dignitas than that of a Ford Escort.

Talking of which the Focus is NOT a good car, it's just better than Escort, and it was probably impossible for a car to be worse. That's why people rave about them imho.

[twosmoke300]

Ahh the mk5/6 escort - the car where every single part was tendered out to the lowest bidder and my god it felt like it

[Timewaster]

I had a hire car to replace a broken down van for a couple of days in 1998 and when it arrived it was the first Focus most people had ever seen.

I think it was an S reg. Might have been a T.

 

It was brand new having done less than 500miles and everywhere I went, people came out of workshops and offices and wanted to sit in it and look under the bonnet.

 

There couldn't have been more interest if I had been delivering brake pads in a Ferrari.

 

Plus it was a hire car so it went really fast.

 

As for the large numbers of them meaning they won't ever be sought after........

 

Mk..... 1........ Escort.

[Negative Creep]

My Dad had a 2.0 Ghia for something like 12 years, never failed an MOT and only problems he had was a fan belt snapping and exhaust baffle falling off (although the latter was enough for him to all but give it away, since it was now "too unreliable")

[castros_bro]

Just back from driving my X reg Focus (not diesel) to Leeds and back, 500 mile in a day and only a slight bum ache. They do everything  adequately,  obviously that doesn't include frying  bacon, nice comfy effortless bland.

[stuboy]

Missus just got a 109k tdci saloon... goes well looks funky... i like estate and saloon but not hatchback back end.. feel narrow but i drive mondeo

[rantingYoof]

My sister has had a Mk1 Focus 1.6 for two years now, and has commuted 55-60 miles a day in it without it so much as blinking. It was bought with no service history or anyfink - cambelt roulette etc.

 

It's now on around 150k and is looking a little worn on the outside.

 

Zippy revvy engine.

 

It might be for sale on this very board in the not-too-distant future soon. With a new MOT and a recent service under its hat.

[smellypoo]

I had one from new, 03 Mk1 facelift for a bit over 7 years. It was a 1.6 petrol and drove great - have driven many others and most if not all have handled really well, apart from one neglected example which felt like it was a cut-and-shut as it just didn't handle like the front and rear were connected. That one exception aside, certainly better than any Astra of the time that I've driven/been driven in. Styling was pretty funky at the time, interior was actually quite a nice place to be - ergonomically I thought it was great. Mine was pretty well screwed together, although I did have to grease up the drivers side window regulator when the grease dried up and lubricate the rubbers as the glass struggling to go up and down made car parks and toll booths a pain in the arse. 

 

Diesel will probably be the TDCI, which should go well if it's been looked after. TDDI will be noticeably slower. These cars eat front tyres when driven 'enthusiastically', but they're that type of car that you can really throw around twisty roads and it'll just hold on. A lot of fun and considering they're bloody cheap now, excellent value if you get a good one. Certainly a lot more fun to drive than the MK2. 

[Bren]

The TDDi has a chain, TDCi has a belt - why mingebags go for TDDi.