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[Varche]

Our UK Corsa runaround isn't big enough for two elderly relatives walking paraphanelia. Zimmer frame, four wheeled walker, three wheeled walker and fold away wheelchair.

So we hired an estate car . It is a very nice Ford Focus 1.8 diesel.

Good points. It swallowed up all our luggage etc.Very economical 55 mpg on run up to lovely Scotland , handles well. Well equipped. 5000 miles on the clock.
Cup holder came with loads of coins for parking (maybe last renter forgot them)

Bad points.
No cruise.
Six gears so hard to judge what would be best to waft past sluggards out for a five mile drive.
technology. Still haven't got to grips with auto stop and the voice command milarkey.Parked up at supermarket and I was convinced the engine was off. (no key). When we came back the olds said after fifteen minutes the engine switched off. Then five minutes later it clunked(locked doors?) which woke them up.
Voice command. Radio, radio One. Selects some obscure station! It is preset three but it will not select that..
Turning circle of battleship Potemkin.
Worst thing is that it is so taut that a millimetre adjustment of the steering bangs the rear passenger heads on the window. Omega a cm each way and the rear passengers are still fast asleep.

I don't love the car like the auto 2.0 bluemotion Passat I had last time. What will the electrical faults be like in ten years time?

Hand it back on Tuesday

[tigers_gonads]

Taxi driver round the corner uses one for work.
Had Skoda Octavia's before and much prefers this 

[Varche]

A Taxi driver or THE taxi driver?

[Sir Tigger KC]

At a recent family event, a cousin who works for Ford's turned up in a new Focus diesel and a friend in a hired diesel Astra. 

Both similar age and spec level and I have to say the Focus was a much nicer place to be!    The Astra felt kinda cramped in comparison. 

[the alarming man]

I have had both a 1.8 and a  1.6 diesel...the 1.8 needed new alternator at 70,000....the 1.6 well that just stopped one day....bowling along at 70 mphish in lane 3 and it stopped....was with Haynes ford for 3 weeks and even they didn't know so the 1.6 is a no no althought £30 per year road tax
 

[05omegav6]

Crappy French lump that 1.6... About as durable as an icecream cone in a hurricane

[BazaJT]

Sssh!!!Don't mention handles well and Focus in same sentence in front of TB!!!!!

[Taxi_Driver]

A Taxi driver or THE taxi driver?

Not me .... I wouldn't use a Ford as a cab....full stop 

[Nick W]

Crappy French lump that 1.6... About as durable as an icecream cone in a hurricane

It's not too bad in its original home, the French cars. Perhaps the 'foreign' ones are allergic to it?

[the alarming man]

Crappy French lump that 1.6... About as durable as an icecream cone in a hurricane

That is no way to talk about Peugeot (being that it is Peugeot lump) way too nice

[Taxi_Driver]

Crappy French lump that 1.6... About as durable as an icecream cone in a hurricane

That is no way to talk about Peugeot (being that it is Peugeot lump) way too nice

Did you know the Fiat Skudo I had the misfortune to own....had a Peugeot lump in it as well....2 turbos later and then the engine went bang as well  Never again...

[TheBoy]

Sssh!!!Don't mention handles well and Focus in same sentence in front of TB!!!!!

I chose to ignore the thread when I saw it yesterday, as clearly Varche is having a senior moment.

Focus and handling, I ask ya!

[The Sheriff]

From the top gear team:


There was a bit of a hoo-ha made about how the third-generation Focus was going to lose its way, going soft and plobby to meet the demands of an international audience. But the worst of our fears were quickly allayed. The new Focus, while less mechanically involving than the last, is still an impressive and entertaining car to drive, making you feel immediately at home and confident in the car’s set up and ability. It corners flat, grips well and reins in the worst human transgressions with sensible yet not invasive stability control.

The Focus also rides well, soaking up the longer undulations without feeling wallowy and soft. And it cossets the cabin from the vibrations and imperfections underneath, and from the wind and tyre noise, creating an amazing level of refinement for a hatchback. Diesel engines long impressed but, until recently, mainstream petrols had disappointed. No more. The 1.0-litre Ecoboost is a gem - it sounds like it shouldn’t work but, believe us, it really does (and sales figures suggest buyers are convinced too).

[TheBoy]

Guy at work is on his 2nd 1.0 turbo. They go well enough, but remain inherently unpredictable around the many roundabouts that great visitors to my workplace

[BazaJT]

My son-who lives in America-bought a brand new Focus Titanium last year and it came with a sticker on the drivers door window saying Warning!Some materials used on the interior of this vehicle may cause cancer!!!!