Ford Focus 1.8 TDCi 115 Ghia 5dr Review

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3.7 stars
Average rating for this product is: 3.7 out of 5

From 2 ratings and 10 reviews

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Jagbuff's Review of Ford Focus 1.8 TDCi 115 Ghia 5dr Estate Car

28th Jul 2006

Overall Rating

3.5 stars
  • Value for money
    3.5 stars
  • Length of ownership
    2
  • Performance
    3.5 stars
  • Reliability
    3 stars
  • Year Manufactured
    2004
  • Doors
    5
  • Practicality
    4 stars
Good Points

Good torque, great handling


Bad Points

Clutch weak
Stalls easily
Air con fails
Variable Nozzle Turbo (VNT) sticks at high mileage giving poor performance below 3000 rpm


General Comments

I used to work for Ford on the design of the Ford Focus
I now work as a consumer, driving this car in very demanding conditions day in day out at high speed.

There are a few weak points, such as the stalling issue when pulling away. This is to protect the dual mass flywheel from being damaged by going to too low rpm. The engine backs off the fuel (and therefore the amount of torque available to pull away) when the engine speed drops below idle speed, and cuts the fuel below a certain rpm leading to stalling. You've just got to remember to keep the revs above idle to pull away.
The clutch itself doesn't like abuse and will start to slip if driven badly. I've seen at least 3 go... but mainly due to one driver!
The turbo VNT actuator mechanism seems to stick (or maybe its the clip falling off?) at high mileage (above 100k miles) which results in snail like performance below 3000 rpm as there is no boost.
I've had 3 out of 6 cars with air con that has failed. Don't know why but 2 of the cars are new, 2 are over 100k miles and 2 are around 60k.

However, having said all this its a great handling car, economical and quiet. So I'm buying one.

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