Very nice motor!

I drive focci for few days some years ago and was really impressed by road handling, grip, suspension comfort and how good it was I really fast and sharp turns. I think you will be happy with it.

I love it!!!, love those wheels its the only style that suits the Focus IMO.

Good luck with the focus

I drive a company focus and have done for the last 6 years,my latest being a 11plate tdci.

Watch out for rust around the tailgate hinges as this has occurred on every model I've had.The paint seems to have patches of poor quailty around the hinge areas.Also the fuel consumption is generally quite poor on the tdci,my average over 30k is just 40 mpg,which is poor for a 1.6.

The cars in general are fairly reliable however and handle and ride well so I'm sure you will enjoy it.

Me too I think I will be joining you in the Spring ...

I quite like the Peugeot 508; if it turns out to be as good and reliable as the 406, then I will be looking out for one of those in 2 or 3 years time. They will depreciate a lot and become excellent value used.

The HDi engine is superb, and being one of the first manufacturers with particulate filters, I think they have them sorted by now.

My Dad has the new 1.6d Focus and loves it. He doesn't drive very fast now so he's getting 55+mpg and over 60 on most trips. No reliability issues at all so far.

I've driven it and it's a nice car to drive. Not sure I could cope with so little power now but it's certainly nippy enough for most. Not a fan of the interior but that's personal preference.

I think your old car was a pup unfortunately as the stats speak for themselves i.e skoda are genrally at or near the top for reliability and dealer satisfaction.

Every manufacturer has bad examples though so i think you were just unlucky.

Hopefully your ford will be good but the ones in our company car fleet seem to suffer lots of electrical problems as did my cousins s-max, catastrophically so in fact.

There are a couple of new focus's in our street and both of them suffer the same issue with the chrome strip between rear door and window which seems to come loose and bend up. Not a big issue really but i notice it all the time.

I used to get a shot in a mondeo a lot and they are nice to drive but i didnt like the fit and finish inside as it was very flimsy. Flimsy doesnt necessarily mean un reliable though and certainly the 58 plate mondeo i drove didnt rattle or sqeak at all from the dash area.

My cousins s-max i thought was superb, i actually considered one. This was untill he suffered £2500 worth of electrical issues while on holiday in france with it. The holiday was ruined not to mention their bank account. He now wants rid of it pronto. Strange thing is he wants a Kuga.

Dont want to put a downer on your new car but just highlighting that all cars have issues, some people are lucky but some arent. I havent had any issues with any cars ive owned. Quickly touches wood.

I dont have any brand loyalty so if one make of car suddenly becomes widely accepted as being reliable then i will buy one. The only facts we can rely on are things like JD power surveys etc and first hand experiences of ownership from friends and family. Going on this premise i would say skoda should fair better than ford.

Maybe not in your experience so fingers crossed.

Yeah I'm not expecting it to be 100% reliable but as I say it's only 6 months old and by the time it's paid off it'll be 6 months out of warranty. Any issues before then are Fords problem and after that it'll get traded in for something else as it'll owe me nothing. I don't expect to have much "equity" in it at that stage.

Trouble with the Octy was it was out of warranty in Nov last year and wouldn't have been paid off till Oct next year - that's almost 2 years without warranty, and with the never ending list of issues I daren't keep it any longer. :(

Yeah I'm not expecting it to be 100% reliable but as I say it's only 6 months old and by the time it's paid off it'll be 6 months out of warranty. Any issues before then are Fords problem and after that it'll get traded in for something else as it'll owe me nothing. I don't expect to have much "equity" in it at that stage.

Trouble with the Octy was it was out of warranty in Nov last year and wouldn't have been paid off till Oct next year - that's almost 2 years without warranty, and with the never ending list of issues I daren't keep it any longer. :(

Should you not have bought a kia or a hyundai if you have had such a bad experience? I would. Even toyota have 5 year warranties. In fact skoda will offer you a 5 yr one on a brand new car for only £500 and thats a manufacturers warranty not an extended limited type warranty.

What happens on the ford if it all goes tits up in the last 3 months before you have paid it off but are out of warranty?? Back in the same boat all over again.

Edited 25 October, 201213 yr by Jockdooshbag

Should you not have bought a kia or a hyundai if you have had such a bad experience? I would. Even toyota have 5 year warranties. In fact skoda will offer you a 5 yr one on a brand new car for only £500 and thats a manufacturers warranty not an extended limited type warranty.

What happens on the ford if it all goes tits up in the last 3 months before you have paid it off but are out of warranty?? Back in the same boat all over again.

I did look at Korean and Jap brands but the only Jap car that appealed was a Honda Civic Type-S 2.2 and that's a 3 door which is no use. Or the new kia Sportage but they'er a lot of cash and high VED etc. Nothing Toyota interests me at all - rather have 6 months of no warranty than own something that I didn't like. it was a compromise between something I kind of liked, that was affordable, would save me some £ (hopefully) and be quote new. The Focus fell into those categories.

Had a go in a Mondeo as I say but was too big and crazily enough more to insure than the Octy which was mental.

Looks a nice motor, can understand your logic and why you've gone that route. Hope it works out for you.

For ease of ownership/reliability/warranty I'd go Korean too - Kia Cee'd or Hyundai Veloster or I like the look of the i30 & i40 Tourers. As you say though, absolutely no point having that peace of mind but with something you don't like!

WTF???? I had no idea it could get that bad - and that's rusting too! The road we live on is up a slight incline and as you turn onto it the car twists and as such used to creak like mad. The Focus is slient over the same bit.

Not looking forward to new tyres though. 235/40/18.....even more expensive than the Octy. Sigh. Look nice though - good size that suits the car. Will post up pics once I've washed it at the weekend as it's covered right now.

I never noticed the Octavia chassis twisting but it did used to creak on certain road surfaces/bends/dips, it wasn't until I drove the S-Max that I realised that the suspension setup on the Octavia was just too harsh for the chassis.

I know what you mean about tyre sizes :( , my S-Max came with 17" wheels and 225/50/17 98W XL tyres, I've spent a fortune getting some winter tyres for the 17" wheels and have bought some summer 18" wheels and will need to run 235/45/18 98W XL tyres, the mid range tyres seem to hover around £160 each upto Premium brands @ £190-£200 each. I'd still rather pay that for a tyre than run around in the Octavia with its harsh/noisy ride ripping the inside of the tyre off!

I never noticed the Octavia chassis twisting but it did used to creak on certain road surfaces/bends/dips, it wasn't until I drove the S-Max that I realised that the suspension setup on the Octavia was just too harsh for the chassis.

I know what you mean about tyre sizes :( , my S-Max came with 17" wheels and 225/50/17 98W XL tyres, I've spent a fortune getting some winter tyres for the 17" wheels and have bought some summer 18" wheels and will need to run 235/45/18 98W XL tyres, the mid range tyres seem to hover around £160 each upto Premium brands @ £190-£200 each. I'd still rather pay that for a tyre than run around in the Octavia with its harsh/noisy ride ripping the inside of the tyre off!

I find the ride in my VRS really nice. I have just come from a BMW m-sport on runflats though so its all relative. If you like buying expensive tyres in sizes that are hard to come buy then get a BMW m-sport, always a great laugh at tyre change time. The wheel alignment thing certainly worries me but i think i will just get it all re-aligned so hopefully this will nip thisn potential issue in the bud.

I hate the ride on run flats in my quite regular 520d, feels like sliding all the time, feedback is non existing... and costs a fortune to service and run.

Why do they fit run flats? Apart from the obvious, the detriment to the ride, handling and huge costs.....just seems daft. I know one of the guys at work has a Mini Cooper S and had to put a funky size on as the standard size only came in run flats and he hated them.

I went from the really crashy MKI Fabia VRS to the Octavia where the ride was far nicer and I loved it but over time I found it to still get on my nerves a bit as the canyons they call roads in this country took their toll. Plus my shocks etc had aged - it just didn't feel as pliable as it should. Maybe slightly bigger profile tyres would help soak some of it up?

In comparison the Focus handles better and also rides better without being in sporty trim. I think the Zetec S further lowers the ride etc and handles even better although I've no idea how this affects the ride in that - maybe it's not as good.

I must be getting old.....

I was told that run flats do away with spare tyre (lower fuel consumption and emissions in manufactirers books) and lower insurance. You do not need to stop in dodge neighbourhoods to change tyres anymore. That was the reasoning.

Try finding winter run flat tyres in the appropriate size! I got mine from France lol.

Why do they fit run flats? Apart from the obvious, the detriment to the ride, handling and huge costs.....just seems daft. I know one of the guys at work has a Mini Cooper S and had to put a funky size on as the standard size only came in run flats and he hated them.

I went from the really crashy MKI Fabia VRS to the Octavia where the ride was far nicer and I loved it but over time I found it to still get on my nerves a bit as the canyons they call roads in this country took their toll. Plus my shocks etc had aged - it just didn't feel as pliable as it should. Maybe slightly bigger profile tyres would help soak some of it up?

In comparison the Focus handles better and also rides better without being in sporty trim. I think the Zetec S further lowers the ride etc and handles even better although I've no idea how this affects the ride in that - maybe it's not as good.

I must be getting old.....

Germans are autobahn drivers = high speeds. Blow outs at high speeds are seriously not funny. Run flats are much much safer in this respect. Problem is ther are **** in every other respect, i hated them.

Aha, makes sense. You learn something every day.

Why do they fit run flats? Apart from the obvious, the detriment to the ride, handling and huge costs.....just seems daft. I know one of the guys at work has a Mini Cooper S and had to put a funky size on as the standard size only came in run flats and he hated them.

Not sure what issue he had, as I know quite a few MCS owners who just swapped to a standard tyre with the same dimensions and profile as the runflat.

Biggest issue for me is if you have a tyre problem on a longer trip. My classic example is if I did a regular trip on runflats between Manchester and Glasgow with a full car and had a puncture half-way, late evening. With a full load the runflat distance is about 50 miles. That's absolutely no use when there's another 100 miles to reach my destination, with no option to get the tyre replaced. I know it's all about the probability of actually having a tyre issue, but for me it's just not worth the risk and hassle and I'm quite happy running around with a marginal extra weight in the car.

If I ever have the misfortune to buy something running runflats, I would change them for regular tyres and fit a spacesaver in the boot. In BMW's case there is still room for one under the boot carpet as some countries still have a legal requirement for a spare wheel. So the space is there - but I know from talking to Matthew about the S-Max that this has no room at all for a spare though, which I thought was really daft.

I thought you could drive up to 150 miles on RF tyres, all flat, privided you did not go above 50mph and road surface wasn't resembling moonface?

Yes, there is boot space for space saver wheel in my 520d. May reconsider the whole RF idea as they are insanely expensive and I am not using that boot space for anything important, some bits and bob which can ketp elswhere

Not sure what issue he had, as I know quite a few MCS owners who just swapped to a standard tyre with the same dimensions and profile as the runflat.

Biggest issue for me is if you have a tyre problem on a longer trip. My classic example is if I did a regular trip on runflats between Manchester and Glasgow with a full car and had a puncture half-way, late evening. With a full load the runflat distance is about 50 miles. That's absolutely no use when there's another 100 miles to reach my destination, with no option to get the tyre replaced. I know it's all about the probability of actually having a tyre issue, but for me it's just not worth the risk and hassle and I'm quite happy running around with a marginal extra weight in the car.

If I ever have the misfortune to buy something running runflats, I would change them for regular tyres and fit a spacesaver in the boot. In BMW's case there is still room for one under the boot carpet as some countries still have a legal requirement for a spare wheel. So the space is there - but I know from talking to Matthew about the S-Max that this has no room at all for a spare though, which I thought was really daft.

There isnt room under the carpet in the boot of a E90 3 series touring. I tried to do exactly what you descibed as i hated the tun flats. I phoned BMW dealer and asked is there an option to change the tyres and use a space saver? He said yes. I thought great so popped in past the dealers for more info. I asked what do they do to the boot liner to fit the space saver in. I expected him to say they swap it for one with a circular recess rather than the squre recces that it comes with. No, he said, you just chuck the wheel in the boot. I just stared at him for a while. Why do you think i have a touring? I asked............. Because i have a dog.......... Still silence...........Whre will i put the dog if i have a wheel in the boot? i asked.............Im not sure he said. Conversation over and i left the dealership.

I loathe having to spend that much on tyres anyway considering how long they last - a damned expensive consumable. Don't get me wrong I appreciate what they do but god they're pricey these days. Run flats would make me cringe....

For the record the Focus has PS3's on and I'll be keeping either those or going to Eagle F1's again come replacement time.

I thought you could drive up to 150 miles on RF tyres, all flat, privided you did not go above 50mph and road surface wasn't resembling moonface?

Yes, there is boot space for space saver wheel in my 520d. May reconsider the whole RF idea as they are insanely expensive and I am not using that boot space for anything important, some bits and bob which can ketp elswhere

Not correct for the possible distance, not when the car is laden. Maybe you'd manage that with perhaps a max of two people and light luggage.

There isnt room under the carpet in the boot of a E90 3 series touring. I tried to do exactly what you descibed as i hated the tun flats. I phoned BMW dealer and asked is there an option to change the tyres and use a space saver? He said yes. I thought great so popped in past the dealers for more info. I asked what do they do to the boot liner to fit the space saver in. I expected him to say they swap it for one with a circular recess rather than the squre recces that it comes with. No, he said, you just chuck the wheel in the boot. I just stared at him for a while. Why do you think i have a touring? I asked............. Because i have a dog.......... Still silence...........Whre will i put the dog if i have a wheel in the boot? i asked.............Im not sure he said. Conversation over and i left the dealership.

Sorry to disagree, but there absolutely is room. My Dad had an E91 320i that I sourced and a spacesaver from an E46 into the underfloor area for him. This was the last of seven BMWs he's had over the years, because he still wasn't that happy about using runflats and didn't want to consider wandering from the OEM tyre recommendation and going for non-runflats and the peace of mind of a space-saver. And I can understand this.

Think it's Switzerland amongst other non-EU countries I'm sure, where a physical spare wheel is still mandatory. You just need to take out the underfloor storage area, which is strangely in the recess that fits a space-saver from an E46....

Germans are autobahn drivers = high speeds. Blow outs at high speeds are seriously not funny. Run flats are much much safer in this respect. Problem is ther are **** in every other respect, i hated them.

Run flats saved my life on one occasion...I was on a high speed run and had a major puncture occur(the readout on the dash told me,I couldn't feel anything)....when I was able to stop I couldn't believe the damage to the tyre,but the car had been controllable still.

Journos who moan about the harsher ride on a run flat have obviously never had a major incident with them fitted or they would stop talking out of there arses.

I'm starting to like the look of the new focus but found the seats and interior space quite tight.

Hopefully the mk3 tdci has the reliability issues sorted out because from 60k onwards they start to fall apart. Sorry tats th mk2, our lease company have dehired plenty of them without any notice.

Not correct for the possible distance, not when the car is laden. Maybe you'd manage that with perhaps a max of two people and light luggage.

Sorry to disagree, but there absolutely is room. My Dad had an E91 320i that I sourced and a spacesaver from an E46 into the underfloor area for him. This was the last of seven BMWs he's had over the years, because he still wasn't that happy about using runflats and didn't want to consider wandering from the OEM tyre recommendation and going for non-runflats and the peace of mind of a space-saver. And I can understand this.

Think it's Switzerland amongst other non-EU countries I'm sure, where a physical spare wheel is still mandatory. You just need to take out the underfloor storage area, which is strangely in the recess that fits a space-saver from an E46....

Not looking for agreement. I owned a E91 BMW touring before my skoda. The space saver does not fit under the boot floor. BMW dealer even agreed with this as he told me to put it in the boot. Your dad must be a "special build" or petrol BMW's have different underfloors. Workmate had a 320d saloon and he had same problem as did friend with 318d saloon and neighbour with 335d saloon. Im pretty sure we didnt all imagine it.

Apologies - i didnt read your post carefully enough. I missed the bit about removing the undefloor storage area. Never tried this. My bad.

Edited 29 October, 201213 yr by Jockdooshbag