Are these things known for being thirsty? Hard to believe my 210bhp mapped Octavia VRS got me mid to late 40's and that was not hanging about - this thing so far has got me early 40's and has 95bhp less.....and I'm driving it much more gently. That's 25mpg less than what Ford claim on the combined cycle which is a huge difference.

It's only got 2900 miles on the clock - could it be that or do I have to start shouting at the Ford dealer tomorrow?

Again hoping a future remap will sort some of this out as the standard mapping is pretty naff with jumpy laggy response in 1st and 2nd with some torque lacking in the higher gears.

Any other experience welcome.

Mine has 18,000 miles on it now and at best I manage 47mpg. I can maybe see over 50 if I am gentle on a long run, but that's it. I wouldn't compare it to the quoted figures, they are produced in controlled conditions and in no way realistic in real world driving.

Completely agree about 1st gear, would be interested to know what you find out

I'd wait till you have a few more miles under its belt it'll improve as the engine loosens up

Hmm, been reading about Fiesta owners with the same issues and Ford applying an ECU update which transforms it. 25mpg lower than advertised is horrendous though and for 115bhp, 42mpg is utter garbage. BMW can get 60mpg out of a 320d, and VAG fare better too still giving late 40's/ early 50's with way more poke than this.

It's booked in tomorrow for the steering wheel buttons to be fixed so I'll have a word/ rant. If there is an ECU update then I want it applying.

Mileage wise, yeah I'm expecting it to rise a bit as time goes by - I'd say about 10k and it'll be run in properly. Was like that on the Octy.

Mines got just over 4k on the clock and I'm averaging 59mpg. That's sitting at around 60-65mph on a 50 mile trip to work.

[quote name='FitzyJ' timestamp='1351113839' post='213468']
Mines got just over 4k on the clock and I'm averaging 59mpg. That's sitting at around 60-65mph on a 50 mile trip to work.
[/quote]

Now that I'd be happy with. Only got 370 miles to 3/4 of a tank so far - works out at 42mpg and that's mostly m'way at a straight 70mph with a bit of town here and there. Abysmal considering I've lost 95bhp and even that was giving me 46 - 49mpg.

im afraid there are many complaints that the mpg on newer cars not just ford dont match peoples expectations those figures are achieved using a detuned engine for pure economy and not power to meet eu emission regulations thats the way it is they dont lie the car can achieve say 70mpg under test conditions in a lab they should put up real world mpg figures also but dont

Trouble is this isn't just lower than the manufacturers claims but actually quite poor in general. 42mpg average for a 1.6 diesel producing moderate levels of power is awful in the scheme of things and as such there must be something amiss. The fact it's 25mpg lower than the manufacturers claims (which encouraged me to buy the car) are just adding insult to injury.

We'll see what Ford say - it's in there today having this and a few other things looked at including:

Steering wheel buttons not working
Keyless entry sometimes freaks out - it tries to lock itself rather than unlock when you grab the handle
Occasional hesitation on the m'way after applying power

[quote name='Chris_Focus' timestamp='1351156767' post='213535']
Now that I'd be happy with. Only got 370 miles to 3/4 of a tank so far - works out at 42mpg and that's mostly m'way at a straight 70mph with a bit of town here and there. Abysmal considering I've lost 95bhp and even that was giving me 46 - 49mpg.
[/quote] I have exactly the same problem with my recently bought Focus 1.6 TDCi (2007). According to the owner's manual, it should be above 55mpg, however I am getting 38mpg instead! which is kind of disappointing. Next week I'll try to change air filter as well as engine oil and will let you know if there is any improvement!

To all of you with a mk3 focus, take this with a pinch of salt as I've got a mk2, but Amir listen up! I have a 2006 1.6tdci Ghia, with the 110bhp engine. My journeys include mainly short (15-20 mins) motorway trips, and occasional short trips - going to and from uni, (m'way) and stuff like to the shops and back. This gets me 50-55mpg. When I first bought the car (in summer hols, before uni had started) I was doing very short trips of about 1 mile per journey most days. This got me about 40mpg. Don't forget that it's winter, and personally my mpg has been affected quite a lot in the weather. The day after I bought the car, I did an a-road run (40-50mph roads) and got 65mpg at the end, but I haven't been able to replicate this in the colder weather.
Hope this helps .

in honesty the issue and no offence is down to naivety on the buyers part any amount of research on that model would tell you
1. the figures are based on test conditions not real world no car will hit the claimed figures as we do not drive in optimum temperatures on flat roads etc etc etc rule of thumb is take the lowest mpg figure qouted and that will be around the right mark
2.the manufacturer doesnt lie the car can achieve that figure in perfect conditions
3.diesels are useless if you drive less than 15k a year or short /town journeys the mpg will be poorer than a petrol

as for the other comments ie keyless entry steering wheel buttons keyless entry has been or is being dropped by other manufacturers as they found the car was easier to steal and the rf signal can be copied by small crooks with a 300 pound device (serach bmw thefts} and that it was going faulty as you have stated ford have went ahead with it and its biting them in the backside i know the keyless entry is a big issue with the dealers who are getting onto ford about a fix as they get it in the neck from customers there are updates to the ecu to try and solve the issue some work some dont

the steering buttons ive heard 2 theories so far 1 is that microsoft developed the interior system ie stereo voice control etc and its flawed i know for a fact that the buttons stop working the voice control can have a mind of its own and stereos can switch on at full volume as yet theres no fix from microsoft to ford dealers are rebooting the system and hoping for the best. 2 was that some wiree states owners there have been lawsuits against ford and microsoft s hadnt been connected at the factory

Ive got a 60 plate 1.6tdci and im getting 65mpg Driving normally and thats doing town and motorway driving. It's got 25k on the clock. Is imagine just needs more running in to loosen it up abit

[quote name='artscot79' timestamp='1351193556' post='213673']
in honesty the issue and no offence is down to naivety on the buyers part any amount of research on that model would tell you
1. the figures are based on test conditions not real world no car will hit the claimed figures as we do not drive in optimum temperatures on flat roads etc etc etc rule of thumb is take the lowest mpg figure qouted and that will be around the right mark
2.the manufacturer doesnt lie the car can achieve that figure in perfect conditions
3.diesels are useless if you drive less than 15k a year or short /town journeys the mpg will be poorer than a petrol

as for the other comments ie keyless entry steering wheel buttons keyless entry has been or is being dropped by other manufacturers as they found the car was easier to steal and the rf signal can be copied by small crooks with a 300 pound device (serach bmw thefts} and that it was going faulty as you have stated ford have went ahead with it and its biting them in the backside i know the keyless entry is a big issue with the dealers who are getting onto ford about a fix as they get it in the neck from customers there are updates to the ecu to try and solve the issue some work some dont

the steering buttons ive heard 2 theories so far 1 is that microsoft developed the interior system ie stereo voice control etc and its flawed i know for a fact that the buttons stop working the voice control can have a mind of its own and stereos can switch on at full volume as yet theres no fix from microsoft to ford dealers are rebooting the system and hoping for the best. 2 was that some wiree states owners there have been lawsuits against ford and microsoft s hadnt been connected at the factory
[/quote]

Hmm, ok thanks for the info. I've owned a number of diesels before including

Pug 405 1.9D
Pug 405 1.9TD
Pug 306 2.0 HDi
Citroen Xantia 1.9TD
Skoda Fabia VRS 1.9 TDi
Skoda Octavia VRS 2.0 TDi

And then this.....it's my 14th car overall (I've not included the petrols in the above list).

So far it's been the most juicy to be honest (for example I had to rag the Octavia to get it down to early 40's) but based on what people are saying it may well be down to a running in process as it is only just breaking the 3000 mile point. I read somewhere else that these engines take quite a while to run in - the Octavia was pretty much loosened up by about 5k. As I say I'm not expecting 67mpg or anything close but I was expecting more than 42 - something like 50 perhaps based on the engine size and power. I'll give it some time. Also I commute 74 miles a day down the M62/ A1 so I am well in diesel territory.

Re the buttons, Ford have now had to take the steering wheel off and keep it for an extra day. Think this is more than a software issue......
As for the rest we'll see when I collect it.

Cheers,

Chris.

[quote name='Chris_Focus' timestamp='1351256592' post='213779']
..based on what people are saying it may well be down to a running in process as it is only just breaking the 3000 mile point. I read somewhere else that these engines take quite a while to run in - the Octavia was pretty much loosened up by about 5k.
[/quote]

Mine has done 18k though and has had little improvement from when it was at 3k, so I wouldn't expect miracles

neither would i the reviews are as you guys are saying the fuel economy is poor given what it was claimed to do the real world mpg site 45.3 mpg

Well just spoken to the dealer.

Steering wheel was a wiring issue which also explains the keyless entry spazzing out as they're linked apparently.

Also on the mpg/ hesitation front they've flashed a new map onto it. We shall see.

at least i know the theory about wiring was correct hopefully youre sorted and it doesnt have a hissy fit on you

Collected this morning. It's now much smoother and less laggy/ jumpy in 1st and 2nd gears where it felt they'd deliberately made it so. Probably for emissions which it seems this car is geared towards. MPG up from 42 to about 46 driven the same and it seems to be getting better whilst making less effort the more it's driven so it's clear the battery has been off and / or it's been flashed as it's learning. Also seems more eager to rev which is another thing I'm expecting to improve as it loosens up.

Well worth asking the dealer if you're on the latest map if you have any concerns over the way it drives or mpg - don't expect miracles but it it could help a little.

Main thing I think this car needs though is more torque which will help improve mpg as you won't have to apply as much throttle or revs to make progress, and it'll take hills easier. I get the distinct impression they mapped it so that it was minimal emissions, maximum test conditions mpg (flat, 6th gear, minimal throttle) and that sacrificed torque which in turn sacrificed real world mpg as that has like, hills and stuff.

[quote name='Chris_Focus' timestamp='1351159751' post='213557']
Trouble is this isn't just lower than the manufacturers claims but actually quite poor in general. 42mpg average for a 1.6 diesel producing moderate levels of power is awful in the scheme of things and as such there must be something amiss. The fact it's 25mpg lower than the manufacturers claims (which encouraged me to buy the car) are just adding insult to injury.

We'll see what Ford say - it's in there today having this and a few other things looked at including:

Steering wheel buttons not working
Keyless entry sometimes freaks out - it tries to lock itself rather than unlock when you grab the handle
Occasional hesitation on the m'way after applying power
[/quote]

I have all the 'faults' you list except the steering wheel buttons not working. My mpg is showing 48.5 average over the last 11,000 miles and I have only got 500 miles out of a tank on a handful of occasions. Normally get around 480.

Yeah I'm up to 48mpg now that it's settled down a bit. Cold weather isn't helping but I get the feeling doing some reading that in the aim of reducing emissions (Co2 and NoX) they retarded the injector timing and made it run ultra lean. Means more lag, less torque overall and reduced economy in the real world where the roads have gradients etc.

This is why a remap for example can give more power AND mpg (on diesels) as it completely disregards emissions. It does this by advancing the injector timing and applying more fuel and boost which reduces spool up time on the turbo, increases exhaust gas temps, increases torque (meaning less throttle or revs are needed) and that means it's more efficient at low to normal RPM - obviously at WOT when booting it then the increased fuelling will be worse and this matches my experience of remaps. Trouble is increased egt's means more NoX etc and manufacturers can't do that because of the EU/ world's war on emissions. Was an interesting read.

I am also very dissappointed with the MPG of my 1.6TDI Focus Estate. Owned it since April and now have 11K on the clock. I am getting around 46mpg with a motorway/local road mix. with the "official" figures being 55 - 76 Mpg was expecting maybe 60mpg. It also seems very jumpy in 1st & 2nd. I will be talking to my dealer when it goes in for its 12 mth service next couple of weeks. I filled up with Shell Fuelsaver last week - jumped up to 54 mpg and seems to run a little smoother. Rrad a few horror stories about Shell Diesel, so don't know what to do now

Yeah this seems to be a common theme - considering it's only a 1.6 I can't understand why it struggles to get above late 40's. My mates C30 D5 2.4 gets the same mpg and that has 180bhp, my wifes chipped 1.9 Fabia VRS gets the same mpg with 160bhp and my old chipped 2.0 Octavia VRS with 205bhp got the same mpg. Even my bosses new 320d with 184bhp gets 60 to the gallon all day long. Admittedly all have higher emissions and VED as a result but it's still quite poor.

The only way i seem able to get "decent" mpg from the Focus is by sitting at 60mph on a flat road - a slight hill ruins it as you have to breathe on the throttle and the instantaneous mpg drops to the 30's.

Trouble is the handbook says the figures they put out are not meant to represent real world mpg so they've covered themselves there. Still shameful though - it's even got the "Econectic Technology" badge on the back of mine. Pfft.

I'm certain the reason why it's so bad on fuel is the lack of torque and the emphasis on emissions. They've tuned it that way and it makes it terrible in reality.

I was up to 49.1 too as of last night although the computer is optimistic compared to how fast the needle drops.....

Completely agree with everyone's comments here - I was getting 48-50mpg with very careful driving, but since the weather has turned colder, I struggle to get 46mpg.

It's designed to cruise along at 60-70mph in 6th on a flat motorway at miniscule revs... great for MPG in theory, but we all use roads with hills, inclines and bends. Therefore to make any kind of decent progress, you have to give it a boot, which negates the way it's been tuned for emphasis on economy. And the laggy, jerky first gear gets on my nerves!

[quote name='Chris_Focus' timestamp='1351368971' post='213990']
Well worth asking the dealer if you're on the latest map if you have any concerns over the way it drives or mpg - don't expect miracles but it it could help a little.
[/quote]

Keep us posted on how the MPG improves after this, as I am really tempted to take mine in now!

I'm now up to 49 mpg and that's a combination of m'way, some town and back roads where the car was driven a bit harder. Think that's dropped to 48 after the wife used it yesterday to get to work (stuck in traffic in Leeds). Still not all that great to be honest considering I had more powerful cars that could do better, but after this discussion it's probably the fact they were more powerful that enabled that greater economy, ironically enough.