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Been at a Hartwell dealership across the past couple of days. They only had 1 mk1 Focus that met my criteria. 04 year 3 door hatch, 1.8 TDCi sport, 70'000 miles, would have been nice to have it, but they were asking £5485 for it, (which is a bit much for me atm) and we were unable to agree a deal.

Hopefully I'll be checking out 2003 Focus 1.8 TDCi Zetec fo £3490 on Monday, this one has done 53'000 miles, and owing to fact that it isn't the sport or edge version is slightly less to insure than the car I didn't buy today.

Have to drive 100 miles just to go and see it though! There aren't too many examples that meet my fairly tight criteria though, so I guess I have to be willing to travel around a bit to find "the one".

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Been at a Hartwell dealership across the past couple of days. They only had 1 mk1 Focus that met my criteria. 04 year 3 door hatch, 1.8 TDCi sport, 70'000 miles, would have been nice to have it, but they were asking £5485 for it, (which is a bit much for me atm) and we were unable to agree a deal.

Hopefully I'll be checking out 2003 Focus 1.8 TDCi Zetec fo £3490 on Monday, this one has done 53'000 miles, and owing to fact that it isn't the sport or edge version is slightly less to insure than the car I didn't buy today.

Have to drive 100 miles just to go and see it though! There aren't too many examples that meet my fairly tight criteria though, so I guess I have to be willing to travel around a bit to find "the one".

I know the feeling my dads hunting about for a blue mondeo st220 hatch there like hens teeth most seem to be down south :( if the car seems good and isnt exactly 3000 miles away its usually worth travling luckily for me though the dealer was 11 miles away :P

Mike

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  • 3 weeks later...

I'll finally be taking ownership of my 53 plate, Focus 1.8 TDCi Zetec on Monday! :D

Flame red.... back to "Rosso corsa" after 5 years of "BRG" for me :lol: It will actually be my 3rd red car, having had 1 white, 1 blue & 1 green in my previous history.

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I'll finally be taking ownership of my 53 plate, Focus 1.8 TDCi Zetec on Monday! :D

Flame red.... back to "Rosso corsa" after 5 years of "BRG" for me :lol: It will actually be my 3rd red car, having had 1 white, 1 blue & 1 green in my previous history.

Waheyyy you've bought a real ford :P quite like flame red on the focus stands out abit more is it the 100bhp or the 115bhp though ;)

Mike

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It's a 115 bhp. Both more powerful and more torque than the 1.6 petrol in the fez. But probably more due the extra weight a slightly slower 0-60 time. But if it feels anything like the fez in terms of engine feel then I'll be very happy with it.

This will be the first time I've driven a diesel since passing my test back in 2001. And experience of that diesel Corsa led me to expect a heavier feel to the controls. Not a bit of it! Yesterday when I was sitting in it and playing with the interior I noticed that the clutch pedal was actually lighter than the clutch in my petrol fez.

Plus from an ergonomic point of view, one thing that has always really annoyed me about the fez is that in pretty much any driving position the steering wheel blocks the "60-70mph" part of the speedo... I sat in the drivers seat in the Focus and that was the first thing I looked for. Not a bit of it.

I think I'm going to enjoy this car :D

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It's a 115 bhp. Both more powerful and more torque than the 1.6 petrol in the fez. But probably more due the extra weight a slightly slower 0-60 time. But if it feels anything like the fez in terms of engine feel then I'll be very happy with it.

This will be the first time I've driven a diesel since passing my test back in 2001. And experience of that diesel Corsa led me to expect a heavier feel to the controls. Not a bit of it! Yesterday when I was sitting in it and playing with the interior I noticed that the clutch pedal was actually lighter than the clutch in my petrol fez.

Plus from an ergonomic point of view, one thing that has always really annoyed me about the fez is that in pretty much any driving position the steering wheel blocks the "60-70mph" part of the speedo... I sat in the drivers seat in the Focus and that was the first thing I looked for. Not a bit of it.

I think I'm going to enjoy this car :D

Well welcome to the dark side (bright side in ur case but yeah). Im going to get harassed for this like but the focus seems more of a blokes car than the fiesta its less fiddley if you know what i mean and more able to be thrown about like a rag doll lol. On the seating postion though did you ever try maybe moving the seat down or the wheel up :P

Mike

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In my Fez the wheel is fixed. And believe me I had that drivers seat in every single possible position. But I never liked or bought it for it's ergonomics. Before the fez I had a 1991 year Vauxhall Astra 1.6 si. From a ergonomics point of view it was spot on, just absolutely perfect very very comfortable. I only got rid of it because the body was rapidly rusting away, and because due to poor modding (not on my part) It took corners like the titanic.

When I first got in the Fez it was like sitting in a mini bus compared to the Astra, very very weird. But ignoring the ergonomics and concentrating on it from a driving and handling point of view then my fez is easily the best car I have ever owned. It's very responsive and very chuckable and also easy to rescue if you get out of shape. (I'm expecting the Focus to a step ahead).

But remember we have opposing driving styles... you seem to be the Mr Gilles Villeneuve advocate, flat out sideways everywhere whilst I'm more like a Jim Clark advocate, very smooth but also very quick for it :P

The best thing for me though... about changing to this Diesel focus is that with my commuting to work... the larger tank and better fuel economy is going to mean that I'll be able to commute to work and back for more that two weeks longer than I can in my fez without re-filling. I'm quite a low mileage driver.

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In my Fez the wheel is fixed. And believe me I had that drivers seat in every single possible position. But I never liked or bought it for it's ergonomics. Before the fez I had a 1991 year Vauxhall Astra 1.6 si. From a ergonomics point of view it was spot on, just absolutely perfect very very comfortable. I only got rid of it because the body was rapidly rusting away, and because due to poor modding (not on my part) It took corners like the titanic.

When I first got in the Fez it was like sitting in a mini bus compared to the Astra, very very weird. But ignoring the ergonomics and concentrating on it from a driving and handling point of view then my fez is easily the best car I have ever owned. It's very responsive and very chuckable and also easy to rescue if you get out of shape. (I'm expecting the Focus to a step ahead).

But remember we have opposing driving styles... you seem to be the Mr Gilles Villeneuve advocate, flat out sideways everywhere whilst I'm more like a Jim Clark advocate, very smooth but also very quick for it :P

The best thing for me though... about changing to this Diesel focus is that with my commuting to work... the larger tank and better fuel economy is going to mean that I'll be able to commute to work and back for more that two weeks longer than I can in my fez without re-filling. I'm quite a low mileage driver.

I was a young tiff nidel but now im more of a tom jones saying that my dad picked up his st220 last night and we did maybe just a little bit chase each other through the lanes a tad :rolleyes: but yeah sideways is mintttt the focus seems to love powersliding just be prepaired for it because they seem to whip back rather violently than just slip back into a straight line.

I've cut down on milage now due to the shear price of fuel its f*****n stupid i think its 117.9 here :huh: i read sumwhere though to get money gains on a diesel car because they cost more to buy etc that youve got to do something like 70k lol tht was over a year ao though

Mike

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That would be true if petrol was still significantly cheaper than diesel. But it's not, in many stations it's now the same price, and in some cases the diesel is actually cheaper at the pumps.

That could change again, but for the meantime diesel is making good financial sense.

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I'm all for diesel its just the soundtrack that grates on me after a while, personal taste though really but i know you'll be happy with the 115bhp and im mift because it means theres yet another diesel focus thats faster than mine :(

Mike

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Diesel always used to sound rubbish... and loud. But in recent years they are getting quieter and quiter.

Take Audi and Peugeot at Le Mans racing for example... the best engines, the most powerful, the most economical... and unfortunately the most silent! :lol: Seriously... the Audi R10 and R15 sounds a bit like an extra quiet vacuum cleaner.

As far as I'm concerned though if you want a loud car on the road... change the exhaust.

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Diesel always used to sound rubbish... and loud. But in recent years they are getting quieter and quiter.

Take Audi and Peugeot at Le Mans racing for example... the best engines, the most powerful, the most economical... and unfortunately the most silent! :lol: Seriously... the Audi R10 and R15 sounds a bit like an extra quiet vacuum cleaner.

As far as I'm concerned though if you want a loud car on the road... change the exhaust.

I did .. lmao full sportex cat-back system and knn induction kit, my dad before he picked his 220 went to look at the 2.2tdi mondey and my god it sounded hidious was a case of turn the key and put ur fingers in your ears yet the bigger 3.0 v6 in the st is silent unles you give it death. Where as if i was buying an audi or a vw id only ever buy a diesel one or even one of the volvo d5 engines there supposed to be good.

Mike

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I did .. lmao full sportex cat-back system and knn induction kit, my dad before he picked his 220 went to look at the 2.2tdi mondey and my god it sounded hidious was a case of turn the key and put ur fingers in your ears yet the bigger 3.0 v6 in the st is silent unles you give it death. Where as if i was buying an audi or a vw id only ever buy a diesel one or even one of the volvo d5 engines there supposed to be good.

Mike

diels are never financially sound anymore as weve seen with topics about this regeneration thing if it fails then £1000 down the pan then theres these fluids you have to top up add that to the fact it takes 3 years to recoup the extra cost of buying a diiesel unless you got it at a petrol cars prices have to admit ive had diesels and i wouldnt go back as quiet as they make them they can still be noisy and they just donty drive the same saying that if i did mega miles the diesel would make sense but not as a town car they just become too thirsty if only used in town

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To say 'diesel cars are not financially sound' is a sweeping generalisation. I've had petrol (of course - the ST170 was heaps of fun), and yes, diesel is different.

Yet with fuel prices similar, I save a clean fortune compared to what I used to spend. My dad's 1.8 Zetec Focus can get 34-40 mpg on the motorway with normal driving. My 1.8 TDCi can get 55-65 with the same style driving. I used to spend £50 a week putting petrol in my car ... but to be fair, I am a longer-distance commuter (80 miles a day).

Initial cost being more than equivalent petrol is true; though it's also true the diesel is worth more when you sell it on. The difference from depreciation is easily made up by the road tax savings (I pay £120, soon to be £110 I think?).

Diesel is a very lazy feeling - and it's great imo. But the noise is dreadful at low speeds - possibly the only thing about them I hate; though they can feel a bit nose-heavy too (the non-boggo springs helps and I have 18" rims). However, with newer diesel engines being even more powerful than ever, as well as being utterly well refined, I can't ever see me going back to petrol again in the future. Unless I end up buying a Caterham.

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To say 'diesel cars are not financially sound' is a sweeping generalisation. I've had petrol (of course - the ST170 was heaps of fun), and yes, diesel is different.

Yet with fuel prices similar, I save a clean fortune compared to what I used to spend. My dad's 1.8 Zetec Focus can get 34-40 mpg on the motorway with normal driving. My 1.8 TDCi can get 55-65 with the same style driving. I used to spend £50 a week putting petrol in my car ... but to be fair, I am a longer-distance commuter (80 miles a day).

Initial cost being more than equivalent petrol is true; though it's also true the diesel is worth more when you sell it on. The difference from depreciation is easily made up by the road tax savings (I pay £120, soon to be £110 I think?).

Diesel is a very lazy feeling - and it's great imo. But the noise is dreadful at low speeds - possibly the only thing about them I hate; though they can feel a bit nose-heavy too (the non-boggo springs helps and I have 18" rims). However, with newer diesel engines being even more powerful than ever, as well as being utterly well refined, I can't ever see me going back to petrol again in the future. Unless I end up buying a Caterham.

to be onest theres no happy medium anymore i agree with what youre saying for long commutes the diesel wins althoufgh there are petrols coming out now that can beat some diesels for mpg on motorways in an ideal world you would have a diesel for youre long commutes say to and from work and a petrol for youre town car that way you get the best of both worlds diesels dont do well in only town driving but petrols dont do that well on long distance motorway miles a combination of the two in one car would be great. they are becoming more refined i agree but many are becoming more problematic as well with all these additives that you need now i just couldnt stand the noise from the diesel when i had it it sounded quite quiet and yet at night it sounded bloomin awful then i had the winter starting issues and glow plugs then a new diesel pump that costed ridiculous cash compared to a petrol saying that it was on 197k at the time anyway if the government gets its way there will be no petrol or diesel biofuel and or battery will be the options just read the experts predict fuel prices by summer to be £1.97 a litre so we will get shafted at the pumps then shafted at the supermarket as well the joys of britain eh.

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I think we overthrow the governtment and seek global conquest, yes i was a born dictator :P

No but seriousally now over LONG periods of time and by that i mean till the dawn of time it would turn out for the better and there easier to drive in my view but they are deffo not for all tastes i dont mind them so much because of the power side of it. Im not a slow driver by any means and id have to re-learn my driving to adapt to a diesel because as now i ride the revs and rellish the sound where as the diesel the power is mid to low down in the revs and in my little 1.6 past 3000rpm it picks up a treat where as a diesel would shortly after this be running out of puff. I may be wrong and if i am im sorry lol

Modern diesel engines do require alot of faffing and to me theyl always be dirty dirty things that run on crap BUT a petrol still needs alot of tlc and isnt that much cleaner, the main reason the diesel is so cheap to tax is because its based on CO2 which the diesel produces less of but the side effect is that when u floor it and the turbo spins up you get massive plumes of vile black smoke out the back from burning oil where as a petrol would tip the petrol tank back and guzzle it down.

This again may be wrong with the mordern engines im just going of what ive heard from the grape vine in a summary though its dependant on what kind of miles you drive, if your a promimnant motorway driver a sales rep for eg diesel is for you. If your like me and do a combo of town, motorway, country etc a pecky is the way foward for the average person.

Mike

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And I've got it! :D

Very perky engine feels pretty much as responsive as my Fiesta, has the inevitable lag in 1st and 2nd gear, but is very torquey there after. A little bit noisy on idle, but again to be expected.

Has lighter steering and sharper brakes than I was used to on my Fiesta, seems to handle as well as I'd expected but feels a little bit detached at the moment. I'm putting that down to first drive in a new cars feeling like riding your mates bike kind of feeling. Takes time to settle into the feel of it.

Not particularly comfortable in the driving position yet, but I'm not too worried about that as my Fiesta felt very strange for the first days and it eventually felt like a well worn pair of shoes.

Haven't had the time to give it a properly long and varied test drive yet, I guess I'll wait until my next day off work.

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  • 9 years later...
On 2/18/2010 at 1:35 PM, artscot79 said:

only the ghia has them fitting one isnt hard all you do is take the clock surround off and feel behind it the plug for the computer if you have it will be taped at the back somewhere then you hit a scrapyard get the face tyhe computer outside temp sensor the light stalk with the trip button on it and the screenwash bottle with the level indicator in it fittings a simple case of plugging it all in to be honest thay arent much use anyway the ones that do work dont for long the readout is optomistic dont have one never needed one i wouldnt base my selection on these computers mate they aint all that usefull

I have a 05 GHIA and it does NOT have a trip computer 😞

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