Ford Focus 2018 EcoBoost 1.0 125 hp vs 1.5 150hp

[Stefan Stojkovski]

Hi, I want to buy a ford focus st-line and I am considering the 1.0 125 hp ecoboost version vs. the 1.5 150 hp which is 1500 euro more expensive. I think that the difference in hp will not be felt very much in the city, only when overtaking on the highway (9.5 sec vs 8.8 sec to 100 km/h). What makes me hesitate tho is the reliability of the engine. Most people would say that the bigger engine would be more reliable and would last longer. What is your opinion, is the bigger engine worth the extra cost (considering that the extra kick from the hp is of little importance to me)? I would most probably do about 10 000 - 15 000 km per year, so how many total kilometers should i expect from the two versions? Thanks!

[FatHead1979]

On 8/26/2019 at 6:54 PM, Stefan Stojkovski said:

Hi, I want to buy a ford focus st-line and I am considering the 1.0 125 hp ecoboost version vs. the 1.5 150 hp which is 1500 euro more expensive. I think that the difference in hp will not be felt very much in the city, only when overtaking on the highway (9.5 sec vs 8.8 sec to 100 km/h). What makes me hesitate tho is the reliability of the engine. Most people would say that the bigger engine would be more reliable and would last longer. What is your opinion, is the bigger engine worth the extra cost (considering that the extra kick from the hp is of little importance to me)? I would most probably do about 10 000 - 15 000 km per year, so how many total kilometers should i expect from the two versions? Thanks!

The 1.0 EB engine has proved to be very reliable (once the issue with the cooling hoses was resolved and this wasn't to do with the size of the engine, more that Ford chose inappropriate materials to make some of the coolant hoses from!) so I wouldn't worry about the 1.0 125 BHP engine potentially being "overworked" compared to the 1.5 150 BHP engine.  The 1.5 doesn't look to be massively faster than the latest version of the 1.0 EB, I've not compared the official fuel economy figures but if the 1.5 is considerable more thirsty, I'd be inclined to save a euros and go for the 1.0 EB.

[ianincheshire]

In normal driving it's not bhp that makes the biggest difference it's Torque! The 1.5 develops 240nm against the 1.0 of 170 that's >40% more torque.

As to fuel consumption, according to the brochure the 1.0 is 6.1 to 5.7 l/100km and the 1.5 6.3 to 6.1, so not a huge difference. I've not driven the 1.0 125 Focus, but my wife used to have a 1.0 100bhp Fiesta (which has similar torque figures) and my 1.5 Focus has a LOT more grunt. My 1.5 at 3000 miles, is currently showing 47.4 mpg (5.96 l/100km) average consumption on the trip (real life is probably slightly less) but I don't do a lot of urban driving.

The other reason for getting the 1.5 was the multi-link rear suspension as opposed to the torsion bar BUT since Ford in their wisdom dropped the multi-link from all but the Vignale and the Estate, then that's not a consideration anymore...

[DaveT70]

2 minutes ago, ianincheshire said:

In normal driving it's not bhp that makes the biggest difference it's Torque! The 1.5 develops 240nm against the 1.0 of 170 that's >40% more torque.

As to fuel consumption, according to the brochure the 1.0 is 6.1 to 5.7 l/100km and the 1.5 6.3 to 6.1, so not a huge difference. I've not driven the 1.0 125 Focus, but my wife used to have a 1.0 100bhp Fiesta (which has similar torque figures) and my 1.5 Focus has a LOT more grunt. My 1.5 at 3000 miles, is currently showing 47.4 mpg (5.96 l/100km) average consumption on the trip (real life is probably slightly less) but I don't do a lot of urban driving.

The other reason for getting the 1.5 was the multi-link rear suspension as opposed to the torsion bar BUT since Ford in their wisdom dropped the multi-link from all but the Vignale and the Estate, then that's not a consideration anymore...

Most MK4 1.0 versions are struggling to get over 42 MPG.

I would recommend the 1.5 preferably in ST-Line X version which pushes to 182 PS

[Eric Bloodaxe]

Perhaps also worth mentioning that the 1.0 in the Mk 4 is the revised version - chain cam, and head reversed - compared to the earlier versions and similar to the 1.5. Some members reports suggest it is not as smooth/quiet as the earlier belt cam drive version. Also there have been a couple of quite lengthy threads concerning issues with oil pressure warnings (which seem to have been down to faulty switches) and gpf warnings (which seem to have been software related) though some members never seemed to get a satisfactory resolution as I recall - can't seem to locate the thread at the mo edit: found it!

Can't recall seeing any mention of these issues affecting the 1.5, though.

 

[Stefan Stojkovski]

On 9/2/2019 at 3:13 PM, ianincheshire said:

In normal driving it's not bhp that makes the biggest difference it's Torque! The 1.5 develops 240nm against the 1.0 of 170 that's >40% more torque.

As to fuel consumption, according to the brochure the 1.0 is 6.1 to 5.7 l/100km and the 1.5 6.3 to 6.1, so not a huge difference. I've not driven the 1.0 125 Focus, but my wife used to have a 1.0 100bhp Fiesta (which has similar torque figures) and my 1.5 Focus has a LOT more grunt. My 1.5 at 3000 miles, is currently showing 47.4 mpg (5.96 l/100km) average consumption on the trip (real life is probably slightly less) but I don't do a lot of urban driving.

The other reason for getting the 1.5 was the multi-link rear suspension as opposed to the torsion bar BUT since Ford in their wisdom dropped the multi-link from all but the Vignale and the Estate, then that's not a consideration anymore...

This 2 links
https://www.auto-data.net/en/ford-focus-iv-hatchback-1.0-ecoboost-125hp-32955 
https://www.auto-data.net/en/ford-focus-iv-hatchback-1.0-ecoboost-100hp-32954
show that the 1.0 produces the same torque of 170 Nm for both 125 and 100 hp, but there is also difference of about 2 seconds for 0-100 kmph between the 2. I am presuming that 170 Nm is the maximum torque that the engine produces.

[Damo ess]

I work at a family run ford garage and im a tec from the workshop. Like mentioned the 1l has been totally revised it also has cylinder deactivation not sure if its on the 1.5 but which in my opinion is something else go wrong!

if it was me be buying one id buy the1.5 ecoboost it just drives so much nicer and one thing your missing is the torque figures. I dont know what they are but the 1l has to be reved and use the gears alot. 

Dont get me wrong its a fantastic engine and in a fiesta i would have it. 

The best thing you could do is testdrive both. If your pottering around town etc maybe the 1l will do the job.If your quite often travelling id go for the 1.5. I hope that helps.

[iantt]

21 minutes ago, Damo ess said:

I work at a family run ford garage and im a tec from the workshop. Like mentioned the 1l has been totally revised it also has cylinder deactivation not sure if its on the 1.5 but which in my opinion is something else go wrong!

if it was me be buying one id buy the1.5 ecoboost it just drives so much nicer and one thing your missing is the torque figures. I dont know what they are but the 1l has to be reved and use the gears alot. 

Dont get me wrong its a fantastic engine and in a fiesta i would have it. 

The best thing you could do is testdrive both. If your pottering around town etc maybe the 1l will do the job.If your quite often travelling id go for the 1.5. I hope that helps.

1.5 has cyl deactivation too .