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Convince me I am making the right/wrong decision...


TimeToFocus
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Hi,

I currently own a Ford Focus Mk3.5 Zetec S (15) with the 1.5l Ecoboost (150) and I am ready for a change...

My initial thought was to go for the Mk4 ST-Line (which is effectively the new Zetec S level) but looking at the basic spec I have convinced myself that I want the part leather heated seats, 18in alloys, etc. of the ST-Line X which aren't an option on the lower trim.

At my budget (£17,500) that limits me to the 1.0l Ecoboost (125) - though the car I am looking at has a good number of extras like the park assist and B&O stereo, 7k mileage, 68 plate.

If I want to get the 1.5l Ecoboost (182) I am looking at going minimum £700 over budget (for an 18 plate, none of the extras) or £2k over budget to have the same toys, age etc.

or dropping to the 1.5l (150) in ST-Line spec which I can get cheaper but without even so much as parking sensors, or for a little more than my budget but still without the ST-Line X additions...

 

I'm not really a 'car' person, though I love driving the car I have, and having read some negative things about the 1.0l I am worried that I will be making a mistake going for such a small engine? My first car was a K reg Fiat Uno and that had a 1.0l engine! though I appreciate it's an entirely different kettle of fish.

- Is the 1.0l really that bad compared to the 1.5l (150) I have now?
- Is the 1.0l a potential time bomb of problems later being a supercharged small engine?
- Is it enough to warrant losing a lot of spec/toys etc?!

 

Your opinion will help me make up my mind!

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They're all turboed, and both the 1.0 and 1.5 are 3-cyl turbos.

I test drove the 1.0 125 when I was ordering my 1.5, and although obviously not as fast it didn't feel overwhelmed by the bigger car.  Don't know how good it is on mid-range acceleration -  the 1.5 182 I have is at its best there, rather than the 0-60 sprint.  I only got to drive it at speeds up to 50mph.

With extras, I have park assist as it came with the rear camera.  Never used it and not likely to so wouldn't miss it.  The standard sound system is ok, but not the best, so B&O might be worth having.  

 

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Thanks for the reply, I probably wouldn't miss the Park Assist either to be honest but I do fancy a decent stereo system. I'm also thinking that they will add to the resale value more than the bigger engine?

I've had a very quick go in a 1.0 and other than sounding a bit more growly it didn't feel under powered but again I only got up to 50mph for a quick burst then back to 30. It was so quiet when I stopped at the traffic lights I thought the auto start/stop had failed to restart when I put the clutch in. I was in sport mode though so I think it's deactivated. Most of my driving is country roads and I do a fair amount of 4th gear overtakes when the conditions allow.

I see you went for the mag grey - nice choice, that was my favourite but there's not many about and they're all coming up more expensive/lower spec depending.

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I guess it all comes down to where/how you drive and how you personally strike the balance between power and "toys".

I have the 140ps version of the 1.0 in the smaller Fiesta and most of the time it's fine, great fun to drive solo but I do notice a difference when fully loaded (particularly in the Yorkshire Dales/North York Moors where I drive a lot). A pal of mind had the 125ps version in the Mk 3 Focus for 5 years and he was absolutely fine with it, though he has now swapped it for a 2.0 litre Volvo V40 (similar power but more torque) and says he appreciates the extra pulling power.

So I would say if you mostly drive in town, or motorway/dual carriageway, the 1.0 should be fine, but if you're driving a lot in the Derbyshire Dales, you might appreciate the extra mid-range of the 1.5 as Guy mentions.

 

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As much as I love to get out to the Peak District most of my driving is either town, a run up the motorway or relatively flat country roads.

I guess I am stuggling to settle because I love engine I have now and it feels like a step down, that said I am not really 'into' cars so much (I just want something nice, comfortable and as 'sporty' as possible without going into ST territory etc) and it seems silly therefore to sacrifice the B&O stereo and park assist for a bit more power when the finer nuances of driving elude me.

I've read about the torsion rear suspension and I was worried as mine has the split suspension but then I remembered I don't really know what that means and I probably won't even tell the difference...!

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1 hour ago, TimeToFocus said:

 

I guess I am stuggling to settle because I love engine I have now and it feels like a step down,

It's a tough one because we're all different and there is not really a "right" or "wrong" answer. What I can say (purely personally) is that I dropped down from 180ps with a good bit more torque albeit in a larger car (SEAT Leon, so Focus-size) and while, as I say, I do enjoy the 1.0 in the Fiesta I'm fairly sure I'll be heading back up in power next time.

As you've probably found, there has been lengthy and lively discussion on the merits of torsion beam vs multi-link rear suspension on other threads so I won't bang on any more here, other than to say my Fiesta (torsion beam) has the "sports" suspension set-up and handles very well with quite acceptable ride on the sort of roads I mention, so I'm sure the similarly equipped Focus will be fine.

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I think my mind is made up, if the car is as good as it looks in the photos I will buy it and if I find the 1.0l just isn't enough then I can always sell it/trade it in and get something with more oomph!

Thanks for the help!

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1 hour ago, TimeToFocus said:

I think my mind is made up

You can always switch Sport Mode on when you are not in cruising territory, but it defaults to Normal Mode at the next restart. 

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So in the end I bought the MK4 Focus, 1.0 Ecoboost 125 St-Line X, 68 plate, 7k miles, B&O, Park Assist and they're respraying the bonnet due to some stone chips...

It won't be as much fun as my MK3.5 Focus, 1.5 Ecoboost 150 but it will save me some fuel money I expect and it feels much nicer inside with more stuff.

Thanks for the input!

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Cool, when do you get it?  The MK4 is a nice place to be IMO.

Mountune do official performance boosts for the 1.0 engine...  ;->

 

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18's will last nine to eleven months on tyres compared to smaller rims; 

They also contribute to unsprung mass which reduces your take off performance making the car feel sluggish especially a vehicle with less than 150bhp 

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I doubt there's much weight difference between a stock Ford 17 and a stock 18.  You would get an advantage if you bought specific aftermarket light weight wheels.

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2 hours ago, Guy Heaton said:

I doubt there's much weight difference between a stock Ford 17 and a stock 18.  You would get an advantage if you bought specific aftermarket light weight wheels.

Rota's are a good light weight manufacturer 

17" is like the last straw, 18" is the straw that the cammel has a personal injury claim in against for breaking it's back 😂 

I've upgrade had 18" ST alloys on my 125bhp 1.6TDCi focus now back to 16" 

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8 hours ago, Guy Heaton said:

Mountune do official performance boosts for the 1.0 engine...  ;->

Afaik so far they are only offering an air filter for the ST on the Mk 4, nothing for the revised 1.0 ecoboost. Btw, I emailed them around 18 months ago to ask if they were going to offer an upgrade for the Mk 8 Fiesta 1.0 as they did for the Mk 7.5, but have seen nothing yet apart from the odd intake hose.

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On 10/1/2019 at 9:40 AM, Guy Heaton said:

Cool, when do you get it?  The MK4 is a nice place to be IMO.

Mountune do official performance boosts for the 1.0 engine...  ;->

 

Sorry for the delay - car will be ready to pick up Wednesday (pushed back from tomorrow). They're just finishing up the bumper and the alloy and it'll be mine!

Just need to get my car shifted to clear off the finance which should leave me about £600 up.

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So I’ve picked up the car and had a good 90min drive home to form first impressions...

+ Pretty good acceleration, I don’t really fee it’s that much less powerful than my old 1.5 150ps Ecoboost.

- Not as smooth and refined as the old engine though. Probably because it’s a 3 cylinder? But the ‘growl’ is something I’ll just get used to.

+ With the right song the B&O system sounds awesome.

- With the wrong song (eg: Bad Guy - Billie Eilish) the door rattles and vibrates with the bass. Not sure if that’s a problem with the door or the stereo?

+ The ride quality felt perfectly fine, I don’t teally know what I’m feeling for so the twist beamsuspension was neither here nor there.

- It didn’t feel quite as stuck to the ground as the Mk3.5 ST-Line I had but I’ll get a better feel for that tomorrow on roads I know well.

+ The colour (Desert Island Blue) is really nice and they did a good job re-spraying the bonnet.

- The repair on the alloy isn’t as seamless as I thought it would be but that could be because it’s a two-tone diamond cut (or whatever it’s called)?

Overall impression was more ‘yeah it’s good’ rather then any higher level of excitement but it was getting late and it was a rubbish drive home so maybe I’ll feel more enthusiastic tomorrow...

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The exhaust is "tuned" on the st line x for more noise.  And there may be piped noise through the Speakers.  Something I'll check in forscan if I get round to it.

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Oh, now you mention it that rings a bell. I guess it’s for that ‘sporty’ sound.

Door rattle continued this morning as expected, seemed to stop or at least be less noticeable when I pushed my elbow into the door card so guessing it’s that vibrating.

Am I right in thinking a dealer should sort that?

Also, opinions on the alloy repair?

84FDF5E3-FB5D-48F0-88D9-2D4CF70FFDA6.jpeg

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