Hi alL, sorry if this is on the wrong forum, wasn’t sure where to post it.

Ive currently got an Audi S3 and can’t be bothered with the fuel costs anymore. I’d like something cheaper, but that has all the tech (mainly heated seats, cruise control and apple car play) and the 2019+ focus st line seems to tick all the boxes.

it only makes sense to me if it saves me a lot on fuel (currently average 25mpg with mostly motorway miles) so I’m looking at the 1.5 diesel hoping to average at least 45mpg+. Just wanting to know what to look for on this model of focus, common issues and if the diesel blocks are any good or riddled with issues like some other manufacturers.

i would like an auto because of how easy it is to live with, but have heard bad thinks about the power shift Ford autos so may opt for a manual instead. Are the autos any good or will it cause me more hassle than it’s worth?

sidenote, I’m after one with about 25-35k miles as they’re in my budget. What issues come up/what need servicing at this stage?

any help is appreciated! I use to have a 65 reg fiesta ST mk7 from brand new, so I think im fairly familiar with the Ford brand, interiors etc, albeit a lot newer and nicer than the interior in that car!

The insurance difference between an Audi S3 and a Focus 1.5 diesel will perhaps be the biggest saving you will notice.

Mpg wise. 50mpg around town and 70+ on a steady (60mph) run is easily achieved.

Can't comment on the autos as is a manual the most issues you will probably find is the odd rattle here and there (dashboard/ side pillar) depending on specification you go with.

If you don't do many miles then forget about the stop start working unless you prefer to disable it or set the charging parameters yourself via Forscan and whilst your there alter the SOC from 80% to 90/95% and it will work like it should.

Other than the above I can't fault it. Drives lovely.

The powershift Diesels were OK in the MK3.5 as they were wet clutch like VAG.

A Mk4 1.5 Ecoblue will do 50+MPG all day long, even around town.

The auto will do 45 MPG round town but the 8 speed auto makes it better on a run.

The MK4 auto is a conventional 8-Speed torque converter transmission

 

19 minutes ago, Wino said:

The insurance difference between an Audi S3 and a Focus 1.5 diesel will perhaps be the biggest saving you will notice.

Mpg wise. 50mpg around town and 70+ on a steady (60mph) run is easily achieved.

Can't comment on the autos as is a manual the most issues you will probably find is the odd rattle here and there (dashboard/ side pillar) depending on specification you go with.

If you don't do many miles then forget about the stop start working unless you prefer to disable it or set the charging parameters yourself via Forscan and whilst your there alter the SOC from 80% to 90/95% and it will work like it should.

Other than the above I can't fault it. Drives lovely.

Thanks for that! My insurance will be about £500 cheaper, plus the £100 in VED I’ll save. I’m spending £300-£400 a month in fuel at the moment so if I can cut that to £200 that’ll be another c.£2k I’ll save each year!

Other than start stop are there any other nuances with the tech? How does the infotainment work? Is it responsive and does it work well with apple car play?

9 minutes ago, DaveT70 said:

The powershift Diesels were OK in the MK3.5 as they were wet clutch like VAG.

A Mk4 1.5 Ecoblue will do 50+MPG all day long, even around town.

The auto will do 45 MPG round town but the 8 speed auto makes it better on a run.

The MK4 auto is a conventional 8-Speed torque converter transmission

 

Do you know who manufactures the auto? I know Peugeot use Toyota for their 8 speed torque converters in the 308 and they’re pretty reliable by all accounts. If Ford aren’t cheating out on theirs then I may opt for the auto instead, I was worried it would be a dry clutch like the lower powered dsg in Audis and VW as they’ve gone bang on me before…

The MK4 transmission is Ford in house, the 1.0 auto isn't as good but I've heard of no issues with the 1.5 as it's the same transmission used in the 2.0.

The MK4 2.0 diesel Auto is quicker AND better on fuel BTW but rarer

1 hour ago, BlueJoe said:

Thanks for that! My insurance will be about £500 cheaper, plus the £100 in VED I’ll save. I’m spending £300-£400 a month in fuel at the moment so if I can cut that to £200 that’ll be another c.£2k I’ll save each year!

Other than start stop are there any other nuances with the tech? How does the infotainment work? Is it responsive and does it work well with apple car play?

Had no issues with the tech side of things. 

Sat nav is easy to use and follow even better if you find one with the HUD screen.

Can't comment on apple car play as don't use it ( no apples or other fruit here).

 

1 hour ago, DaveT70 said:

The MK4 transmission is Ford in house, the 1.0 auto isn't as good but I've heard of no issues with the 1.5 as it's the same transmission used in the 2.0.

The MK4 2.0 diesel Auto is quicker AND better on fuel BTW but rarer

Why is the 2l better on fuel? Is it a 3cyl vs 4cyl?

Theres one I like with the 2l auto, with every option ticked included Pan roof, heated steering wheel etc. would this be a better buy than a manual/auto 1.5l that’s £3k cheaper?

Id rather have no regrets. Coming from an S3 with all the bells and whistles I’m gonna be a bit sad regardless of what I get, but if I’m only compromising on speed and can have the best economy and gadgets then I’d be happy.

 

decisions decisions…

I have the Focus Mk4 2019, Automatic 2.0 Diesel, mostly it gets used on journeys of 10 miles or less. It drives excellent, gearbox is very smooth. The mpg around town is about 47 at the moment, and on the occasion that it gets a run of thirty or more miles, it gets around 54mpg. I drive it to enjoy it, not to squeeze ever last mpg out of it, others might get better from the 2.0 diesel, but I'm very happy with what I get.

17 hours ago, BlueJoe said:

Why is the 2l better on fuel? Is it a 3cyl vs 4cyl?

Theres one I like with the 2l auto, with every option ticked included Pan roof, heated steering wheel etc. would this be a better buy than a manual/auto 1.5l that’s £3k cheaper?

Id rather have no regrets. Coming from an S3 with all the bells and whistles I’m gonna be a bit sad regardless of what I get, but if I’m only compromising on speed and can have the best economy and gadgets then I’d be happy.

 

decisions decisions…

I think it's doing less work with the same gearing and overall weight. Masses of more torque over the 1.5

If you look at some of the real world fuel economy figures, the 2.0 auto averages about 58MPG whereas the 1.5 auto averages about 52MPG. The 1.5 manual only just gets 58MPG

I do the opposite type of driving to Unofix, mostly long but fairly infrequent motorway or A roads and can't fault my Mk 4 2 ltr diesel manual over the past year and a half.  Noticeably more torque and power than my old Mk 2 TDCi and getting an average 60mpg even allowing for hauling a 1 tonne trailer around with materials for the building work I am doing at home.  I chose this engine specifically for the long journeys and towing capability and in my mind worth the extra £2-3k.  Try to keep my driving style sensible but sometimes get carried away (cos I can).

 

Now what was the original question?

3 hours ago, south_bound said:

I do the opposite type of driving to Unofix, mostly long but fairly infrequent motorway or A roads and can't fault my Mk 4 2 ltr diesel manual over the past year and a half.  Noticeably more torque and power than my old Mk 2 TDCi and getting an average 60mpg even allowing for hauling a 1 tonne trailer around with materials for the building work I am doing at home.  I chose this engine specifically for the long journeys and towing capability and in my mind worth the extra £2-3k.  Try to keep my driving style sensible but sometimes get carried away (cos I can).

 

Now what was the original question?

Thanks! I think I’m happy with what I know about the 2l diesels and the auto now. I’m test driving a 1.5l manual and auto, and a 2l auto on Saturday so can see back to back how they compare, if the auto is any good and what fuel economy they can all get.

Full service history for all of them, is there anything specific I should be looking at for 30k mile (ish) cars? What should have been replaced at this point? Does the auto box need servicing or is it closed for life? Any niggles that raise their head I should be aware of?

1 hour ago, BlueJoe said:

Thanks! I think I’m happy with what I know about the 2l diesels and the auto now. I’m test driving a 1.5l manual and auto, and a 2l auto on Saturday so can see back to back how they compare, if the auto is any good and what fuel economy they can all get.

Full service history for all of them, is there anything specific I should be looking at for 30k mile (ish) cars? What should have been replaced at this point? Does the auto box need servicing or is it closed for life? Any niggles that raise their head I should be aware of?

Door seals coming loose at bottom

Make sure the bonnet opens

Ford say transmission is sealed for life, I would have fluid changed. Our friends over the pond recommend 40,000 miles or a bit later

 

8 hours ago, DaveT70 said:

Door seals coming loose at bottom

agreed !! the door seals on my two front doors have just come unstuck

Warranty ends in 3 weeks time, it's not worth the hassle to get the garage to stick them on. Will just buy a tube of evo stik impact adhesive and fix them myself 

34 minutes ago, DaveT70 said:

Door seals coming loose at bottom

Make sure the bonnet opens

Ford say transmission is sealed for life, I would have fluid changed. Our friends over the pond recommend 40,000 miles or a bit later

 

Thanks a lot Dave, appreciate it!

12 minutes ago, unofix said:

agreed !! the door seals on my two front doors have just come unstuck

Warranty ends in 3 weeks time, it's not worth the hassle to get the garage to stick them on. Will just buy a tube of evostick impact adhesive and fix them myself 

The  front door seals were an issue on the MK3 IIRC had to be glued on a couple of times.

34 minutes ago, DaveT70 said:

Door seals coming loose at bottom

Make sure the bonnet opens

Ford say transmission is sealed for life, I would have fluid changed. Our friends over the pond recommend 40,000 miles or a bit later

 

68 reg is obviously outside of manufactures warranty. With the one I’m wanting only having 24k miles, I don’t think there’s any benefit in buying a 3yr warranty. Based on what I’ve seen there’s not too much that goes wrong that you can’t fix yourself and will cost enough to warrant this? I’ve only seen 1 horror story of this TC gearbox and sounded like they being fobbed off by the dealership not replacing it and lying. Any benefit in opting for a warranty?

With my 2.0D auto I'm currently getting 40mpg, with mixture of long and short journeys.

The best I've ever got was 59mpg on motorway journeys in the summer and that was being gentle with the loud pedal.

My average over 2 years of owning the car is about 50mpg.

My previous car was a mk2 focus 1.6tdci manual and my average was about 65mpg. 

7 hours ago, BlueJoe said:

Any benefit in opting for a warranty?

In my opinion, after market warranties are in most cases not worth the paper they're written on.

It's had enough to make a claim on the original Ford warranty even when you have ticked all the boxes. I'd just put some money away each month to help towards unexpected breakdowns.

3 hours ago, MarkRS9 said:

With my 2.0D auto I'm currently getting 40mpg, with mixture of long and short journeys.

The best I've ever got was 59mpg on motorway journeys in the summer and that was being gentle with the loud pedal.

My average over 2 years of owning the car is about 50mpg.

My previous car was a mk2 focus 1.6tdci manual and my average was about 65mpg. 

What type of journeys are you doing to average 50mpg? I rarely do any city driving, it’s B and A roads at 40/60 for 5 miles until a 12 miles motorway journey to work so just trying work out what I can expect. If I could average 50 I’d be happy, any less and I’d be a bit disappointed. If I was to “hyper mile” it could I get it above 60mpg on the motorway? Absolute best I can get out my Audi is 40mpg, coasting wherever possible and sitting at 55/60 on the motorway. Curious as to what the focus would get with the same driving.

 

I don’t think I’d be ragging a 2 litre diesel in the same way I do my S3 as it’s not quick so I wouldn’t have the temptation to take it to the redline which is only going to help!

59 minutes ago, unofix said:

In my opinion, after market warranties are in most cases not worth the paper they're written on.

It's had enough to make a claim on the original Ford warranty even when you have ticked all the boxes. I'd just put some money away each month to help towards unexpected breakdowns.

I agree with them largely being worthless! Any warranty claims I’ve tried to make, you’ve got to jump through hoops and they make it so arduous and difficult in the hopes you just don’t pursue a claim!

 

my old polo GTI was known for having a crap dry clutch dsg, so I knew going into that what to expect, but as these cars are still relatively new there’s not a lot I’ve seen about common issues. If I can take it from 25k miles to 60k miles in 3 years without any/many problems and just routine servicing I’d be happy.

seems like that’s a reasonable expectation as the engine and gearbox seem fairly well built. The odd trim piece and rattle is inevitable, but I can fix that for cheap or do a quick diy bodge

18 hours ago, unofix said:

agreed !! the door seals on my two front doors have just come unstuck

Warranty ends in 3 weeks time, it's not worth the hassle to get the garage to stick them on. Will just buy a tube of evo stik impact adhesive and fix them myself 

If you're still in warranty, I'd be making them fit new ones

 

17 hours ago, Wino said:

The  front door seals were an issue on the MK3 IIRC had to be glued on a couple of times.

Issue on MK4 too

3 hours ago, DaveT70 said:

Issue on MK4 too

So far there holding on up here 👍

56 minutes ago, Wino said:

So far there holding on up here 👍

I had to glue mine on, 2019 model