I'm on the lookout for a family car and a large(ish) one at that. Have discounted SUVs and am instead looking at estates. Current toss-up is between a Skoda Octavia and Ford Focus and I am leaning more towards the latter. I prefer its looks and I've always found working on Fords to be pretty straightforward, particularly with a decent workshop manual, the power of Forscan and wide choice of aftermarket parts.

I've settled on the version (Mk 4, probably pre-facelift) and trim level (ST-Line or ST-Line X) and until I had a random chat with @unofix about the unrelated subject of wiring diagrams had assumed I'd be going for the 125PS 1L Ecoboost as I quite like the 100PS 1L Ecoboost in my wife's 2013 Fiesta. I hadn't considered the diesel options though and I am wondering whether they might be a better bet given the extra weight of the Focus Estate (1395kg) over that of the Fiesta (1091kg)?

Looking at the specs for some of the engine line-up for a plain numbers comparison:

1L Ecoboost (Petrol):

Power: 125 PS
Torque: 170 Nm
MPG: 44.1-47.9
0-60: 11.1 s

1.5L Ecoblue (Diesel):

Power: 120 PS
Torque: 300 Nm
MPG: 62.8-67.3 mpg
0-60: 10.0 s

All that extra torque with the diesel sounds like it would be ideal for an estate car, particularly when loaded up with camping gear or whatever, so might it a more enjoyable drive?

I know historically that the petrol vs diesel choice seemed to come down to low vs high mileage - is that really still the case? I'll be doing fairly low mileage but surely there's more to it than that nowadays? Indeed, I've always felt that the 1L Ecoboost is basically a diesel engine that happens to run on petrol what with its diesel-like characteristics (high compression, direct injection, high pressure fuel pump, turbocharger etc), whereas historically normally aspirated petrol engines were completely different beasts to diesels.

Grateful for your thoughts and experiences!

 

49 minutes ago, MJNewton said:

I know historically that the petrol vs diesel choice seemed to come down to low vs high mileage - is that really still the case?

I can't answer for the 1.5 diesel, but my 2019 2.0 diesel has around 39K on the clock. Probably as much as 80% of those miles are journeys of around 8 to 10 miles at a time. So far so good, not had any issues with DPF problems (probably will now 🤣). Remember many newer petrol engine cars now have GPF's and there have been quite a few reported problems with them.

One thing that you will have to accept and just get used to, is that every 4 to 5 weeks you will need to put the battery on charge over night as the state of charge slowly goes down over time if the car doesn't do frequent long trips. The situation can be improved by using FORScan to change the factory set SOC of 80% up to a more realistic 95%

Happy new car hunting, and you will find that a Mk4 has a better spec than the later Mk4.5

Thanks Unofix, and thanks for just casually mentioning engine types when we spoke otherwise I might never have considered the alternatives!

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I can't answer for the 1.5 diesel, but my 2019 2.0 diesel has around 39K on the clock. Probably as much as 80% of those miles are journeys of around 8 to 10 miles at a time. So far so good, not had any issues with DPF problems (probably will now 🤣). Remember many newer petrol engine cars now have GPF's and there have been quite a few reported problems with them.

Good to hear the short journeys haven't seemingly posed an issue. My mileage, whilst low overall, would likely be longer than that individually. Indeed with it becoming the family car I'd expect it to be used for the 300-mile round trips we often make to see the grandparents, and further afield when holidaying. The wife's Fiesta would then just be doing all the local trips.

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One thing that you will have to accept and just get used to, is that every 4 to 5 weeks you will need to put the battery on charge over night as the state of charge slowly goes down over time if the car doesn't do frequent long trips. The situation can be improved by using FORScan to change the factory set SOC of 80% up to a more realistic 95%

Is the 80% to 95% change adjusting what it charges up to, or what it waits to fall below before charging again?

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Happy new car hunting, and you will find that a Mk4 has a better spec than the later Mk4.5

I would normally always be tempted by the newer version of any car (and correspondingly nudging the budget up too) but truth be told I don't think I like the look of the front of the Mk 4.5 as much, and I certainly don't like that they moved the climate controls to the touchscreen.

If you are thinking about a Petrol model then the 1.5 3 Cylinder Dragon Engined ones are superior in every way if you can get one. 

150 or 182 PS and 240 Nm of Torque from low down the rev range and they have Duel Direct and Port Injection so you get the best of both worlds.

The Book Fuel Consumption is only a little bit worse but probably slightly better in real life because it doesn't need to work as hard in my opinion.

2 hours ago, MJNewton said:

Is the 80% to 95% change adjusting what it charges up to, or what it waits to fall below before charging again?

It is what it charges up to on a long run. I was up north for the weekend and my Battery was sitting at 97% on the way home when I checked it. I did replace the Battery a year and a half ago though.

18 hours ago, Tizer said:

If you are thinking about a Petrol model then the 1.5 3 Cylinder Dragon Engined ones are superior in every way if you can get one. 

150 or 182 PS and 240 Nm of Torque from low down the rev range and they have Duel Direct and Port Injection so you get the best of both worlds.

The Book Fuel Consumption is only a little bit worse but probably slightly better in real life because it doesn't need to work as hard in my opinion.

Ah, yes, I didn't know about that one. I've been reading from the 2020 brochure which doesn't feature it but I see now that it was available in 2018 and 2019. The figures do indeed look a bit better:

1.5L 150PS Ecoboost (Petrol):

Power: 150 PS
Torque: 240 Nm
MPG: 44.1-45.6
0-60: 9.02 s

1.5L 182PS Ecoboost (Petrol):

Power: 182 PS
Torque: 240 Nm
MPG: 42.8-42.8
0-60: 8.5 s

A few more options there then - thanks. A 1.5L petrol sounds like it could be a good bet so will do some more reading up on it. I suppose driving some different options would be the best way of determining what they're all like.

49 minutes ago, MJNewton said:

A few more options there then - thanks. A 1.5L petrol sounds like it could be a good bet so will do some more reading up on it. I suppose driving some different options would be the best way of determining what they're all like.

Although the Torque figures look the same the figures for the

150 PS version are 240 Nm from 1600 to 4000 RPM

182 PS version are 240 Nm from 1600 to 4500 RPM.

The ones with a Build Date in late 2018 had a different Balance Shaft arrangement and an Oil Pump that was not driven via a Wet Belt but I believe they may be more prone to failure.

The ones with a Build Date from early January 2019 have a Wet Belt driven Oil Pump.

All Petrol Engines have a GPF. I have had mine since new and never had the Drive to Clean message, a good Motorway run brings the Implied Soot Loads back down to zero according to FORScan.

Thanks for that extra info. There are lots of nuances aren't there!

I'm having a read of the service manual as it is a good way to see exactly how this engine is designed and what's inside it! (It does mention the gear-to-belt change)