Ford Focus Petrol or diesel engine on a 2008/2009 plate, advice needed on which to buy.

[The Joshua Tree]

Hi

I'm new to the forum, i've been an owner of plenty of Ford's in the past.

I'm looking to buy a Ford Focus to use mainly for getting to work and the odd bit of nipping around, i'll occasionally use it on the motorway but not too often. I've read some info on google etc where apparently you need to tread carefully with which Focus engine you buy, problems with DPF and certain engines being better than others etc. 

Originally i was looking to get a 1.6, either a petrol or the 1.6 TDCi in either a Zetec or Titanium spec around a 08 or 09 model.

Something someone said on the net put me off the 1.6 a bit where they said it lacks power for overtaking or getting out of junctions so i've sort of moved onto looking at the 1.8 versions, i'm open minded really to either the 1.6 or the 1.8 in either a diesel or a petrol, the one that would be the best all rounder really and would potentially give you the least problems.

[Incontro]

I have the 1.6 petrol of that vintage, paired to a 4 spd auto box (the manual one should be slightly quicker, as their is less losses incurred due as a result of the torque converter). Although it's by no means "fast", it certainly isn't slow at junctions, and makes a doddle out of overtaking people in town. Outside of town, it can still overtake people on uphill A-roads if you put your foot down.

Petrol will give you the least headaches. Slightly outdated tech (no variable valve timing even), but extremely reliable engines. If your mileage is low (max 8-10K miles), then go for a petrol.

If you'll be doing mainly town driving, 1.6 should be fine. If your journeys involve a lot of A-roads/motorways, then the 1.8 shouldn't get much worse economy than the 1.6 I would imagine, so go for that one.

Note that there's two versions of the petrol 1.6: a 100PS version (the one I have), and a 115PS (Ti-VCT) version. I have been referring to the former - latter gets better economy and is newer tech, but don't know too much about them - someone else might be able to pitch in regarding that one.

[mjt]

As Incontro says the 1.8 petrol is somewhat outdated tech but none the worse for that in my opinion. I think I read somewhere that it's a Mazda engine, maybe someone can confirm that. We've got one, as you can see from my sig line, and I'm very happy with it. The things I particularly like are the chain-driven camshafts and the individual plug-top ignition coils so no problems with high-tension cables. It has an engine cover so no problems with wet plugs either. Performance in our Mk2.5 is quite lively. The only criticism is that it's a bit 'revvy' and feels as though it could do with a sixth gear, although the Mk2.5 is a noisy car anyway. Consumption is around 35mpg mostly on out-of-town driving (and I must admit I use the performance).

. The 1.8TDCi does at least have the advantage of no DPF and is pretty bullet-proof but personally, unless you do a lot of motorway miles, I'd steer clear of diesels.

[FatHead1979]

The 1.8 TDCI is pretty bulletproof and also doesn't have a DPF, however in 2008-2009 Siemens supplied Ford with a large and very crap batch of injectors for this engine.  The injectors are rather expensive to replace or refurbish so I'd give the engine a miss unless you were looking outside of cars with build dates in this range.

[The Joshua Tree]

Thanks for the replies and the pointers.

Going off what mileage i do which will be very little as the car will be mainly used for getting back and too to work a petrol version maybe a better option.

I've had a look at a few of the petrol options, it seems to be a choice between a 1.6 or a 1.8 which is slightly harder to find in a used car, obviously you've then got the different specs like Style, Zetec and Titanium etc.

I've had a look at a 1.6 Titanium 5 door which is on a 2008 plate, it's done 101K but the timing belt hasn't been changed as yet, it's got full service history, obviously i'd have to factor in a timing belt change and the cost. The price i've been given for a timing belt change is £339 incl VAT and it's + £100 incl VAT for the water pump to be changed.

Is the Titanium 1.6 petrol engine ok on a 2008 plate, how much would you say the car would be worth if it's done 101K in mileage but has full ford service history ?

What's the normal 1.6 Petrol Zetec engine like in a 2008/2009 Focus, is it the same that's in the Titanium, i presume the Titanium is just the extra spec that you get but the same engine. I wouldn't mind the 1.8  petrol engine but you don't see many in the classifieds that are for sale, if a 1.6 is fine and not too sluggish i'd go for that as it will be more economical.

[kingsblue]

The 1.6 petrol in the mk2.5 is fine, as others have said it's a basic engine, of all the 100 bhp versions I've had none of the have used a drop of oil, I was averaging 40 m.p.g as well, that's with a light right foot though, theyr'e no rocket ship but I found them perfectly fine, the 2008 titanium you mention with 101k on the clock is probably worth 2.5k ish if its tidy, like you said the cambelt is due though.

[Incontro]

9 hours ago, mjt said:

As Incontro says the 1.8 petrol is somewhat outdated tech but none the worse for that in my opinion. I think I read somewhere that it's a Mazda engine, maybe someone can confirm that. We've got one, as you can see from my sig line, and I'm very happy with it. The things I particularly like are the chain-driven camshafts and the individual plug-top ignition coils so no problems with high-tension cables. It has an engine cover so no problems with wet plugs either. Performance in our Mk2.5 is quite lively. The only criticism is that it's a bit 'revvy' and feels as though it could do with a sixth gear, although the Mk2.5 is a noisy car anyway. Consumption is around 35mpg mostly on out-of-town driving (and I must admit I use the performance).

. The 1.8TDCi does at least have the advantage of no DPF and is pretty bullet-proof but personally, unless you do a lot of motorway miles, I'd steer clear of diesels.

Yes, the 1.8 is a chain-driven Mazda engine (and a pretty decent one from what I've heard).

Personally my car cruises at 2800-2900 RPM on the motorway at 70 MPH, but another gear wouldn't help much in the way of noise (as only wind and tyre noise is audible at that speed, covering engine noise), but would possibly save a bit more fuel.

[Incontro]

5 hours ago, The Joshua Tree said:

Thanks for the replies and the pointers.

Going off what mileage i do which will be very little as the car will be mainly used for getting back and too to work a petrol version maybe a better option.

I've had a look at a few of the petrol options, it seems to be a choice between a 1.6 or a 1.8 which is slightly harder to find in a used car, obviously you've then got the different specs like Style, Zetec and Titanium etc.

I've had a look at a 1.6 Titanium 5 door which is on a 2008 plate, it's done 101K but the timing belt hasn't been changed as yet, it's got full service history, obviously i'd have to factor in a timing belt change and the cost. The price i've been given for a timing belt change is £339 incl VAT and it's + £100 incl VAT for the water pump to be changed.

Is the Titanium 1.6 petrol engine ok on a 2008 plate, how much would you say the car would be worth if it's done 101K in mileage but has full ford service history ?

What's the normal 1.6 Petrol Zetec engine like in a 2008/2009 Focus, is it the same that's in the Titanium, i presume the Titanium is just the extra spec that you get but the same engine. I wouldn't mind the 1.8  petrol engine but you don't see many in the classifieds that are for sale, if a 1.6 is fine and not too sluggish i'd go for that as it will be more economical.

Timing belt must absolutely be done on the 1.6 belt-driven (100 PS) engine within 8 years (no matter the mileage), to be on the safe side. 

For car values, check auto-trader and compare cars with similar spec-levels/age/mileage.

For the "normal" (100 PS) 1.6 Petrol engine, see my first post in this thread. It will be exactly the same in a titanium, zetec/titanium/etc. is only the trim-level.

[The Joshua Tree]

So what's the difference in the chain driven belt on the 1.8 to a normal type belt on the 1.6 etc, is the mileage different for replacing a chain driven belt compared to a normal one like on a 1.6 ?

 

I'm favouring a 1.8 petrol one at the min if i can find one in the colour i want but a used 1.8 petrol isn't as easy to find as say a 1.6. Only thing is the 1.8 seems to be twice the road tax at £230 for 12 months which is a lot really compared to £115 on the 1.6 Zetec.

[The Joshua Tree]

Cheers for the help and advice

I bought a 1.8 Petrol Focus, it's a Titanium model on an 08 plate which should hopefully be fine for a couple of years motoring. With the mainly short journeys i do a diesel wouldn't have been right, first impressions it drives really nice and it's a nice driving position.

[Incontro]

On 10/5/2016 at 11:06 AM, The Joshua Tree said:

Cheers for the help and advice

I bought a 1.8 Petrol Focus, it's a Titanium model on an 08 plate which should hopefully be fine for a couple of years motoring. With the mainly short journeys i do a diesel wouldn't have been right, first impressions it drives really nice and it's a nice driving position.

Will do far more than a couple years of trouble free motoring!! Hope you enjoy it.

[Ashrylo]

@The Joshua Tree 

I've recently bought a 2009 Focus style 125 1.8 petrol with only 12K on the clock, bargain at a little over 4K. 

So far in my opinion it's seems to be a nice engine, pulls well in all gears and relatively quiet on the A roads I commute. 

Hope you enjoy yours as much as I have mine :) 

[The Joshua Tree]

Thanks mate, hope you enjoy your virtually new Focus with only 12k on the clock :)

[Incontro]

2009 with only 12k?? BLIMEY!

[Ashrylo]

Yeah I was surprised when I saw it, bought it from a Evans Halshw dealer in Doncaster it has 1 previous owner serviced 7 times at yearly intervals at just over 1.2k each time haha. Currently on about 15k now though :) 

[DJ_Andy_M]

My advice: If you're doing a lot of town driving/short journeys/less than 10000 miles a year get a petrol and stay away from the 1.6TDCi on the MK2/MK2.5 cars at all costs unless you are prepared to love it like a small child.

• 2008/2009 DPF requires an eloys fluid, and is expensive and must be topped up.
• oil must be changed at 6000 mile intervals
• Injector seal failure is a common issue
• Turbo failure is a common issue
• Engine runaway is a result of the above two and can be caused by not following the oil change at 6000 miles and service at 12500 miles routine.

I had one. Mine died. You'll find hundreds of threads about these engines.