So, having racked up 177000 miles in my 59 plate mk2.5, it's time to move on.

Getting a 61 plate mk3 at the weekend, and although older than I'd have liked, only 30k on the clock. 

Are there any "must have" easy mods on the mk3 like the 2.5's heater controls? ELMConfig options?

Also anyone know if DAB+ is available in a radio firmware upgrade?

DDS and Hill Start Assist are easy options to turn on with ELMconfig, I did it on my mum's 2012 Zetec.

What trim level are you getting?

3 minutes ago, alexp999 said:

DDS and Hill Start Assist are easy options to turn on with ELMconfig, I did it on my mum's 2012 Zetec.

What trim level are you getting?

Titanium (not X, not nav).... so I should have DDS and Hill Start.

Just to note, theres nothing wrong with the 2.5 - solid as a rock TDCI.  Just time for a change.  Very sad to lose the 2.5 though.  Awesome car

Ah, you'll have all the nice soft touch plastics, better headliner, sunglasses holder, ambient lighting, etc already then too.

The titanium should have EATC so no knobs to change.

You should also have the larger centre screen between the instrument gauges. If not it's a worthy upgrade imo.

1 minute ago, alexp999 said:

Ah, you'll have all the nice soft touch plastics, better headliner, sunglasses holder, ambient lighting, etc already then too.

The titanium should have EATC so no knobs to change.

You should also have the larger centre screen between the instrument gauges. If not it's a worthy upgrade imo.

I insisted on both the "proper" display on both dash and radio, but its not the larger than large nav screen obviously.  By proper I mean it's like a TFT screen, rather than an LCD/LED type I guess?

Reading around, is there a sure fire way to swap the ODO onto the 4 screen trip computer rather than average speed? I know people have tried to get ford to upgrade it.

Also, HEC upgrades available like ELMConfig did on the 2.5? I guess this FoCCCus tool might do it?

Yeah the decent screens are TFT for the driver dash and radio. Otherwise it's just a "matrix" screen. Still LCD, but mono colour.

Yeah Focccus is the elmconfig equivalent for the Mk3. That's what I meant to say I used on my mum's Focus.

You can change just about anything with it, but it's only a settings config for the enabled features. You need to have the correct hardware and looms to go with it (depending on what it is).

48 minutes ago, alexp999 said:

Yeah the decent screens are TFT for the driver dash and radio. Otherwise it's just a "matrix" screen. Still LCD, but mono colour.

Yeah Focccus is the elmconfig equivalent for the Mk3. That's what I meant to say I used on my mum's Focus.

You can change just about anything with it, but it's only a settings config for the enabled features. You need to have the correct hardware and looms to go with it (depending on what it is).

Does it have the ability to upgrade yet? Looks a little bit less geeky than ELM?

 I have been doing research into DAB+

I haven't asked Ford about a firmware upgrade for my 2009 Kuga DAB, as I understand it can't be done. It is like the difference between normal tv and HD

My 62 plate Focus gets DAB+ Maybe your Focus will as well?

On get digital radio.com you input your postcode and it tells you which stations you should be able to receive and shows which ones are DAB+. See if you can get one of the ones listed as DAB+

In my area it's Union Jack, Fun Kids and Jazz

Yes it would be the same for me.  The DAB+ vs HD isn't quite fair - a lot of digital radios, in car and elsewhere use the same DAB chipsets.  A lot of these support DAB+ but often need a software upgrade.  We can guess the chances of that :P

Yes, I see that some "pure" digital radios can be upgraded. Maybe I will call Ford technical and ask...

2 hours ago, Jezza54 said:

Yes, I see that some "pure" digital radios can be upgraded. Maybe I will call Ford technical and ask...

Let me know if you get anywhere :)

DAB+ uses better codecs than DAB. AAC rather than MP2 meaning higher quality at a lower bit rate.

No where near SD vs HD. They have HD radio in the US, but I don't know how that would compare to DAB+.