Eric Bloodaxe

I see the Mk 4 ST is now appearing in the motoring press (Autocar, Auto Express etc), in actual form rather than speculative renderings. Looks very much like the same development of ST-Line styling we've already seen on the Fiesta, interior familiar stuff to any Mk 4 Focus or Mk 8 Fiesta owner, though with some rather tasty looking Recaros that look as if they might be more accommodating to - ahem - the fuller figure, than the ones in the Fiesta. From the press articles, It looks as if LSD will be standard, the Performance Pack adding stuff like red calipers, rev matching, track mode, etc. Looks to have plenty of grunt - 280ps at only 5,500 rpm and 310 lbs/ft of torque so might suit those who like me are still pining for a turbodiesel. Look forward to giving it a go when demos are available!

That ties in with what my dealership told me. They said Ford will let them do the updates to the actual system, but not the maps which they regard as an accessory the customer would have to pay for. The logic, such as it is, is that if it was an sd card based system you'd have to buy a new card from time to time if you want the maps updating.

The second circle, according to my handbook, is supposed to display a limited number of additional road signs when applicable, in addition to the speed limit shown in the first circle. I've only seen mine operate once in 12 months, to display a "no overtaking" sign - though come to think of it I don't see many of that type of sign these days, they just rely on continuous white lines.

Managed to see them flying south near York about 40 minutes ago😀. Pretty cloudy unfortunately so not the best view, but yes, very sad to see them go - great aircraft. We have a caravan at the top of Wensleydale and one of the pleasures is the daily low-flying displays which over the years have included the Tornado along with most RAF types, Army helicopters and USAF F18s up from Lakenheath. Saw an Osprey (the aircraft) a few times last year, so looking forward to seeing what comes over this season, once it's warm enough to brave going up there!

Given the number of Mk 1's on Auto Trader under £500 have to agree that this would not seem to be a goer from a purely economic viewpoint. Of course, the car may hold some special sentimental value for you? I once knew a guy who did something similar because it was where he and his wife exchanged their first kiss!

I've also had this pop up the odd time, but haven't yet managed to identify any particular circumstance that may cause it and as with Gary's car, it started fine. As Martin says, inadvertently letting the start-stop turn off the engine can cause some pretty odd effects, so I always make sure to switch off with the button nowadays. I'll try and see if I can think of anything if it happens again, e.g. if I had done a few short journeys in quick succession or if the outside temperature is low. Glad you guys mentioned it - it's another of those things that make you think "is it just me"!😀

Like - decent enough drive I suppose, good compromise between ride and handling, good brakes, gearchange on mine a bit long on travel and not as slick as the Mk 7 we had. Dislike - quite a few things unfortunately, but main thing is front seems very cramped compared to the Mk 7 my Mrs had. It could be the more thickly upholstered seats on this one - the Mk 7 was a pretty basic Edge but no problems with comfort. My Mrs's current car (SEAT Mii) though quite a bit smaller externally, feels much more spacious upfront.

Wouldn't like to think of bikes that rev to 15,000+rpm going that long without a change!😱

As I mentioned in my earlier post back in November, if I was certain that I'd be handing the car back by the end of the warranty, I'd probably stick with the recommendation and let the next owner worry about it. I should think the Ford bean counters will have calculated that the failure risk within warranty is pretty low. However, it's possible that we may hang on to the car after 3 years or pass it on to a friend or relative. Also the service team at my local dealer recommend a change at 12 months for low mileage users and from 15 years experience as a customer I tend to trust them more than Ford. As Tom says above, and as I mentioned in my earlier post, I quite understand why Ford are wanting to offer extended intervals to high mileage business users to compete with VW and others who have done this for years, I just wish they'd all done it earlier when I was doing 25-30,000 a year!

My take on it - as far as I can see Ford have just extended the service interval without making any changes to the engine, which as we know from other threads is susceptible to problems if oil is not changed frequently. Unlike VW, who specify different oils for fixed and long life service regimes, the oil spec is the same (WSS-M2C948-B) as it was before the interval was extended. Unless you are going to shop around for breakdown cover after year 1 you will be taking it in for the inspection anyway, so I thought I'd have an oil change while I was at it. Mine is still the wet belt drive version - I might take a different view it it was the revised chain cam drive which according to other threads is now in the Fiesta**- though that seems to have it's own set of issues. (**Has anyone had a Fiesta delivered lately who can confirm this?)

I'm also having an oil/filter change btw - don't fancy going 2 years with my current low annual mileage .

Yeah, that sort of thing really annoys me, like those instant loans at 1,294% apr or over 50 plans where people pay in more than they get back!😠

Just looking at the current price of this model on the Airfix site - £36.99. I think the price range was from 2 bob up to 17/6 when I last built them!

Not when mine delivered. They're in the accessories brochure for the UK.

This seems to be the worst aspect of this issue, and the problems with gpf and various Sync 3 issues. We know we don't live in an ideal world and problems do arise with what is an increasingly complex piece of machinery, but for Ford not to have a clue as to the causes and how to fix it does seem a bit much. Surprising that these issues don't seem to get a lot of publicity outside of forums like these - perhaps everyone who has encountered one or other issue could try emailing the likes of Autocar, Auto Express, Honest John etc, as at least one member on the gpf thread has done?