Tom's TDCi Titanium X...

[Piggy]

What about at 70mph?

Probably use almost identical amount of fuel...but do 10mph more

[powerandtorque]

Modern car in doesn't achieve claimed MPG shocker....

Faster you go, the more fuel you burn to overcome wind resistance, so I'm not too surprised that it MPG is dropping off on sustained 60-70mph runs compared to driving sedately on a B-road.

[Seb_Ryan]

My alfa is a ~10mpg better at 70/75 than 60 maybe down to the gearing?

[Midnightclub]

Nice to see all the usual negative comments and horror stories..

Happy for you mate, seems to suit your requirements well and you aren't moaning about it yet so it must be alright! lol

[Eeyore]

Yeh im glad you found something you like and feel more confident in tom. Hope it all goes well and you get in a gti6 soon.

[Toms306]

What about at 70mph?

Probably use almost identical amount of fuel...but do 10mph more

Well at 85 its considerably less, about 40mpg (on the instant mpg meter) on a flat road at a constant speed.

Seemed to be about the same at 70 as 60 but I just assumed I was imagining that as 60 should be better, in my mind!

Modern car in doesn't achieve claimed MPG shocker....

Faster you go, the more fuel you burn to overcome wind resistance, so I'm not too surprised that it MPG is dropping off on sustained 60-70mph runs compared to driving sedately on a B-road.

Not even sure what the extra urban book figure is lol, I only take any notice of the mixed/average figure which is 64mpg. I assumed thatd be a bit optimistic so guessed 60mpg average would be more realistic. Which it is doing....but only until the extra urban driving which is always claimed to be higher.

B road driving should be pretty bad for mpg, I never said it was sedate lol, accelerating and slowing between 35-55, slamming on brakes 2 or 3 times per trip for the people that dont understand giveway lines, following tractors at 20mph for short periods, lots of corners and a really poor road surface.....how is that any good for efficiency?

I get the wind resistance thing but a lot of money has gone into making cars more aerodynamic, so it shouldn't make such a huge difference nowadays surely? Its also clean and waxed, every little helps, right.

My alfa is a ~10mpg better at 70/75 than 60 maybe down to the gearing?

Hmm, it is only a 5 speed, but it's a possibility I guess.

Nice to see all the usual negative comments and horror stories..

Happy for you mate, seems to suit your requirements well and you aren't moaning about it yet so it must be alright! lol

Lol, cheers Danny. The moaning will start soon...

In fact I could moan about it, seems to have blown the reverse light bulb, which is fun with tints in a village with no street lights haha. Thought it'd bring up an error message for a blown bulb though, like the Vectra used to....only the Vectra used to imagine blown bulbs half the time.

Yeh im glad you found something you like and feel more confident in tom. Hope it all goes well and you get in a gti6 soon.

Cheers Sam. GTi6 will have to wait lol...bigger plans first!

[Seb_Ryan]

My alfa is only a 5 speed aswell tom, it sits at about 2200 at 70 and just a tad over 2k at 60

[THE_Liam]

Here we go again. Awaiting thread about how it only gets 60mpg and everything is broken and expensive to fix so it makes sense to buy another new car.

[Toms306]

Oh for some reason I thought it was the same 150CDTi with 6speed as the Vectra, my bad.

I think 70 is just under 2k in 5th in the Focus, so nice and quiet at motorway speed!! Not ideal for passive DPF regens though lol.

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Here we go again. Awaiting thread about how it only gets 60mpg and everything is broken and expensive to fix so it makes sense to buy another new car.

Nothings broken as far as I'm aware lol. 60mpg avg is fine. I just expected more on the motorway so was after any mpg tips! Where's Poodle lol...?

Wont be changing car any time soon, took long enough to find something I actually liked lol, there really isn't anything else I'd go for atm. Which feels really odd tbf, usually I'm already thinking about the next car before even buying the current one. Think buying cars was more about the 'chase' than the end result. But this time I genuinely cant think of anything I'd rather have.

[THE_Liam]

You've said it all before cocker, but whatever makes you happy mate

[Seb_Ryan]

Mines the 2.4 5 cylinder :p bloody shocking around town at like 38, but on a run its 55+ which is bloody good for what it is

[Toms306]

You've said it all before cocker, but whatever makes you happy mate

I haven't...I bought the 1.8 wanting a Golf TDi. I bought the Silver Golf wanting a better specced one. Unfortunately I had no say in the next one. Bought a HDi estate wanting a newer, bigger saloon style car. Bought the Vectra wanting a small city car for a potential plan that didn't go ahead. Bought the next 1.8 wanting a diesel. Bought the moonstone wanting a Mk6 Golf...but Golfs are expensive lol, so that's not likely.

Changing cars is far too much hassle these days when you eventually find something good. Definitely wont be doing it again in a hurry.

[Piggy]

If at 70mph its just under 2k rpm. I would say at 60mph it must be almost labouring it...which maybe why its not returning good mpgs.

I cant for a moment imagine average B road driving to be more efficient than even 80mph steady on the motorway!?

[Toms306]

Mines the 2.4 5 cylinder :p bloody shocking around town at like 38, but on a run its 55+ which is bloody good for what it is

Oh I see haha. Someones got a 1.9 Alfa on here I think.

Town mpg isn't bad in the Focus tbh, certainly doesn't lower the average like the motorway mpg does which I just cant get my head round lol.



One thing I have thought though, the A12/A14 aren't exactly level, there's quite a few hills and dips in them...but coasting downhill in gear must even out the uphill push? Also, how far do you need to go (roughly) to counter out the initial acceleration and get the average to climb again? Maybe I'm not going far enough to overcome the initial extra fuel usage? I know that's true when I nip to the supermarket as its 12 miles of B road followed by just 2 miles of dual carriageway...its actually more efficient to drive through town to get there rather than the 70mph bypass!!

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If at 70mph its just under 2k rpm. I would say at 60mph it must be almost labouring it...which maybe why its not returning good mpgs.

I cant for a moment imagine average B road driving to be more efficient than even 80mph steady on the motorway!?

Nah VNT ftw, basically always on boost and max torque is at 1750rpm so its not labouring until right down near 1000rpm, can do 40 (just) in 5th on a flat road before labouring, obviously not uphill though. Think 60 is about 1650rpm.

Glad its not just me that's confused by this though. s

[Ruan]

Good choice IMHO.

Everyone on here will tell you about the dead steering and horrible suspension and not to mention how drastically unreliable it is...

Remember, everything you read on t'interwibbles will be the absolute worst case... Think about how many 1.6TDCI/HDis are out there vs how many actually go wrong... It's just that they do have a slight reputation for a problem AND they're one of the most popular engines out there... Infact come to think of it, I bet they're one of the most common engines on the road today, if not THE most common, think for a second HOW many vehicles have that engine in!

[silverzx]

How much was it?

Or how much "do they go for" in similar spec/condition?

[Matt-Rallye]

Im a fan of the ford focus tbh, when i worked at a local 2nd hand car sales the majority of cars we sold were golfs and focus's

More often we would have the golfs coming in for warranty work than the focus's! thats where my opinion of unreliable german 'hide behind an old reputation' shite comes from. i would recommend a focus too anyone wanting a sensible daily

But me being me i would of had the 2.0TDCI just for the powaaaaaaaaaaaaar

[Toms306]

Good choice IMHO.

Everyone on here will tell you about the dead steering and horrible suspension and not to mention how drastically unreliable it is...

Remember, everything you read on t'interwibbles will be the absolute worst case... Think about how many 1.6TDCI/HDis are out there vs how many actually go wrong... It's just that they do have a slight reputation for a problem AND they're one of the most popular engines out there... Infact come to think of it, I bet they're one of the most common engines on the road today, if not THE most common, think for a second HOW many vehicles have that engine in!

Thanks Ruan!

Yeah I was surprised how many cars its in when I was searching tbh as I was looking for a DV6 after looking at the stats of other similar engines, I know the have a couple of potential problems (the turbo mainly lol) but there aren't nearly as many failing these days, all the google results for broken DV6 turbos seem to be from years ago, or ones that haven't been serviced in 50k lol. Plus I can't imagine someone like Volvo sticking with it if it was that bad!

How much was it?

Or how much "do they go for" in similar spec/condition?

Well I bought from a dealer for the warranty - just in case the turbo should pop lol. Though he probably thinks I'm trying to break it as I specifically asked if it was covered.

The book figures for this model, condition, spec, below avg mileage with leather and xenons from a dealer is over £6k! As said, I didn't pay that lol. Private sale is around £5250, which is nearer. Though I saw one very similar make £5650 on ebay in horrible Tornado red (similar to cherry) with big stone chips on the bumper/bonnet and peeling paint along the sills!

Seems a lot when compared to the Vectra which was only 2 years older at the time I sold it for £3k. But then it didn't have the low running costs, hatchback versatility (saloon style rear end crap for fitting stuff in and small length for easier parking) and had double the mileage and about half the spec. The Focus is probably the most desirable used car on the market atm.

Im a fan of the ford focus tbh, when i worked at a local 2nd hand car sales the majority of cars we sold were golfs and focus's

More often we would have the golfs coming in for warranty work than the focus's! thats where my opinion of unreliable german 'hide behind an old reputation' shite comes from. i would recommend a focus too anyone wanting a sensible daily

But me being me i would of had the 2.0TDCI just for the powaaaaaaaaaaaaar

Cheers Matt....don't suppose you get any rear ended mk2.5 Focii in your breakers? Looking for a cruise steering wheel if so.

I did consider the 2.0, not just for power, they also get rear discs and are a bit cheaper to buy!! But the running costs were quite a bit higher, on paper at least, and I find the 1.6 adequate anyway. It's not massively fast, obviously slower than the mapped 306, but the in gear pull in 3rd or 4th still amazes me for a 1.6 in such a heavy car and its nippy around town as well. Only once have I felt it was too slow, and that was a very poorly timed overtake in the wrong gear uphill past a lorry. I'd got used to dropping gears for power again in the 306s though, when its better to ride the torque in a higher gear instead.

[Matt-Rallye]

Sorry what i meant to say was your a massive bumder, the only sure is too buy a 306, lower it 40mm on clones and supercharge it.


I'll keep an eye out for a 2.5 cruise wheel sir

[Toms306]

Just trying to think how many 40mm dropped, cloned 306s I've owned now. Think its about 5 or 6, not that I'm a sheep at all. None supercharged though haha.

[C.A.R.]

These are a good steer, my boss just P/x'd a 2007 (earlier pre-facelift) 2.0 TDCi and it was a stonking chassis with plenty of oomph.

We've driven loads of rentals with the 1.6 diesel engine in and they go alright, never going to set the world on fire but they serve a purpose and do 45+ mpg all day long. Our results are somewhat hampered mind, since they are 'rentals' after all

It wouldn't be my choice, but I can see how it appeals. I prefer to think a bigger, less-stressed engine will get equivalent / better mpg with the extra power there if you want it, especially the way I drive. You can find the performance limit of these 1.6 diesels very quickly. How would it go with a remap?! :p

Same boss recently picked up a 1.7 Zafira because it said it would do 65mpg. HA! It does 43. And is slow as fook. Should have got the 1.9 all along like I insisted!

[Toms306]

These are a good steer, my boss just P/x'd a 2007 (earlier pre-facelift) 2.0 TDCi and it was a stonking chassis with plenty of oomph.

We've driven loads of rentals with the 1.6 diesel engine in and they go alright, never going to set the world on fire but they serve a purpose and do 45+ mpg all day long. Our results are somewhat hampered mind, since they are 'rentals' after all

It wouldn't be my choice, but I can see how it appeals. I prefer to think a bigger, less-stressed engine will get equivalent / better mpg with the extra power there if you want it, especially the way I drive. You can find the performance limit of these 1.6 diesels very quickly. How would it go with a remap?! :p

Same boss recently picked up a 1.7 Zafira because it said it would do 65mpg. HA! It does 43. And is slow as fook. Should have got the 1.9 all along like I insisted!

Christ, I get better than 45mpg in town! But I see your point about them being rentals.

Its obviously not a performance motor, but I don't find it runs of puff with me tbh, and it doesn't feel 'stressed' either, not like a 1.4 306 or a 106 NAD does, I find 306 HDis feel stressed as well really, but that's more to do with the gearbox I think, they need a 6th imo.

Were your 1.6s, 110s or 90s? I was quite surprised the difference that that 20bhp (and the extra torque) made tbh! I tested a 1.6 90 'studio' (less spec than a Rallye! ) at the main dealer up for the same price as mine was, really didn't feel like enough power for the weight imo. The 110 will happily sit at 90 if you don't mind burning fuel lol, but obviously the 2.0 would get you to 90 faster. But then even that's only another 25bhp...not worth the extra fuel, tax and insurance for me so the best compromise between the 1.6 90 and the 2.0 136 was the 1.6 110.

Not sure what they do with a remap, I'd imagine better performance and economy than the 2.0, but I'm not gonna push my luck like that this time, I don't drive it wishing it had more power so until that happens I probably wont bother lol. I don't reckon the turbo would be efficient with much more power though, its pretty small, GT1544v I think, but I'm sure JP or Ruan will know what they're capable of if I do decide to go for a remap. Wont be anytime soon though, £250 insurance the year is nice!

With the Vauxhall engines, I don't think they make an efficient diesel. They get decent power from them, but at the expense of economy it seems. I never managed 50mpg with the 150CDTi in the Vectra, probably get even less in the heavier Zafira.

[Niall]

Seems a lot when compared to the Vectra which was only 2 years older at the time I sold it for £3k. But then it didn't have the low running costs, hatchback versatility (saloon style rear end crap for fitting stuff in and small length for easier parking) and had double the mileage and about half the spec. The Focus is probably the most desirable used car on the market atm.

Few things there. Firstly, the Ford will be much more desirable than the vectra. The focus is one of them cars that people will never get bored of yet the Vectra was becoming incredibly tiresome by the time your one was made and becoming less and less desirable. Just look at similar cars produced at the same time and it just shows you how behind the times the Vec was with styling, kit etc.
Also, and this is just my opinion (based on the fact I've just spent 2 weeks in a 63 plate insignia), but vauxhalls are just bloody terrible. Rediculously unrefined, uncomfortable, the quality of the kit in the car is shocking. Like i said in the chat box, Fords are certainly a no thrills car and pretty boring but are a case of what you see is what you get. They don't try and be pretentious (look at the higher spec Insignias. 5 series/A6 spec levels yet they can't even fit a quiet reliable engine or an interior that won't shake its self to pieces) and never claim to be but what they do, they do very well.

[THE_Liam]

Christ, I get better than 45mpg in town!

And for perspective, I can't even get that on a 400 mile run at 60mph

[7057sam]

Looks gangsta with the tints g

[Toms306]

Seems a lot when compared to the Vectra which was only 2 years older at the time I sold it for £3k. But then it didn't have the low running costs, hatchback versatility (saloon style rear end crap for fitting stuff in and small length for easier parking) and had double the mileage and about half the spec. The Focus is probably the most desirable used car on the market atm.

Few things there. Firstly, the Ford will be much more desirable than the vectra. The focus is one of them cars that people will never get bored of yet the Vectra was becoming incredibly tiresome by the time your one was made and becoming less and less desirable. Just look at similar cars produced at the same time and it just shows you how behind the times the Vec was with styling, kit etc.
Also, and this is just my opinion (based on the fact I've just spent 2 weeks in a 63 plate insignia), but vauxhalls are just bloody terrible. Rediculously unrefined, uncomfortable, the quality of the kit in the car is shocking. Like i said in the chat box, Fords are certainly a no thrills car and pretty boring but are a case of what you see is what you get. They don't try and be pretentious (look at the higher spec Insignias. 5 series/A6 spec levels yet they can't even fit a quiet reliable engine or an interior that won't shake its self to pieces) and never claim to be but what they do, they do very well.

Yep, I agree completely tbh. Vauxhalls look good on paper, but they just don't deliver imo. Lots of spec but built pretty cheaply and poorly (imo). The vibrations at speed were awful, whole dash would be jumping at 70 on the A14 (I admit its a shit road) but that's really not good enough for what was a 25k car new, as well as the massive road noise at that speed really wasn't a nice place to be, not somewhere I enjoyed spending time in.

There were daft design flaws with the Vec as well...like the fact they saved on fitting ESP/TC by making the chassis better for the facelift - ok that helped with cornering but not wet junctions lol, and due to the redesigned chassis flexing on corners the windscreens would crack, mine was on its 3rd screen at 7 years old!

However, although the Focus did cost more and I was trying to justify it against the Vec, I know it'll also hold value much better, will still be desirable in a few years time, particularly due to the low running costs and big spec so I wasnt so bothered about paying a bit extra after thinking it through properly.

Christ, I get better than 45mpg in town!

And for perspective, I can't even get that on a 400 mile run at 60mph

Lol, tbf, that's only in light traffic, think it'd be considerably less at rush hour!



On the note of MPG, I watched the instant mpg meter today, I know they're not hugely accurate but its better than nothing.

I did 60mph in the flat NSL limit road between my house and the dual carriageway...

Then did 60 and 70 on the A14...

Came to the conclusion that the A14 is a lot more uphill than I'd ever really noticed before lol. The flat NSL road was getting a fairly constant 65-70mpg. Uphill on the A14 I was seeing low 50s, jumping to 99.9mpg coasting downhill but it wasn't for long enough to bring the overall average back up. So basically I need to move somewhere flatter to see better fast mpg!



And an update on the reverse light issue...bulb looks ok. So I'll have to get the multimeter out tomorrow, will check the bulb itself, then check its getting voltage. Probably a stupid question but I'm having a blonde moment, the reverse light should be on with just igniton on, not engine running, shouldn't it? Obviously I cant get out and check with it in gear. I'm expecting it to be the switch though tbf.

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Looks gangsta with the tints g

Does indeed. So nice to not get glare through the rear window as well, both with the sun and other cars lights! Also means people behind cant see in.

Does make reversing without a reverse light difficult though. And trying to see if theres any exhaust smoke to indicate a DPF regen.

[Pete]

Nice enough car. Guessing this is pretty much the same as our lasses C30 1.6D underneath and that's a nice drive, would benefit from a remap though IMO

[mr_fish]

I like it, would quite happily jump in a drive that around.

Good purchase I say. Keep on top of your service intervals with good quality parts & oil and you should have so hassle free motoring...or as close as hopefully

[Toms306]

Nice enough car. Guessing this is pretty much the same as our lasses C30 1.6D underneath and that's a nice drive, would benefit from a remap though IMO

Same engine but slightly different management/map which makes the Volvo slower iirc. Different gearing as well if its the eco model for the £20 tax. Didn't try a C30 myself, didn't even see one locally lol, did try a 1.6 S60 (I think) but wasn't keen on the saloon rear end, prefer hatchbacks.

I like it, would quite happily jump in a drive that around.

Good purchase I say. Keep on top of your service intervals with good quality parts & oil and you should have so hassle free motoring...or as close as hopefully

Don't think hassle free motoring is possible lol, but yeah, close to would be good!

[lolsteve]

Like this generatino focus. Never been in one mind but they just look smart and simple, nothing to upset yet nothing to thrill.

In regards to vaxhaul build quality, I was on the motorway the other week and a new shape astra went past me with the bottom rear corner (the bit just behind the wheel) was flopping around in the wind. Looked like it was thin material or something