Mk1 Focus - which engine to go for?

[Chris71]

We're currently looking for a mid-sized hatch and the main candidate is a mk1 Focus. The question is, which model/engine to go for?

We had one for a few years in the past and even Mrs Chris71 liked it. The only thing is, our old 1.6 began consuming oil at a great rate after a while. Were we just unlucky or are there any known issues to watch out for?

It's just a runaround, so running costs are far more important than performance (sadly an ST or RS isn't an option). We were wondering whether to go for another 1.6 or give the 1.8 a go ... maybe even the 1.4? Any thoughts?

[Chris71]

Podie said:

I felt the 1.6 was a better drive than the 1.8 on all of cars I drove when I was at FMC (all pool cars).

2.0 was pretty lazy and flet sluggish (130bhp IIRC).

What's the budget?

I started at Dunton just after the switchover to the mk2 and only really drove the diesels. I do remember people at the time saying the 1.6 was the better engine ... and I can imagine it's great in a 550kg Caterham, but it always felt a little short on torque for the Focus. To be honest, that's not really a concern this time, though, I'd gladly have another. It's just that ours was using oil almost as quickly as petrol at 80,000 miles ... a quick Google suggests it wasn't the only one.

Budget is up to about £2k (preferably less). Looks like you still have to spend a bit more for a mk2?

We need four doors and I liked the leather seats in the Silver special edition we had before, so I'm thinking something like the Ink edition.

Other options would be a Golf or Astra, I guess.

[Chris71]

Any way to check for whatever leads to the oil consumption (piston rings, maybe)?
http://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/22806-f...

ETA I hasten to add, I mean a convenient check I could do on the forecourt - won't be bringing a compression tester or anything!

Edited by Chris71 on Wednesday 30th July 13:28