Ford TDDi/TDCi engines

[Chris71]

Does anyone here experience of the Ford TDDi and TDCi engines?

I'm looking for a new daily driver to tackle a lot of motorway miles and I'm considering (amongst other things) a mk1 Focus or a mk3 Mondeo. My minimal budget means both are on the cusp between the TDDi (I think sometimes simply written TDi) engine and the later common rail TDCi.

I know the TDCi engine is much more pleasant to use and some reports suggest it's more economical too (despite the extra power) but there seem to be a lot more tales of mechanical woe. Does anyone have experience of both?

[Chris71]

Thanks. Some good points, and I'll definitely look for a DMF change in the history.

I'm looking at spending around £1,500, which judging from Autotrader is likely to involve something with maybe 120,000 miles on the clock.

The whole petrol versus diesel debate is a topic in itself. I'm likely to be doing very high daily/weekly mileages for three or four months, but below average mileage thereafter. There's a good chance I'll swap whatever I get now for something a bit more stimulating come the autumn, but I need something with half decent motorway cruising and load carrying ability.

[Chris71]

Devil2575 said:

Get a Petrol car if you can stomach the increased fuel costs for the 5 months where you are doing high miles. Far less to go wrong which at the shed end of the market is important. You are unlikely to get much history on that budget, especially with a Ford, so checking if the DMF etc has been replaced is going to be difficult.

Focus 1.6/1.8 Petrol. Should do 40 mpg on a run if you take it steady and it will be more fun to drive. The Mk1 Focus has a lovely chassis and pin sharp steering and a big old diesel lump does it's best to blunt these.

The thing is, I'll probably dump this lumbering estate car (whatever it is) for something smaller and more entertaining, so it's those first few months that count.

Funnily enough my outgoing car is/was a 1.6 mk1 Focus. Good chassis, but I always thought the economy was rather poor for the mediocre performance.

[Chris71]

JREwing said:

If you're not part of the "I hate Vauxhalls and they're for disgusting scum" brigade and you're not looking for something particularly exciting, what about the mk4 1.7 diesel Astra? I hear very few bad things about them other than being boring.

Worth a look, definitely.

I was drawn to the Ford and PSA options as something that would be comparatively fun to drive (if potentially more problematic) and the VAG 1.9 diesels as sensible and dependable; hadn't really considered where an Astra might fall into that spectrum. I'm sure there's a standalone thread in that somewhere.

On that note, is there much difference between the petrol and diesel service intervals/costs for cars of that sort of age? I've done a few sums and decided that purely in terms of 'x' mpg for 'y' pounds per litre diesel works out usefully cheaper - even for a few months.