Ford Focus (Mk1) | Shed of the Week
Ford pioneered the idea of the family car; it might not have ever built a better one than the Mk1 Focus
We've all seen those stories about 'the most important cars in history'. The usual suspects that get trotted out are the Beetle, the original Mini, and of course the Finknottle Chuffmeister, which we all now wish we had kept.
Chronologically speaking, most of these lists seem to come to a screeching halt in the 1970s, suggesting that no significant cars have been built in the age of robotisation. Shed begs to differ. He thinks that the most important car of modern times, by a very long chalk indeed, is the Mk 1 Ford Focus, and that the 1.6 petrol is the best one of the lot.
Why? Shed doesn't remember much about anything these days, but he does know that he will never forget spending a week piloting a pre-launch 1.6 around a big French test facility in 1997, some months before the Focus went on sale in 1998. At the time he remembers thinking that he must have slipped through some sort of hole in the time-space continuum because not only did the Richard Parry-Jones Focus handle far better than anything else in its class, it outdrove 'premium' motors from one or even two classes above. The difference between the Focus and its Escort predecessor was bordering on ridiculous.
Subsequent iterations of the Focus seem to have slipped down a different and less pleasing hole in the matrix, saddled by increasing weight and complication in the relentless search for profit opportunities. The rot actually started in 2002 with the Mk 1 ST170, which many folk bought thinking that they would get all the dynamic attributes of the basic Focus plus a useful dose of extra speed. The extra speed bit was sort of delivered in the ST, but the price for your 134mph was too much weight over the front wheels, a wheezy engine, poor gear ratios and a horrid stick to rummage through them.
The 1.6 might only have 99hp but it's a really sweet and willing 99hp. The gear change is beautifully slick and precise and the car comes in at under 1100kg, which is a good 100kg less than the ST. It's light on its feet and the balance is impeccable. You can have an absolute ball on the right road without troubling your licence. For once, the European Car of the Year judges didn't have to be pilloried after they gave the Focus the big gong in 1999.
So whenever Shed sees a late-model, low-mileage and apparently unwanted Mk 1 1.6 like this one for sale at under a thousand pounds, a weird feeling goes through his loins. The immediate suspicion is that it must have the rust, but the MOT history here is incredibly clean. It's only an LX, but this kind of hair-shirt minimalism only adds to the appeal for Shed, who was brought up in a remote forest by a kindly old sheep.
The Mk 1 Focus is important because it brought a fantastic mix of practicality, affordability and genuine driving entertainment within the reach of ordinary people. Some will lambast it for its highish driving position, or simply for its Ford badge, but Shed's advice to non-believers is to give one - and why not this one - a try.
Any sixteen-year-old car is bound to have issues. Common Mk 1 ailments apart from the aforementioned rust to the wheelarches and door bottoms can include coil packs, crumbly wiring, faulty alternators, leaky oil filler caps, wonky door latches and a loss of power caused by a duff PCM module, plus the airbag might suddenly go off in your face, but at £995 any problems would have to be more terminal than this to put Shed off. And anyway, according to the ad you get a year's breakdown cover thrown in. Job's a good 'un.
Edited to add - this one has a CD player, my one only had a tape player, the luxury!
These (and the same vintage Ka) were so futuristic at the time and still dont look half bad - much much better than the podgy mk2!
Ive only driven an ST170 version which was a friends when I had an RX8, always liked the dash layout and of course the infamous green dials!!
Actually they do drive brilliantly. I tried a courtesy car lent to my brother in law about 1999/2000, it felt so light on its feet. Wanted to leave him my Passat and take it home.
Suspect one so old may need dampers and bushes to bring the magic back....
I was lucky enough to drive most of the trim levels except for the ST170-they were too sporty for the company car pool. I had a brand new rental car I bombed around the country in for three weeks in. It was a nice place to be and on the back roads was at the time a cornering weapon! The only thing I found was that when I gave the car back I could no longer make the second to third shift. I found this to be an issue on every focus I drove....Even my brothers one he had at the time....
Lovely drive though.
I’ve had four of them over the years. Two diesels (company cars), a 1.6 Zetec, and most recently a 2.0 Zetec which I bought at the end of 2016 for £550 to tide me over until my M140i got built. The 1.6 was the best of the lot. Didn’t actually feel much slower than the 2.0 and the engine was infinitely sweeter and much more economical.
They just drive so well. Light on their feet, brilliant handling and way more fun than a humble shopping hatchback should ever be.
Interior is plasticky (albeit solidly put together), the seats in the base CL and LX models are truly awful, and be prepared for a fight if you ever need to take any of the suspension apart (Ford used the worst quality bolts and fastenings known to man and they rust in place), and I will never, ever attempt to change a clutch in one again, but one of the best bangers on the road today, IMO.
Zetec is well worth searching out over the LX as it has nicer seats and slightly firmer suspension. Also don’t overlook the estate. Drives much the same but cavernous with the seats down. One of the diesels I had was an estate and it swallowed a double divan bed on a tip run once. Made a hugely practical family car.
When new they're under appreciated despite class leading performances. They depreciate like a stone and then languish for years in banger territory and then suddenly people realise they were brilliant and they appreciate to silly money. I suspect these will be Mk2 Escort money in time.
Any has anyone seen any cheap Sierra, Escort, Orion or early Fiestas lately?
Pretty good car
I remember that some of the suspension parts were made of butter though. A lot of speed humps around here. Had to change ball joints etc when the car was just a few years old (owned VAG & BMWs since then & never replaced a suspension part on those)
When new they're under appreciated despite class leading performances. They depreciate like a stone and then languish for years in banger territory and then suddenly people realise they were brilliant and they appreciate to silly money. I suspect these will be Mk2 Escort money in time.
Any has anyone seen any cheap Sierra, Escort, Orion or early Fiestas lately?
Agree with all the comments about the Focus being a great car, personally I have two MK6 Fiestas which are also worth a shout as they rust a lot less than the Focus and, whilst not quite as good in the twisties as the Focus, will still put a smile on your face not to mention surprise other cars on back roads!
It's actually been the best car I've ever owned purely because it cost me buttons but did 90% of everything something more expensive does. Even if/when something went wrong the parts were absolute pennies and very much DIY
The mk1/mk2 Focus should be coded in to an auto-reply for any thread where the OP is looking for a cheap runabout
One amusing focus related tale that some owners will be familiar with. A pal bought slightly ropey 1.8 a few years ago. It started to overheat slightly in the middle of nowhere in Northumberland. Took us both so long to work out how to open the bonnet that it was cool enough to nurse it back to safety by the time we'd figured it out.
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