My Shed Mk1 Focus Ghia
Discussion
I thought it might be interesting to start a Readers Car on my shed Focus, which I purchased at the start of November to be a "stop-gap" car after my Insignia was written off by an errant Honda Jazz driver at a park and ride! At the time I was coming to the end of my contract at work and didn't want to commit to anything expensive. I've always had a soft spot for the Mk1 Focus, having owned a Cat D Zetec, again as a stop gap car, in 2008/9. That was after my Impreza Turbo dropped a bottom end bearing and honestly, the Focus was just as fun to drive as the Scooby. Perhaps foolishly, I pushed "Buy it Now" on an Ebay auction for a local car, without seeing it. I've never done anything like that before, but my review of the MOT history made me think it was likely a straight car.
I've started this thread, as shed cars are quite in vogue on PH right now, but unlike most shed owners, I possess pretty much zero mechanical fixing ability, so I'm taking a bit of a gamble. I wanted to do an experiment, comparing the running costs of this old Ford to a modern "lease car", type equivalent scenario which more and more "non mechanically handy" people like me are preferring.
Anyway, the car is pretty tidy I think.
Its actually in the same colour and with the same wheel trims as the early Mk1 Focus which Richard Parry-Jones owns and was featured in Modern Classics a while back.
There are a couple of scratches and a tiny bit of rust, the worse bit on the inside of one of the rear doors, in the usual place. From a distance and after a wash however, I think it looks not half bad for a nearly 20 year old motor.
So far I have done 2,700 miles and the car has used no oil or water. It has averaged 43.4 MPG, brim to brim, compared with around 45 MPG, which my previous 2 litre diesel Insignia could manage in the same conditions.
Expenses; well unfortunately I had to immediately replace the battery (£83) and then get the notorious Idle valve sorted as it kept stalling, Many of you can do this yourself, but as I say, I've no mechanical expertise so that was another £70 at my local garage. I then replaced the 13 year old and pretty perished rear budget tyres on Black Friday, as we were coming into winter and I didn't want to risk an off as I don't tend to hang about - £92 for two tyres - wow! I used to pay £125 each for Goodyear Eagle F1s on my Insignia. Oh and recently £21 for two new wiper blades. For vanity sake I also spent £15 on a new hub cap as one of them was a non Focus item and my OCD couldn't cope! Hub cap aside, I've only replaced things that IMO left the car compromised from a safety point of view (tyres, wipers, idle valve) or in the case of the battery, meant the car wouldn't start!
The car has a noisy draft-shaft bearing, which I've been quoted £235 for, with labour and I've left it. The garage say the car will be fine and tbh apart from it sounding like a bus at speed, I don't mind it.
So, three months in, £575 purchase price (I may have paid a bit too much but cars in my area tend to be more expensive than elsewhere) + about £275 on bits, means I'm currently about £750 up on where I would be had I leased a brand new Focus at a typical £1000 down, £200 per month, type arrangement. Of course my car uses a bit more fuel than a new Focus and the VED is more expensive, but still, that's a useful saving over 3 months IMO.
As for the car, well being a Ghia, this has non sports suspension and smaller wheels than the Zetecs which were the darlings of the motoring press. There is certainly a feeling of more roll, or squidge than I remember from my previous Focus Zetec particularly when loaded but you can still chuck this car around.
I had a Mk4 Focus hire car for 3 weeks before I bought this car and honestly, I prefer the steering on my old one by about 100%. The older car is also much narrower and shorter than the current model meaning it really feels a lot handier on urban runs.
Rose tinted spectacles aside, modern bread and butter cars on their bigger wheels do have a fair bit more grip than older ones like this one, but IMO this old Focus probably carries similar cornering speed to the new Focus I had on loan on most roads. Helped by the fact that you can really feel what's going on between steering wheel and wheels, whereas with the newer car I just didn't trust the lack of messages coming through the steering and had to be more cautious as a result... Plus, the supple ride is a bonus on our currently knackered roads. It does make you question the progress with moderns, although in fairness the new Focus rides pretty well too. But overall, the Mk1 Focus feels a fun and nimble car on the road and I think that's because the Mk1 1.6 Focus in particular was set up so well to resist understeer, being so light up front.
On dual carriageways, you do notice the lack of torque and the long gearing doesn't help, but the upside is that I don't get caught out by turbo lag low down, as I did a few times in the ecoboost Focus.
I'm not sure how long I am going to run this car. TBH, I DO fancy something a bit more interesting already and something like a Civic EP3/FN2 is currently top of my shopping list, or an old 3 series, but at the moment I am just enjoying the liberating feeling you get running a very old and cheap car that you can basically chuck away if something expensive fails.
I do think what cars like this Focus illustrate is that the turn of the last century represented a sweet spot for car usability. Yes you don't have the infotainment systems and toys of modern cars, but basically cars like this are mechanically simple, durable and reliable. Unlike 20 year old cars from 20 years ago, todays old cars don't blow blue smoke and break down frequently. They still hold their own in modern traffic and have the technology that is useful, such as ABS, traction control, auto mirrors and a damn good heater, but not the annoying stuff like auto dipping lights, auto windscreen wipers, collision warning buzzers etc which frankly are annoying on new cars! Oh and no turbo chargers, fragile emission gizmos, dual mass flywheels and so on.
Sorry for the essay, but I've become a bit of an evangelist for what I consider "back to basics" motoring and am really enjoying owning a car I last owned in 2009!
cool retro wheel trims on steelies!!
I've started this thread, as shed cars are quite in vogue on PH right now, but unlike most shed owners, I possess pretty much zero mechanical fixing ability, so I'm taking a bit of a gamble. I wanted to do an experiment, comparing the running costs of this old Ford to a modern "lease car", type equivalent scenario which more and more "non mechanically handy" people like me are preferring.
Anyway, the car is pretty tidy I think.
Its actually in the same colour and with the same wheel trims as the early Mk1 Focus which Richard Parry-Jones owns and was featured in Modern Classics a while back.
There are a couple of scratches and a tiny bit of rust, the worse bit on the inside of one of the rear doors, in the usual place. From a distance and after a wash however, I think it looks not half bad for a nearly 20 year old motor.
So far I have done 2,700 miles and the car has used no oil or water. It has averaged 43.4 MPG, brim to brim, compared with around 45 MPG, which my previous 2 litre diesel Insignia could manage in the same conditions.
Expenses; well unfortunately I had to immediately replace the battery (£83) and then get the notorious Idle valve sorted as it kept stalling, Many of you can do this yourself, but as I say, I've no mechanical expertise so that was another £70 at my local garage. I then replaced the 13 year old and pretty perished rear budget tyres on Black Friday, as we were coming into winter and I didn't want to risk an off as I don't tend to hang about - £92 for two tyres - wow! I used to pay £125 each for Goodyear Eagle F1s on my Insignia. Oh and recently £21 for two new wiper blades. For vanity sake I also spent £15 on a new hub cap as one of them was a non Focus item and my OCD couldn't cope! Hub cap aside, I've only replaced things that IMO left the car compromised from a safety point of view (tyres, wipers, idle valve) or in the case of the battery, meant the car wouldn't start!
The car has a noisy draft-shaft bearing, which I've been quoted £235 for, with labour and I've left it. The garage say the car will be fine and tbh apart from it sounding like a bus at speed, I don't mind it.
So, three months in, £575 purchase price (I may have paid a bit too much but cars in my area tend to be more expensive than elsewhere) + about £275 on bits, means I'm currently about £750 up on where I would be had I leased a brand new Focus at a typical £1000 down, £200 per month, type arrangement. Of course my car uses a bit more fuel than a new Focus and the VED is more expensive, but still, that's a useful saving over 3 months IMO.
As for the car, well being a Ghia, this has non sports suspension and smaller wheels than the Zetecs which were the darlings of the motoring press. There is certainly a feeling of more roll, or squidge than I remember from my previous Focus Zetec particularly when loaded but you can still chuck this car around.
I had a Mk4 Focus hire car for 3 weeks before I bought this car and honestly, I prefer the steering on my old one by about 100%. The older car is also much narrower and shorter than the current model meaning it really feels a lot handier on urban runs.
Rose tinted spectacles aside, modern bread and butter cars on their bigger wheels do have a fair bit more grip than older ones like this one, but IMO this old Focus probably carries similar cornering speed to the new Focus I had on loan on most roads. Helped by the fact that you can really feel what's going on between steering wheel and wheels, whereas with the newer car I just didn't trust the lack of messages coming through the steering and had to be more cautious as a result... Plus, the supple ride is a bonus on our currently knackered roads. It does make you question the progress with moderns, although in fairness the new Focus rides pretty well too. But overall, the Mk1 Focus feels a fun and nimble car on the road and I think that's because the Mk1 1.6 Focus in particular was set up so well to resist understeer, being so light up front.
On dual carriageways, you do notice the lack of torque and the long gearing doesn't help, but the upside is that I don't get caught out by turbo lag low down, as I did a few times in the ecoboost Focus.
I'm not sure how long I am going to run this car. TBH, I DO fancy something a bit more interesting already and something like a Civic EP3/FN2 is currently top of my shopping list, or an old 3 series, but at the moment I am just enjoying the liberating feeling you get running a very old and cheap car that you can basically chuck away if something expensive fails.
I do think what cars like this Focus illustrate is that the turn of the last century represented a sweet spot for car usability. Yes you don't have the infotainment systems and toys of modern cars, but basically cars like this are mechanically simple, durable and reliable. Unlike 20 year old cars from 20 years ago, todays old cars don't blow blue smoke and break down frequently. They still hold their own in modern traffic and have the technology that is useful, such as ABS, traction control, auto mirrors and a damn good heater, but not the annoying stuff like auto dipping lights, auto windscreen wipers, collision warning buzzers etc which frankly are annoying on new cars! Oh and no turbo chargers, fragile emission gizmos, dual mass flywheels and so on.
Sorry for the essay, but I've become a bit of an evangelist for what I consider "back to basics" motoring and am really enjoying owning a car I last owned in 2009!
cool retro wheel trims on steelies!!
rickygolf83 said:
We had a 2000 X Ghia in Aquafrost (cant tell if yours if green or blue)
Yours looks spotless in the pics!
On the V5 it says "green".Yours looks spotless in the pics!
Edited by rickygolf83 on Monday 3rd February 01:13
TBF the pictures make it look cleaner that it is, there are a few marks, but honestly, I can't find a single parking dink on it, which is quite amazing for a car that age!
Not sure how long I will keep it tbh. My wife hates it. She has a chronic bad back and says that non sporty Fords lack any sort of lumbar support. She simply hates riding in it! She has a Fiesta ST with the recaro seat and so I've been looking for a tidy 5 door Mk1 ST170 - but they just don't seem to be about - all the ones that pop up seem to be knackered....
VR99 said:
'5. I have no idea what I will replace it with either, might be asking for the impossible to find a newer car that will handle just as well, be just as reliable but practical and ideally with a bit more poke!
My honest opinion would be to take a look at the MK7 Fiesta and ignore the Focus from Mk3 onwards as I just don't think they're as good. The Mk3 for example actually has a smaller boot than the MK1 whilst being a longer car - Ford IMO has dropped the ball with the Focus. The MK1 was brilliant- the Mk2 still a very good and practical car - the Mk3 heralded the start of the Ford World car Focus' and IMO isn't as good. The Mk4 is just pig ugly IMHO and a lot longer whilst having no more boot space either than the MK1. The interior feels cheaper and nastier too. The MK1 with its soft facings has worn very well........Edited by VR99 on Sunday 2nd February 22:59
Edited by VR99 on Sunday 2nd February 23:05
The Fiesta is nearly as big as the Focus Mk1 and shares that brilliant nimble and pointy chassis feel. Plus, something like a 125 PS Ecoboost would be pretty nippy in a Fiesta. Of course, the ecobooost is a bit of a controversial engine, but its hard to avoid a small turbo petrol on a modern car, unless you go electric....
Eyersey1234 said:
Nice car OP, as some will know from my thread I've got a Mk2 and think it's great.
Yes I saw that - great looking car and wears the mileage very well indeed. They really do go on and on, these old Focus' There's a bloke on the MK Focus Facebook page who has just taken his 1.6 petrol MK1 over the 300K mark with just routine servicing. Not many petrol engined cars get that far these days.V6todayEVmanana said:
Press the accelerator, it was immediate response and made the car feel so much more than the 100bhp I believe it has.
What a relavation, was great to drive, steering felt very responsive too. For a 18 year old car it was great to drive.
This is very true - the car is very responsive (although being a light car a couple of passengers makes quite a difference tbh - I've come to it from a 2 litre 160PS Insignia Diesel which was obviously very torquey. Using 3rd gear and most of the rev range, I am surprised that this little Focus can overtake dawdlers just as well (one up at least) as my old Insignia, on the A road I use for work. I'm surprised.What a relavation, was great to drive, steering felt very responsive too. For a 18 year old car it was great to drive.
The steering is very good after the Vauxhall, no more vague wanderings in a straight-line! The handling good, although it shows its age in terms of the softness of suspension and squidgy high profile tyres on this particular early Ghia which only has 14 inch wheels. Lateral grip is only average by modern standards, but turn in and resistance to understeer in corners really quite impressive, so it flows down windy roads very well indeed.
thebigmacmoomin said:
greenarrow said:
Not sure how long I will keep it tbh. My wife hates it. She has a chronic bad back and says that non sporty Fords lack any sort of lumbar support. She simply hates riding in it! She has a Fiesta ST with the recaro seat and so I've been looking for a tidy 5 door Mk1 ST170 - but they just don't seem to be about - all the ones that pop up seem to be knackered....
The Zetec spec seats were a lot better than the Ghia spec seats. The Zetec ones are the same as the Focus RS seats just with a different headrest.
Had one of those life affirming drives home from work on Friday in the shed focus, the sort which you store up in the "great drives" memory bank. I'm blessed to live near some really great drives living in Dorset and working in Salisbury. This drive (see above link) involved the A354 Salisbury to Blandford road and then cross country on the B3081 and B3078, two very fast B roads with some wicked fast and slow bends chucked in. Its the first time I've really stretched the little Focus and it showed again what magic Mr Parry-Jones infused on that chassis all the years ago. Also makes you question progress of cars in recent years. The Focus has by modern standards pretty soft suspension and also high profile tyres, which just soak up bumps and surface imperfections. Also, epic steering feel by modern standards, so you can lean on the grip that is available, knowing exactly how much you have in reserve. This winter has left the B3081 in particular in a sorry state, but never once did I feel the need to slow down on the worse bits. I just flew along those roads, overtaking several dawdlers en-route and arrived home in that sort of excited state that you can only get after a really good drive when everything has come together and I didn't need to reach silly speeds to get that fix.
All in a car that cost just over £500.... makes you think doesn't it......
Edited by greenarrow on Monday 17th February 10:12
So I've done some sums today, 4 months into ownership to see how I'm faring against the leasing alternative. I figure that after 4 months and 3500 miles during the wettest grimiest winter in living memory, the car would have manifested any major faults by now, so a good time to compare.
So my car = £575 purchase price + £145 for 6 months VED + £92 for 2 tyres, £83 for battery, £70 for mechanic to fix the dodgy idle valve, £14 for a hub cap and £21 for new wipers.
Total: £1,000... hmmm... shame I had to pay out straight away for a few faults, but overall, still bloody cheap motoring.
Alternative Ford Focus Mk4 lease car.... currently CarWow quote a Ford Focus 100 Style model listed at £1,766 down and £197 per month incl VAT for 10K miles a year. So after 4 months that would be £1766 + £197 x 4 = £2,554.
Factoring back in petrol, the Mk4 would in my experience do about 7 MPG more than my car (I had a MK4 hire car last year) Over 3500 miles that's a saving of about £65 and the VED is £79.75 for 6 months rather than the £145 I paid, so that's £65 + £79.75 in favour of the lease car.
However, if I sold my Focus today, I reckon I could still get £500 for it.. the lease car of course is not owned so nothing back.
So overall - Focus MK1 costs are £1,000 + £460 fuel = £1460 less the £500 resale - £960.
Lease car = £2554 + £79.75 VED + £395 fuel - £3,028.
The old shed wins by over £2,000* that's £500 per month! ............. (*not included insurance as don't know what the newer car would cost, but I suspect more).
Of course with a 20 year old car you don't know where the next bill is and you have to put up with in my case, a droning draftshaft bearing, whereas the new car is nice and quiet. Also, a 4 month period goes against a lease car due to the down-payment and the gap may narrow over a year, but so far so good.
I'm at the stage where I may move the car on and buy something a bit more interesting.... I'm looking at Civic EP3s just now and these are pretty old too, but also at the stage where depreciation is almost zero... fun and interesting times, but I think this older shed project shows you can motor cheaply with a bit of luck and choosing a fairly basic and proven car.
So my car = £575 purchase price + £145 for 6 months VED + £92 for 2 tyres, £83 for battery, £70 for mechanic to fix the dodgy idle valve, £14 for a hub cap and £21 for new wipers.
Total: £1,000... hmmm... shame I had to pay out straight away for a few faults, but overall, still bloody cheap motoring.
Alternative Ford Focus Mk4 lease car.... currently CarWow quote a Ford Focus 100 Style model listed at £1,766 down and £197 per month incl VAT for 10K miles a year. So after 4 months that would be £1766 + £197 x 4 = £2,554.
Factoring back in petrol, the Mk4 would in my experience do about 7 MPG more than my car (I had a MK4 hire car last year) Over 3500 miles that's a saving of about £65 and the VED is £79.75 for 6 months rather than the £145 I paid, so that's £65 + £79.75 in favour of the lease car.
However, if I sold my Focus today, I reckon I could still get £500 for it.. the lease car of course is not owned so nothing back.
So overall - Focus MK1 costs are £1,000 + £460 fuel = £1460 less the £500 resale - £960.
Lease car = £2554 + £79.75 VED + £395 fuel - £3,028.
The old shed wins by over £2,000* that's £500 per month! ............. (*not included insurance as don't know what the newer car would cost, but I suspect more).
Of course with a 20 year old car you don't know where the next bill is and you have to put up with in my case, a droning draftshaft bearing, whereas the new car is nice and quiet. Also, a 4 month period goes against a lease car due to the down-payment and the gap may narrow over a year, but so far so good.
I'm at the stage where I may move the car on and buy something a bit more interesting.... I'm looking at Civic EP3s just now and these are pretty old too, but also at the stage where depreciation is almost zero... fun and interesting times, but I think this older shed project shows you can motor cheaply with a bit of luck and choosing a fairly basic and proven car.
Limpet said:
CousinDupree said:
Certainly does! It's like Ford continued on good work done by Peugeot on the 205/309/405 models, amongst other fine handling / riding French competition.. The 405 in particular was a strong influence on the first Mondeo and I guess the Focus from there on. Both a massive step on from the Sierra and dismal FWD Escorts.
I remember reading somewhere that the Peugeot 306’s chassis was benchmarked by the Focus development team. I’ve done lots of miles in both, and there’s a lot of similarity in how they drive. So with the UK in almost lockdown status, I've decided to hold onto what I consider to be a bit of an "armageddon proof" car. I discovered a small puddle of water in the drivers footwell yesterday and have traced it to what appears to be a loose bit of sealing around the windscreen, so will sort that later.
Had to go to Keele in Staffs to pick up my daughter from Uni yesterday. It was a 415 mile round trip from my Dorset home and I was in truth a little nervous about doing it in such a cheap old car, bearing in mind I've not serviced it yet and don't know if a cambelt has ever been done! I needn't have worried. The little Focus made the trip with no effort at all. The 75-80 MPH motorway cruising highlighted the lack of a 6th gear (5th is quite long but its still revving at 3.1K at 75) and so pegged the MPG back to around 42 I reckon. I guess the little Zetec has to work fairly hard compared with modern 6 speed economy geared turbos at that sort of speed. One thing that struck me is that it didn't lack for pace. The 1.6 is often slated for being gutless, but with the revs above 3K in top it pulls willingly. Reinforces my view that in many ways the humble 1.6 petrol Mk1 Focus is the ultimate shed motor. Its quite happy buzzing around town, tearing up a B road or sitting at 75 for hours on a motorway....
Had to go to Keele in Staffs to pick up my daughter from Uni yesterday. It was a 415 mile round trip from my Dorset home and I was in truth a little nervous about doing it in such a cheap old car, bearing in mind I've not serviced it yet and don't know if a cambelt has ever been done! I needn't have worried. The little Focus made the trip with no effort at all. The 75-80 MPH motorway cruising highlighted the lack of a 6th gear (5th is quite long but its still revving at 3.1K at 75) and so pegged the MPG back to around 42 I reckon. I guess the little Zetec has to work fairly hard compared with modern 6 speed economy geared turbos at that sort of speed. One thing that struck me is that it didn't lack for pace. The 1.6 is often slated for being gutless, but with the revs above 3K in top it pulls willingly. Reinforces my view that in many ways the humble 1.6 petrol Mk1 Focus is the ultimate shed motor. Its quite happy buzzing around town, tearing up a B road or sitting at 75 for hours on a motorway....
Edited by greenarrow on Friday 20th March 13:28
Edited by greenarrow on Friday 20th March 13:32
MC Bodge said:
Same here.
I'm also an evangelist for '00s Fords.
The responsiveness of even the 1.4 Zetec in my wife's current, again, similarly Tonic blue 56 reg Fiesta is a delight. The Fiesta chassis (even with rear torsion bar suspension) is superb too.
Same here, mainly by chance our family has 3 of the things. My W Reg Focus, my wife has a 2005 Fiesta ST150 and my daughter a 2006 Ford Ka.I'm also an evangelist for '00s Fords.
The responsiveness of even the 1.4 Zetec in my wife's current, again, similarly Tonic blue 56 reg Fiesta is a delight. The Fiesta chassis (even with rear torsion bar suspension) is superb too.
Edited by MC Bodge on Friday 20th March 15:23
I think a really cracking car would be the Focus Mk1, with the wife's ST150 engine in it, mated to a gearchange as sweet as the Ka. The Focus gearbox is "ok" but not brilliant for a Ford. I just love driving my daughter's Ka and rowing it along - it has the sweetest gearchange of any car I can remember driving!
I had the latest Focus Mk4 on loan for 3 weeks last year and I can tell you the Mk1 Focus is miles more chuckable. The extra weight and girth on the newest car has killed that agility somewhat. It still handles and rides very well, but you just cant fling it around like the Mk1. Steering isnt a patch on it either. With my Mk1, I always known when i'm getting near the limit of grip.....
jase_llan said:
Well, the good news is you can mate the Ka's gearbox to the ST150 engine... They're actually pretty much the same box anyway, just with different ratios and with the ST150 having shot-peened gears for 1st through 3rd.
I did not know that... interesting.. would the Ka gearbox be up to the 150 BHP though?Actually the Fez gearbox is quite good as well. Its just the Focus one that is occasionally reluctant, mainly short shifting from 2nd to 4th which i tend to do a lot as 2nd is good for 60MPH and the engine is quite peaky, so once you've used the revs to get it up to speed, you don't really need 3rd.
stevemcs said:
The water leak in the cabin will be the plastic scuttle panel on the passenger side, the pollen filter hides under it and you are supposed to replace the double sided seal otherwise it lifts and the water runs down the screen and into the footwell.
I wondered that but it was the drivers footwell, the passenger one being absolutely dry, so I think it might be something else. Of course typically it hasn't rained for 10 days now so I've not had an opportunity to investigate further. I have noticed that a bit of the windscreen surround seal is slightly loose at the bottom drivers side corner and wonder if it might be this. Intend using some sealant on it and seeing where we go from there.I read a test on Pistonheads this week where the writer commented on how the car felt very taut due to there not being very much wheel travel. It made me smile because one area where the Focus shows its age is in its ride height and wheel travel, assisted by balloon tyres...I mean who runs 65 profile tyres in 2020?! The Ghia in particular, has a higher ride height than the Zetec model and when you dive into a roundabout hard, you can really feel the car keel over. Ageing dampers and springs don't help either. Anyway I was wondering whether some new lowering springs might be the answer. Bit reluctant however as I don't want to mess with the ride quality......its quite amusing however. Cars just don't lean like they used to 
Edited by greenarrow on Tuesday 31st March 12:20
MC Bodge said:
My year 2000 2.0 Zetec estate on 16" rims handled very well at the time.
A rental 1.6 Zetec hatch also handled well.
A long term rental 1.4 CL saloon (abroad. Rare in the UK) handled more softly. There was a noticeable difference when I drove my own car whilst back at home.
Apparently the Zetec (which you owned and which I owned back in 2009) has the same dampers as the Ghia, but a lower ride height. You do notice it, as one thing I remember from my old Zetec was that it didn't lean much in corners. Also the tyre profile was slightly sportier, 195/60/15 against 185/65/14 on the early Ghias. I think from the facelift onwards all 1.6 Focus upwards used 15 inch wheels.A rental 1.6 Zetec hatch also handled well.
A long term rental 1.4 CL saloon (abroad. Rare in the UK) handled more softly. There was a noticeable difference when I drove my own car whilst back at home.
That aside, they can all be chucked around with abandon and my Ghia goes round corners just as fast as I remember my old Zetec, just with a bit more lean!
thebigmacmoomin said:
MC Bodge said:
My year 2000 2.0 Zetec estate on 16" rims handled very well at the time.
A rental 1.6 Zetec hatch also handled well.
A long term rental 1.4 CL saloon (abroad. Rare in the UK) handled more softly. There was a noticeable difference when I drove my own car whilst back at home.
Zetec's had better suspension. Very noticeable when dad got rid of his Zetec Mk1 for a Ghia Mk1.5.A rental 1.6 Zetec hatch also handled well.
A long term rental 1.4 CL saloon (abroad. Rare in the UK) handled more softly. There was a noticeable difference when I drove my own car whilst back at home.
I probably prefer the Zetec as a daily, but the Ghia is by no means bad.
stevemcs said:
I used Eibach springs on my Focus Ghia and it rode very well.
Did it make a noticeable difference to the handling tautness? I'm guessing so.TBH, I'm getting a bit obsessive here. Its a cheap £500 shed and I should view it as such. Very little point wasting money on aftermarket springs etc. Better value for money would be to replace the two elderly Firestone tyres on the back which feel very hard and IMO are undoubtedly compromising the handling balance. I can get a pair of Avons for £100 and might just do that once the quarantime is over!
MC Bodge said:
greenarrow said:
Did it make a noticeable difference to the handling tautness? I'm guessing so.
TBH, I'm getting a bit obsessive here. Its a cheap £500 shed and I should view it as such. Very little point wasting money on aftermarket springs etc. Better value for money would be to replace the two elderly Firestone tyres on the back which feel very hard and IMO are undoubtedly compromising the handling balance. I can get a pair of Avons for £100 and might just do that once the quarantime is over!
We have 15" Rainsports on our 56reg Fiesta Zetec. They work very well. TBH, I'm getting a bit obsessive here. Its a cheap £500 shed and I should view it as such. Very little point wasting money on aftermarket springs etc. Better value for money would be to replace the two elderly Firestone tyres on the back which feel very hard and IMO are undoubtedly compromising the handling balance. I can get a pair of Avons for £100 and might just do that once the quarantime is over!
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