Ford Focus Estate - MK1 Ford Focus estate great for passing MOTs

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Sun 18 Mar 2018 17:58
Ford Focus Estate - MK1 Ford Focus estate great for passing MOTs - Steveieb
Your comments about How the Mk1 beats the MK 2 hands down reflects the views of Jeremy Clarkson who had one in his fleet and actually bought it himself.

Ford GB must be reflecting on these golden years as they review their current range.
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Sun 18 Mar 2018 19:08
Ford Focus Estate - MK1 Ford Focus estate great for passing MOTs - corax
If you want a cheap car don't ignore a MK1 Focus estate. These are sublime cars, no wonder there are so many still on the road. I don't see many MK4 Golfs on the road.

They feel much more solid than I thought they would when I've driven them. The chassis is great, good bump absorption and amazing roll free grip around corners. It has a natural flow that makes it very enjoyable to drive. They have lasted well.

Mk 4 Golf chassis wasn't a patch on the Ford.

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Sun 18 Mar 2018 19:16
Ford Focus Estate - MK1 Ford Focus estate great for passing MOTs - SLO76
The Mk I Focus was an instant design classic. Fantastic to drive, different to look at, cheap to run and the 1600 Yamaha designed 16v petrol was a fantastic sweet revving wee engine with just enough go to make it fun. I absolutely loved them and couldn’t believe how good they were at first acquaintance compared to the barely adequate Escort that came before.

I’ve found that they were one of those cars that rarely went wrong in any big way (TDCi diesels excluded) and never burst the bank to get through an Mot. However as with all Ford’s of that era they weren’t well rust proofed and certainly up here they’re now mostly suffering terminal rot.

The Mk II although much more mundane to look at inside and out is better built and resists rot far better while it’s still a great thing to drive and again is very cost effective as a cheap old runabout as long as you avoid the diesels. It’s a bit more refined and all petrol motors are of Japanese descent. The facelifted cars are much better inside and I rate them as one of the best used buys on the market.

Edited by SLO76 on 18/03/2018 at 19:18

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Sun 18 Mar 2018 19:58
Ford Focus Estate - MK1 Ford Focus estate great for passing MOTs - argybargy

I bought a Mk 1 Focus 1.8 Ghia for my son a few years back; 52 plate, if I recall correctly.

We only had it for a few months, because soon after buying it he moved in with his fiance, and they decided to buy a newer car between them. The Focus had a tatty roof when we bought it (so bad that it may well have been vandalised with paint stripper) but I had the roof resprayed and probably drove it more than my son did. It felt really solid and well made, and in fact was a better drive than my Mk2.

In its past life it had suffered from the classic Mk 1 instrument cluster failure. The paperwork for the replacement was basic, but the mileage was clearly marked along with the name of the company that replaced it, and car was being sold by a local indy with a decent reputation, so I bought it anyhow. We thought the cluster replacement might prove a problem when we went to sell the car, but it wasn't a problem at all.

I'd have another one without hesitation if I could find a low mileage example for the right price and run it as a second car.

Edited by argybargy on 18/03/2018 at 20:05

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Wed 21 Mar 2018 15:47
Ford Focus Estate - MK1 Ford Focus estate great for passing MOTs - John F

Our 17yr old auto Focus Estate, 129,000m, passed its MoT this morning. Needed £100 of welding to pass last year, the only time it ever failed. Never been in for a 'service' - I do it myself. Only other major expenses - coil pack , fuel pump, rear wheel bearing. Exhaust and all rubbery bits and boots still original.

A more modern car might do 10mpg more than the 37.6 mpg it does, but as it only does 8000m a year it would only save £250 pa - far less than a year's depreciation on a 'young' car. Cheap to insure as well - renewal premium (£175) actually less than last year??!

Keep an eye on the sills, Trilogy, I'm going to have to do a bit of work on mine in the summer!

Edited by John F on 21/03/2018 at 15:47

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Wed 21 Mar 2018 16:43
Ford Focus Estate - MK1 Ford Focus estate great for passing MOTs - corax

Our 17yr old auto Focus Estate, 129,000m, passed its MoT this morning.

Is the automatic gearbox made by Ford? Impressive that it's still working well.

Have you changed the oil?

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Thu 22 Mar 2018 11:52
Ford Focus Estate - MK1 Ford Focus estate great for passing MOTs - John F

Our 17yr old auto Focus Estate, 129,000m, passed its MoT this morning.

Is the automatic gearbox made by Ford? Impressive that it's still working well.

Have you changed the oil?

The autobox is the ubiquitous and reliable Mazda/Ford 4F27E designed to cope with more powerful engines than our Yamaha 1.6 Zetec (google 4F27E applications). It works fine - much more responsive than our old Passat auto was. I haven't changed the fluid, there is no requirement to do so. It still looks pink-ish to brown, which is OK. It has never needed a top-up.

I changed the engine oil & filter shortly after we bought it in March 2004 at 29,000m, and another eight times since then at 10 - 14,000m intervals. Even cheap modern oils do not need changing every 365 days. It is not driven hard often, and there is no turbo or camchain which might arguably mash up the molecules more quickly.

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