Ford Focus Hatchback (2005 - 2011) 1.6 Ghia 5d Owner Review

After writing my last car off unexpectedly I needed something quickly. I had a Honda CRV before and knew already space and comfort was of the highest priority, also something that wasnt going to continue to eat me out of house and home fuel wise. I originally set out looking at a different car but after that fell through and after travelling so far to go and look at it I wasn't prepared to leave the area empty handed. Thus I ended up going to look at this Ford focus. It had a higher mileage than I was intending to look at but unlike most other examples it had a full service history from new and full years MOT. Overall I was so pleased I took the chance. So far its been 100% reliable, though it is downsized from my CRV I really haven't noticed too much as the passenger space and leg room is excellent (front and rear) and the boot for a car of this size is huge I rarely need to drop the seats. The seats themselves I have driven a few cars so far and the soft cloth seats are so comfortable and easy to adjust to find a good position I can drive for hours in them and still get out feeling fresh and ready to go. The model I got was the Ghia edition and I would say that even by todays standards its dripping with tech: auto headlights, auto wipers, auto tinting rear view mirror, cruise control, A/C, trip computer electiric windows all around and great stereo system. I could go on but as a benchmark the Ghia is the one to get lower specs may be a little spartan by comparison. Engine wise the 1.6 is the lowest you should ever go, this generation of Focus is significantly bigger and heavier than the MK1 and you notice with the engines. 1.4 don't even go there. 1.6 is adequate but a racer it is not. Fully loaded 5 people + luggage its ok but definitely underpowered. its happy place is plodding along going from A-B undramatically with 2-3 people in. The engine noise at high speeds is acceptable but not quiet as it needs to rev around 3.5K at 70mph but the insulation is good enough to soften that out nicely so its not too bad. Cant say about the 1.8 or the 2.0 as I haven't tried them but if you do lots of motorway or carry 4 people regularly I would say maybe get the bigger engine. However if you wan't something for a small family or you and someone else whilst still being economical and easy to live with day to day 1.6 is fine for that. On country roads you really feel it the car comes alive and even at 1.6 is so much fun to throw it into the bends, it sticks like glue but still soaks up bumps nicely. Its so much fun. City driving I get about 30-32mpg which is pretty good for a car this old and on the motorway I get between 43 - 45mpg at best. Still good but definitely not the 50mpg the brochure quotes. So to sum it up, if you want a lot of car for your money, want it to be fun to drive but need it to be spacious and inexpensive to keep then give the Focus a go, you wont be disapointed . There are many great examples out there for little money and when you think about it you would wonder why you would need to buy something newer when the older Focus even today is still a great choice.