Petrol or Diesel??

[Pinto Boy]

Don't worry I'm not thinking of a diesel Westie

My wife is expecting out first child soon so I need to replace our 3 door hatchback with something more practical. I've decided to go for a '03 or '04 Focus but not sure whether to get a petrol or diesel, which would you choose?

Which will give better usable performance, ie acceleration from roundabouts and changing lanes on the mway? I thought higher torque meant better in gear acceleration  

1.8 Petrol 113 BHP, 160NM, 10s 0-60 & 1214 Kg

1.8 TDCi   113 BHP, 250NM, 10.6 S 0-60 & 1318 Kg

I know the Focus isn't a very interesting choice but it seems to suits our requirements the best & it'll mainly be my wife driving it.

Cheers  

[Tigger]

I've got a TDI Astra (Compandy Car) and it's a hoot, loads of torque when it's on turbo and good fuel consumption so Diesel every time.

My own tintop is petrol and as soon as I can afford it, I'm swapping that for a TDI too, they're great.

They do drive differently though, nothing to start with which caught me out a few time pulling off from roundabouts but you compensate with loads of revs

Tiggs

[cidersurfer]

I'd probably go for the diesel. But I'd definitely compare the equivalent petrol/diesel car price as diesels do seem to carry a premium. Depending how many miles you'll do, overall costs for the petrol one might be cheaper?  

[Reidy]

I've got a 2003 1.8 Petrol Focus at the moment, Fuel consumption is pretty good (Even though down here it dont really matter as unleaded is only 50-60p a litre) power is pretty poor it feels pretty sluggish req downchanges to overtake at any speed, Having driven the TD Focus as well I would deffo go for the Diesel.

[JeffC]

I would normally recomend anyone going for a diesel over a petrol, but I know a lot of people that have had problems with tdci Fords that although they will be quicker more fuel efficient I would have to question long term reliability .  

Personally I would look for an alternative car with the vag tdi fitted, something like a Seat/Skoda/Vw/Audi etc.  

[Norman Verona]

I hired a peugeot 307 cc (the convertible thingie) last week.

I drove it from East Midlands to Sheffield then from my son's to my daughters only to be told it had the word Diesel wriiten on the filler cap.

I hadn't realised!

[Pinto Boy]

Thanks for the info guys.

I've always had petrols so natuarally looked at petrols for a replacement, the Focus was the best in terms of looks, practicallity & budget. It was only when I realised that there we so few petrol 1.8 Ghias about that I considered a diesel.

I'd really like an A4 estate but my wife isn't keen on something so big, and she'll be the main parker of it.

I now remeber reading reviews of the diesel Focus C-max which had problems with the engine. Looks like I'll stick with the petrol and look a bit harder for one.

Cheers

[oioi]

bought wifey a 1.6 focus.  very economical for a petrol, shes getting nigh on 40mpg.  plenty quick enough for day to day driving.  the premium paid for the diesel isnt really worth it on this car unless your doing high mileage.  boot space is carp.  if this is your only sensible/family car i would reconsider as with all the sh1te needed for baby you will struggle to go away as a famly in a focus. (think travel cot, oversized buggy, sterilizer, toys, etc etc etc etc).  apart from the boot space i think its a great car.

[oioi]

should add that boot space hasnt been a problem for the missus as she has removed boot cover and just throws the buggy in and squeezes shopping in around it.  day to day its fine but not big enough for any longer trips

[Pinto Boy]

And little space for my wife to fill with shopping is a bad thing why??

We've got a '51 Clio & N reg fiesta at the mo, both 3 dr. We're going to have to manage with the Clio for a couple of months. I'd like a bigger car but she's worried about parking it. The plan is to get the Focus and wait until she finds it too small and then get something bigger. At that point it'll become 'my' car so I fancy soemthing with a bit of go - hence the 1.8.

[Vinny's Westie]

Don't forget the tax is a lot less for a diesel, down to £35 for a Fiesta diesel for a whole year compared to £115 for a 1.25 petrol Fiesta.  They are taxed on the emissions generated see DVLA VED Rates.

Space is an issue mind, but the 3 door one I have has a large boot fro size of car and as from 8 February 2008 it will be free inside the London Congestion Charge area.  If you emit over 225 co2 emissions you will have to pay £25 per day for London.

HTH

[pistonbroke]

I hired a peugeot 307 cc (the convertible thingie) last week.

I drove it from East Midlands to Sheffield then from my son's to my daughters only to be told it had the word Diesel wriiten on the filler cap.

I hadn't realised!

Norm

It happens a lot when you cross the  2,500,000 miles service barrier  

IYSWIM  

[Hammy]

The great thing about the Diesel is that you can be plonking around at low revs - put your foot down and it just goes. Comparing my Mondeo to the equivalent Diesel, I would have had to drop a couple of gears to get the same result. Diesel therefore  "feels"  much more powerful ( its the torque) and in practice is usually quicker in the mid ranges.

lowers revs means quieter in the cruise too.

Diesels have come on so far, for me its the Engine of choice for a family car, even if the savings are not as high as you might initially think (higher fuel cost,  shorter service interval, initial price).

[Tubs]

Owning a Mark1 2.0 Focus and a friend has a Mark1 1.8 I can say that there's very little difference in performance and his seemed to rev better than mine.

When my car was in for some work the garage lent me a TDCI 115 and it was a load of cr*p. Very narrow rev range, 1st, 2nd and 3rd gears so short Danny DeVito would be looking down on them and then 4th and 5th were so tall that I couldn't use them. I know the speed limit in Jersey is low, 40mph, but for the car not to be able to pull 4th at those speeds seemed pathetic.

I'm a great fan of the focus, 50k miles, and Jersey miles are hard on a car as you are always either accelerating or braking, with great reliability and fun handling. Hard to beat IMO.

Regards,

Tubs

[highwayman]

Very happy with my 54 Honda accord diesel tourern to date. Very quiet hardly think it was a diesel

Dave