Thinking of buying a new small car.
Looking for any advice.
Also got my eye on the new Hyundai Elantra and Mazda 3.
Any feedback on these 3 would be appreciated.
Thanks
Thoughts on The New Ford Focus?
cchhiillyy on 12/10/2020 - 21:53
Last edited 12/10/2020 - 22:49 by 1 other user
Last edited 12/10/2020 - 22:49 by 1 other user
Poll Options
- 6Ford Focus
- 12Hyundai Elantra
- 18Mazda 3
Comments
3 cylinder turbos sound great and are fun to drive. The premium fuel will be offset by lower consumption and rego costs
Yaris GR
Isn't it like $45k, Focus is more like $35k
Elantra starts at $21k
Mazda 3 at $25k
Focus at $30k
Not sure what you are looking for. OzB would go for Elantra.
If you are playing at that price range I would say look at Corolla too.
I'd avoid the Elantra at all costs. Mazda 3 is your best option but the Focus probably drives and looks better.
Whats your opinion on the Elantra? curious
A Focus looking better than the best looking car on the road in the Mazda 3?
I have one of those problematic focus that's in the class action. Turned me off Ford forever. It's not just the car itself, after service wasn't great…..
Ouch. Depreciation hurts too.
To be fair, they make decent vehicles too.
The Captiva may have been a flop but they've made some decent vehicles after that (or put a badge on one).
And practically every manufacturer would defend themselves in a class action. It would be asinine to just roll over and pay out the initial demand.
Having said that, I would not buy the Focus again this early after the last one had major issues.
Captiva
Wasn't that Holden?
What’s the class action, and what year is your model?
ThanksTransmission.
Very infamous issue.
One of the worst production vehicle functional stuff ups. Gears wouldn't change or wouldn't move from neutral.
If you want to get an idea how bad the car is, go to a dealer and ask how much they'll pay for your second hand ford focus. Note their reaction when you tell them it's only a few years old.
https://www.fordclassaction.net/
I have the 2012 ford focus titanium. First and last Ford I will ever buy.
Edit: Before the issue blew up I had taken it back because of the transmission problems. I was told the car hasn't "learnt" your driving style and other bullshit even when Ford already knew it was a problem from the same issues overseas.
i20n coming out soon supposed to be competitively priced against the other new performance hatches.
Is that coming out in aus? We don't have the i20…
I believe it is as I read an article recently that was Aus based.
https://www.caradvice.com.au/860583/hyundai-i20n-hot-hatch-c…
Huh there you go. Weird to not have the non performance version …
@[Deactivated]: Probably see a market for it considering the i30n is pretty exy but seems popular. I want a i30n but gonna wait til the sh ones drop in price a bit.
@crashloaded: 2018 models go for about $38-39k atm. keep getting snapped up too quick in the SH market
@rgr: Does the 18 model have push to start? Because I know some of the early models still use a key.
@crashloaded: nah, the luxury pack ones do though. right now all secondhand models sell for a higher price than their dealer new prices in their release years, its really frustrating. im in for one myself but nothing of value from what i can see.
Why the Elantra and not the i30? The other two are hatchbacks and the Elantra is a sedan.
If you are considering a small sedan, maybe also check out the Kia Cerato. Kia and Hyundai are in bed together, so they would be very similar cars, the Cerato also has that 7 year warranty.
+1 for Cerato GT.
If you go base model-ish, i'd probably get the Mazda.
If you're going top of range, i'd get a proper performance engine vehicle. Or wait for the Mazda 3 Turbo
If I was in the market for a new car I would definitely be looking to EV options, the new MG ZSEV is due this year mid-$40K, https://mgmotor.com.au/models/mg-zsev/ and the market is growing rapidly over the next few years with Tesla/VW/Hyundai/etc, leaving fuel-powered cars far worse off for resale.
Imagine recommending someone to buy an MG.
They're more reliable than Hyundai's based on personal experience.
And of course, personal experience is the gold standard of evidence?
Corolla ZR looks the best imo - would be the one I'd go for. Regular ccorolla looks generic. The Focus ST lines looks great as well. Elantra and Cerato is ok. Mazda 3 (hatch) looks too ugly.
I would buy a Ford Focus RS, but if not that model then new Mazda 3.
I don't know that much about them though - so take my suggestion lightly.
According to RACV, the biggest cost of ownership of any vehicle is depreciation - so before you jump on the cheapest car available, look at retained value - for this reason I've usually ended up not going for Hyundai or Kia where people tend to buy with their wallets in mind first.
I had the focus with the transmission issue. Would not touch it again or any ford with a 10 foot pole. Really bad taste.
- Service team kept claiming by cars issues were not an issue. On one test drive with a tech I was told its designed this way and meets design specs so nothing wrong.
- Took car in 8 times in the first year of owning a new car
- My rear brake rotors required replacement within 10k. It was claimed I was a rough driver. Was told couldn't machine them. Never had to even replace brakepads for near 100ks let alone rotors on other cars. Out of pocket near $1500.
- After 3 years of complaining. Multiple recalls and attempts to fix I was given the luxury of trading it in for another ford focus and pay $7k out of pocket.
- Had no choice so bought the replacement focus. It too has had multiple issues, though none as big as the transmission faults.
- Have had services done where over half the items are just ticked off and not actually checked. Cost of service is a lot higher. Paid approx $700 for a 45k service - this was capped price routine "major" service. .
- Always have to prove myself and show evidence of faults. They dont take my word for it and investigate themselves.
I also have another hyundai. Had one semi minor/major issue and issue was fixed straight away. Pleasant process and overall vehicle is a lot better built. Assurance that if something goes wrong I will be looked after also gives me peace of mind.
I would suggest you go for a i30. Great vehicle with plenty of power to compete with the Focus on paper. If i hadn't already lost half my new car value, I would have sold my focus and bought an i30.
I have not had a nice experience with Ford when i had my Ford Focus RS especially the service dept , but i won't be talking about that today.
My current partner has the Ford Focus SA ST-Line (1.5L 3 pot turbo)
I have taken it for a spin in the Royal National Park and it handles very well and with the stock Continental Contisport contact 5 tyres it has decent amount of traction , i never really felt that i was going to understeer into a tree or lose control mid corner.
It has a very punchy setup , the 3 cylinder in combination with a turbo it gets from 0-60km/h pretty quickly …it does not really start to die down until after 120km/h. it is very progressive from 60-100 but nothing "amazing" , the torque curve basically becomes almost linear at around 70km/h and just keeps going.
Bare in mind this is an A to B car and NOT a proper sports car in any sense of the word , it tries to disguise this cleverly with aid of bigger wheels and a bodykit giving that "sporty" look.
Steering is extremely precise , i would confidently say at the correct tyre pressures it is still overly sensitive to input , an inexperienced driver could very easily be caught off guard if they had to swerve for whatever reason and may end up in a serious accident. my advice if you have this car for this scenario is just drive more defensively and try not to swerve if you can. it is also amplified even more in sport mode to the point where the electric power steering (EPS) offers too much input.
Brakes are good , but are also aided by the tyres so nothing much to add there
It is very comfortable over long journeys, nothing to add there.
Fuel economy mixed i am reading about 10.2L/100km but thats rarely any highway and mostly stop-go. not sure why it is that high but it is the average reading over about 3000km/s last i checked. only running 95 and occasionally 98 when its cheap.
My only MAJOR issue with the car is the automatic version (8 speed) uses a "DIAL" to change between drive/park/neutral etc and there is a SIGNIFICANT delay between the changes , i would estimate a full second to a full second and a half before it completes the switch , Ford advised "that is just how the car is" and said there is no issue with the car , from what i have read online about this car i am not the only one so maybe someone else can chime in , it also has an electric handbrake not a mechanical handbrake which is an annoyance for myself but it is what it is.
i have seemed to find a fairly cost-effective solution to the issue however after doing some testing recently when i came across this device , a lot of car enthusiasts use it and there is some gain to be had but with anything just take it with a grain of salt. in my experience however it has reduced the gear change time noticeably , it has genuinely removed 0.5-1 second of the time it used to take to switch gears using the dial and it is not really as noticeable anymore.
i highly doubt it offers any of the other features advertised such as fuel saving but i do believe based on my research it should in theory extend battery life , and for the price i paid for it and 10 minutes out of my day to put it in i can say it has been well worth it.
The actual best feature of the car besides the Sync 3 Infotainment system is actually the reverse camera, it is by far the best quality reverse camera i have laid my eyes on. there are a fair amount of cars on the road that offer disgusting quality reverse cameras , the most recent one i can think of is the Hyundai i30 , they are absolute garbage but then again this was pre 2020 so they may have updated it.
Overall the Ford Focus itself is a good A-B car and besides my personal dislike of ford based on my own experiences i would recommend the car to someone if they were in the market for one , i still recommend you to test drive one though to make up your own mind on it , partner has owned the car for a full year and no other major issues with it besides the recall that was just recently put through which..if you have this car i advise you to check into ford to see if you are affected ASAP. see HERE for more info
Skoda Scala
1.5L turbo
Premium fuel
No thanks
But it does have a timing chain.