New car conundrum.. Ford Focus Zetec S or Audi A3 Sportback

Roland

boogieman said:

The Focus has a dull image but is a decent car. I've had two that I ran for 10 years in total and had zero issues with both. The "Ford will need fixing more often" thing is a myth nowadays. 

My wife drives the Focus. Her criteria when we bought it was that the blue was a nicer hue than the competition. It has cost me very little to run, and there have been no component breakages.

Jason said:

I've had both. The Audi was the much better car ... but the boot space was terrible 

I used to borrow the Focus to take my PA and personal gear to gigs. 

hassleham

I test drove a 2014 1.4 A3 SE today and was pretty underwhelmed. Sat in a 2013 Golf GT TDI which was £2k less and it felt much nicer! Not test driven one yet though.
I might test drive a 2 litre A3 and see if I get more of a buzz from it but i'm definitely a fan of the Golf now!

chillidoggy

My son has a new Fiesta ST 182. Steer clear if you value your fillings, or live in an area with shit roads.

Bucket

Worth trying a Leon if you can, yes.

I'm seriously thinking about one as my next car - that or possibly a Volvo V40, or a new shape Civic if I can afford it.

Wouldn't recommend the outgoing Civic though - the petrol engines are very outdated. Good diesels apparently, but I don't care about that.

oaf

SE is the lowest trim level, it won't feel all that special. If budget is an issue I'm not sure lowest end of the fancier badge is the way to go.

I've had various V6 and V8 Audis in the past and settled on S3s for my last few cars. They're not too shouty and have reasonable performance. I don't need loads of space. I prefer the interior of the A3 to the Golf but wouldn't go for an SE. S-Line trim (maybe with Sport suspension) is the way to go if getting an Audi (that isn't an S/RS model!) IMO.

My dad has had a few Focuses. they seem absolutely fine and decent value. Slightly plastic inside perhaps but much cheaper.

fandango

Now you can drive a Focus on the A3, but you can't drive an A3 on the Focus.

simonk

Bucket said:

Worth trying a Leon if you can, yes.

I'm seriously thinking about one as my next car - that or possibly a Volvo V40, or a new shape Civic if I can afford it.

Wouldn't recommend the outgoing Civic though - the petrol engines are very outdated. Good diesels apparently, but I don't care about that.

The Volvo V40 is mostly Ford Focus underneath, so buy a Focus unless you want to throw extra money at basically the same thing.

To the OP, get a Golf, or the Skoda/Seat equivalent. I get to sit in a lot of cars and as far as finish goes there's nothing to choose between the VAG range. The smart money goes on Skoda's I'd say... have you considered an Octavia VRS? 

Elwood

I used to have an A3 Sportback (2.0 TDi quattro 170BHP). Handling was great, engine was average and gear change was good. Running cost were high and a second hand one cost me a small fortune in repairs and maintenance. Plus the Audi dealers was very unhelpful once they realised I wasn't interested in buying another one.

Replaced it with a Fiesta ST - which is great fun, and a good drive. The ride is firm but the late 2015 onwards has a better ride than the earlier ones as it has the ST200 ride upgrades.

A word of warning on the A3/Golf - the timing belt & water pump are due at 5 years old. It's £500-600 on top of the service cost. If you buy a 4 year old one, it'll be a big bill at the next service. It's worth factoring in.

menamestom

Elwood said:

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Replaced it with a Fiesta ST - which is great fun, and a good drive. The ride is firm but the late 2015 onwards has a better ride than the earlier ones as it has the ST200 ride upgrades.

I fancy a fiesta ST - seems to tick a lot of boxes for me - not too expensive, fun, big enough to ferry the kids or guitar stuff around, cheapish to run for a quick car.  Might wait to see what kind of reviews the next model gets though.  Looking to buy early next year but might wait a bit longer if the 3 cylinder 1.5 gets good reviews, I really like the 1l ecoboost engine.

Sporky

simonk said:

The Volvo V40 is mostly Ford Focus underneath, so buy a Focus unless you want to throw extra money at basically the same thing.

Sharing a platform isn't the same as being rebadged. If you needed, for example, to do a bit of light offroading, a Mondeo is very much not the same thing as a Discovery Sport, despite both being based on the same platform.

Similarly if you're a getaway driver you'd be a lot better off with a Golf R than a New Beetle.