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Nice to see Ranger drivers are the same on the other side of the planet as they are here. Oh it was a Nissan Navara - same type of person always buys a black ute anyway.
My wife had a 1.6 Zetec when she ran her own driving school. Bought it at 10k miles, sold it at 110k miles. Literally nothing went wrong with it over that period. Great car.
Fords can do that if looked after. My 2.0 1996 Mondeo Estate did about 146,000 miles and the only failure was a lambda sensor. It only stopped when some idiot crashed into it and it was 'beyond economic repair'.
I’m a mechanic and have a facelift mk2 1.6 petrol and you’ll be amazed how many other mechanics buy them with that engine because there just so good and reliable. I love mine, great car!
In the three and a half months between me getting a drivers license and me moving out of the country, my father just gave me his old Focus. The very same mk2 in black and 120-ish horsepower with manual gearbox. So basically the first car I got to drive alone and on my own. Such a nice vehicle for a beginner, it's not too heavy on features but also a totally well equipped one. You really learn to drive a car in one. Fast forward ten years, I was getting a drivers license in my new country of residence: I needed a refresher course and taking written and road tests. The learner car? A bloated Audi Q3. This vehicle made me realise why it seemed to me that many more people were afraid of driving now than before: you have no idea what the car is doing, where it's going and how much space you have around you. Not so in a Focus, you feel and see everything you need. The car doesn't beep at you for every single little thing, it just lets you be the actual driver. Maybe I'm forgetting the bad things, but I remember it as an okay car.
Everyone needs to drive something focus-like when they are learning. Having said that my daughters learned to drive in a 1996 Defender 110. You CAN see every corner in that and now they can drive anything....
It's because they can add a free 3000€ to the price tag on that. What we would have needed though was a new Fiesta with significantly more rear headroom.
Hi James, thanks for the review of my MK2, as people can see I am a big fan of the Focus with the first MK1 and now MK2 as I also learned to drive in both the MK1 and MK2 and I do encourage people to give the Focus a try if they are in the market for a good all round hatchback that’s great to drive 👍
I own a MK2 Focus ST/XR5 Turbo but the standard Focus doesn't seem bad at all... I prefer the styling of these to the very feminine (IMO) Toyota Corolla or Mazda 3 of the same era...
@@MartinJones123'looks too feminine" sounds like something my narrow- minded grandad would say about anything other than a white dress shirt😅 don't be so insecure buddy phaha
My dad had a 2006 mk2 ford focus st3 that he’s owned for 17 years. He passed away a couple of months ago and i’ve kept it on as my second car with the aim of one day restoring it to mint condition in memory of him. Its an amazing car and i never, ever intend to get rid of it
I also have a MK2 Focus 1.6 zetec. Bought it as a stop gap and 3 years on, I still have it. It’s cheap to run, affordable and I now can’t part with it.
I've got a mk2 1.8tdci style. Can't seem to part with it. My dad borrowed it for a year then I had it back for a year then the mother in law had it for a year. Probably going to keep it till it dies but it feels like it might last forever. Got 69k on it
@@Karl_Burton don't really know what that means. Does that mean the car is a problem having it around but I'm making a good situation by making the most out of the car ?
@@Karl_Burton no. Let’s face it, it’s 25 year old tech so doesn’t have the urgency of similar period or more modern cars. But does the job from getting a to b and in Surrey country road, it does it really well
I had a Mk2 Focus, and it is indeed a very pleasant car that does everything you need for daily use. However mine seemed to be fitted with a kind of Klingon cloaking device that engaged whenever it was parked in a large carpark. I spent ages wandering around trying to find where I had left it. Apart from that though, it was great.
Around the time of the Mk 2, around 1 in 4 cars were silver, now currently around 1 in 4 cars are officially deemed to be grey, a colour, along with black or white, I can say I've never liked. People seem to choose grey because it's doesn't show road dirt up too much, I steered clear of black or white cars for the opposite reason, they do show the dirt up on a car, far worse than other colours.
I had a Mk2.5 Focus Zetec with the old 1.8 Lynx diesel engine. It was a heavy lump of cast iron up front and you could feel it at times, but it was reliable unlike the disastrous 1.6 PSA lumps they replaced it with. A cool feature was that you could adjust the weight of the steering with comfort, normal and sport modes, a surprise on such a low trim level.
I've got a1.6 diesel 64 plate C Max Grand, running on the old type Citroen/Peugeot engine, I've had the car for almost 10 years now, no engine issues whatever. Also when I ran a water treatment company, we had various Peugeot vans, with 1.6 and 2 litre engines, doing well over 100K each time, again no engine issues. I think you'll find there can be rogue cars of any make, but I was checking out a dealer who does podcasts, based in Crewe. His latest featured why so many modern diesels are unreliable, he mentioned the PSA engines were among the most reliable up to around 2015, when Euro 6 came in, at which point the failures of all makes of diesels began.
Yes, I liked Jay's comments - at the incident, and later - on the lack of common sense (ie cameras everywhere! And achieving nothing apart from putting lives in added danger), incompetence and bad driving of vehicle YL68 XWY, including that fast overtake with a cyclist in play. Great video Jay, many thanks. Kind regards.
Great video, I must admit I'm being drawn back to the blue Oval either a Focus or a Mondeo. With not alot of pennies to shell out on a vehicle its increasing likely. I learnt to drive late 70s mni, my driving instructor used to make me push it hard across the fens towards Peterborough training me to read the road ahead Great fun and learnt so much from my instructor. Needless to say my first car was a mini, which I modded to drive like a go car. Happy days indeed.
I feel your pain. I have an Audi A2 which suffers from the same issues with pulling away from a standstill. It requires all 40 years of my driving experience to manage a hill start and, even then, I have stalled-out as the whole exercise is like being a professional plate spinner having to work the clutch, throttle and handbrake in micro-managed unison to achieve something utterly basic, like rolling!
I have a honda s2000, and sometimes it's the fastest car in the world but it seems like the slowest car at slow speeds, it has a large exhaust makes lots of noise so try to keep it quiet staying at really low rpm and everything pulls away, silly really. P S 13 years daily never let me down once, I love it ap1 1999 x
Would that be an A2 with the 1.4 engine - either petrol or diesel? I worked in sales for VW/Audi in 2002-6 period and if I’d had a pound for every new 1.4 A2, Lupo or Polo returned to our aftersales workshops within 3 months due to persistent stalling I’d be a rich man! Thing was there was no fault as far as the manufacturer was concerned - it was just “how they were” in order to meet the first real wave of emissions restrictions. They’d used such a “tight” fuelling-map at low throttle that you either stalled or gave it some welly and shot off with the engine screaming! You could cure it with the petrol engine by running Super Unleaded (which effectively richened the fuel/air mixture) but of course costs 10% more but there was no cure for the diesel. It was such an irritating issue and ruined our customer satisfaction survey results (that hugely influenced our pay) so much that the savvy salespeople used to subtly direct buyers to alternative engines in the range.
@@neilturner6749 Fascinating response. I have a petrol which was purchased for my son to learn to drive in. Needless to say, he has faced some challenges getting used to the throttle action. Heck, even I have struggled at times and I have been driving long enough to have experienced everything from an Austin 1300GT to various old Renaults, Audis, Rovers, Opel, Lancia and even the Ford Corsair with a V4 engine, and none of them were as easily coaxed into a stall as the A2.
Bought my first ever Ford Focus today. It's a Zetec 1.8 with 29,200 miles on the clock, no rust, a few scratches here and there but otherwise a very tidy car. I just drove it home 75 miles from Winsor where I bought it and I have already fallen in love with it. JayEmm was right about the high clutch, I did stall it a couple of times but it just needs getting used to. It is a sweet driving car, handles and drives so smooth and pure, nice and easy gear shifting and its got enough punch to make me smile. I have been driving for nearly 40 years and this car exudes that natural feel of real connection to the road embodying that all elusive feel good factor of driving.
Yes, the SDI was VW’s non-turbo diesel they put in their smaller cars. While I haven’t owned one, I have heard stories of those engines being virtually indestructible with just regular maintenance.
I Had a 2008 saloon of this magic little car, the Ghia, the balance in that chassis was sublime, brakes were on point, steering perfect, and surprisingly quick. Thanks for the video JM
I passed my test in October 2021 and got my first car in January, a MK2 Focus Sport edition. I’ve still got it and I absolutely love the thing! The ST style alloys really make it stand out and look more modern than a 2011 car, it only has a 100hp variant of the 1.6 petrol but it still makes me smile every time I drive it as you can just rev it out making you feel you’re going much faster than you actually are! Unfortunately mines suffering from a rust problem on the wheel arches and other parts of the car but I have no intentions of ever giving it away until it literally falls apart under me. Not sure if it’s the first car buzz or the fact the MK2 is a gem but it’ll always hold a special place for me, thanks for the great video again Jay, definitely a bit bias if I say it’s one of my more favourite videos😉
@@majorminor3367 I think they look better than the original mk3s, comparing mine with the mk3 on the street it looks a fair bit more sportier, obviously the trim levels and edition models make a huge difference when it comes to fords
Sport and studio models were very basic bottom of the range affairs, equipment levels were just too low especially in the earlier models up to 2007/2008
These are the reviews that have kept me subbed since the really early days of your channel, and i love them. These are the cars that we can all relate to and many of us have driven, or even still drive. When I returned from over a decade in Tokyo and was waiting for my own car to ship here, my mum gave me her Focus and it was solid and i ended up keeping it for a while as a daily. Got me where i needed to relatively quietly and confortably, literally never broke, and just kinda slowly and progressively lost power in a way i have never relly experienced with any other car until it was no longer driveable.
I learnt to drive in a XY Falcon (an Australian car), built like a tank, and apart from what felt like 300 turns lock to lock steering, I have a lot of fond memories. I bought a mk2.5 Focus XR5 (ST everywhere else) as an end of model demo run out in 2011 and have had it ever since. I love it. Sure I've had dalliances with other cars over the years, but all the new stuff is so boring (and expensive) that in the end I just keep it. It's due for a cam belt and the clutch is now near its end, so I'll give it a bit of a birthday and add a limited slip diff (it's only real dynamic let down) and maybe a bit of a tune. It's a great everyday car.
The mk2 to me was a step down on the styling & fun front, but were way more comfortable mile munchers. Much prefer this engine to the Ecoboost too! I can understand James' reticence in jumping back into the car he learned in, I've refused to drive a Mk1 Clio since my test too
When I learnt in a 206 1.4 glx in 2003 it felt like it was so modern and refined 😂. Then a year or so later I owned a big (for me for the time v6 a4) drove a 206 again and a mk1 focus 1.6 and they felt so tinny in comparison with teeny little pedals.
Early ecoboost engines had way too many problems, on the 1.0l for example the turbo was too close to the block and the heat cooling cycles would crack the block resulting in needing a new engine! Bloke at work had it replaced under warranty and the new engine came with a 1 year warranty because it was certain to happen again
I learned to drive in a brand new mk2 Focus Titanium 2.0. Terrific car, extremely easy to drive, very easy to place on the road and park. All the controls felt right, including the relatively short throw gears, the stalks, steering, pedal feel etc. The works, it all felt right. I do remember it being a bit fussy on take off, but it was able to pull away okay in first, probably because it had more power.
I had a 56 plate pre-facelift 1.6 Zetec as a second car. Loved it, was cheap to run and much nicer to drive than the 2015 Punto I’d shared with my mum for a year after passing. Have now had the ST and RS versions as well
I'm driving a 2l mk2 focus zetec in Australia and I find it's clutch quite easy but I do have the exact same problem with being passed aggressively by large pick ups who then go slow in the bends
That's just 90% of Australian drivers. Super aggressive but basically incompetent. Anything other than a dead straight road is simply too much for them.
I'm still running a very early MK2 Focus 1.8 TDCi saloon. Currently it's on 181K miles and still on it's original clutch, DMF, injectors, high pressure fuel pump and turbo. As Jay mentioned on the video, it's important to keep on top of any new patches of rust (whilst it's still only surface rust), the early MK2s also didn't come with the long black plastic protective strip for the bottom of the sills, so I have to take extra car to grind off any rust spots etc. I've kept on top of maintenance so despite it not looking a bit rough painwork wise, it drives like a 7-8 year old car. MOT is due in December, which I'm expecting it to pass (it passed last year without needing any work) but I think I'll probably have replaced it with a MK4.5 Mondeo 2.2 TDCI Titanium X Sport before the December 2024 MOT lands due. I've owned the car for nearly 12 years and will be sad to see it go, on the upside if everything has gone to plan I'll then own a 197BHP Mondeo with heated seats 🤣
Wow very close to my situation I have a mk2 focus 1.8tdci hatchback owned since 2008 so just over 15 years. My other car in the garage off the road for now as I'm driving the focus is a mk4.5 mondeo titanium-x powershift estate. Its not the 2.2 just the 163hp 2 litre. It's a real treat to drive though. Heated / cooled seats cruise control. Auto light's/wipers, adaptive headlights, halve leather alcantara interior, brushed aluminium everywhere.
The 1.8 Lynx diesel engines are a bit agricultural but will go on forever if maintained properly. The 1.6 engines they replaced them with had all kinds of problems.
@@DrFod I had a choice of the 1.6 or 1.8 diesel when I bought the car. The ford garage actually said I should go with the 1.8 looks like it was good advice. It's 16 years old Feb 2024 and it's cost me nothing other than fuel.
@@DrFod Indeed. The only exception to that in terms of the Lynx engine is the last 12-18 months of the production run, Ford decided it would be a super idea to change the lower heavy duty chain (that NEVER, ever failed) for, wait for it...a phucking wet belt 🤦and we all know how well wet belt's worked out of the 1st gen 1.0 EB and the current 2.0 TDCi (EcoBlue) engines #Muppets
When in the UK 10 years ago I had rented a MK2.5 Focus and been very impressed with it. Six months ago here in Western Australia I bought the same model with a 2 litre Tdci and it's a great car. Very economical and the dry climate here along with no yearly MOT means it will last forever.
This is what makes your YT channel the only car one I watch these days, a good mixture of exotica and stories along with your average every day cars for Joe Bloggs. Other youtubers start off well but end up with ceaseless videos of buying ever increasingly expensive cars.
I love a bit of posh stuff, but even for those who can afford it they're occasion vehicles - there's a lot of fun to be had at sensible money and I like to show that too :)
Hi James. I learnt to drive in a 1.4 Nova SR. It was a decent car. My instructor was a lovely chap and felt at ease driving the car having been driving on private roads for a while. Then I had a limited budget for my first car which was a Talbot Horizon 1.3. It lasted a few years until it fell apart to rust. Thanks for all your superb content and entertainment.
Nova SR learner car, very cool (for the time) instructor and learner car! I had one as my second car for a year. Great fun. Got ragged stupid absolutely everywhere. Always wanted a GSi though!
I learned to drive a Mayflower made by Triumph. Since then have driven million miles in many cars . This Ford is a modern safe deal .Cars back in my time had none of the safety features but we drove them all over the world with no fear
My first car was a mk2 ford focus, 1.8 zetec climate. I loved it, so many adventures and fun. 30ish mpg, fast enough for me to do tonnes of trips around the country. Super cheap to run, insure, put tyres on etc. Great ‘don’t take on debt’ car. And now we only have my wife’s car, I sold it to my brother in law for £500 (though at the time it was worth more than that) with hope he wouldn’t go into a debt spiral. Amazing car, would buy another one, very grateful for the memories and freedom it gave me.
I loved my mk2 zetec it was my third car and the first car I had that had any ammount of power behind it, going from a 1.4 astra to this felt like a different world. I told everyone it was a luke warm hatch it was great!
My parents had a black 59-plate Mk2 1.6l Zetec that had been very well spec’d. it was a generally nice little car that was a reliable little workhorse. The fact they went straight to the Mk3 based on how the Mk 2 performed. I know it’s relatively gutless, but that 1.6 always sounds nice and peppy.
My nemesis of a learner car was a Hillman Imp (yes, I am that old!). The surging/kangarooing tendency on start off due to the rubber driveshaft doughnuts is something I remember, plus the disconcerting way you had to ram the gear lever across the gate to find reverse. Fond memories of the ex-Army instructor asking me to stop at the tobacconist during lessons so he could keep his pipe lit! I eventually owned a couple of Imps, one of which I rolled over on a gravelled country lane while showing off, so my (over) confidence had grown since the learner days!
My MKII is an 07 56 reg. Now 17 years old. I got it 3 years ago with only 51000! 1.8. Ghia. Petrol. Lovely car. Now has 66000. Engine is beautiful, size perfect. Seats very comfortable… velour.
After owning a mk 1 focus 1.8 diesel estate which was called Florence by my wife, I really enjoyed owning it for many years. I finally traded it in after reaching 300,000 miles for a mk 2 focus estate with the same 1.8 diesel engine and I've had it for 6 years. It has got 176500 miles on the clock and still pulls like a train. I really love these wee cars and the 1.8 diesel is in my opinion one of Fords best engines. I personally don't have the clutch issue, when pulling off so not sure if it has the same set up as the petrol cars.
I had a mk2 1.8 zetec for a year . It rusted more every time I washed it. It was a miserable experience for me. It doesn’t go on performance or engine size for brakes but trim. You need a Ghia or above for rear disc brakes. Great video ,sent shivers down my spine to be reminded of it too.
Ive stuck 17" wheels on my mk2 with 215/55/17 tyres (for reference same size as a nissan juke or vw t-rok) amazing they fit ok and never rub. The rid over bad roads is amazing. And the speedo is spot on according to gps dashcam and google maps. And it still handles like its on rails. Suspension on these cars is way to firm. Its a bit like a cross over without the premium. Its also made it much easier to get in and out of due ti the extra height.
Hello Jay. My name is Sinuhe. I am from Mexico City and learned to drive in an American MK1 Focus Wagon 2.0 Zetec wih the 4-speeed auto. Amazing car. It managed to survive 23 years of Mexican daily punishment 4 different drivers from the same family and several dishonest/incompetent mechanics( including the ones at the dealership). Right now the car has a broken engine bolt and needs replacement of the head gasket and also needs a new battery and possibly also an alternator replacement. It also needs new suspension parts and I have not been able to find the proper steering replacement. But I love it like no other car so it´s my project and I hope in a few years it can look and drive as new or even a little better. Greetings from the American continent and please keep up the great content in this fabulous channel of yours!
Apart from the 5-pot ST (sold here in Oz as the XR5) the other Mk2 Focus I wanted to drive was the 1.6 turbo-diesel. I still like the design of these. [edit] I meant to type 2.0 TDCi, not 1.6 [/edit]
The MK2 Focus is really got into my heart, as well as other cars on it's platform like Volvo S40/C30/V50 and Mazda 3, my mom even got an S40 2007 pre-facelift with 1.6 B4164S3 engine with 5 speed manual. Even though Volvo got different suspension settings, all disc brakes, heavier body than a Focus, but still - Great car. It was the one, who teached me how to drive. And it is still a car, which is still my biggest dream.
Like you I learned in an AA Ford Focus, passed second time and loved the car so much that I bought a Mk1 Focus 5dr. 1.6l petrol, and... Ghia spec - grey leather seats, wood trim and a tape player!
I do love the shape and style of this particular Ford Focus and indeed the style that went from 57-reg to 61-reg in the UK. Beautifully Arranged as the Ford advert described it.
I have the MK2 1.6 tdci Zetec estate, 59 year it also has wind-up rear windows, discs on the back also, but it is actually the 2010 model. 75+ on a long journey cheap road tax, plenty of torque and it isnt slow, when needed, comfortable easy to drive, excellent road holding, (the Zetec have sports suspension).
Had 2009 Ford Focus MK2 1.6 Ti-VCT Titanium, for over 11 years. Tuned with better injectors to 138 BHP and with Eibach suspension upgrade. Excellent piece of kit, worked like a charm, when you get to open whiny road, it always put smile on your face with handling... In 11 years and 138000 miles only thing that was bad was A/C compressor that needed to change, and clutch set at 112k interval (everything else was per service book)
Couldn't agree more about Mk1 Focus. My daily driver is a 1.8 Zetec Turnier from '02. 200k miles on it, w/o any problem. Serves like a Swiss watch. Just finished the DIY restoration (brakes, exhaust, rear suspension, all fuel lines, at home) That's a keeper, at the age of 21.
We drove our 2009 Ford Focus 1.6 zetec all the way from South East Bulgaria up to Helmsdale in the Scottish Highlands and back again. Six thousand miles in an epic road trip. The car behaved magnificently, didn't need any oil or coolant. It's clocked up 88,000 miles and has all its original parts from the day it left the dealer. What more can you ask from a car?
I've got an '06 Mazda3 equivalent of this in 2l Sport guise. Bought in '09 and it's the longest I've ever owned a car as well being the oldest. It's fun to drive and boringly reliable, although bits are now starting to fail due to old age. First it was FoMoCo-marked parts but now it's Mazda ones, the first (thermostat) last year. ULEZ-compliant and I'm still not thinking of changing it. As for car i learned to drive in it was my mother's '66 Imp Super in '72. Bought i off her and kept it for several years, lightly modifying it, until I got a company car. One of several cars I should have kept...
I had a Mk1 1.8 Petrol Ghia and, to this day, it remains one of my favourite cars I’ve owned. I had it 4 and a half years and put 68,000 miles on the clock. The ride and handling balance particularly were a revelation at the time, the 1.8 fairly pokey, with more torque than the 1.6, if a bit more reluctant to rev. It wasn’t that the car was necessarily brilliant in all areas, though it was in some, it was just that it seemed so complete as a package. It took us all round France one year and remains the only car I’ve driven round Le Mans. I’d love to try one today to rekindle old memories and see if they’re still as good as I remember. Oh, and learner car was an Austin Metro 1.0L, bright red, one of BSM’s finest!
I started to learn to drive in a Pug 106 1.1. As I am 6ft3 with size 12’s, I struggled with the footwell so finished learning in my Mums S reg Golf Mk4 TDi 90bhp.
We have owned a 2007 mk 2 since it had 7k on it and was 3 years old. Bought for the Mrs to use after she passed her test. Its now well over 100k miles. Our other cars have come any gone but we have still got this one. It's just such a happy car. Can take family of 4 with their crap on holiday, lots of space for trips to the tip and a great shopping car. Dog likes it too. We have thought many times of getting rid but for a run around its perfect. Yes it's basic, its got a few knocks but until something goes bang or the rust underneath gets bad why sell it. It's worth nothing but loads to us. And it's ulez friendly.... Great to buzz about in.
Great Video, I had a mk1 Focus, My best car ever, did 178,000 miles in it until the dreaded rust. Now I have a Mk2 2011 1.8. Regarding common faults, If you notice the bonnet was becoming difficult to open take it to a garage before it becomes un-openable, if it does, they need to remove the grill. And water leaks in the hatchback. Just annoying faults.
Yay! I had fully loaded black 05 Ghia saloon for 6 years. A very decent car that was, except rust. Usual stuff around wheel arches etc. Dirt cheap spare parts available everywhere was a massive bonus. Much better motor than similar year's competitor Auris
I learned in a mk5 Escort 1.6i Ghia as I recall, back in 1997. It was a great car. I now have a mk3.5 Focus 1.5 TDCI Titanium X. Its a decent car right enough. Nothing really to complain about at all.
I'd argue the Mk2 Focus was the best everyday car of the last 2 decades, all things considered. Fun to drive, roomy, practical, comfortable, relatively well equipped in the right spec and obsurdly reliable.
Admittedly I've had the ST versions, but still basically Mk2 Focus and they have been brilliant cars. Extremely reliable, well-built and tough. No rust and great paintwork. Loads of space and comfort and enough tech for me. Plus with the ST its fast and easy to modify. A great Ford.
I learned in a Nissan Almera… until i fail 4 times, at which point i switched to the AA and passed in a mk2 focus. At that point we had an early mk1 2.0 focus which i loved. We then upgraded to a mk2 1.6 saloon, we loved that but the issues that we had with the VCT system ended up killing us and we got rid for a 2.2 civic diesel. I look back at the 2 focuses we had and i think they were beautiful to drive.
I have a mk2 ford focus 1.6 zetec automatic that i bought with 33000 miles on it 8 years ago.It now has 125000 miles on it.It has passed every M.O.T,all i have ever replaced is a battery and a stop light and normal stuff like tyres,etc and it never lets me down,rain or shine.It's been a great car...
The Mk1 and Mk2 Focuses enjoyed great success from the minute they arrived, and cars that are everywhere with nice looks like those Focuses are the cars I tend to go for. I had an 11 plate Sport model with 128,000 miles for work recently, and while the 1.6 TDCi drove amazingly, the comfort and convenience qualities let it down tremendously. Not a single radio station maintained its frequency, my Bluetooth kept disconnecting, and even tuned into Radio 1 it had a bug where it kept cutting out, and this actually activated the engine lights briefly. I spent the whole day on edge.
I learned to drive with a N16 Almera 2.2 DCi. The 320 Nm of torque were an absolute delight to learn the clutch with, very forgiving. With 140 horsepower, still one of the most powerful machines I've driven, history of 1 and 1.2 litre engines galore. :D
I did my driving lessons in a 1.6 nissan Almera. Sold my mk2 focus zetec climate 1.6 last year for £300 it has a hornet catback exhaust on it. Currently got a 2013 Mk3 focus Titanium Navigator with the 1.6 150bhp ecoboost and thoroughly love it.
Had a mk2 Focus diesel as a courtesy car earlier this year and was very impressed with it. 130k on the clock and had previously been in a frontal accident and repaired, but it drove absolutely fantastically. Don't recall it being difficult to get off the line though, and I usually drive an automatic, so if anyone was going to have problems, it would be me. Maybe it had had a recent new clutch or something. Anyway, it was a brilliant car, and I certainly wouldn't be opposed to buying one, just so long as I could find one with a torque converter auto.
My first car back in 2007 was a W (2000) 1.8 LX Focus - great car. I changed to a lemon of an E46 316 after about 4 years, then changed to a Mk2 facelift Focus "Sport" with a 1.6 engine (a trim level which was basically a Zetec, but with ST ish wheels and Sat nav/usb, etc, to help shift the last few from forecourts, is how the dealer described it to me). Good car, but it was no where near as good to drive as the Mk1 and after a few weeks, I wished I could have taken it back and just bought a Mk1 Ghia or similar. It later got side traded for a 2006 Mondeo 2l petrol - this was quite reminiscent of the Mk1 focus and I was far, far happier with this (plus we needed the additional space due to having 2 dogs by this point.) Interesting video, thanks for taking the time to review and share it.
My first car was a 1990 Mazda 323F (Astina). Faded red, 10 yrs of experience and a hoot to drive. I absolutely adored it. So much in fact, that I replaced it with a 1997 323F (Lantis) in 2006, a car that I probably liked even more. Then I switched to VAG cars, then to BMWs and now I have a Mazda again, be it only for the weekends. It's a 2006 MX-5 2.0 and it's absolutely fabulous.
I too was an AA learner 20 years ago. I hated the heated screen on the focus. My instructor went self employed and got a fiesta black. Great little car
I used to drive a 2005 Ford Focus ZX5 with SES trim level. It got totaled in a bad car accident in early March 2012. From the accident that I gotten a broken left ankle. It was a fun little car and I almost have it for 7 years. My vehicle now is a 2020 Ford Escape SE in black.
I have not one but two Focus Mk2, both pre facelift, both '05 model, both blue, one with the 1.6 100hp Zetec, the other, with the 1.8 TDCI Lynx. Both have passed the 300k km mark and still running just fine, i love how they handle, the petrol one is super fun in twisty roads, loves to rev to the redline, the diesel have lots of torque and it's gearbox is long enough to travel comfortably on the highway. Sometimes people argue that they are just crap cars, but for me they are just perfect, I don't need anything else.
2000 Ford Excursion Limited, 7.3L turbo diesel. I passed my tests on that thing, parallel parked it, the works. No backup camera or sensors to help me either. Heaviest ICE personal transportation vehicle put into mass production for the civilian market. I knew I passed too when my driving instruction (a lovely but small lady in her early 40s) said that she couldn’t drive something this big.
I also learnt to drive in a focus 1.6 from the aa from that time. And I agree the clutch took alittle getting used to. The visibility of seeing out made the manoeuvres easy and it was a easy car to judge when approaching gaps in traffic or down narrow lanes. Several years later i owned a st version and it was a blast to drive.
My uncle has the 2006 model FOCUS C-MAX with the Duratec 1.6 engine excluding Ti-VCT that puts out 100 HP. After I got my license, I drove that car for some time and I can say, even though it is super heavy for the engine it has (C-MAX of mk2 is about 1350kg min), it drives and goes wonderfully but I have couple of complaints. One as he said the clutch bite point is super difficult to get used to. It is super appearent to me due to coming from a corolla of the same year which has (imo) a super easy clutch to modulate. The other one is that at highway speeds it is so buzzy due to gearing being super short. It turns about 4000 RPM at 120kph in 5th which is super annoying on long trips. None the less, it is a fun car to drive :)
So good to learn that I am not alone with the clutch issue… Mine is however on a Volvo C30, with the Ford 2l engine and the 5-speed gearbox. Extremely frustrating driving experience in traffic. It is so bad that I took it to a Volvo specialist, which told me it was in perfect condition and that it just was a trait of this engine and gearbox.
I learned in a 1984 MK2 Fiesta 950 Popular. No brake servo. No power steering. 4 speed gearbox. Took the actual test in my mum's 1982 MK1 Fiesta 1100 Ghia. That was in 1986! The MK2 Focus is a good honest car - you're right about the rust though!
Learned to drive in a 1954 Ford Custonline V8 Ute. That was in 1955 and I was 10 years old. Also a flat head 1948 Ford. Yes, we lived on a farm in Australia. There were also old Massey Ferguson, International Harvester and John Deer tractors. I even got a special drivers licence at 15 that allowed me to drive within 25 miles of my home during daylight hours.
I was given a Ford Focus Mk2 Zetec S 1.6 - that my brother had decided to swap for a VW Golf. It's a 10-reg, with a little over 60k on the clock, paintwork is still in very good condition. The only real things needing an eye kept on them right now is the tyres.
I did my driving test in a 2013 Volvo V40 D3 R-design. 2400CC L5T diesel with 150bhp and nice turboflutter and deep exhaust sound. Rear view was severe limited but it was the best for driving backwards at 25mph
I learned to drive at 13 and I am currently 15.I pointed out my age to show how easy to drive the car was and the car in question was a 2004 2.0L 150hp Honda CRV. It is a big car and old so many think that it was a hard car to drive, park etc.Neverthelss it was surprisingly easy, easy to drive in town, easy to park, the steering was also very light for a car its size and the weird handbrake placement actually made it easier for handbrake turns and starting when parked on a hill. Also it was very practical and had quirks like the picnic table that came from factory. An amazing all rounder for even when u want to have some fun behind the wheel(especially off road).
When I was learning to drive, my driving instructor had a 1991/J (K10) Nissan Micra 1.2 GS, and my dad had a 1986/C mk2 Vauxhall Cavalier 1.6 L. Both VERY different cars to a 17 year old learner driver.
I have a mark 2.5 in Panther Black. 1.6 100hp petrol just like that as my commute car, apart from standing for three years in Covid causing the exhaust and lower arms to rot. it still drives like new. 2009 model, I'm scared to replace it, everything modern just seems to have too much 'stuff' to go wrong.
I currently drive a Mk2 having upgraded from my last Celica GT4! I love it, yes, it's not fast, but it is ultimately reliable and has never failed to get me to my destination. It's bonnet lock design is rubbish and the boot handle fails regularly, but the driving experience is joyous. As long as I can keep the rust at bay for MOT purposes, it'll be driven into the ground...
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Focus rust very fast
Nice to see Ranger drivers are the same on the other side of the planet as they are here. Oh it was a Nissan Navara - same type of person always buys a black ute anyway.
The MK1 is the most popular in Mexican off roads (there´s no such thing as a road in Mexico)✌
My wife had a 1.6 Zetec when she ran her own driving school. Bought it at 10k miles, sold it at 110k miles. Literally nothing went wrong with it over that period. Great car.
@TheRealCatof it is when it's a driving school car! 😂
@TheRealCatofDepends on what those miles are! Motorway/A roads? Nothing. Start stop traffic in rush hour, thats alot!
Fords can do that if looked after. My 2.0 1996 Mondeo Estate did about 146,000 miles and the only failure was a lambda sensor. It only stopped when some idiot crashed into it and it was 'beyond economic repair'.
Most cars do that mileage trouble free though
Mine has nearly 235 K miles on the clock. Running great.
I’m a mechanic and have a facelift mk2 1.6 petrol and you’ll be amazed how many other mechanics buy them with that engine because there just so good and reliable. I love mine, great car!
In the three and a half months between me getting a drivers license and me moving out of the country, my father just gave me his old Focus. The very same mk2 in black and 120-ish horsepower with manual gearbox. So basically the first car I got to drive alone and on my own. Such a nice vehicle for a beginner, it's not too heavy on features but also a totally well equipped one. You really learn to drive a car in one. Fast forward ten years, I was getting a drivers license in my new country of residence: I needed a refresher course and taking written and road tests. The learner car? A bloated Audi Q3. This vehicle made me realise why it seemed to me that many more people were afraid of driving now than before: you have no idea what the car is doing, where it's going and how much space you have around you. Not so in a Focus, you feel and see everything you need. The car doesn't beep at you for every single little thing, it just lets you be the actual driver. Maybe I'm forgetting the bad things, but I remember it as an okay car.
Everyone needs to drive something focus-like when they are learning. Having said that my daughters learned to drive in a 1996 Defender 110. You CAN see every corner in that and now they can drive anything....
And yet Ford now think we don't want a focus or a fiesta so the range starts at the pointlessly fat puma.
It's because they can add a free 3000€ to the price tag on that.
What we would have needed though was a new Fiesta with significantly more rear headroom.
@@arnehurnik like the B-Max. Tons of headroom and is built on the chassis of the Fiesta. Drives like a Fiesta, too.
Yes. Although just using that better roof shape would do half of the work already.
Hi James, thanks for the review of my MK2, as people can see I am a big fan of the Focus with the first MK1 and now MK2 as I also learned to drive in both the MK1 and MK2 and I do encourage people to give the Focus a try if they are in the market for a good all round hatchback that’s great to drive 👍
And me
You’ve got 2 lovely cars buddy
Thank you for your contribution to James ' great channel 😉👍
I own a MK2 Focus ST/XR5 Turbo but the standard Focus doesn't seem bad at all... I prefer the styling of these to the very feminine (IMO) Toyota Corolla or Mazda 3 of the same era...
@@MartinJones123'looks too feminine" sounds like something my narrow- minded grandad would say about anything other than a white dress shirt😅 don't be so insecure buddy phaha
My dad had a 2006 mk2 ford focus st3 that he’s owned for 17 years. He passed away a couple of months ago and i’ve kept it on as my second car with the aim of one day restoring it to mint condition in memory of him. Its an amazing car and i never, ever intend to get rid of it
Best car I've ever owned. 14 years and 210,000 miles later, still same exhaust, same clutch and same bodywork, no rust.
I also have a MK2 Focus 1.6 zetec. Bought it as a stop gap and 3 years on, I still have it. It’s cheap to run, affordable and I now can’t part with it.
I've got a mk2 1.8tdci style. Can't seem to part with it. My dad borrowed it for a year then I had it back for a year then the mother in law had it for a year. Probably going to keep it till it dies but it feels like it might last forever. Got 69k on it
Same here
Pulling off a problem ?
@@Karl_Burton don't really know what that means. Does that mean the car is a problem having it around but I'm making a good situation by making the most out of the car ?
@@Karl_Burton no. Let’s face it, it’s 25 year old tech so doesn’t have the urgency of similar period or more modern cars. But does the job from getting a to b and in Surrey country road, it does it really well
I had a Mk2 Focus, and it is indeed a very pleasant car that does everything you need for daily use. However mine seemed to be fitted with a kind of Klingon cloaking device that engaged whenever it was parked in a large carpark. I spent ages wandering around trying to find where I had left it. Apart from that though, it was great.
Around the time of the Mk 2, around 1 in 4 cars were silver, now currently around 1 in 4 cars are officially deemed to be grey, a colour, along with black or white, I can say I've never liked. People seem to choose grey because it's doesn't show road dirt up too much, I steered clear of black or white cars for the opposite reason, they do show the dirt up on a car, far worse than other colours.
I had a Mk2.5 Focus Zetec with the old 1.8 Lynx diesel engine. It was a heavy lump of cast iron up front and you could feel it at times, but it was reliable unlike the disastrous 1.6 PSA lumps they replaced it with. A cool feature was that you could adjust the weight of the steering with comfort, normal and sport modes, a surprise on such a low trim level.
1.4 PSA diesel is bulletproof on the other hand.
Lynx sorry damned phone lol
I've got a1.6 diesel 64 plate C Max Grand, running on the old type Citroen/Peugeot engine, I've had the car for almost 10 years now, no engine issues whatever. Also when I ran a water treatment company, we had various Peugeot vans, with 1.6 and 2 litre engines, doing well over 100K each time, again no engine issues. I think you'll find there can be rogue cars of any make, but I was checking out a dealer who does podcasts, based in Crewe. His latest featured why so many modern diesels are unreliable, he mentioned the PSA engines were among the most reliable up to around 2015, when Euro 6 came in, at which point the failures of all makes of diesels began.
Jay's battle with the Nissan pick-up truck added some interesting spice to this episode.
Yes, I liked Jay's comments - at the incident, and later - on the lack of common sense (ie cameras everywhere! And achieving nothing apart from putting lives in added danger), incompetence and bad driving of vehicle YL68 XWY, including that fast overtake with a cyclist in play. Great video Jay, many thanks. Kind regards.
The irony of it was that here in Australia the ute in question would almost certainly be a Ford Ranger.
@@johnalees99 Came here to say I was surprised it wasn't a Ranger, however many a "#navlife" numpty run a close second.
As a driver, HGV driver and cyclist: Pickups, "Redneck Transport", the worst driven things in North Devon, even worse than Audis
Someone should tell the Navara driver that according to the DVLA they has an outstanding recall on their car !
Standard tosser in a ute maneuver at 4:00 - I'm Shocked it's not a Ford Ranger however.
Great video, I must admit I'm being drawn back to the blue Oval either a Focus or a Mondeo. With not alot of pennies to shell out on a vehicle its increasing likely.
I learnt to drive late 70s mni, my driving instructor used to make me push it hard across the fens towards Peterborough training me to read the road ahead Great fun and learnt so much from my instructor. Needless to say my first car was a mini, which I modded to drive like a go car. Happy days indeed.
I feel your pain. I have an Audi A2 which suffers from the same issues with pulling away from a standstill. It requires all 40 years of my driving experience to manage a hill start and, even then, I have stalled-out as the whole exercise is like being a professional plate spinner having to work the clutch, throttle and handbrake in micro-managed unison to achieve something utterly basic, like rolling!
I have a honda s2000, and sometimes it's the fastest car in the world but it seems like the slowest car at slow speeds, it has a large exhaust makes lots of noise so try to keep it quiet staying at really low rpm and everything pulls away, silly really. P
S 13 years daily never let me down once, I love it ap1 1999 x
Would that be an A2 with the 1.4 engine - either petrol or diesel? I worked in sales for VW/Audi in 2002-6 period and if I’d had a pound for every new 1.4 A2, Lupo or Polo returned to our aftersales workshops within 3 months due to persistent stalling I’d be a rich man! Thing was there was no fault as far as the manufacturer was concerned - it was just “how they were” in order to meet the first real wave of emissions restrictions. They’d used such a “tight” fuelling-map at low throttle that you either stalled or gave it some welly and shot off with the engine screaming!
You could cure it with the petrol engine by running Super Unleaded (which effectively richened the fuel/air mixture) but of course costs 10% more but there was no cure for the diesel. It was such an irritating issue and ruined our customer satisfaction survey results (that hugely influenced our pay) so much that the savvy salespeople used to subtly direct buyers to alternative engines in the range.
@@neilturner6749 Fascinating response. I have a petrol which was purchased for my son to learn to drive in. Needless to say, he has faced some challenges getting used to the throttle action. Heck, even I have struggled at times and I have been driving long enough to have experienced everything from an Austin 1300GT to various old Renaults, Audis, Rovers, Opel, Lancia and even the Ford Corsair with a V4 engine, and none of them were as easily coaxed into a stall as the A2.
Had the same problem in a 2008 Toyota Yaris, 1.5 (all of 'em here). I think early digital throttles just were far too laggy.
Bought my first ever Ford Focus today. It's a Zetec 1.8 with 29,200 miles on the clock, no rust, a few scratches here and there but otherwise a very tidy car. I just drove it home 75 miles from Winsor where I bought it and I have already fallen in love with it. JayEmm was right about the high clutch, I did stall it a couple of times but it just needs getting used to. It is a sweet driving car, handles and drives so smooth and pure, nice and easy gear shifting and its got enough punch to make me smile. I have been driving for nearly 40 years and this car exudes that natural feel of real connection to the road embodying that all elusive feel good factor of driving.
@@NewKnave I had the mk2 1.8 petrol for 4 years I loved it, easily one of my favs
I had a 2004 1.6 tdci as a company car and absolutely loved it. Mind you, my company car before that was a 60 bhp Golf SDI, so it was an easy win.
Ah, yes. That was the non-turbo charged engine wasn't it?
Yes, the SDI was VW’s non-turbo diesel they put in their smaller cars. While I haven’t owned one, I have heard stories of those engines being virtually indestructible with just regular maintenance.
@@18pestilence They also do 0-62MPH is about 2.5 hours! 🤣
@@FatHead1979I think it's 18.5sec 0-60mph that's a long time though
@@FatHead1979 it was indeed. Embarrassingly slow.
I Had a 2008 saloon of this magic little car, the Ghia, the balance in that chassis was sublime, brakes were on point, steering perfect, and surprisingly quick. Thanks for the video JM
I passed my test in October 2021 and got my first car in January, a MK2 Focus Sport edition. I’ve still got it and I absolutely love the thing! The ST style alloys really make it stand out and look more modern than a 2011 car, it only has a 100hp variant of the 1.6 petrol but it still makes me smile every time I drive it as you can just rev it out making you feel you’re going much faster than you actually are! Unfortunately mines suffering from a rust problem on the wheel arches and other parts of the car but I have no intentions of ever giving it away until it literally falls apart under me. Not sure if it’s the first car buzz or the fact the MK2 is a gem but it’ll always hold a special place for me, thanks for the great video again Jay, definitely a bit bias if I say it’s one of my more favourite videos😉
I have exactly the same one. It was the last run out of the mark 2 before the mark 3. In fact Ford built the mark 2 and 3 together well into 2011
@@majorminor3367 I think they look better than the original mk3s, comparing mine with the mk3 on the street it looks a fair bit more sportier, obviously the trim levels and edition models make a huge difference when it comes to fords
Sport and studio models were very basic bottom of the range affairs, equipment levels were just too low especially in the earlier models up to 2007/2008
9:10 That’s exactly my thought with most 2000's hatchbacks. They just still look somewhat modern today, and they're not as ugly as newer ones.
These are the reviews that have kept me subbed since the really early days of your channel, and i love them. These are the cars that we can all relate to and many of us have driven, or even still drive.
When I returned from over a decade in Tokyo and was waiting for my own car to ship here, my mum gave me her Focus and it was solid and i ended up keeping it for a while as a daily. Got me where i needed to relatively quietly and confortably, literally never broke, and just kinda slowly and progressively lost power in a way i have never relly experienced with any other car until it was no longer driveable.
Cornering behavior like a sports car. Underrated vehicle.
I learnt to drive in a XY Falcon (an Australian car), built like a tank, and apart from what felt like 300 turns lock to lock steering, I have a lot of fond memories. I bought a mk2.5 Focus XR5 (ST everywhere else) as an end of model demo run out in 2011 and have had it ever since. I love it. Sure I've had dalliances with other cars over the years, but all the new stuff is so boring (and expensive) that in the end I just keep it. It's due for a cam belt and the clutch is now near its end, so I'll give it a bit of a birthday and add a limited slip diff (it's only real dynamic let down) and maybe a bit of a tune. It's a great everyday car.
The mk2 to me was a step down on the styling & fun front, but were way more comfortable mile munchers. Much prefer this engine to the Ecoboost too! I can understand James' reticence in jumping back into the car he learned in, I've refused to drive a Mk1 Clio since my test too
I would refuse to step in to the car I passed my test in but I don’t think there are too many still on the road - a Metro MG Turbo!
When I learnt in a 206 1.4 glx in 2003 it felt like it was so modern and refined 😂. Then a year or so later I owned a big (for me for the time v6 a4) drove a 206 again and a mk1 focus 1.6 and they felt so tinny in comparison with teeny little pedals.
Early ecoboost engines had way too many problems, on the 1.0l for example the turbo was too close to the block and the heat cooling cycles would crack the block resulting in needing a new engine! Bloke at work had it replaced under warranty and the new engine came with a 1 year warranty because it was certain to happen again
But a step up an the mk3
I actually think the MK2 is by far the best looking of the Focuses 😅
I learned to drive in a brand new mk2 Focus Titanium 2.0. Terrific car, extremely easy to drive, very easy to place on the road and park. All the controls felt right, including the relatively short throw gears, the stalks, steering, pedal feel etc. The works, it all felt right. I do remember it being a bit fussy on take off, but it was able to pull away okay in first, probably because it had more power.
I had the same issue getting off the line in a Mazda 6 2009 2.0 petrol! Probably similar clutch and engine.
I had a 56 plate pre-facelift 1.6 Zetec as a second car. Loved it, was cheap to run and much nicer to drive than the 2015 Punto I’d shared with my mum for a year after passing. Have now had the ST and RS versions as well
I'm driving a 2l mk2 focus zetec in Australia and I find it's clutch quite easy but I do have the exact same problem with being passed aggressively by large pick ups who then go slow in the bends
That's just 90% of Australian drivers. Super aggressive but basically incompetent. Anything other than a dead straight road is simply too much for them.
I'm still running a very early MK2 Focus 1.8 TDCi saloon. Currently it's on 181K miles and still on it's original clutch, DMF, injectors, high pressure fuel pump and turbo. As Jay mentioned on the video, it's important to keep on top of any new patches of rust (whilst it's still only surface rust), the early MK2s also didn't come with the long black plastic protective strip for the bottom of the sills, so I have to take extra car to grind off any rust spots etc.
I've kept on top of maintenance so despite it not looking a bit rough painwork wise, it drives like a 7-8 year old car. MOT is due in December, which I'm expecting it to pass (it passed last year without needing any work) but I think I'll probably have replaced it with a MK4.5 Mondeo 2.2 TDCI Titanium X Sport before the December 2024 MOT lands due. I've owned the car for nearly 12 years and will be sad to see it go, on the upside if everything has gone to plan I'll then own a 197BHP Mondeo with heated seats 🤣
Wow very close to my situation I have a mk2 focus 1.8tdci hatchback owned since 2008 so just over 15 years. My other car in the garage off the road for now as I'm driving the focus is a mk4.5 mondeo titanium-x powershift estate. Its not the 2.2 just the 163hp 2 litre. It's a real treat to drive though. Heated / cooled seats cruise control. Auto light's/wipers, adaptive headlights, halve leather alcantara interior, brushed aluminium everywhere.
The 1.8 Lynx diesel engines are a bit agricultural but will go on forever if maintained properly. The 1.6 engines they replaced them with had all kinds of problems.
@@DrFod I had a choice of the 1.6 or 1.8 diesel when I bought the car. The ford garage actually said I should go with the 1.8 looks like it was good advice. It's 16 years old Feb 2024 and it's cost me nothing other than fuel.
@@DrFod Indeed. The only exception to that in terms of the Lynx engine is the last 12-18 months of the production run, Ford decided it would be a super idea to change the lower heavy duty chain (that NEVER, ever failed) for, wait for it...a phucking wet belt 🤦and we all know how well wet belt's worked out of the 1st gen 1.0 EB and the current 2.0 TDCi (EcoBlue) engines #Muppets
Nice move at 4:03 by Beardy in YL68 XWY for all the world to see. 😂
I had a MK1 1.6 Zetec which was a great car to drive and used to go round roundabouts like it was on rails
Same, now have a Mk3 1.6 econetic diesel, not quite as fun to drive.
I’ve owned a mk2 pre facelift ST in electric orange for just over 5 months and I’ve fallen in love already. Keep up the good reviews!
When in the UK 10 years ago I had rented a MK2.5 Focus and been very impressed with it. Six months ago here in Western Australia I bought the same model with a 2 litre Tdci and it's a great car. Very economical and the dry climate here along with no yearly MOT means it will last forever.
This is what makes your YT channel the only car one I watch these days, a good mixture of exotica and stories along with your average every day cars for Joe Bloggs. Other youtubers start off well but end up with ceaseless videos of buying ever increasingly expensive cars.
I love a bit of posh stuff, but even for those who can afford it they're occasion vehicles - there's a lot of fun to be had at sensible money and I like to show that too :)
Hi James. I learnt to drive in a 1.4 Nova SR. It was a decent car. My instructor was a lovely chap and felt at ease driving the car having been driving on private roads for a while. Then I had a limited budget for my first car which was a Talbot Horizon 1.3. It lasted a few years until it fell apart to rust. Thanks for all your superb content and entertainment.
Nova SR learner car, very cool (for the time) instructor and learner car! I had one as my second car for a year. Great fun. Got ragged stupid absolutely everywhere. Always wanted a GSi though!
I learned to drive a Mayflower made by Triumph. Since then have driven million miles in many cars . This Ford is a modern safe deal .Cars back in my time had none of the safety features but we drove them all over the world with no fear
My first car was a mk2 ford focus, 1.8 zetec climate.
I loved it, so many adventures and fun. 30ish mpg, fast enough for me to do tonnes of trips around the country.
Super cheap to run, insure, put tyres on etc.
Great ‘don’t take on debt’ car. And now we only have my wife’s car, I sold it to my brother in law for £500 (though at the time it was worth more than that) with hope he wouldn’t go into a debt spiral.
Amazing car, would buy another one, very grateful for the memories and freedom it gave me.
I loved my mk2 zetec it was my third car and the first car I had that had any ammount of power behind it, going from a 1.4 astra to this felt like a different world. I told everyone it was a luke warm hatch it was great!
My parents had a black 59-plate Mk2 1.6l Zetec that had been very well spec’d. it was a generally nice little car that was a reliable little workhorse. The fact they went straight to the Mk3 based on how the Mk 2 performed.
I know it’s relatively gutless, but that 1.6 always sounds nice and peppy.
My nemesis of a learner car was a Hillman Imp (yes, I am that old!). The surging/kangarooing tendency on start off due to the rubber driveshaft doughnuts is something I remember, plus the disconcerting way you had to ram the gear lever across the gate to find reverse. Fond memories of the ex-Army instructor asking me to stop at the tobacconist during lessons so he could keep his pipe lit! I eventually owned a couple of Imps, one of which I rolled over on a gravelled country lane while showing off, so my (over) confidence had grown since the learner days!
My MKII is an 07 56 reg. Now 17 years old. I got it 3 years ago with only 51000! 1.8. Ghia. Petrol. Lovely car. Now has 66000. Engine is beautiful, size perfect. Seats very comfortable… velour.
After owning a mk 1 focus 1.8 diesel estate which was called Florence by my wife, I really enjoyed owning it for many years. I finally traded it in after reaching 300,000 miles for a mk 2 focus estate with the same 1.8 diesel engine and I've had it for 6 years. It has got 176500 miles on the clock and still pulls like a train. I really love these wee cars and the 1.8 diesel is in my opinion one of Fords best engines. I personally don't have the clutch issue, when pulling off so not sure if it has the same set up as the petrol cars.
I had a mk2 1.8 zetec for a year . It rusted more every time I washed it. It was a miserable experience for me. It doesn’t go on performance or engine size for brakes but trim. You need a Ghia or above for rear disc brakes. Great video ,sent shivers down my spine to be reminded of it too.
Ive stuck 17" wheels on my mk2 with 215/55/17 tyres (for reference same size as a nissan juke or vw t-rok) amazing they fit ok and never rub. The rid over bad roads is amazing. And the speedo is spot on according to gps dashcam and google maps. And it still handles like its on rails. Suspension on these cars is way to firm. Its a bit like a cross over without the premium. Its also made it much easier to get in and out of due ti the extra height.
Hello Jay. My name is Sinuhe. I am from Mexico City and learned to drive in an American MK1 Focus Wagon 2.0 Zetec wih the 4-speeed auto. Amazing car. It managed to survive 23 years of Mexican daily punishment 4 different drivers from the same family and several dishonest/incompetent mechanics( including the ones at the dealership). Right now the car has a broken engine bolt and needs replacement of the head gasket and also needs a new battery and possibly also an alternator replacement. It also needs new suspension parts and I have not been able to find the proper steering replacement. But I love it like no other car so it´s my project and I hope in a few years it can look and drive as new or even a little better. Greetings from the American continent and please keep up the great content in this fabulous channel of yours!
The sort of road that Jay is driving on here, is quite simply ideal for the Focus - and a very pleasant drive.
Apart from the 5-pot ST (sold here in Oz as the XR5) the other Mk2 Focus I wanted to drive was the 1.6 turbo-diesel. I still like the design of these.
[edit] I meant to type 2.0 TDCi, not 1.6 [/edit]
I'm currently learning in a Ford Puma. It's ridiculously easy to drive and it'll take anything a learner can throw at it
Learned to drive in a MK2, then bought one. Still going 2 years on and I love it.
The MK2 Focus is really got into my heart, as well as other cars on it's platform like Volvo S40/C30/V50 and Mazda 3, my mom even got an S40 2007 pre-facelift with 1.6 B4164S3 engine with 5 speed manual. Even though Volvo got different suspension settings, all disc brakes, heavier body than a Focus, but still - Great car. It was the one, who teached me how to drive. And it is still a car, which is still my biggest dream.
Like you I learned in an AA Ford Focus, passed second time and loved the car so much that I bought a Mk1 Focus 5dr. 1.6l petrol, and... Ghia spec - grey leather seats, wood trim and a tape player!
I do love the shape and style of this particular Ford Focus and indeed the style that went from 57-reg to 61-reg in the UK.
Beautifully Arranged as the Ford advert described it.
I have the MK2 1.6 tdci Zetec estate, 59 year it also has wind-up rear windows, discs on the back also, but it is actually the 2010 model. 75+ on a long journey cheap road tax, plenty of torque and it isnt slow, when needed, comfortable easy to drive, excellent road holding, (the Zetec have sports suspension).
Other half has the 1.8 petrol mk2. It’s done 69000 miles , still feels brand new. Lovely car, pulls well.
Had 2009 Ford Focus MK2 1.6 Ti-VCT Titanium, for over 11 years. Tuned with better injectors to 138 BHP and with Eibach suspension upgrade. Excellent piece of kit, worked like a charm, when you get to open whiny road, it always put smile on your face with handling... In 11 years and 138000 miles only thing that was bad was A/C compressor that needed to change, and clutch set at 112k interval (everything else was per service book)
Couldn't agree more about Mk1 Focus. My daily driver is a 1.8 Zetec Turnier from '02. 200k miles on it, w/o any problem. Serves like a Swiss watch. Just finished the DIY restoration (brakes, exhaust, rear suspension, all fuel lines, at home) That's a keeper, at the age of 21.
We drove our 2009 Ford Focus 1.6 zetec all the way from South East Bulgaria up to Helmsdale in the Scottish Highlands and back again. Six thousand miles in an epic road trip.
The car behaved magnificently, didn't need any oil or coolant.
It's clocked up 88,000 miles and has all its original parts from the day it left the dealer.
What more can you ask from a car?
Crazy how it still looks good and modern (except for the interior obviously)! I especially like the rear.
I've got an '06 Mazda3 equivalent of this in 2l Sport guise. Bought in '09 and it's the longest I've ever owned a car as well being the oldest. It's fun to drive and boringly reliable, although bits are now starting to fail due to old age. First it was FoMoCo-marked parts but now it's Mazda ones, the first (thermostat) last year. ULEZ-compliant and I'm still not thinking of changing it.
As for car i learned to drive in it was my mother's '66 Imp Super in '72. Bought i off her and kept it for several years, lightly modifying it, until I got a company car. One of several cars I should have kept...
Just had my mk2 focus scrapped yesterday, broke my heart it was a brilliant car!
I had a pre facelift mk2 1.6 3door and loved it.
i kept it for 7 years and it was bulletproof only general maintenance kept it tip top.
I had a Mk1 1.8 Petrol Ghia and, to this day, it remains one of my favourite cars I’ve owned. I had it 4 and a half years and put 68,000 miles on the clock. The ride and handling balance particularly were a revelation at the time, the 1.8 fairly pokey, with more torque than the 1.6, if a bit more reluctant to rev. It wasn’t that the car was necessarily brilliant in all areas, though it was in some, it was just that it seemed so complete as a package. It took us all round France one year and remains the only car I’ve driven round Le Mans. I’d love to try one today to rekindle old memories and see if they’re still as good as I remember. Oh, and learner car was an Austin Metro 1.0L, bright red, one of BSM’s finest!
I started to learn to drive in a Pug 106 1.1. As I am 6ft3 with size 12’s, I struggled with the footwell so finished learning in my Mums S reg Golf Mk4 TDi 90bhp.
We have owned a 2007 mk 2 since it had 7k on it and was 3 years old. Bought for the Mrs to use after she passed her test. Its now well over 100k miles. Our other cars have come any gone but we have still got this one. It's just such a happy car. Can take family of 4 with their crap on holiday, lots of space for trips to the tip and a great shopping car. Dog likes it too.
We have thought many times of getting rid but for a run around its perfect. Yes it's basic, its got a few knocks but until something goes bang or the rust underneath gets bad why sell it. It's worth nothing but loads to us. And it's ulez friendly....
Great to buzz about in.
Hired a Focus Mk2 in Newcastle and drove to the lake district. It was a revelation for me. Not much power but such a joy in the corners.
I only recently noticed the very original tail-light design on the mk2 focus, and now i cant stop noticing them
Had a mk1 focus with the TDCi diesel engine. A very good car. A Focus a great car. .
Great Video, I had a mk1 Focus, My best car ever, did 178,000 miles in it until the dreaded rust. Now I have a Mk2 2011 1.8. Regarding common faults, If you notice the bonnet was becoming difficult to open take it to a garage before it becomes un-openable, if it does, they need to remove the grill. And water leaks in the hatchback. Just annoying faults.
Yay! I had fully loaded black 05 Ghia saloon for 6 years. A very decent car that was, except rust. Usual stuff around wheel arches etc. Dirt cheap spare parts available everywhere was a massive bonus. Much better motor than similar year's competitor Auris
I learned in a mk5 Escort 1.6i Ghia as I recall, back in 1997. It was a great car.
I now have a mk3.5 Focus 1.5 TDCI Titanium X. Its a decent car right enough. Nothing really to complain about at all.
I had one of these as my first car at 17. Exactly the same as this one. Absolutely loved it.
I'd argue the Mk2 Focus was the best everyday car of the last 2 decades, all things considered. Fun to drive, roomy, practical, comfortable, relatively well equipped in the right spec and obsurdly reliable.
Admittedly I've had the ST versions, but still basically Mk2 Focus and they have been brilliant cars. Extremely reliable, well-built and tough. No rust and great paintwork. Loads of space and comfort and enough tech for me. Plus with the ST its fast and easy to modify. A great Ford.
I learned in a Nissan Almera… until i fail 4 times, at which point i switched to the AA and passed in a mk2 focus. At that point we had an early mk1 2.0 focus which i loved. We then upgraded to a mk2 1.6 saloon, we loved that but the issues that we had with the VCT system ended up killing us and we got rid for a 2.2 civic diesel. I look back at the 2 focuses we had and i think they were beautiful to drive.
I have a mk2 ford focus 1.6 zetec automatic that i bought with 33000 miles on it 8 years ago.It now has 125000 miles on it.It has passed every M.O.T,all i have ever replaced is a battery and a stop light and normal stuff like tyres,etc and it never lets me down,rain or shine.It's been a great car...
The Mk1 and Mk2 Focuses enjoyed great success from the minute they arrived, and cars that are everywhere with nice looks like those Focuses are the cars I tend to go for.
I had an 11 plate Sport model with 128,000 miles for work recently, and while the 1.6 TDCi drove amazingly, the comfort and convenience qualities let it down tremendously. Not a single radio station maintained its frequency, my Bluetooth kept disconnecting, and even tuned into Radio 1 it had a bug where it kept cutting out, and this actually activated the engine lights briefly. I spent the whole day on edge.
I learned to drive with a N16 Almera 2.2 DCi. The 320 Nm of torque were an absolute delight to learn the clutch with, very forgiving. With 140 horsepower, still one of the most powerful machines I've driven, history of 1 and 1.2 litre engines galore. :D
I had that engine in my Ford Mondeo. Even in that heavy car he was lightning fast. Especially with the 6 gearbox
I did my driving lessons in a 1.6 nissan Almera. Sold my mk2 focus zetec climate 1.6 last year for £300 it has a hornet catback exhaust on it.
Currently got a 2013 Mk3 focus Titanium Navigator with the 1.6 150bhp ecoboost and thoroughly love it.
Had a mk2 Focus diesel as a courtesy car earlier this year and was very impressed with it. 130k on the clock and had previously been in a frontal accident and repaired, but it drove absolutely fantastically. Don't recall it being difficult to get off the line though, and I usually drive an automatic, so if anyone was going to have problems, it would be me. Maybe it had had a recent new clutch or something. Anyway, it was a brilliant car, and I certainly wouldn't be opposed to buying one, just so long as I could find one with a torque converter auto.
My first car back in 2007 was a W (2000) 1.8 LX Focus - great car. I changed to a lemon of an E46 316 after about 4 years, then changed to a Mk2 facelift Focus "Sport" with a 1.6 engine (a trim level which was basically a Zetec, but with ST ish wheels and Sat nav/usb, etc, to help shift the last few from forecourts, is how the dealer described it to me).
Good car, but it was no where near as good to drive as the Mk1 and after a few weeks, I wished I could have taken it back and just bought a Mk1 Ghia or similar. It later got side traded for a 2006 Mondeo 2l petrol - this was quite reminiscent of the Mk1 focus and I was far, far happier with this (plus we needed the additional space due to having 2 dogs by this point.)
Interesting video, thanks for taking the time to review and share it.
My first car was a 1990 Mazda 323F (Astina). Faded red, 10 yrs of experience and a hoot to drive. I absolutely adored it. So much in fact, that I replaced it with a 1997 323F (Lantis) in 2006, a car that I probably liked even more. Then I switched to VAG cars, then to BMWs and now I have a Mazda again, be it only for the weekends. It's a 2006 MX-5 2.0 and it's absolutely fabulous.
I too was an AA learner 20 years ago. I hated the heated screen on the focus. My instructor went self employed and got a fiesta black. Great little car
Feels very nostalgic seeing a tidy one in AA driving school spec, then realising it was 14 years ago I last drove one. Thanks for that 😄
I had a Mk1 Focus 1.6, hand on heart - one the best and most reliable cars I ever owned. And an absolute delight to drive.
I used to drive a 2005 Ford Focus ZX5 with SES trim level. It got totaled in a bad car accident in early March 2012. From the accident that I gotten a broken left ankle. It was a fun little car and I almost have it for 7 years. My vehicle now is a 2020 Ford Escape SE in black.
I have not one but two Focus Mk2, both pre facelift, both '05 model, both blue, one with the 1.6 100hp Zetec, the other, with the 1.8 TDCI Lynx. Both have passed the 300k km mark and still running just fine, i love how they handle, the petrol one is super fun in twisty roads, loves to rev to the redline, the diesel have lots of torque and it's gearbox is long enough to travel comfortably on the highway. Sometimes people argue that they are just crap cars, but for me they are just perfect, I don't need anything else.
2000 Ford Excursion Limited, 7.3L turbo diesel.
I passed my tests on that thing, parallel parked it, the works. No backup camera or sensors to help me either. Heaviest ICE personal transportation vehicle put into mass production for the civilian market.
I knew I passed too when my driving instruction (a lovely but small lady in her early 40s) said that she couldn’t drive something this big.
I also learnt to drive in a focus 1.6 from the aa from that time. And I agree the clutch took alittle getting used to. The visibility of seeing out made the manoeuvres easy and it was a easy car to judge when approaching gaps in traffic or down narrow lanes.
Several years later i owned a st version and it was a blast to drive.
My uncle has the 2006 model FOCUS C-MAX with the Duratec 1.6 engine excluding Ti-VCT that puts out 100 HP. After I got my license, I drove that car for some time and I can say, even though it is super heavy for the engine it has (C-MAX of mk2 is about 1350kg min), it drives and goes wonderfully but I have couple of complaints. One as he said the clutch bite point is super difficult to get used to. It is super appearent to me due to coming from a corolla of the same year which has (imo) a super easy clutch to modulate. The other one is that at highway speeds it is so buzzy due to gearing being super short. It turns about 4000 RPM at 120kph in 5th which is super annoying on long trips. None the less, it is a fun car to drive :)
So good to learn that I am not alone with the clutch issue… Mine is however on a Volvo C30, with the Ford 2l engine and the 5-speed gearbox.
Extremely frustrating driving experience in traffic. It is so bad that I took it to a Volvo specialist, which told me it was in perfect condition and that it just was a trait of this engine and gearbox.
I learned in a 1984 MK2 Fiesta 950 Popular. No brake servo. No power steering. 4 speed gearbox. Took the actual test in my mum's 1982 MK1 Fiesta 1100 Ghia. That was in 1986! The MK2 Focus is a good honest car - you're right about the rust though!
Learned to drive in a 1954 Ford Custonline V8 Ute. That was in 1955 and I was 10 years old. Also a flat head 1948 Ford. Yes, we lived on a farm in Australia. There were also old Massey Ferguson, International Harvester and John Deer tractors. I even got a special drivers licence at 15 that allowed me to drive within 25 miles of my home during daylight hours.
I was given a Ford Focus Mk2 Zetec S 1.6 - that my brother had decided to swap for a VW Golf.
It's a 10-reg, with a little over 60k on the clock, paintwork is still in very good condition.
The only real things needing an eye kept on them right now is the tyres.
12:28 a mk1 Toyota 1.0 Yaris is exactly the same. I learnt to drive in a 2013 Ford Fiesta diesel a white one.
I did my driving test in a 2013 Volvo V40 D3 R-design. 2400CC L5T diesel with 150bhp and nice turboflutter and deep exhaust sound. Rear view was severe limited but it was the best for driving backwards at 25mph
Had one. Genuinely brilliant car. Drove well, looked ok, could fill it up take rubbish to the tip. 🤣
My mum has had one for the last 6 years, I've owned 3 Focus' myself and they've always been fantastic cars.
I learned to drive at 13 and I am currently 15.I pointed out my age to show how easy to drive the car was and the car in question was a 2004 2.0L 150hp Honda CRV. It is a big car and old so many think that it was a hard car to drive, park etc.Neverthelss it was surprisingly easy, easy to drive in town, easy to park, the steering was also very light for a car its size and the weird handbrake placement actually made it easier for handbrake turns and starting when parked on a hill. Also it was very practical and had quirks like the picnic table that came from factory. An amazing all rounder for even when u want to have some fun behind the wheel(especially off road).
I bought a new mk4 last month - love the looks, comfort, handling, power, tech, economy, and price
When I was learning to drive, my driving instructor had a 1991/J (K10) Nissan Micra 1.2 GS, and my dad had a 1986/C mk2 Vauxhall Cavalier 1.6 L. Both VERY different cars to a 17 year old learner driver.
I have a mark 2.5 in Panther Black. 1.6 100hp petrol just like that as my commute car, apart from standing for three years in Covid causing the exhaust and lower arms to rot. it still drives like new. 2009 model, I'm scared to replace it, everything modern just seems to have too much 'stuff' to go wrong.
I currently drive a Mk2 having upgraded from my last Celica GT4! I love it, yes, it's not fast, but it is ultimately reliable and has never failed to get me to my destination. It's bonnet lock design is rubbish and the boot handle fails regularly, but the driving experience is joyous.
As long as I can keep the rust at bay for MOT purposes, it'll be driven into the ground...