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Ford Focus TDCi


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#61
carlion

Posted 24 June 2010 - 10:59 AM

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QUOTE (firdausasri @ Jun 23 2010, 08:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
As a family car, you can never go wrong with this car. Given the price, awesome r&h (for family car) and diesel fuel efficiency, it's the better car to have than say 308 and civic but the engine should have been kicks in earlier. That's my rant about it.

I test drove the Ford TDCi on Monday. It's GREAT. I thought my 308T is powerful, but the TDCi is even more powerful. I think comparison wise; price and value... TDCi vs 308T.. Civic does NOT even come close.

#62
lasting999

Posted 27 June 2010 - 11:56 AM

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QUOTE (fox68 @ May 1 2010, 03:05 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Just Ah Beng or Ah Pek mentality that says drive T or H means you have status! Even can made with cheapest bits in Thailand but sold at premium here! Try to compare Vios with Fiesta or mazda @ which have better insulated quality, equipment and gearing (6 speed for Fiesta). Ppl who move up from P1 to T but cannot afford better cars like Civic or Altis will deffinately choose Vios..more J&E are sold than the Gs or TRD versions...same people who think driving a tin-kosong Avanza gives them Toyota status..dunno wat status...millioaire-ah?

For Ford TDCi, its a diesel, so you save up in fuel when the G decides to raise Ron 95 & 97 or diesel, you still pay less for more km! Oh did you know its a Focus? The 1st gen was an automotive success worldwide (except msia) for 6 years and won all trophies worldwide for design, handling, etc..never see any T winning that..(maybe Prius). Next time come to car forums, bring knowledge with you, no one would fault you if you dun add any worthless comments.


Agree with fox68. Some how most Malaysian are blinded by the T & H brand.
Here is the 2010 Quality study done by JD Power, Ford is among the top 5 quality car maker in the world, H is 6th and I didn't even see the T brand in top 10! except for their Lexus that is...

For more info/details goto their web site here: http://www.jdpower.c...os/car-ratings/

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#63
madex

Posted 28 June 2010 - 12:01 AM

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QUOTE (firdausasri @ Jun 2 2010, 03:48 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I've driven it, I've to say it's good family car with diesel fed advantage but don't be fooled by the massive 320nm torque, it cannot justify lack of revs unlike petrol fed. And 320nm claimed seems to me pretty overrated. Have a look at my review below:-

Going into an era where fuel prices has catapult up way faster than many politicians can walk their talks has prompted us Malaysians to look for alternative fuel be it diesel or hybrid. Whatever the positive findings of hybrid technologies can be, they’re still in infancy stage which is why many car manufacturers still banking on new age turbodiesel.

Common praises including ‘zillionth’ percentage of better fuel economy, superior torque low down, and lower emission levels. All is a jolly good news for us motorists but is there any free lunch in this world for something that is too good to be true?

In here, Ford has already loosing its appeal to Malaysians since the Laser and Telstar days in the nineties. They managed to crawled back just a bit with the Ranger for short period until introduction of Mitsubishi Triton, Nissan Navara, Toyota Hilux and the likes rath back at them. In these trying times, and to get its anchor dealer Auto ConneXion to breathe for survival sake, they’ve brought in Focus 2.0 TDCi at affordable sums of RM125k OTR (excluding insurance) which is about the same price as Honda Civic 2.0, Toyota Corolla Altis, Nissan Sylpy and Mazda 3 2.0. And as we kept hearing fuel prices going to be revised again and again, I truly think it’s a smart, cunning and brave move!

And so today after going rounds and rounds of window shopping of which is the best place to go for custom FMIC installation with for the Pocong, I found myself cruising along Federal Highway en route home until I saw Ford dealership on the right side. What the heck, let’s waste my not so precious weekend time for window shopping that Focus.

The moment I stepped into the showroom, Mane who’s the SA on duty came to me and said “Afternoon Sir, let me guess you’re in for the Focus turbodiesel right? We don’t have on in the showroom but you can have a look at our test car at the front and maybe going for test drive?” Surely I can’t say no smile.gif

Practical and great to drive, the Mk1 Focus is really hard to fault, only thing we can’t never be entirely happy with is its looks. That’s where Ford responded to that by giving the new Mk2 Focus pretty substantial makeover with headlamps which is very Mondeoish, grill and front end also being redesigned to take on latest Ford’s corporate look. And while it’ll take a very keen eye to notice changes on the profile and the rear end, the whole new outlook is very much muscular and modern than its dated predecessor.

Going inside, the dial pack is again Mondeo inspired; sharp red-and-white background instead of the boring old green and some silvery touches surrounds for the dials except on this TDCi, the redzone starts from 4.5k rpm while speedometer up to 240 km/h. Fit and finish remains well ok. However, the plush bits on top part of the dashboard contrast painfully with the hard, dull and well cheap stuff everywhere. By Ford’s standard in the past, this is by all means mediocre. Even the leather seats, as supportive and comfortable they may be, feels not really seem to be made of leather, quite frankly PU is more appropriate if I’m being honest.

Like most Fords, it’s quite reasonably well equipped. Apart from its 2.0 four pot that makes 134PS and 320nm out of diesel force fed and being delivered onto the tarmac by Ford’s very own double clutch’s Powershift 6 speeder, it comes with 16” alloy rims wrapped in 205/55/16 profile tyres, Dual Electronic Automatic Temperature Control (DEATC), rear air-cond vents, electronic adjustable front seats, tilt and telescopic adjustable steering and audio control mounted on steering column. Safety and security being kept in checked by ABS with EBD assist, ESP, dual airbags on the front and of course 5 star NCAP crash rating.

After getting myself strapped in the driver’s cockpit with driving position set just spot on, cranked the engine with ‘S’ button located at the gear console turned to ON. First impression I’ve got is, blimey, it’s seriously quiet in here hardly I hear diesel clatters, hell the Pocong’s idling is way more noisy.

As I drive it out of the gate with right foot firmly nailed to the floor, it made me realise that turbodiesel in car nut point of view memang indah kabar dari rupa. This is where diesel’s superior torque can’t in many ways to compensate lack of revs and horsepower. Full stop.

Plenty of faults I can pinpoint here, first of which is the lack of response on the delivery, the boost finally come on song after around 2.5k rpm, in the diesel world is pretty laggy where as mentioned earlier redzone is 4.5k rpm. 320nm claimed figures feels overrated really. And how ‘much’ it gives at that powerband comes in one lump sum but after 4k rpm, you need to change gear. That’s how much frustrating driving diesel fed cars. Mind you this is using 6 speed double clutch gearbox, if it’s 4 speed conventional Ford’s, it’ll be horrid.

While the designers have done much on the car, the engineers look like skipping office hours with lots of ELs and MCs. And that’s not a bad thing really because dynamically it’s already class leading. McPherson strut on the front while the space saving control blade on the rear carried over from Mk1 is already good enough in providing well balanced chassis and good compromise between good road holding and comfort.

Although the test route wasn’t exactly spritely by nature, the steering feels sharp, positive and above of all is natural. Better than many hot hatches around including Satria Neo CPS, Alfa MiTo, and regrettably Polo GTI. Still I stand corrected that R56 MCS may have an edge on this department compared to Focus but I can imagine if you’re driving this Focus on the twisties, you’ll definitely forgotten for a while that this is actually a proper four-door family hatch, with generous space inside which happens to has a very spot on dynamics all around. And let’s not forget, it’s never in anyway anytime uncomfortable, the setup on this thing is brilliant. You’ll go into a bump and it immediately settles down again, it’s really as I said earlier a class leading.

Should Proton needs a new yardstick in ride & handling, it has to be this Focus. This is because of all Proton’s I’ve driven and I’ve driven all of them, they have never been as this Focus’s competent.

That said, I truly feel, Focus TDCi is quite an astonishing family car in every way given its price tag and diesel fed benefits. Of course build quality is declining but you don’t pay for a VW. The 308 turbo and Civic definitely got their work cut out by some margin here except only left in mind is how affordable is the maintenance of the car. But hey, since Malaysians rarely keep their cars for many years, why bother much on this when it comes with 3 years warranty and free servicing.


PS: Should you buy one, please for the love of God uncheck the optional blue stripes. It’s very loud and rice!


Bro, you may have point on the lag since you burried your foot on the floor (probably in normal mode) from very crawling speed. Yes, petrol have better respond on this (maybe for first 2 gears). Petrol head or average joe's love this kind of so call POWER!!.. at anytime that they feel like in drag race.

But diesel head like the practicallity of power. Still, there is sport mode which is not just about keeping the rev as close to 2k rpm at anytime. The engine will lively rev up to 4k rpm and the gear changing also will be more rapid. The surge pulling power rather than kick feel can be feel from close to 2k rpm (not 2.5k rpm) all the way up to 4k rpm (mind you that the power doesn't come in one lump sump in variable turbo). 4.5k rpm may look short power band but it doesn't feel that short as between 2k rpm to 3k rpm on top gear, it will easily climb up from 100kmh to 160kmh and that is the best way the judge what is the 320nm of torque is all about. What I have said is real because i have it for few months.


#64
firdausasri

Posted 28 June 2010 - 07:47 PM

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QUOTE (madex @ Jun 28 2010, 12:01 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Bro, you may have point on the lag since you burried your foot on the floor (probably in normal mode) from very crawling speed. Yes, petrol have better respond on this (maybe for first 2 gears). Petrol head or average joe's love this kind of so call POWER!!.. at anytime that they feel like in drag race.

But diesel head like the practicallity of power. Still, there is sport mode which is not just about keeping the rev as close to 2k rpm at anytime. The engine will lively rev up to 4k rpm and the gear changing also will be more rapid. The surge pulling power rather than kick feel can be feel from close to 2k rpm (not 2.5k rpm) all the way up to 4k rpm (mind you that the power doesn't come in one lump sump in variable turbo). 4.5k rpm may look short power band but it doesn't feel that short as between 2k rpm to 3k rpm on top gear, it will easily climb up from 100kmh to 160kmh and that is the best way the judge what is the 320nm of torque is all about. What I have said is real because i have it for few months.


Madex,

Either that or the Focus's chassis must be really berat la hahaha...

And I know what you mean by the torque, I'm having 253nm on wheel figure (300nm on engine) from 3k flat till 6k rpm, in a sub 1.2 tonne car with 5 adults, 80kmh climbs up to 250kmh fast on 5th all the way. That's the beauty of force fed smile.gif
"Turbo lag is giving a head start for NA. Let them make the first move ...."
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http://poconggti.blogspot.com

#65
madex

Posted 28 June 2010 - 10:44 PM

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QUOTE (firdausasri @ Jun 28 2010, 07:47 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Madex,

Either that or the Focus's chassis must be really berat la hahaha...

And I know what you mean by the torque, I'm having 253nm on wheel figure (300nm on engine) from 3k flat till 6k rpm, in a sub 1.2 tonne car with 5 adults, 80kmh climbs up to 250kmh fast on 5th all the way. That's the beauty of force fed smile.gif


Right, the car weight almost 1.5 tonne, heaviest in class here probably. smile_disapprove.gif

Still, with that price, torque and economy at the same time, make it worth every moment. I can't have power from Civic, Lancer or Mazda 3 as for me is like begging power that i hardly use and end up paying more for fuel. 308T is good car but it hardly reach 600km for a tank fo fuel and that range is the probably the worse that TDCi can do.

#66
alexT

Posted 29 June 2010 - 10:33 AM

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QUOTE (firdausasri @ Jun 28 2010, 07:47 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Madex,

Either that or the Focus's chassis must be really berat la hahaha...

And I know what you mean by the torque, I'm having 253nm on wheel figure (300nm on engine) from 3k flat till 6k rpm, in a sub 1.2 tonne car with 5 adults, 80kmh climbs up to 250kmh fast on 5th all the way. That's the beauty of force fed smile.gif



80kmh to 250kmh?? the TDCi top speed can reach 250kmh?

#67
darreltian

Posted 29 June 2010 - 11:39 AM

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QUOTE (alexT @ Jun 29 2010, 10:33 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
80kmh to 250kmh?? the TDCi top speed can reach 250kmh?

cannot unless it is the 'hot hatch' focus RS

#68
firdausasri

Posted 29 June 2010 - 03:32 PM

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QUOTE (alexT @ Jun 29 2010, 10:33 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
80kmh to 250kmh?? the TDCi top speed can reach 250kmh?


Nope in mild modded Polo GTI you can smile.gif
"Turbo lag is giving a head start for NA. Let them make the first move ...."
-Sidious
http://poconggti.blogspot.com

#69
gregy

Posted 21 October 2010 - 04:15 AM

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QUOTE (carlion @ Jun 24 2010, 10:59 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I test drove the Ford TDCi on Monday. It's GREAT. I thought my 308T is powerful, but the TDCi is even more powerful. I think comparison wise; price and value... TDCi vs 308T.. Civic does NOT even come close.


Sorry for bringing up an old post but I was just researching the Focus and saw this thread. Anyway, if you think your 308 is powerful, and the Civic doesn't come close, think again. I've had a few runs with a 308 140THP and believe you me, our century sprint times are very close. And I'm only driving a 1.8 smile.gif Have you even run against a 2-litre Civic to make such callous judgements?
There are no lousy cars. Only better cars.

#70
gregy

Posted 21 October 2010 - 04:22 AM

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QUOTE (lasting999 @ Jun 27 2010, 11:56 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Agree with fox68. Some how most Malaysian are blinded by the T & H brand.
Here is the 2010 Quality study done by JD Power, Ford is among the top 5 quality car maker in the world, H is 6th and I didn't even see the T brand in top 10! except for their Lexus that is...

For more info/details goto their web site here: http://www.jdpower.c...os/car-ratings/


You must remember one thing, that in Msia, choice of car depends heavily on who's behind the brand. Brands like Ford, Mazda, Hyundai etc are great brands IMO, but it is always a gamble when buying from local distributors with little track record. So it's not really about being blinded by any particular brand, but a long and proven track record (and staying power) will get the lion's share. For that matter, Chevrolet makes good cars too. But what's to happen to Chevy owners should the current distributor decide to call it a day? There are no laws here that protect the consumer from dealership changes/abandonment.
There are no lousy cars. Only better cars.