Last week I posted about the Nissan Micra I’d been given as a hire car. It wasn’t brilliant for the motorway, so I asked the hire car company for a bigger car. On Friday they came through with this – the Ford Focus Titanium 1.8 TDCi. It’s got about 115 bhp and this model costs around 13 grand. Yes, you read that right – it’s a Diesel. It’s been a few years since I’ve driven a Diesel and once again my opinion is split.
Yes, the mileage is fantastic – I’m getting around 50-60mpg and on the motorway it sits at around 60-65mpg according to the on board computer. The nice people at Enterprise Rent-a-car gave me three-quarters of a tank last week to make up for the fact that I spent 30 quid in two days filling up the Micra, which screamed along the motorway drinking petrol last week. The contrast is amazing – the engine in the Ford sits at about 1500 rpm and the MPG gauge happily reports 60+ mpg as I bob along in the outside lane of the M6.
The inside seems to be fairly well made, although the top of the dash is a little “plasticcy”. The turbo does give it a little kick too, which is helpful on the motorway when you need to dodge in front of someone.
..but….
It’s all so dull..
I’m sorry. It’s a good car (even though it’s a Ford), and drives well, handles well and is fairly well built, but you almost fall asleep driving it. It’s just…. there. You look at it and go .. “meh”…
So I’m back to my split opinion – should I go for a car like this which is good on mileage (and almost half the weekly cost to run) or carry on in my gas-guzzling Petrol motor (about 35mpg), which goes like stink and gives you a massive smile every time you drive it ?
Perhaps I should start looking for a Diesel with a bit more poke, then I can have both?