Used Ford Focus review: 2011 to 2018 (Mk3) | owner reviews: MPG, Problems & Reliability

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This car let me down in 2016. The antifreeze holder drained into the oil sump. The Ford workshop said if I pay 10% towards parts the repair will be guaranteed for 12 months if not parts are not guaranteed. 08/04/18 car has let me down again. Guess what? Same fault!!!

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This was an ex-demonstrator model when I bought it, so as new, and has been the biggest surprise ever. Never ever I had a light showing up, a recall, a problem, a disappointment. It's less than 4 years old and already has 80.000 miles on the clock. I use it for commuting, trips to the supermarket and also very long journeys of 1400 miles non stop, sometimes under extreme weather of 42 degrees and -10, sun and snow. Mine is top spec with every single option on it, and none of the electrics ever failed. The engine is powerful, there's a bit of lag in the turbo but it's really smooth and silent otherwise on motorway. All the maintenance is performed by Ford and the general condition of the car is excellent. I'm very proud of it as I never expected it to be this good - I've owned Mercedes and had more problems with them. Don't expect the best materials and best interior quality, but you still get more than you pay for!

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I use hire cars regularly through work, had a lot of different cars for long distance and just got my second new Focus, and decided I had to leave a review as this thing wound me up so much. Initial impression for the first 100 miles or so both times is that it's a very nice car, but it quickly becomes apparent that it's been very poorly thought out. The biggest problem being the entertainment system. There doesn't seem to be an easy way to turn off Traffic Announcements, which were driving me insane, the throttle response is very slow (half a second or so) and the gearbox far too long geared, able to get to 60 in 2nd. The touch screen is diabolically bad (finger breakingly so) and the only way to mute a traffic announcement that doesn't have an undesired or random result. The voice control feature is laughably bad as if you ask it to list commands, it puts the 8 or so on the touch screen rather than just tell you what they are. Indicators don't cancel on demand which makes thanking other motorists or accidental taps of the indicator likely to confuse those around you. Visibility is very poor to the rear, the rear left blind spot is huge and for some reason it's especially hard to judge distance in the mirrors. It's a shame, it does have good features. The hill brake is brilliant, it's comfortable, the engine is powerful even though poorly geared and bad response, and it's good looking. Absolutely can't recommend this car. And it's such a shame, as there's good stuff going on that's massively overshadowed by how poorly thought out the whole experience is.

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We purchased this car with 6500 miles on the clock for £15000 . Firstly the car drives and handles superb ,corners like its on rails and stops on a sixpence. thats where the good bits end! The rest of the car is a complete let down the interior develops a new rattle everytime you get in it doors,boot, dash, was told by tc harrison derby trim is only warrented for 12months and all cars rattle! Not what i wanted to hear having spent 15000 and had i been told that before buying would never have bothered.dab radio does not work properly again told they never do in any car! Engine started to loose power and missfire had to go back for a software update which tc harrison reluctantly did after trying to tell me it was just the dpf filter regenerating. I must say the car does have a lot more grunt but mpg is now around 45 not the 72 claimed! Horn stopped working had to argue to get that changed, overall very disapointed with the whole experience aftersales service is absolutely terrible,Going to do what i should have done and part ex it for an Audi

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Purchased when 1 year old, had excellent service from Ford main Dealer, just had its 3 yr service & 1st MOT. Great little car, comfortable, quick and good looking. Only problem so far is the poor Sony DAB radio. Boot takes wife's folding wheelchair plus shopping, so not as small as it first seems. The multi-button controls, at first confusing, are quickly mastered. Sat nav is rather small & tricky to set up so I just use my Garmin. Road holding & handling is very good, as is comfort.

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This is my second focus in 12 months, had the 1.0 ecoboost titanium before, and the MPG was woeful and performance really wasn't strong enough for the size of the car. However since changing it to the 1.5 TDCI I've noticed much better performance, and the MPG is through the roof, in 4 months, I've done 3500 miles, and the average MPG is 90.6 over those miles, tank to tank i average around 60 - 65 MPG. It came with a full tank of fuel, and I've only topped it up 6 times since driving it off the forecourt. I added a few extras, like the ACC and Drivers assistance pack, and they all perform extremely well, the ACC is sometimes is a little slow to brake on the motor way and I've had to recalibrate the rear passenger side electric window, but apart from that, I really cannot fault this car. The performance is steady, more than enough grunt to pull on the motorway, and it handles very well. I must admit I'm quite surprised by the low reviews of this car, considering its been rather reliable, and performed steadily for me from the get go.

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I absolutely love this car. I purchased a Focus some years ago (well it wasn't a choice to buy it, it was a part exchange). I ended up with an old Focus as I bought a car which was basically knackered and the dealer would only offer me an exchange. I liked it so much as a family car that when I needed a new one, I decided on the 1 litre Ecoboost. I did lots of research online but as they were new, there wasn't any owners reviews, and I had decided on a 1.6 but so glad I changed my mind. On the owners web site, people were saying the turbo was the size of an A4 piece of paper, I'm not sure what this meant, maybe they were saying it was rubbish but I now see other car manufacturers are following as my dad has just bought a Nissan 1.2 petrol with a Turbo and I've seen another few on the market. I know if money was no object, I would probably buy a top of the range something or other but I needed something reliable and cheap. This fits the bill. I bought mine with a pack on it, I think this is the Zetec model with extras. It has the Bluetooth, speech recognition, privacy glass etc. No heated seats or heated mirrors but this isn't necessary for me on a car. Initially, I had a problem with the clutch, apparently it's a known fault but luckily the car was still under warranty so it was repaired with no cost to me. I purchased the paint protection and usually I would never buy any extras with a car but the amount of people who comment on how shiny the car is, and every time I clean it, the mud/tar removes really easily, it has definitely been worth it. I got it at a reduced cost (really cheap actually) The inside is perfect for me, the boot is adequate for my dog and some shopping. I notice someone has said the boot is small but if you needed a car with lots of space, you'd surely buy a big car ?? It's not Fiesta sized, I think it's quite well sized. The turbo is fab. I'm not saying it's the speed of a Porsche but it gives other family cars a run for their money. It's reasonable on parts, the tyres are also reasonable and I've never had a problem with it apart from a pipe on top of the radiator which I believe cost me £30. The reason I'm writing a review is because my husband wants me to get rid of it to get something else, but I don't want to sell it as I know I'll not get another car that fits the bill with regards to the practicality, size, petrol consumption (I don't go by MPG, I put £42 in and it lasts me around 2 weeks and this is doing short trips). I'm really reluctant to sell and I know I'll be annoyed at parting with it and probably end up with something crap. I know I'm a woman and the men out there will probably say what do I know about cars, but I've had loads of cars, around 10 in 20 years between myself and my husband ranging from an Astra GTE pre children, in the early 90's to a VW, Vauxhall, Ford (Top of range Fiesta), Renault, etc etc. What I'm saying is it's a nice, cheap to run, reliable family car and ideal for a young family, I would definitely recommend mine that's all I can say. There is only one thing I don't like about it and that is the carpet. It's terrible to clean but aren't all interior carpets that fuzzy felt stuff??!!!

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Worst Focus I have ever owned. Stop-start keeps failing to operate, due to the car eating batteries. It has had a total of four battery replacements (main battery) because the alternator was over charging them. Starter motor packed up last week after 23 thousand miles. Steering is vague at motorway speeds, no feeling. Front end grip at high speed is non existent, can be scary in the wet. Interior cramped despite being a large car. Dashboard is MASSIVE, plenty of creaks and rattles even at two years old. Suspension is hard, feels unrefined, test drive a new Peugeot 2008 and that feels so much smoother. Lots of wind noise from the wing mirrors, lots of road noise especially from the doors for some reason! Seats are hard, and the leather/fake leather is not hard wearing, the leather on the steering wheel is becoming smooth. I chose the 1.6 115ps Tdci engine, Needs to be revved from a standstill at roundabouts, not particularly refined or frugal, unless you drive like extremely carefully don't expect brochure mpg figures.

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Started falling apart after 3 days after delivery. Bought car in May 2015. Gear gaiter kept popping out of fitting when going into reverse. This happened several times. After 3 months old and 330 miles only on clock, trim around rear window fell down. No one been in back ever to knock it off. Going back to Land Rover.

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Absolutely love my Focus, it is by far the best car I have ever owned. There is only one down side, I don't see any savings on fuel- I don't do very long journeys but when I do the MPG does not change at the moment it is doing 35.5MPG. I was told when I bought my car that the MPG in this car is the best in the ford range- my old car would be a lot better on the MPG. On a plus side the Bluetooth connecting to my phone is a brilliant feature especially when you get a text message you can view it in the display. I love the look of the car, I have the Zetec S the only thing I would have liked to have included in this spec would have been speed limiter and cruise control for the price of the car I would have thought it would have been standard!

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The Ford Focus EcoBoost has got to be the best car I have driven for years. It has all I need and more. Ford, you have got it spot on with this car, would buy another in 3 years.

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After 3 days of owning the car, under medium to hard acceleration in 2nd, 3rd, 4th gear the car would be like a kangaroo and jerk really bad, it was undriveable. The Ford garage gave me loads of excuses saying that I have to adjust my driving style... it's a 1.0-litre engine what should I expect...have you tried going from 1st straight in to 5th... I would not ever deal with Ford again. Even though it's under warranty they are refusing to sort the problem, so basically I'm £10,000 down and have to buy another car... Also do not believe the fuel mpg...I drive relatively steady and was only averaging 28mpg.

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Bought the car from a Ford dealer at 1.5 years old and 16,000 miles Pros - not had a breakdown in the 3.5 years I've owned it Cons - a door seal came loose and needed replacing (common issue and not cheap to replace) - flywheel needed replacing at 4.5 years old/60,000 miles (expensive but was covered by an extended Ford warranty I had bought) - wheel nuts swelled so needed replacing (again a common issue for Fords)

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I have had 4 Ford Focus, two of which have been diesels. My last one was the best a 2011 sport averaging 58 mpg with no rust whatsoever - only a new battery in 4 years of motoring. I have just purchased a 2015 1.5 TDCi Titanium diesel, after seeing fords figures or between 65 - 84 mpg possible. The car is certainly more soundproofed, quiet, and more gadgets BUT the mpg is a BIG disappointment, why do manufacturers quote these figures. The best I am getting is around 58 on a run. There should be some standards for obtaining these figures, i.e. taking a standard production car and driving around a flat track to a designated distance.

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Overall a very good car. 65mpg around suburban Manchester is phenomenal. DPF regeneration is an issue on brand new cars. If the 1st time regeneration fails (e.g. You switch the engine off) it'll probably end up back at the dealers for repair. The auto stop start needs to be avoided. Use the override switch. Whilst it may cost a few pennies more to leave the engine running it's a lot cheaper than replacing the starter motor at 29,000 miles. Hopefully there won't be any more problems.

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Absolutely woeful. 2 recalls, 1 after the 'award winning' engine had seized. No front end grip, back end shut lines/panel gaps look like the factory adjusted them with a hammer. Ipod/Iphone connectivity doesn't work properly. Dashboard too big, little interior space, knees bash into the dashboard if over 6 foot. Car doesn't get near 65 mpg (1.0l ecoboost), not even close. Body work deflects because it is so thin when you wash the car. Headlight give poor illumination, brake dust is significantly worse than any vehicle I have previously owned. Brakes are noisy in addition to this. Poor Ford customer service, Ford dealer (Trust Ford) woefully inadequate, even got oil on the back seat during the engine change. If I could, I wouldn't even give this vehicle 1 star. Owned Ford vehicles all my life and have usually had no issues.

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Smooth, refined and a pleasure to drive. Does all you can want. Sync 2 Navigation easy to use. Five stars.

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Superb to drive. Very comfortable. 1.0 125 bhp is incredible - like driving a 2.0. The amount of torque it has for a 1.0 is amazing. Nicely laid out interior (individual opinion I know). Titanium trim has all the toys - Bluetooth connectivity and voice control, aux port, phone, climate control and cruise control. Yep - superb.

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Within a week of picking my car up the gearbox started playing up, so I took it back to Ford to be told 'don't worry about', it had to be taken once back to Ford on the back of a lorry as it would not go into gear. Apart from that car runs well but can't get over 47.7 mpg even though told by Ford it's a 74mpg car. When I did get car back from the Ford dealer it looked liked someone had eaten their dinner in there. Coke down the drivers door, parts of what I could only say was some sort of a pie in driver footwell. I was not happy - changed Ford dealer now as the aftercare is really poor but if you can see over that the car is a great drive.

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Brilliant all round car, can't fault it in any way.

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A lovely little car that's cheap to insure even for a younger person (group 7-9 insurance).

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Needing a smaller engine car for cheaper insurance purposes, I thought this car was the best match out of the ones I've tried at various dealers. It's nice looking, performs fairly well but you'll struggle to match the claimed fuel consumption (as you will do with most cars). The car is relatively fast for such a small engine and is definitely fun to drive once past 4,000rpm, also makes a nice sound. I bought the car when it was 3 years old, have had it over a year now and the only problem I had was the horn stopped working because of faulty electrics. Under dealership warranty this was resolved very quickly. I've had no issues since, comfortable and enough space for a family of 4. You will find it tight in the back if fitting a baby's child seat but space easily manageable for small family. Would recommend for anyone looking for mid-size family car

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I bought this car after trading in a 2.0 163bhp diesel Mondeo estate, and I have to say I love the focus. Yes the boot is small in comparison to the Mondeo estate, but then so is Yorkshire! Positives: Cracking engine, the EcoBoost is an engineering masterpiece. I was a sceptic when they came out but then I did my research and drove it. The car is VERY good on fuel, my car is averaging 37.1mpg but I drive it hard. Its well equipped, bluetooth, steering wheel controls, very comfortable seats and suprisingly spacious cabin. The boot is a decent size and carries all I need. Negatives: There's no cruise control on this Zetec model and no hill start assist. I would strongly recommend this car to anyone looking for a mid size family car but also likes to have the odd blast on a country road. Its a pleasure to drive and has made driving fun again.

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Can't fault it or my local dealer. The 1.6 (115 bhp) diesel engine is quite quiet for a diesel and gives very good performance with 2 in the car, but with a full load you have to use the gears a little more. Very good mpg but not quite as good as claimed but all manufacturers overstate the mpg. Comfortable and handles very well and has been troublefree. Just ordered another Focus Titanium X diesel (Ford Direct) which I pick up in 5 days!

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I absolutely love this car. I have owned a Fiesta 1.4 tdci, 2 Focus 1.8 Tdci's, an Alfa Romeo 1.6, amongst many others. This is definitely my favourite. I know some of you may say I may not have a very high opinion of cars but I'm not that bothered about looking like I'm the bees knees with a car but I am really pleased with it. I did need a Slave Cylinder? (I think that's what its called) as I had problems with the clutch when I first bought it from Polar and I believe there was a problem with it but I had it done under warranty. It's bright shiny red, tinted rear windows, Bluetooth etc. A few years ago I was talked into buying a top of the range Fiesta 1.4 tdci, when I wanted a 1.6, what a waste of money. It wouldn't even go up a small incline in 3rd gear and struggled in 2nd so I part ex'd it for the Focus. Everyone is surprised how fast it is and I would say it easily drives as well and as quick as my previous 1.8 tdci. The turbo is ace and if I'm pulled up at traffic lights, the usual boy racer pulls up next to me revving his engine, and my daughters will say "beat him mum", but I don't really have to put my foot down hard as the turbo kicks in and I'm off. I am pleased with the fuel consumption and I use around £48 a month and most of this is short trips so obviously with all the gear changing I'll use a bit more petrol. If I buy another car I would definitely buy another Focus 1 litre Ecoboost. It's big enough for a family of 4 and I was concerned it wouldn't budge with us all in it but it's fine.

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Without doubt one of the worst cars I have ever driven. The doors are too small to enter comfortably. There are more blind spots than you could shake a white stick at, the dash is cluttered, the lightswitch tucked away where you cant easily see it, the driver's sunshade is a danger to use, the space in the front is tight. I'd rather drive a Reliant Robin!

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I bought this from a Car supermarket in Jan 2017, great price and spec. I bought it to get better fuel economy, but for a 1.0 Ecoboost it's reakkt disappointing. I'm getting 28 around town with stop/start and only getting 36 on a motorway run. This for me is a total let down. My Audi a4 2.0Tfsi was about the same. If i had known how bad the fuel consumption was I would have gone chosen a different car. The specification is average, too – non electric rear windows in a 2017 car? The gearbox is notchy on this too, and the ride is nowhere near as good as the reviews indicate. Make sure you test drive properly before parting with any money is my advice.

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I have previously owned 4 Ford Focus - 1 petrol, 3 diesel, my last one was a 1.6 tdci zetec sport - superb car. However my recent purchase -a 65 plate 1.5 TDCI Titanium is very, very disappointing . Auto stop/start doesn't work. Start button requires clutch AND brake for the engine to start. The light dimmers on display/radio controls do not work. I have twice nearly crashed looking for the climate/fan switches, controls. The switch for the lights/fog lights are completely blocked from view by the steering wheel. Very poor design, and to have heat on in the car, You HAVE to have climate control with the fan on. The quoted fuel consumption for this car is 65-84mpg, these figures are a complete lie by Ford. In winter average MPG is 45-50, my recent drive on a flat road over 40 miles averaging 50 mph returned 60 MPG ....I do not drive fast nor do I drive slow. My last focus returned 58-68 MPG. This car seems to be bigger on the outside BUT smaller on the inside, better sound insulation I presume. The boot a lot smaller than my previous Focus. This car seems to be less easy to drive in snow/ice and the handling is the same. This is a little worrying. I am seriously thinking of selling and going for VW or Audi

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When changing up through the gears there is a clunk each time the clutch engages, drives me round the twist. Ford says the transmission is fine and any play is within tolerance. I have had many front wheel drive Fords in the past, none with this problem. This is the last Ford I will buy. Customer survey promised to be sent out to me 2 weeks ago, still waiting!

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if you need an automatic - Do NOT buy ford their power shift semiauto boxes have jerky changes random changes and an inability to park due to the hill assist stopping power every time you hit the brakes. Then of course there is the lack of creep facility.. Then the engines, noisy and gutless would be the best description ford tuned the exhaust to make then sound sporty but they're not.. The 125ps is all at 4000rpm but the gearbox keeps engine at below 2000. Build quality is good but visibility (esp at sides due to huge dashboard) is poor and handling ok. Seat comfort is average and trim rattles a lot.. The gearbox breaks down every 5000 miles so expect a lot of trouble if used as a city car Got rid of it last week in and now happy with a civic

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Without doubt one of the worst cars I have ever owned. Without doubt one of the worst set of car dealerships and customer services I've ever dealt with. Problems from the outset. First brand new car - on pick-up from the dealer, the car was found to be clearly faulty on inspection. I rejected it straight away. A replacement brand new car took a week to supply (meanwhile, I had to continue to pay for a hire car). The replacement car had continuous problems over the years (electric windows not operating, front doors sticking, not able to close/lock front doors in freezing weather, 'Steering assist malfunction' message along with very stiff steering (appeared to correct itself), numerous 'engine malfunction, service now' messages. Driver's door window not operating again and have been told that another replacement window motor is required. Have been pestered by a Ford dealer by phone and email, even when asking them on numerous occasions that they don't contact me. Ford Main Customer Services told me to go to my Ford dealer to get the current window problem assessed. I informed Ford Main Customer Services which Ford dealer I was going to and they said fine. I reported straight back to Ford Main Customer Services after the Ford dealer assessed the window problem. 2 weeks later Ford Main Customer Services are telling me that the Ford dealer I went to doesn't have a qualified Ford technician so they can't deal with the problem without charge. Yes, it took 2 weeks for Ford Main Customer Services to give me an answer which hasn't got me anywhere and now they are suggesting I go to another Ford dealer to have the problem assessed again. A Ford dealer without a qualified Ford technician, can you believe it! I'm just giving up. I'm totally fed up with all the hassle I've had. Never again will I be tempted to buy a Ford.

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I bought this car brand new on the 1st March 2014. The Focus was highly recommended by a mechanic I use for its reliability and low maintenance costs. Its fuel economy was also a big contributing factor to my purchase as I drive 80 miles per day to and from work. My journey consists of approximately 17 miles along a dual carriageway, 3 miles through a city (traffic is very light at the times of day I travel), followed by 20 miles along a relatively quiet country road and then back home again. I do not drive the car hard or fast, sticking to speed limits and driving sensibly. On the dual carriageway I will often drive at 60-65 mph when not in a rush. My average fuel consumption is 63 mpg, which despite being very good, falls seriously short of Ford's advertised mpg. I recently drove to Oban and my mpg increased to 69 mpg, however a few weeks ago I did a lot of local running about and the mpg dropped to 59. Putting the mpg on one side, the car handles beautifully, drives well and has sufficient power for my needs. I would certainly highly recommend this car, just bear in mind you are highly unlikely to achieve the high mpg Ford say is attainable.

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Cracking spec, top of the line diesel model with 18" alloys, my second diesel 2.0 Focus, and first MK3 with only 6.6k on the clock (Ford Direct car). Good car, but had some issues this year with the gearbox (4th gear failed) and clutch unevenly worn just after 11k on the clock. Local Ford dealer has very good service team and good relationship with Ford and everything handled under warranty. Same engine being used in the new diesel ST! Car has been solid since the work has been carried, out. No issues with DPF, but car is well serviced and looked after, even the alloys are still looking good. Software updates done on infotainment and driver binnacle screens. All round parking sensors very handy, as is cruise control and partial leather seats for the long trips.

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