It arrived in 2011, with the unpopular saloon and ill-conceived CC cabriolet models being dropped. The interior has been improved again, with cleverly integrated infotainment systems, and the driving experience is as good as ever, making this one of the best family hatchbacks on sale today. Just as the Mk7 Ford Fiesta marked a leap forwards from its predecessor, the Mk3 Ford Focus brought a welcome injection of style after the staidly designed Mk2. Ford Focus 2011-present Mk3 used buying guide Ford Focus 2011-present Mk3 history A different brand of tyre on each corner is a sure sign that maintenance shortcuts have been made elsewhere, too. Look out for evidence of body damage and neglect.

Many Focuses are used as workhorses and suffer from rather hard use.

In the footwells, it can sometimes indicate a leak from the heating system.ĭiesel cars have an intercooler, the supply pipes for which can occasionally crack, leading to a loss of power.

This usually points to failure of either the windscreen or door sealing rubber, allowing water to enter the car. It’s not unusual to find damp carpets in the footwells or by the doors of a Mk2. They feel a little underpowered in the Focus and the 1.8 and 2.0-litre petrols are far easier to live with, without being massively more expensive to run. The 1.4 and 1.6-litre petrol engines aren’t really worth bothering with unless you rarely expect to use the car on motorways. They’re worth the extra money for anyone likely to be covering higher-than-average mileage, as they offer a decent blend of performance and economy without being horribly noisy. Three diesel and four petrol engines were offered, and the TDCi diesels usually cost a bit more than equivalent petrol cars of a similar age. All of them have air-conditioning, with climate control featuring on Ghia and Titanium. Of the available trim levels, we’d recommend avoiding the entry-level Studio model and going for a Zetec, Ghia or top-of-the-range Titanium – these are much better equipped without costing a great deal more used. With so many of this Focus having been sold, there’s so much choice that it pays to know what to look for. Sales were vast and the Mk2 brought customers significant improvements in interior quality and design, along with better safety credentials, which secured it a five-star Euro NCAP crash-test score.Ģ1 Which is the best Mk2 Ford Focus for me? When it arrived in 2004, the design of the Mk2 Ford Focus was slightly more conservative, with an angular design boosting interior space and practicality. Ford Focus 2004-2011 Mk2 used buying guide Ford Focus Mk2 History This buying guide will cover the benefits and pitfalls of the second-generation Mk2 Focus (2004-2011) and the Mk3, which was launched in 2011 and is still on sale. Visit our sister site BuyaCar for the latest used Ford Focus prices and deals. Combining a fun drive with practicality and a huge variety of engines and trim levels, the Focus is very popular on the used market – a fact bolstered by it being easy to maintain and repair.Įxpect to pay between £9,000 and upwards of £20,000 for a one-year-old Focus (depending on specification), or from £7,000 to £14,000 for a three-year-old model. Thanks to amazingly precise handling and punchy engines, the Focus went down a storm with motoring magazines and this trait has been continued in subsequent generations. When the Ford Focus arrived in 1998 to replace the ageing Ford Escort, its revolutionary styling, engineering and technology stunned the motoring world and ushered in a new era of popular Fords.

Fokus com mk