miketheman2k

The engine is completely different in every way. Turbo engines generally give good gains from free-flowing exhausts. I'd expect a good 10bhp from it (if we're talking about a full system).

I haven't driven the 2.0 petrol, but like you, I tried the 2.0 TDCI. To be honest, the 2.0 ford petrol engine is nothing special, and I found the diesel quick and a blast to drive...the turbo's delivery and noise makes it feel a bit more special (in the world of bland cars of course! :roll: ) and you can then spend £400 and have it produce 270+ lb/ft of torque. The petrol wouldn't know which way you went (although they could probably follow the smoke :wink: ).

The Euro 4 focus would cost me £9 more to lease a month. The tax on the Euro 3 focus would cost me £10 more a month. So if it means beating the queues, I'll go for a Euro 3 and pay my extra £1 every month.

Thanks for the feedback chaps. It may be the case that my lease company won't allow me to fit dealer-fit options on (because they're 'modifications' like you mentioned) so I think I'll specify sports suspension and see how it feels. The gap between the wheels and arch aren't as important to me as the handling (although both would be nice!). SteveTDCI, you're right that there isn't much to seperate the two cars, which goes to show just what a good job Ford have done this time round. As for the chipping, from what I've seen so far, they both hit almost identical NM figures, so not much differe

I never checked the mileage Chris, so it may have been quite a tight engine. I love it when a good engine finally losens up :twisted: I'm hoping that when I place my order next week, I can get the car early December...don't like waiting too long - who does! As for the sports suspension, do we know if its just springs, or does it include different dampers and ARB's? I might play it safe and spec both! Cheers, Mike

lol, I'm sure I'll come around to liking the focus more! As for wheels, I agree that it swamps the standard 16" alloys, but I don't want to ruin the handling by slapping some 18" daddies on there. The 17" 5 spoke's are nice (and quite cheap too) so I'll probably go for them. I was expecting the 20NM of extra boost to feel a bit more noticable, but maybe this was a one-off, I'll need to experiment further I think. How long have you had to wait for your order so far Chris? Anyone able to answer my original suspension / tuning questions? :) Cheers, Mike

Hi all, Good forum, already found loads of useful info. Thanks. I have just been to test drive a 2.0TDCI 3dr Titanium, which I found pretty impressive. About 30 mins before, I tried the Golf GT TDI, which I have to say, wasn't as nice as I had thought it might be. The main problem was the interior, which was dull plastic, where the focus was soft-touch and more attractive. Both engines were equally strong. The focus tdci appeared to pull harder (but only under 3/4 throttle, not full!) probably thanks to being a little bit lighter. The turbo-whoosh in the tdci was a nice noise that was la