First Car - Honda Civic vs. Ford Focus

Tolmekian · 12 Oct 2013 at 17:10

So I passed my test last week after turning 23 a few months ago and deciding I'd been putting off driving for too long

Before this week I knew little about cars although after hour upon hour of researching and going through quite possibly every 'first car' thread on OCUK and a few other sites I see that the Focus comes highly recommended.
Mondeo also seems up there although it's unnecessarily big [read: daunting] when there's just me and the girlfriend.
A few family friends also have Honda's and swear by the reliability which is one of the most important factors for me.

Can anyone help guide me in the right direction, or even recommend a few models on autotrader in the Cambridgeshire area?

-----

Budget: £3k. Prefer to go a bit lower although happy to pay even more if it will last several years to come and not cause much grief in unexpected bills. I have savings and a full time job so it's not a strict budget although I also don't fancy paying several £K more when I could end up knocking it with my inexperience.

Needs: Commuting to work, around 34 miles a day (8.2k p.a and will state 10k on insurance).

Possibilities:
Honda Civic 1.4i S - £1795
Honda Civic 1.6 i-VTEC Sport - £2995 - Probably my favourite at the moment, it just looks like it won't give me any trouble and also won't have me wanting to sell it for something better in a year or so when I feel more confident on the road.
Ford Focus 1.6 Ghia - £1995
Ford Focus 1.6 ZETEC - £1690

Help? :confused:

Robbiec053 · 12 Oct 2013 at 17:57

whats hanging off the back of that focus ghia :O

Whichever insures cheaper but i'd fancy the 1.6 honda if it were my money.

grudas · 12 Oct 2013 at 18:09

id probably take the ghia if insurance is reasonable

then again hondas cost a shedload to insure for me.

DannyW · 12 Oct 2013 at 18:21

I was about to say be a human being and buy a ford focus, until I clicked the link and saw it was a MK1 focus, with that id take the civic , hate the mk1 focus

mx0range · 12 Oct 2013 at 18:28

my 2nd car was a 1.6 mk1 focus. most reliable car iv owned, cheap to insuer and was reasonable on fuel. managed 470 miles on 1 tank going to surrey and back. not bad for a petrol!

lordrobs · 12 Oct 2013 at 18:40

I'd have the Civic over a mk1 Focus but both are good cars.

What is the insurance like?

Kristoph · 12 Oct 2013 at 18:46

My first car was a Mk1 focus, last March after just passing my test at 24. Began losing oil like no tomorrow. It was a nice car for the couple of weeks I owned it. Got a Clio 182 instead as my 'first car'. But the Focus was my attempt at being sensible and mature.

I say get a Focus.

rodenal · 12 Oct 2013 at 18:50

I'd. Take the 1.6 sport any day. They look far better IMO plus it just won't break ( focus shouldn't really be a concern either though tbh)

Randomface74 · 12 Oct 2013 at 19:01

Vauxhall hate is strong on this forum, but... £2,989 Vauxhall Astra 1.6i 16V SXi 5dr

rodenal · 12 Oct 2013 at 19:06

Why bother when both the civic and focus are much better all rounders?

geekman · 12 Oct 2013 at 19:11

billysielu said:
Vauxhall hate is strong on this forum, but... £2,989 Vauxhall Astra 1.6i 16V SXi 5dr

I had the 1.4 version as my first car and it was decent enough. You get loads of people saying the focus/civic is miles better but I can't imagine there's really any difference for the vast majority of the general public.

I'd just test drive a civic, focus, astra and anything else similar and decide which one I preferred.

DannyW · 12 Oct 2013 at 19:11

rodenal said:
Why bother when both the civic and focus are much better all rounders?

that astra is a newer generation car

rodenal · 12 Oct 2013 at 19:18

Ever driven one? They're absolutely horrid compared to the others.

Will do a job but for anyone who is remotely interested in driving the cooking Astra's are a waste of time

geekman · 12 Oct 2013 at 19:24

rodenal said:
Ever driven one? They're absolutely horrid compared to the others.

Will do a job but for anyone who is remotely interested in driving the cooking Astra's are a waste of time

I didn't think mine was horrid, it was just a completely boring standard hatchback. I've been a passenger in a few MK1 Focus's and I can't say they seemed much different to me.

rodenal · 12 Oct 2013 at 19:31

Im quite sure it would be absolutely fine as a boggo day to day hatch but for me the steering is majorly over assisted and inconsistent ( thy almost all develop an odd on/off weight issue when it gets a bit older) has no weight or feel to it at all, pedals are far too light and again have no feel plus the interior has aged terribly.

I should probably say I also personally dislike the mk1 focus as I don't think its anything like the standout over others in the class it was made out to be ( at least not at this sort of age) but it is fundamentally a good car and still capable of bringing some enjoyment even with a rubbish engine.

The Honda looks like a little type R, its 1.6 engine is slow but keen to rev and the car just generally has quite an interesting feel to it.

I just think both offer things the astra can't

lordrobs · 12 Oct 2013 at 19:34

I forgot to say that if those are actual cars you are considering rather than just examples then I'd avoid the Focus. It looks like it has been lowered and has a modified exhaust pointless insurance increases for a new driver.

SkidMarkKing · 12 Oct 2013 at 19:36

Damn bud. I'm 22 and it's 900/1000 for me to insure a 1.9 gt tdi golf 110/115bhp

I had my license a year but I haven't driven that year

geekman · 12 Oct 2013 at 19:39

rodenal said:
Im quite sure it would be absolutely fine as a boggo day to day hatch but for me the steering is majorly over assisted and inconsistent ( thy almost all develop an odd on/off weight issue when it gets a bit older) has no weight or feel to it at all, pedals are far too light and again have no feel plus the interior has aged terribly.

I should probably say I also personally dislike the mk1 focus as I don't think its anything like the standout over others in the class it was made out to be ( at least not at this sort of age) but it is fundamentally a good car and still capable of bringing some enjoyment even with a rubbish engine.

The Honda looks like a little type R, its 1.6 engine is slow but keen to rev and the car just generally has quite an interesting feel to it.

I just think both offer things the astra can't

Fair enough - personally I hate the MK1 focus interior and considerably prefer the astra but that's just personal preference I guess.

Out of his list I agree with you - I'd choose the Civic as well, I just think that there's so little between the majority of cars in this class that he should drive all of them and see which he prefers.

rodenal · 12 Oct 2013 at 19:40

Definitely the right way to go, if possible drive more than one of each car too

ChrisD. · 12 Oct 2013 at 19:42

I'd go for the Focus. I have a diesel Ghia 5 door as my daily and it's a great little car.