Ford Focus (Diesel) TDci vs Honda Civic 1.8s

[basti08]

base sa mga US based car mags sa net. The Civic accelerates to sixty in about 7-8 seconds. If 8.6 is the Focus' best effort (9.3secs as mfg's claim), I'd go Civic. It can still do most of daily drivers chores and for sure, is an easier bitch to maintain in a long run. ;)

Although, I like the euro chic looks, features and torque of the Focus TDCi, the 150K saving is not something to ignore.

[basti08]

and wait, 136 WHP stock? at the Wheel not at the Crank?

[niky]

Maintenance. Well, as long as you're buying casa parts and under warranty, you're shafted, anyway.

While I've had my odd complaints with Ford, the overall service and attention to customer satisfaction is very good compared to Honda. One of my uncles has an Explorer, an E-150 and a CR-V. Time came to replace the Explo and CR-V, and he dumped them for a new Expedition and a new Focus... simply picking the Focus over the new CR-V because he liked the service better.

Parts for the new Civic will still have the problem of Honda's cold shoulder attitude towards having third-party parts on the market (as compared to Toyota), but the Focus will be hampered by the fact that parts for its European engine and drivetrain will not be common locally. So the Civic should have the edge there... but the TDCi has parts commonality with other Focuses and, to some extent, the Mazda3. It's really just the engine and gearbox that are bespoke.

As for the clutch durability: Rally. Drag (dozens upon dozens of drag-launches on the product launch weekend). Autocross (tire-squealing gear changes). Road testing. Track testing. 20,000+++ kilometers of torture. Plus one four hour Subic Endurance race... Just an hour on the racetrack is enough to fry many stock car clutches if you're flat-shifting, mind you... and the endurance racer at Tuason Racing School is still on its stock clutch. I'm actually waiting to find out if they'll ever break.

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RE: 0-60. Actually, 0-60 mph is often shorter than 0-100 km/h. That's why some magazines state 0-62. On my car, it's a difference of 0.3 seconds. On other cars, it'll depend on where the gearshift falls.

The Civic, from untimed road-testing, should hit 100 km/h in the mid-8's. I wouldn't put much stock in some US magazine ratings, as they correct for temperature, humidity and the like... which makes the numbers a bit... well... vague.

It doesn't feel as quick as my car, which does the 0-100 in that time, but it's got a smooth, linear powerband. It manages the quick 0-60, if I remember correctly, through a drop-clutch launch at nearly 5000 rpm. You aren't going to do that everyday, now, are you? In regular traffic, the TDCi is going to feel and be much quicker. In fact, my car, which can record much faster 0-100 times (8.3, 0-60 in 7.9) still gets left behind on sudden squirts on the highway. It's faster once it's revving, but how often will you find the space on Philippine streets to rev an engine to redline?

It's all torque, baby, it's all torque.

[JJCarEnthusiast]

but tdci's advantage is in the future. rising fuel costs. you need a fuel efficient car. the focus tdci that is. yeah, civic is cheaper but remember, its ran by gas, which is more expensive than diesel. so crdi's are the best choice now. even if the acceleration's close to civic, but then we're after the diesel economy, not so with acceleration. if you buy focus, it's just like the "performance" is a "bonus"