Faults:

2016 Ford Focus SE purchased July 2018 from FORD dealership.

12,000 miles. Pre-certified,

Drove it 17,000 miles in two years. July 2018 - 2020.

Steering Assist Fault light comes on June 2020. Vehicle towed to original dealership.

Catastrophic failure of steering system.

$2,800 repair. Steering gear/rack & pinion.

Failure mileage was 29,000.

Faults:

Once, when briefly pulling over, there was a fumble relating to stop/start and turning power off completely. When starting up again, the radio volume from 1 upwards emitted an extremely loud crackle, which occurred on each restart attempt throughout the commute to work. It reset later in the day.

The 'tyre pressure check' reminder pops up now and then upon start-up, and continues to do so even when I've done the tyres. It does eventually stop, but I believe it may be triggered by reminders at set times, rather than by pressure sensors.

General Comments:

For background, I posted the review on the 2006 Focus 1.6LX titled, 'Can't Go Wrong With It'. So I have driven all three generation of the Focus, however this is the first I've driven that is high-spec and with a turbo petrol engine.

The gripes I have are generally minor:

The engine struggles below 1500 RPM, at which point when the turbo kicks in.

There is more body roll than with its predecessors, perhaps more understeer, and the steering is light and lacking feel.

The sat nav does an okay job, although the user interface takes getting used to. I still prefer Waze.

The user interface generally on the console is finicky, and there are sections that I once accessed that I have no idea how I did, or how to again. This includes DAB radio stations and tyre pressure checks.

The city auto-braking feature has proven unnecessarily eager on occasion, specifically when approaching the car park barrier at work. It is an annoyance in this case and I would rather disable it, however it is a safety feature, and am confident it would only prove to be as such and not a compromise.

The fuel economy is my biggest gripe: advertised 60 MPG average, yet I get 42-43 all the time. Even though my old Focus 1.6 achieved the claimed 40 MPG, I'm well aware that real world economy hardly ever reaches the manufacturer's claimed figures. However this level is unacceptable, and ranks among the worst of car testers' statistics when comparing real world to claimed figures.

And on the subject of economy, ignore Ford's gear-changer indicator. It would have you changing into 5th around 30mph, labouring the engine and increasing fuel consumption. Ideally keep around 2000 RPM (best economy). General tip: 3rd gear for 30mph, 4th for 40, 5th for 50 etc...

As for the good stuff, well the car as a whole is fantastic. Specifically:

The small engine does a good job. Being a small-capacity turbo-petrol, it has a narrower band to do it's best work within, but what wonderful work it does for its size. It's quiet, smooth and delivers good power and torque.

Despite my remarks about the body roll, steering etc, the handling is typically excellent, very precise. It just means you need to place more trust in the car simply doing what you want it to do, rather than feel it.

Ride quality is much improved, possibly why the car rolls a bit more. Noise levels are much, much better too. I can have a conversation with a passenger at 70mph without shouting.

All in all, still my default choice for a small family car.

Faults:

Gear stick cover loose and constantly pops out.

STNC fails regularly and requires a reset, losing all previous data and pairing.

Recent failure of headlights was disappointing and dangerous.

General Comments:

This could be a lovely car.

Drives well.

The 1.6 diesel is punchy enough for my needs.

It is economical to run.

The level of equipment on my Titanium is superb.

However the build quality and general quality control leaves a lot to be desired. Never had problems with my previous 5 new cars to date; this car at only 3 months old is plagued with defects.