XR5 Replaced with a Honda Civic

[Skid Marx]

I'm in the stocks in the village square and you are invited to throw rotten fruit at me while pretty girls point and laugh.

You see, I bought an XR5 Focus back in May 2010 and at first I loved it. The motor was (and still is) the best donk I've ever owned. The seats were Recaro leather and super good. It stuck to the road like a slot car. Great.

BUT - a slowly growing list of annoyances eventually drove me (when it was working!) to get rid of it.

It often just plain wouldn't start. The keyless system would lock up. New batteries, holding the key tab next to the column hub, getting out of the thing and getting back in - all no good. You just had to wait until it was ready.

Horribly slow gearbox. Such a great motor mated with such a truck of a gearbox. I hoped it would loosen up but it didn't.

Clutch that bit like a dog. Stalled it a couple of times like a learner. It never got any smoother.

Turning circle was like that of a much bigger car and made tight spot parking a test.

Air conditioning was a joke. Utterly pathetic in hot weather. I often found it more pleasant to simply roll down the windows than rely on the air con for any relief. Ford's explanation was it was a German car and because of Europe's milder summers, I shouldn't expect a super cold air conditioner. This wasn't even mildly cold and besides, I've been in parts of Europe like Greece and Italy when it's been as hot as here in Perth. Ford said I would love the heating system when the cold came. The cold came. I then found that the windscreen demister was a silly as the cooling system. No matter what combination of settings (full hot, full cold, rear windows down, recirculate, external air etc etc) the windscreen stayed foggy for about 20 minutes on near zero mornings.

CD player sounded like a badly compressed MP3 after the motor had done more than about an hour of continuous driving. This was one of those things Ford couldn't check during the many times I took it back for warrantee claims.

Side window seals leaked. Not a lot, but for a new car to have water dribbling down the insides in mild rain is **** poor.

Incredible tire wear. Due to the fact it drank premium I drove it quite lightly, yet I noticed that I would be soon be needing new tires after only about 14,000ks. Glad I didn't thrash it.


So, after a particularly bad week with it, I drive to a Honda dealer and swapped it for a new bog standard Civic VTi auto. Steel wheels, cloth trim, no rear wiper, no information system, no variable intermittent wipers etc. However, I DID get a much better quality car.

The air con and heating system knocks the crap out of the Focus. A much lower powered motor drives a much better air con. It's a slush-box but it's one of the best autos I've ever driven. Honda's 'grade logic' system is quite good and enables you to get better control over things than I would have thought. Visibility is great. It has little 'quarter windows' which I thought were a gimmick at first but are actually very useful. While it's a slower car, it is quite quick enough for around town and suburbs. It is so much quieter than the Focus that it seems slower than it is. The Focus would kill it for acceleration at speeds over about 90 ks, but below that it's quite sufficient. The fit and finish is typical Honda - flawless. No leaks or rattles. It's only 7 months old and nothing has gone wrong yet, but by 7 months with the Focus, I already had a list of problems and warrentee claims. It drinks standard juice, has a full sized spare, a turning circle of 10.6 metres, everything works as it should and the buttons and controls are all the exactly the right spot and feel 'just right' to use.

I'm angry that Ford had a car that was so close to being utterly perfect and yet they let it all down by poor quality and design that was never quite right.

[In Focus]

Sounds like you got a "bad" one, unfortunately.

Although not an XR5, I've had hardly an issue with mine (the odd squeak), and the South African built ones are supposed to be the crappy ones.

[Franco Cozzo]

I've had a positive experience with a Civic Sport auto, it survived me smashing it into park at about 50km/h

[dannyhilton]

Sorry to hear of your bad experience mate. The Civic should do you well, they’re a quality car. I’m on my third Ford, and my first Focus. So far (touch wood) so good.

[DJM83]

Must have gotten a bad one, because of all those 'issues' the A/C and tire wear are the only ones ive got. (Mines modded though). I came from an AU with ice cold A/C so it was hard to live with.

How is the clutch bad? A 5 y/o could get it off the line its that easy.

This to me sounds like it wasnt the car for you complaining about fuel economy and all that, i mean surely you knew about it before buying, same with the turning circle.

Yeah the XR5 isnt perfect, but for what you pay for them you get a bloody decent car and one thing i will agree on is the I5T, honestly i love it and cant praise it high enough.

[Skid Marx]

Originally Posted by DJM83

How is the clutch bad? A 5 y/o could get it off the line its that easy.

This to me sounds like it wasnt the car for you complaining about fuel economy and all that, i mean surely you knew about it before buying, same with the turning circle.

The clutch seemed to vary its 'take-up' position as if something was loose. I took it to my good old fashioned mechanic for its by-the-book service and even he said I should raise "that weird clutch" with Ford as a warranty claim. It also seemed to vary suddenly in its spring force, causing it to be unpredictable.

Yes, it's true I knew about the turning circle and the higher fuel consumption - but I wanted to mention them while I was ranting about all the things I don't miss about it.

[Skid Marx]

Originally Posted by dannyhilton

Sorry to hear of your bad experience mate. The Civic should do you well, they’re a quality car. I’m on my third Ford, and my first Focus. So far (touch wood) so good.

Thanks. I must admit, as I drove the Civic out of the dealers I was thinking "What am I doing? I've just swapped a hot hatch for a grandma's car!" But as the weeks went by I realised I'd made the right decision.

And in case you're wondering....no, I haven't taken up knitting.

[XR Martin]

Sorry to hear youve given up on life.

[WILDB]

Originally Posted by XR6 Martin

Sorry to hear youve given up on life.

[Bucknaked]

Originally Posted by In Focus

Sounds like you got a "bad" one, unfortunately.

Although not an XR5, I've had hardly an issue with mine (the odd squeak), and the South African built ones are supposed to be the crappy ones.

I got a bad one as well. What did I do? I traded it on another, only this time it came in a different shape. Haven't looked back. But i say it was a risk.

[glider]

My xr5 is just over 1 year with 11k on the clock.
So far no issues at all, the gear box has freed up and is great to use, clutch take up point doesnt vary.
No leaks, window demister works fine, the AC is a bit marginal on really hot days.
Tyre wear, there is about 6mm all round left with even wear, I rotate the tyres every 2k (for therapy) and check the pressures each week.
Grizzles :
Road expansion joints cause suspension to crash/bang.
Performance seems to vary according to outside temperature.
When I am not in the mood the engine/exhaust/tyre noise can be tedious.
Otherwise it is a very good sports hatchback.

[Yellow_Festiva]

Road expansion joints do that? My suspension does that but only if I'm a bit aggressive over speed bumps, or if I'm breaking to slow down at the last second when going over one.

Is there a fault register for LV or LW Focus? Was thinking of starting one myself.

[DJM83]

Performance will often vary with weather but only as it gets hot it will suffer heat soak. Cold is good though

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by DJM83

Performance will often vary with weather but only as it gets hot it will suffer heat soak. Cold is good though

I find this on the TDCI as well, hot day she's strugglin compared to usual.

[buickman]

My daughter purchased a LS XR5 Focus in 2010 loves the car but lately has had an oil cooler replaced, alternator and brakes all round which has cost her a small fortune but she won’t trade it in on a car less exciting to drive.
The old Lancer CE coupe she had was brought new in 2001 her 1st car and only had a set of front pads and 2 sets of tyres in 9 years even had the original battery in it before hail stones wrote the car of. The Honda and Lancer type cars are reliable but in basic form I would find it had to step back from a hot hatch to a suburban shopping car.

[marg99]

9 years on a car battery is unbelievable!

[buickman]

Originally Posted by marg99

9 years on a car battery is unbelievable!

I've had them last just over 6 years on a Mazda but that Lancer had the same battery Knox Mitsibuishi sold the car with before it went to of to the auctions from the insurance company. They were a very basic car with a 1.5 Mtr and not a lot of electrical items like the Focus.

[sd1800]

Sounds like I've got a good one thankfully! Bought at 60,000km, now at 74,000km. Haven't had a single problem whatsoever. I always hear about people complain with the air-con but mine is more than sufficient. I have had passengers ask me to turn it down on 30 - 35 degree days.

I've only got three niggles with it.
1) Drivers seat squeeks when the weight is shifted forward (i.e. braking)
2) A rattle from the rear right quarter
3) A soft intermittant rattle on idle coming from behind the dash / underneath the wipers??


Sorry to hear of your headaches and I hope you have a more reliable (albeit not as exciting) experience in your new Civic.