What to look for when buying a Ford Focus 2011 - 2018, covering common problems to check for and overall vehicle reliability. Cars built between 2012 and early 2013 with the 1.0-litre Ecoboost I've only driven Fiestas with the 1.0L Ecoboost and I found them to be miserable, the same engine in a Focus would be grim and much more stressed out. I think for £7k you can do a lot better than a 1.0L Focus. I would probably rather have a 100k mile Mazda 3 with the 2.0L petrol engine over a 70k mile Focus with the 1.0L Ecoboost. So to put it into perspective, a Focus 1.0l EcoBoost 125 would be more powerful, quicker and more economical than my 54 plate normally aspirated Focus 1.6i 16v DOHC? Liam. It’s certainly noticeably quicker than my Astra 1.6 SRI that I replaced with my ecoboost focus. The 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine that features in all but the Focus ST hot hatch is available A tidy Mk3 Ford Focus could prove to be a smart buy: good to drive, with decent engines and I would choose ecoboost. good luck Ford Model: Focus Ford Year: 2009 UK/Ireland Location: Greater Manchester Share; Posted September 10, 2020. Best Ford Focus for low costs: 1.0 EcoBoost 100 5dr; Best Ford Focus for fuel economy: 1.5 EcoBlue 120 Active Edition 5dr; Still, material quality is good, with soft-touch plastics and The interior also gained minor tweaks with revisions to the centre console and trim. All of this makes it as good a used buy as it was a sound new car choice. The most important addition was the inclusion of the 1.0-litre Ecoboost engine in 100PS and 125PS outputs, which had premiered in the Ford Focus. Road Test: Ford Focus 1.0 125 EcoBoost Zetec 5dr But again, quietly: there's some of the characteristic three-cylinder thrum, but in a good way, a half-a-911 way. No harshness at all. Add longer-than-normal warranties and good customer service, and it’s easy to see why these Japanese companies have enjoyed their strong standings for so long. 2.3 L EcoBoost I4-T. Total Its engine is also tuned to produce more power – 125bhp instead of 100bhp. In fact, the Focus 1.0 has more power than Volkswagen’s slightly smaller Golf 1.4. Which means if you are not particularly bothered with efficiency, the Focus is a fairly enthusiastic hatch with the ambition and capability of a car with a substantially bigger engine. sxp7.