New Corolla vs New Focus

DannyBuoy

Gota make a choice in the very near future, cant wait until the new Focus saloon unfortunatley but the new hatchback is around since this week.
The Corolla 1.4 Luna looks a nice car and prob ultra reliable, but Focus is prob finished to a better standard. Focus 1.6 prob a bit nippier aswell.
Anyone push me one way or the other please?

Vegeta

personally it would be a focus but with the 1.6 tdci engine.

In honesty I believe the first focus is better than the current saloon corolla (how many years later) This is of course personal preference

My brother owned a focus but crashed it and now has a 07 corolla and still pines for the focus.

EDIT: Everyone is different so take both for decent test drives and give them a good test, mixed driving, motorway, country road. Get a load of friends to try and fit in both. Check economy etc etc.

jaggiebunnet

i drive a 1.4 05 focus and my wife drives the same on a corolla.

i was all for the focus being the better car, until i got one. the focus does look nicer to drive but the corolla is just so much better put together - had the corolla since new and never had an issue, had the focus about a year and had a couple of things wrong with it. If i had the choice again i would go for a corolla

now, in saying that, i had previously hired the 1.6 focus when on holiday and it was far nippier than the 1.4 which is really disappointing.

DannyBuoy

I think its prob all down to a test drive, will drive both at the weekend I hope. 1.4 seems a bit lethargic these days in a car of the focus/corolla size which is why, if I go for the focus, it'll be the 1.6.

Henry Ford III

Focus - no real contest.

DannyBuoy

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Focus - no real contest.

Thought you might say that!

su_dios

New focus looks great! Interior looks pretty nice too.. End of the day you shouldn't just buy a car based on build quality. Assuming that the one you go for isn't prone to falling apart within a year or two. Most cars these days should have good standards and all brands have their lemons.

To be different I might suggest the new Bravo though.. just to possibly add a third car to the list. Similar size, nice styling, bit cheaper too I think, very very low Co2 emissions too for tax purposes if you hold till July, oh and with Fiats dramatic turnout it has a very good build quality. Test any of their dynamic range, the standard is dull.

Otherwise a focus!

Green Hornet

I'd go for the focus. The Corolla is a great car from a reliability point of view but boring as hell! Believe it or not Toyota delayed the launch of the Auris to improve the styling when they saw the new Civic............and what an exciting car it is now:rolleyes:

colm_mcm

The Corolla is so bad, there's still a waiting list more than a year on....

Green Hornet

colm_mcm wrote: »

The Corolla is so bad, there's still a waiting list more than a year on....

Not saying that they are a bad car but they are bland as hell.

colm_mcm

To be fair, anyone looking for excitement should be aiming higher than a Focus or Corolla

A3 is bland, so is Passat, Is it only ok for German cars to be dull?

moe_sizlak

su_dios wrote: »

New focus looks great! Interior looks pretty nice too.. End of the day you shouldn't just buy a car based on build quality. Assuming that the one you go for isn't prone to falling apart within a year or two. Most cars these days should have good standards and all brands have their lemons.

To be different I might suggest the new Bravo though.. just to possibly add a third car to the list. Similar size, nice styling, bit cheaper too I think, very very low Co2 emissions too for tax purposes if you hold till July, oh and with Fiats dramatic turnout it has a very good build quality. Test any of their dynamic range, the standard is dull.

Otherwise a focus!

interesting suggestion about the fiat brava

they look great and fiat has always been lovely to drive plus theyve been over demonised too

AntiVirus

colm_mcm wrote: »

To be fair, anyone looking for excitement should be aiming higher than a Focus or Corolla

A3 is bland, so is Passat, Is it only ok for German cars to be dull?

Bang on!
It's amaze me the amount of times you get the same post saying a corolla is boring. I often wonder as they sit and drive around town in their 1.4ltr focus how excited they really are! lol

DannyBuoy

Thanks folks. Drove the corolla this morn and was happy enough with it. TBH its coming in at 2k under the focus so thats something to consider. I go along with all the boring comments up to a point. OK its a standard car with standard bits but it does look nice, the luna model has reasonably good spec and the car looks a bit more "manly" than the focus. Its seems quite big when you're standing next to it. High shoulder line and good boot distance. 2 months to get one tho...

E92

Can the OP not wait till July, when he could get a 1.6 diesel Focus and only pay €100 road tax a year on it? Pretty pointless buying now really.

If the Mazda3 which is based on the Focus is anything to go by, the Ford would be miles better than the Corolla for the passenger, and I haven't driven either and all the press say the Focus is the best car in the class to drive(the Corolla is meant to be stodgy), so I've no doubt that the Focus is easily the superior of the 2.

The Focus is such a bad car:rolleyes: that it's been the best selling car ever since Ford gave up on the Escort in Ireland and the UK as well AFAIK.

DannyBuoy

E92 wrote: »

Can the OP not wait till July, when he could get a 1.6 diesel Focus and only pay €100 road tax a year on it? Pretty pointless buying now really.

...

Cant wait E92, has to be bought in the next couple of weeks.

jaggiebunnet

The other thing i never mentioned was that the corolla definitely has lots more room than the focus.

JHMEG

Does it have to be a Corolla or a Focus? Can it be something else?

Normally a fan of Toyota, but I was actually thinking that Toyota have some balls to come out with a Corolla/Auris that boring. Definitely the most boring to date.

Wouldn't be a huge fan of the Focus. Mk1 was the best of the lot imo, tho a dead fish has more poke than that 1.4 engine. Moderately good driving dynamics, but usually over-rated by the British press as it's a favourite with the British public. Quick steering ratio gives the impression of responsiveness.

Of those two it'd have to be not the Corolla.