Focus II is a great car. However other Focus II owners will know that at motorway speeds there is a lot of noise which I would characterise as roaring. Noise from the 1.6 petrol engine isn't a problem, but soundproofing does seem to be.
I tried changing the tyres for a softer set (Contis) but it made no difference.
I can live with it but on the other hand, if adding some material to under-insulated areas is fairly easy DIY, I'd consider it. Wouldn't want to remove any panels but the boot floor (it's a hatch BTW) and front footwells don't seem to have much soundproofing material against them.
Has anyone tried this DIY? What were the results and what materials were best? I've considered stuffing in some foam sheeting I've got knocking about (goes under laminate floors I think); not very scientific!
Incidentally I understand Focus III is designed to be quieter - have they added more soundproofing material?
Cheers,
Jim
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I have an '07 Focus ST, it has some tyre noise on rough surfaces though is other wise not bad in road noise terms.
If by Focus III you mean the current model then it is not a Focus III, it is a facelifted Focus II, I understand that HJ intends to amend his listings to reflect the fact that Ford and the broader industry refer to the new Focus due in 12 to 18 months as the Focus III.
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Jim
I've got an 05 Focus II with the 1.6 VTi (115) engine.
You're right, road noise at speed is a bit excessive and slightly spoils a good car.
I had toyed with the idea of buying a kit from these people:
www.noisekiller.co.uk/
There's been discussion about it before on this forum if you do a search, and I'm pretty sure someone else with a Focus II has tried it.
Steve
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It is worth considering that it's the resonance of the metal that causes the noise and not simply the apparent area of un-damped metal. A smallish square of deadening material strategically applied can reduce the noise made by quite a large panel (see inside almost all car doors for proof - barely 20% of the surface is covered).
The manufacturers probably spend quite a bit of time working out how little sound deadening material they need to reduce noise below a certain threshold - and of course too much material would add weight, with attendant mpg / co2 penalties.
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I sound proofed a Fiesta: used a kit. A lot of proofing around the gearbox made a big difference as did the rear wheel arches..
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Funny this should come up as we tried a 2006 Fiesta in our recent car search and one of the negatives was intrusive (to me) road/drivetrain noise from the front footwell area. A noise that isn't present to any degree in the C3 we eventually chose.
Back when I was running 1960 & 70s cars many needed extra soundproofing so I would go to the scrapyard and take the felt from Rovers/Jaguars/etc. Made a huge difference to the likes of a Triumph Herald, Cortina, Capri and so on.
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I'm really not trying to annoy anybody here but I've driven dozens of Focus' and apart from the huge difference in quality between many of them I've yet to drive one that I think matches a Golf for refinement. At current prices, even allowing for discounts, I think Focus is overpriced. It's a good car and a decent handler, but hardly class leader for quality and refinement. To even have to discuss aftermarket sound deadening says it all really.
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You don't need to take an apologetic stance. If people don't like what you write then they can 'watch another channel'. As it happens I agree 100% with you.
It's a good car the Focus and ours on 23000 miles (a 2007 1.6 VCT-ti) has been totally reliable.
The Focus handles, steers and changes gear with excellence. It's roomy with a proper shaped boot and is cheap to run both in terms of fuel consumption and servicing costs. If those are your priorities then look no further. But once you look beyond those things, its case doesn't exactly fall apart but certainly becomes less convincing. Compared to the latest Golf and Megane it is relatively poor for comfort and refinement. Provided it's on sensible tyres, the Golf is the best-riding hatch although the Megane runs it very close. In the Focus there's too much wind noise, transmission noise (a particularly annoying whine between 50mph and 55mph) and road noise. Changing to Goodyear Excellence has helped but there's a resonance through the body. I have driven a number of Focuses and know that ours is not unusual. The frustrating thing is a bit more sound insulation material could have solved these problems at minimal cost.
For the most part the standard of build is good although you don't have to look too far to see where money has been cut. The glove box lid is a particularly cheap affair and drops down jerkily with all the sophistication of a drunken ten-year-old. The parcel shelf is about as cheap as you can make it without resorting to using a piece of an old cardboard box from your weekly visit to the supermarket. It's the little things that can annoy.
I also have reservations about the bodywork. I always understood that the Focus is galvanised but ours is rusting (admittedly very minor) in places where there is no way a stone could have caused it. The paint appears thin and chips easily. I've intervened with some waxoyl but on a car not quite three years old, I find this slightly disappointing.
The CBCB gives the Focus five stars. There is no doubt that in my mind that's too high. Having owned one rather than just tested one I would give it 3.5, possibly an absolute maximum of 4. Five stars should be reserved for cars of truly exceptional competence right across the board. That car is not the Focus.
We like our Focus and will buy another but for the next model Ford must up the quality and refinement. It's losing its lead and the current price rises have made the cars look a little silly - even allowing for the fact that only a fool pays list.
I have read that on the latest MK2.5 the road noise has been improved.
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Agree with those about Focus road noise, it is to excessive and does spoil a good car. I have a diesel version and originally thought the noise was engine related however have come to realise that it is road noise e.g. 3rd or 4th gear at 2,000 rpm (doing between 30-45 mph) is fine however 6th gear at 2,000 rpm (70 mph) and the noise is a distraction. Thought it may have been tyres (Conti Sport Contact 2) but I doubt when I come to change them it will make a huge difference. Also agree with Snowman about the body work, not as solid as I might have expected. I remember seeing the mark 2 Focus in a showroom when it first came out in 2004 and thought it was a substantial improvement in terms of build quality compared to the mark 1. Still think its a good car and its a shame Ford did not spend the extra few quid just to make it top notch in terms of refinement.
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