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Although it seems a very good car I'm concerned about sports suspension and how it may affect ride comfort. Has anyone personal experience of driving one ? comments appreciated.
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Ride quality is subjective, best thing is for you to test drive one. Also depends on local road surfaces and what car you are used to. I find after the Renault everything uncomfortable.
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Quite right, MJW. A well-sorted 'sporty' car can be at least as comfortable as a softly-sprung one, and the Focus and the related-but-not-'a Focus' V40 saloon are both very pleasant in my experience.
It's not as simple as 'soft' or 'hard'. We had a 2008 Toyota Verso - no sports car and on squishy 205/55x16 tyres, but with suspension whose main purpose was to control its tall body. The result was a high-frequency jiggling that was barely noticeable in a 20-minute test drive but became exhausting on a long journey.
Its replacement, the LEC (all right - 2009 E220 CDI estate) has the middling 'Avantgarde' suspension and 225/55x16 tyres. It's great over long distances - it did two 400-mile days in succession this August - and the family say they love riding in it. But at lower speeds I find it too wallowy for comfort. Right turns into side roads can leave it pitching diagonally, and although it's happier at higher speeds, I think I'd prefer something a little more controlled.
Funny really. When considering Es I shied away from 'Sport' models without even trying one, put off by the 18-inch wheels and thin, expensive tyres, thinking it would be uncomfortably hard, but I suspect now I might have been happier with that than I've been with the AG.
Main point is you have to find what works for you. And if you're driving on the kind of surfaces I find near me, nothing is going to keep out all the shocks.
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Thanks for these two helpful replies. What Renault did you drive ? Looking for a car similar size to Focus or S40. Very much take the point there are varying advantages/disadvantages - individualised cars would be fantastic but I suspect rather expensive !
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Scenic 2010 with sensible profile tyres and best seats I've sat in. It's a MPV so a bit wallowy in the bends but it's not designed for that and driving fast is not my priority. A Megane on sensible tyres would be good as well, a worthy competitor to a Focus. 16'' tyres with 55 profile is a good compromise and good makes of tyres are about £80 so quite cheap.
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Just ask yourself why no-one buys a megane and everyone buys a focus, just look at the post from a member here who was warned not to buy a renault, and look what happened.
So to the OP, choose what you like but do make sure its not a Renault.
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Alternatively see what the satisfaction and reliability survey are saying.
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MJW possibly hasn't been around long enough to catch one of our periodic dissections of these 'surveys', but there are significant problems with the size of the sample and the sampling process itself, which make them less than representative and, for the most part, meaningless.
That's not to say anecdotal evidence on forums like this is unarguable either, but I've yet even to see any of that to say that Renaults regularly reach eight years or 100,000 miles without serious problems - or even the multiple minor problems that exasperated DP and Alanovic here. Without that, it's hard to see one as a workable out-of-warranty prospect.
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Thanks MJW for the response about Renault. I'll have a look at the Scenic. Other comments also appreciated. It does seem that people have varying experiences and sometimes its a matter of being fortunate as to a car's performance and reliability. Although, obviously, minimise the chance factor by research.
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>> Funny really. When considering Es I shied away from 'Sport' models without even trying one,
>> put off by the 18-inch wheels and thin, expensive tyres, thinking it would be uncomfortably
>> hard, but I suspect now I might have been happier with that than I've been
>> with the AG.
>>
Having owned both an E320 AG estate (on 17" wheels) and an E280 Sport estate on 18" wheels, I think the Sport is a better compromise. Yes it is slightly firmer, but the steering is sharper and there is no wallow. Still as comfortable on long journeys. But the tyres are pricier, and wider at the rear preventing rotation to spread the wear. Having said that, I found the wear rate fairly constant front and rear.
The biggest complaint I had was moaning from the centre rear passenger about the thinly padded centre seat and them having to straddle the transmission tunnel. Number 3 child was unplanned!
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My current car is an E250 CDI Sport estate on 18s with beer barrels for tyres. I found it a bit firm at first but now I'm used to it and enjoy/prefer the taut and accurate handling. Possibly the long-ish wheelbase helps to to take some of the harshness out which might be evident on a shorter car.
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So it seems I possibly have the worst of all worlds ;-). An Avantgarde, but with an 'styling pack', or some such nonsense name, that included 18" wheels and a staggered front/rear tyre set up. However I find it an acceptable compromise between comfort and handling - not sure I'd want it any firmer!!
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Not that it's geographically practical to do so but theoretically it'd be an interesting excercise for us to swap cars for a day to see how they differ ( if at all ) on that front.
It would mean chucking them round a track I guess to really find out but I guess that's a non-starter ! ( not to say conduct unbecoming of MB estate drivers ) ;-)
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Well the Goodwood circuit is not far from us! And based on your mileage you're more likely to be down here than I am up there ;-)
Mind you, a few years ago now, I did a RR drivers course at the circuit (it's just across the road from the factory and I was doing some work with them). If it's Ok to take a Phantom round them I'm fairly sure an E Class will be fine. Obviously preferable if it's a Sport. In fact a few summers ago Mercedes did an event down there - the SLRs sounded fantastic at full chat :-)
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I was speaking yesterday to my friend who has just got his C63 estate and was asking him how it was. His one word answer was "frightening" !
Apparently he can go on some MB track course as part of the deal.
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Ford Focus CC - Focus Sports Suspension - MJW1994
