Focus or Golf for long daily journey?

I'm thinking of buying a 2006 Volkswagen Golf 1.9 TDI diesel or 2006 Ford Focus 1.6 diesel for daily journey from Cork to Kilkenny. What would you advise? Difference of €3k in the price.

Colin Maher (Cork)

Aug 2014 Filed under: choosing used car

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Expert answer

Hi Colin,

There's not much to choose between the two in terms of overall talent, practicality or reliability, but my instinct would be to go for the Golf - that second generation Focus had a rather plain, unlovely cabin whereas the Golf's is much comfier and more welcoming - important stuff with a long regular journey like yours. The only other thing to consider would be the cabin space - if you often carry tall passengers in the back seats, then go for the Ford, it's much more spacious.

Let us know which you go for

Neil Briscoe - Complete Car Adviser
@neilmbriscoe