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Car #1
Make
Model
Variant
Engine
Car #2
Make
Model
Variant
Engine

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1998. - 2001.
C - Small family car
hatchback, 3 door
front
Badges
Production
Vehicle class
Body style
Wheel drive
Safety
1998. - 2003.
C - Small family car
hatchback, 3 door
front

Marketing

Dimensons & Outlines

4152 mm
1702 mm
1430 mm
350 liters
1205 liters
55 liters
Length
Width
Height
Boot (min)
Boot (max)
Fuel tank
4149 mm
1735 mm
1444 mm
330 liters
1184 liters
55 liters
1998 Ford Focus
1998 Volkswagen Golf

Engine

Petrol
4 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Nat. Asp.
1388 cc
75 hp
125 Nm
Engine
Fuel
Configuration
Aspiration
Displacement
Power
Torque
Volkswagen
1.4 16v
Petrol
4 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Nat. Asp.
1390 cc
75 hp
128 Nm

Performance (manual gearbox)

manual gearbox - 5 gears
1050 kg
14.1 s
171 km/h
8.8 l/100km
5.4 l/100km
6.6 l/100km
158 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
manual gearbox - 5 gears
1065 kg
14.0 s
171 km/h
8.9 l/100km
5.3 l/100km
6.6 l/100km
158 g/km

Performance (automatic gearbox)

 
kg
s
km/h
l/100km
l/100km
l/100km
g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
 
kg
s
km/h
l/100km
l/100km
l/100km
g/km

Expenses

800 EUR
Price from
800 EUR

Virtual Adviser's™ opinion

Overview

Well, these are two pretty similar cars we have here! It's only details that could potentially make the difference. Considering they both belong to the small family car segment and utilize the same 3-door hatchback body style and the front wheel drive system, it all comes up to the specific petrol engine choice they offer. The first one has a Ford-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 75hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 75hp engine designed by Volkswagen.

Safety

A starting point here would be to take a look at the results from European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) tests which were performed on both of the cars, with the same number of safety stars gained in the process. That aside, let's consider some other aspects which affect safety. Both vehicles belong to the small family car segment, which is generally classifying them somewhere in the middle safety-wise, still it doesn't help us solve our dilemma, does it? On the other hand, taking kerb weight as an important factor into account, the German car offers a marginal difference of 1% more metal.

Reliability

Reliability is not the best thing to consider on the make level, but it is worth mentioning that Ford does have a slight advantage, when all the models are taken into account. These are the official statistics, while our visitors describe reliability of Ford with an average rating of 4.4, and models under the Volkswagen badge with 4.2 out of 5. Independent research findings rank Focus as average reliability-wise, and Golf is more or less at the same level.We should definitely mention that owners of cars with the same powertrain as the American car rank it on average as 4.0, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 4.2 out of 5.

Performance & Fuel economy

Volkswagen is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.1 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 171 kilometers per hour, exactly the same as the other car does. When it comes to fuel economy things look pretty much the same for both cars, averaging around 6.6 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (43 mpg), in combined cycle.


Verdict

Ford appears just a bit more reliable, although the difference is truly marginal. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In my opinion, everything taken into account, the German car offers slightly better overall protection and takes the lead. It all continues in the same direction, with Volkswagen offering somewhat better performance, just enough to call it quicker. Fuel consumption is more or less the same. No mistake, whatever you decide here, but I'd still go for the Volkswagen. In any case that's my personal view, built upon all the data available to me. What should decide here though is the way you feel about the two vehicles, and I hope you'll find my guidelines useful in the process. Also, you could use the oportunity to find out which car, everything taken into account, would be the perfect choice for you in the eyes of the virtual adviser, among thousands of similar, yet so different vehicles.

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