1.8 petrol engine, owner's opinions please!
 

Hi

We're considering getting either an S40 or V50, and as our annual mileage is low (<8000 p.a.) and mostly urban, the diesels don't seem to make a lot of sense for us.

The engine that fits our budget for running costs is the 1.8 petrol, but I'm just wondering if people here think it's powerful enough for the car, and a nice engine to drive. Also here most of the 1.8s that are sold here in Ireland are the flexi-fuel variant, so trying to figure out if these are any less reliable than the standard 1.8. We'd be running it on regular unleaded as E85 isn't really sold here anymore. I'm aware the FF variant requires more frequent servicing, but this wouln't really matter too much to us as we'd only need to service it once every year anyway with our mileage. Because they're a bit of an anomaly now, they sell for cheaper than the other engines, so there are bargains to be had.

So, in essence, 2 questions:

1. Is the 1.8 petrol powerful enough, and a nice/characterful engine to drive?

2. Does the 1.8 FF have any issues of note?

Many thanks in advance.

Well...as I'm a 1.8 V50 owner I'm going to be a tad biased!
Basically it's the best car I've ever owned.
Internal storage is awful mind you but I have a dog and two kids to consider.

The engine pulls well enough and like you, I do sub 8,000 pa.
I could not criticise the engine at all and it seems to be quite a good car about town or on the motorway.
No cambelt as it's chain driven...another plus!
I'm not too pleased with the fuel economy but perhaps most likely due to my style of local and short distance driving.

Go for the SE trim over and above anything else.
Look for the toys like high performance or Dolby radio with multi-cd.
Heated seats
Cruise Control
Auto dimming rear view mirror
Trip Computer
Electric seats
Electric folding door mirrors with puddle lights
17" alloy wheels
Roof rails (if you go for the V50 that is).

You will not be disappointed!
But remember, the S40/V50 is really just a Ford Focus in more ways than one ;-) Same floor pan and they share many components but the Volvo version is better engineered car!

A 1.8 2005 s40 Owner.

I've owned the car for 5 years now and have been pleased with the performance. 2nd and 3rd gears are especially nice to push up through the rev range. I only wish they'd stuck a 6th gear on it, because at 70mph you'll be doing near enough 4,000 rpm - and it is quite noisy. In my opinion the car really starts to struggle above 80mph.... but then you wouldn't need to do that in the UK would you ;)

The 1.8 engine is a Ford Zetec block, and has FOMOCO stamped over a lot of components under the bonnet. And as JasonB said, it's cam chain rather than belt, so not much to worry about there.

Fuel economy is average to poor. If you drive it like your gran then it's average, drive it with any amount of excessive right foot then sadly the economy (in my experience) is poor. You have to work the engine hard, and whilst you do get a good response you definitely pay for it in fuel economy.

I've had no end of faults with my car, BUT, the actual 1.8 block has been reliable (aside from a very early manufacturing fault and Volvo replaced the engine). I know that Volvo have ironed out a lot of the problems I experienced on later model cars.

You are much more likely to experience problems with other areas of the car rather than the engine. But have a good look through this forum to find them (dodgy door wiring harness in 2006-> S40/V50, some EGR faults, blocked aircon drains, faulty key start modules to name a few).

Hope that helps.

what mpg, miles to full tank and what is the road tax on a 1.8

Just a little correction: It isn't a Zetec. If is a Duratec HE - designed mainly by Mazda... Branded by Ford, like the Durstec ST (Volvo T5)

Thanks for the replies, very helpful.

Re-assuring to hear 2 owners very happy with the engine. A bit less so all the issues suffered by mjcourtney with the car in general. We'd probably go for a 2007/8 model, so perhaps some of the issues were sorted by then?

I was aware it's effectively a Ford Focus dressed in Volvo clothes, but we rented one on holiday last year and really liked the car, in spite of that. My other half fell in love with the comfort level, I liked the looks and handling. Our other possible option would be more of a true Volvo, the V70, but I'm wary of the crippling fuel consumption on the 2.0T.

Interesting that no-one has commented on the FF model, I guess it wasn't very popular.

rides a lot better on 17's

Are you sure? I was led to believe the 1.6 is Zetec SE, 1.8 and 2.0 are both Zetec from the Focus.

Mondeos use Duratec-HE 1.8 and 2.0 but AFAIK Volvo stuck with Zetecs from Focus Mk1.

Yes, because the Zetecs have cambelts... The Duratecs chains... And the 1.8 and 2.0l have both got chains - oh, and they look different ;)

Bore and stroke are identical to the Duratecs in Mondeo, Focus and co... Same goes for power output. The Zetec is supposed to be soon dropped due to age. The only Zetec in a Volvo, is the 1.6l petrol in C30/S40/V50.

Mine (2.0l -> B4204S3):
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3223/...6d14de86e9.jpg

Zetec:
http://justintuijl.com/images/fordfocus/fordfocus8.jpg

Duratec (Turbo):
http://www.focusfanatics.com/gallery...myroush_06.jpg

So, you can be sure: 1.8 and 2.0l (in P1x!) are Duratecs :) Which is better, as the Duratec is more reliable :)

How wrong and humbled I am. I bow to your superior knowledge, but were all the pictures really necessary?