The advantage of an occasion is that you can tick options that you would not quickly order with a new car. If you dress a new middle class with luxury items such as seat heating and parking sensors, the purchase price will increase considerably. Traditionally, the Volkswagen Golf and Ford Focus are immensely popular as lease cars. Lease drivers like luxury and are not looking for more or less options. They cost them at most a few tens a month extra.
The cars will be available on the second-hand market after the lease contract expires. And then you can make your move. For the amount of a second-hand Volkswagen Golf Variant you cannot even buy a new (sparsely equipped) Citroën C1 or Hyundai i10. A Focus is even cheaper, for less than 10,000 euros you can find excellent occasions with few kilometers. Both the Ford and the Volkswagen offer plenty of space for passengers and luggage.
The Ford Focus Wagon with 1.0-liter EcoBoost petrol engine is a recommendation. The 125 hp version is quite powerful, but at the same time it manages to curb its thirst. During our extensive test lap, we clocked 6.3 l / 100 km – an excellent value. Even if you stuff the Focus Wagon with vacation luggage, it doesn’t give the impression of being under-motorized. The enthusiastic three-cylinder achieves a top speed of 193 km / h and builds up its power nicely evenly. Only when you move the accelerator fully to the bottom does the turbo engine with its characteristic three-cylinder sound show that it has to work hard.
Which of the two has the largest luggage space?
Anyone in the market for a Ford Focus Wagon is often also interested in a Volkswagen Golf Variant. There is something special about this car: it is the only compact midsize car more popular as a hatchback than as a station wagon. Nevertheless, you will find plenty of Variant variants on Marktplaats.nl. We would choose the 122 hp four-cylinder. It has 3 hp less power than the Focus, but with its torque of 200 Nm, it surpasses the Ford with 30 Nm. You notice how smoothly he builds up power. Moreover, you can show off on the autobahn with a top speed of 204 km / h. At the same time, the Ford driver laughs at you again at the pump. The Golf consumes seven liters of gasoline every 100 kilometers; 0.7 liters more than the Focus.
At least as important is the content of the trunk. There the Golf Variant is lord and master: it fits 600 to 1620 liters in the rear. The Focus Wagon does it with 490 to 1516 liters. Both cars have a rear seat that folds down in unequal parts, the Golf also has a ski hatch. From the Comfortline you also get a folding passenger seat, so that you can easily transport objects of 2.67 meters home at the hardware store (when it is open again). In terms of handling, we give both cars a good report: the Focus and the Golf have a comfortably tuned suspension, but there is also plenty of fun for sporty drivers.
How reliable are the Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf?
And what about reliability? No major technical problems are known for either car: a six or seven year old Golf or Focus is an excellent choice. When selecting a Ford, don’t go much further back in time, because the Focus that was launched ten years ago is known for being very reliable. At the time, there were questions whether such a small and powerful three-cylinder engine would stand the test of time. It has now become clear that you should not expect any major problems. The Golf looks clearly higher quality, but you pay a higher price for that on the used car market.
Conclusion
The Ford Focus Wagon is a reliable, solidly screwed together family car at a great price. It convinces above all with its smooth three-cylinder, which not only delivers excellent performance, but is also economical. The Volkswagen Golf Wagon offers more space and the finish quality is better for each other. It only has a very big disadvantage: its price. A Golf can easily cost 3000 to 4000 euros more than a Focus with comparable equipment. Whether you think that money is well spent? We would sleep on it overnight.