The good, the not so good and the rubbish.....

[gaoler]

Hi all, it has been nearly a year since delivery of the 1.0 125bhp Titanium so thought I would share my thoughts, would be interested in others at this point of ownership.

The good:

The drive still one of the best for this class of car
Still an attractive bodyshell
Nippy especially in "sport" mode
Fuel economy over 50mpg around town
Automatic LED lights
Seats are comfortable and heated
Boot space great for this size of car
Easy to turn off the Lane Departure Warning, driving on mostly rural roads you have to use all the tarmac
Proper handbrake
Knobs for the heating and ventilation, not on the touch screen device

The not so good:

Quality of some of the materials is suspect
Visibility is a bit compromised on the pillars
Rear drum brakes on a modern car
The infotainment system can default back to the radio regardless of what it was last used for
Told by the dealer it has wireless charging, well if it did I would need a 3 inch phone for it to fit, so nope, although would not use it anyway just a bit of storage
Pre-collision assist is occasionally annoying goes off for no reason and is distracting
Now expensive for what is basically a Fiesta
Better deals from other manufacturers
Only a 3 year warranty
No wireless phone connection for Android/Apple
Info system seems to reboot when it feels like it, not helpful if using the Sat-Nav
No autolocking system
"Acceptable" misting in rear light clusters

The rubbish:

Controversial one.......The heated front screen, oh my goodness, I cannot see through the wavy filaments and in certain light, and wearing glasses, it is like trying to look through a spiders web and really, really off putting
The mesh parcel shelf looks like it is going to fly off if you are driving at speed with the windows open
The bag hooks in the boot are useless, way to shallow

Will I keep it after the two year PCP deal is up, not sure yet, had a Suzuki Vitara before this and it was a very reliable car, bit more basic than the Puma but with my job 20% discount is certainly a viable option especially as a new version is due in the new year.

[Smartguy67]

Hi all, it has been nearly a year since delivery of the 1.0 125bhp Titanium so thought I would share my thoughts, would be interested in others at this point of ownership.

The good:

The drive still one of the best for this class of car
Still an attractive bodyshell
Nippy especially in "sport" mode
Fuel economy over 50mpg around town
Automatic LED lights
Seats are comfortable and heated
Boot space great for this size of car
Easy to turn off the Lane Departure Warning, driving on mostly rural roads you have to use all the tarmac
Proper handbrake
Knobs for the heating and ventilation, not on the touch screen device

The not so good:

Quality of some of the materials is suspect
Visibility is a bit compromised on the pillars
Rear drum brakes on a modern car
The infotainment system can default back to the radio regardless of what it was last used for
Told by the dealer it has wireless charging, well if it did I would need a 3 inch phone for it to fit, so nope, although would not use it anyway just a bit of storage
Pre-collision assist is occasionally annoying goes off for no reason and is distracting
Now expensive for what is basically a Fiesta
Better deals from other manufacturers
Only a 3 year warranty
No wireless phone connection for Android/Apple
Info system seems to reboot when it feels like it, not helpful if using the Sat-Nav
No autolocking system
"Acceptable" misting in rear light clusters

The rubbish:

Controversial one.......The heated front screen, oh my goodness, I cannot see through the wavy filaments and in certain light, and wearing glasses, it is like trying to look through a spiders web and really, really off putting
The mesh parcel shelf looks like it is going to fly off if you are driving at speed with the windows open
The bag hooks in the boot are useless, way to shallow

Will I keep it after the two year PCP deal is up, not sure yet, had a Suzuki Vitara before this and it was a very reliable car, bit more basic than the Puma but with my job 20% discount is certainly a viable option especially as a new version is due in the new year.

I agree with all the good.

Not noticed any real quality issues with ours. Door pillars are worse on our Kuga and we have rear discs on the Puma which is the main reason I went for the 155. However due to the engine braking on the hybrid I know those rear discs are going to deteriorate through lack of use. EV's as an example may be going back to drums. Ours has the wireless charger and Ford must fit a different console as my wife's iPhone fits ok. No other issues like you but agree the car is overpriced. Some negatives from me.

Road noise. Try not to let it bother me.
Tiny rear indicators.
Door mirrors. They are far too small and more like a motorbike mirror. Blind spots not good on this car certainly compared to my Kuga which has a split mirror on the driver's door.
Steering. It's typical Ford and other manufacturers are better at giving a better feel. Our Mokka felt so much better and planted in the road.

You have to not focus on the wires in the heated screen. If you switch it on in certain light objects shimmer as well, certainly on our Kuga. It becomes one of those things you focus on more when you think about it, like me with the road noise and the sensitive steering. Apart from those two things I am extremely happy with the car. Chances are we won't be having another due to the interior changes.

[Sparks]

Agree with some points not others.
Never had one with rear drums.
I have wireless Android Auto (via a small add-on), but, yes, it should be built in. Next version will have Android Automotive not Sync 4.0.
Because of above, the infotainment system defaults to Android Auto.
the phone charger holds and charges my Galaxy S24 plus (should I ever need it, so far not).
Not really had a problem with the windscreen.
Not sure why the windows would be open at speed? So, no problem with boot cover.
Not had any misting in the rear light clusters.

I agree with the better deals out there with better built cars.
I did read that Vauxhall are relaunching the Frontera, both as an EV and a Hybrid. The surprising thing is they will both be the same price, starting around £26,000..Doesn't look too bad either.

[137699]

I agree with much but not all of this.
I've owned many fords with heated front screens and never had an issue with this - maybe I'm just used to it. Also not had issue with my infotainment either.

I agree with all the "good" - particularly the driving dynamics.
Mine has rear disks & as for visibility, never noticed this to be any issue.

My "bad" would be that the wireless charge pad is twitchy - a slight movement of the phone and it goes off - also superheats the phone which I'm not sure is very good for it. And then there's the poorly designed armrest, the gimmicky massage seats which don't really massage you anywhere useful, the general tinny sound when shutting doors that doesn't feel "quality" - the poor door seals that feel like they will fall off whenever touched - and the lack of any seal along the bottom extremity which cases them to collect dirt (and no doubt will end up rusting there in a few years time).

And my "rubbbish" is the inability to default to a specific drive mode or to default the lane assist to "off" - though to be fair to Ford, these are things mandated by governments now so they pretty much have to set the car up this way.

[Smartguy67]

That's a cheap car Sparks.

I once said I would never buy another Vauxhall following my Vectra years. At 70k miles it felt like the car was dead. Plagued with sensor faults. We then bought a 66 plate Mokka at 11 months old. Every extra apart from navigation. Amazing AGR leather seats. The steering felt solid and my wife said it's her only major complaint on the Puma. But it was boring to drive. 140bhp but felt like some of those horses were asleep or had died. We had the car for 6 years and no issues at all having just two front tyres and one set of front pads. Depreciation just under £1k per year. I won't see that again until my Kuga goes and then will never be seen again unless I still have the Puma in 2054.

If the new Frontera has a Puretech engine though it may be one to pass if its going to be a keeper. Also I know that Vauxhall's did suffer with LSPi, low speed pre ignition, due to direct injection and not sure if they have cured this. I doubt that will be an issue in EV trim and if it has a heated front screen like the option on the Grandland it may be worth considering.

[Sparks]

Owned by Stellantis now (Basically PSA and Fiat Chrysler). So nothing like the Vauxhalls of old..
https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/vauxhall/frontera
Not bad for the price and a challenge to other manufacturers, especially in the EV market.
The article actually says from £23,495.
Not on my radar, but I'll bet they'll sell quite a few.

[Ron240]

Hi all, it has been nearly a year since delivery of the 1.0 125bhp Titanium

The good:
Automatic LED lights
Seats are comfortable and heated

The not so good:
The infotainment system can default back to the radio regardless of what it was last used for
Only a 3 year warranty

I assume you are referring to the rear lights which are standard LED throughout the range. LED headlights are an optional extra but are not available on a pre facelift Titanium model.
Heated seats are an optional extra on most models.

My infotainment system has never defaulted to radio so there could be a glitch with yours.
3 year warranty has been the industry standard for many years, with only selected manufacturers offering more.
Everybody here should be able to remember when a miserable 1 year warranty with a new car was the standard.
Ford were slow to switch to a 3 year standard warranty in the UK and it probably began in the mid 90's with the Ford Maverick. The reason for this was because Ford collaborated with Nissan and both manufacturers had basically the same car with different badges on it - Ford Maverick and Nissan Terrano II. The Terrano had a standard 3 year warranty but the Maverick only had 1 year, so Ford later upgraded the warranty on the Maverick making it the only model in the entire UK range to have a standard 3 year warranty.

[KevC]

If you're on carplay and you pause the media and then switch the car off. Next time you turn it on it seems to default to the radio.

I don't have any trouble with the heated screen lines. I'm focusing much further away.
My iphone15 fits just fine in the wireless charger section but to be honest it's not really needed. I use a wireless adapter stashed in the armrest and even on a 5hr round trip drive it barely uses 50% battery doing maps and media.

I find the anti-collision alarm is a tad 'nervous' with a local traffic calming area where there is only one centre route through two bollards so if it sees someone coming the other way and I've got right of way through the middle it thinks I'm heading for a crash! I also had a niggle with the little boot cord lines coming off but a tiny bit of masking tape around the knobbly bit has made them a much more snug fit and they don't come off every other day now.

The likes heavily outweigh those two things though. It's hugely practical, economical, quiet, cheap to run, fun to drive, does what it needs to and that's all and my elderly mum can slot in it perfectly without having to climb up or duck down.

[Wowzz]

I thought that autolocking doors were banned on all new cars as of 2019 ? EU safety directive.

[Sparks]

If you're on carplay and you pause the media and then switch the car off. Next time you turn it on it seems to default to the radio.

Yep, same with Android Auto. You have to actually turn off/pause the music using the volume knob, this will actually turn the radio off so that when you restart it's just silent. You can then just play your music from the phone by pressing play or the volume button on/off.
Hope I've explained that right....