What they said, though I'd opine that the Ford, whatever lessons learned - won't be nearly as reliable AW (after warranty runs out). Several of (my Honda sub-brand, Acura) have >200K miles not km and are still 'tight', no oil use etc. One has 300K+. But each model will have a couple items that can be watched-out for. You also didn't mention if buying new or used. Same deal, except: you'd want evidence that periodic servicing was really done -- never practical to rehab an abused [anything], at modern labour prices.

Probably the Civic handles better than comparable Toyota, generally. When I brought home someone's Corolla loaner, over familiar roads - found steering quite less precise, springing too soft for decent control in any emergency. No idea how a Focus handles.

If.. you go with Honda, one fillip I've learned (as a consequence of getting my car and sleuthing) - is: use *their* "fluids" - especially automatic transmission fluids. These have different lubricating and viscosity index formulations, and the difference is noticeable in shifting smoothness and .. per now many voices - longevity. (Skip fluid changes at risk of becoming a PHB.)

HTH

Ashton

I can hold mine in (or select) any old gear manually, I choose - with compression braking, etc. Any modern autos lock-up the torus quite quickly == no-slip ergo same or (yes) better mileage than stick. Myths from the early days of slush-o-matics persist, although there seem still to be many newish Murican auto-trans that have a hard time breaking 50K miles without a rebuild. {ugh} (OTOH My particular not-US model is known to go >200 K MILES if not mercilessly abused via dirty fluid, etc. At least one is at 300K on original.)

Final knell too - it can cost more now to fix a std. than an auto [!], at least here, and clutch replacement is a bear in too many designs, adding to the cost. Synchros seem to wear faster than all that stuff crammed into an auto-xmiss. Defies logic, that - but there you are.

As one who has owned most-all stds, I Love my 4-speed auto, even without many traffic jams as justification. It's also smart enough to change shiftpoints if I'm standing on it, and I can drop to 2nd at any speed - and have the xmiss shift right on down from 90ish at sane (but in that case: hi-RPM) points, as I brake. All-in-all, IMO best of both worlds. BUT

I wouldn't want one on any motorcycle, where the minute-feel of road surface is obv much more important.

My 3 NF


Ashton Manuel Fangio