Ford Focus 2014 Problems

The 92 kW 1.6-litre engine is no fireball, it needs to be revved to get the best out of it, but if you're not in a hurry it's quite a pleasant engine in normal driving, even in hilly country. The dual-clutch transmission works quite well, although we have had one or two complaints about shuddering and miss shifting. If you're buying used thoroughly test-drive the car by putting it through as many different driving situations as possible in the hope of drawing out any issues the transmission might have. Overall, the Focus is quite reliable and should get a run from it.

The Focus uses a dual-clutch transmission, which is really a manual transmission with an automated shift mechanism. They have two clutches that both come into play when shifting from one gear to another. Ford has had trouble with some vehicles fitted with the DPS6 transmission built from April 12, 2011 to August 23, 2013. Check the build date on yours to see if it falls within those dates. Even if it doesn't I would be monitoring the transmission operation very carefully, and I wouldn't hesitate to take it back to the dealer if you believe it isn't functioning correctly. What you report is typical of a problem Focus transmission.

So you still have to consider the Mazda3, which definitely gets The Tick. Forced to choose, I'd take the Focus because it's a nicer drive and the Civic is really nothing special in 2014.