308 - Comments & Chipping

Decca said:
We have a new Focus at work (not sure of spec but probably basic model) and inside it feels cheap.especially around door fittings/trim. Radio module finished in plastic that shows everyone's fingerprints.
Insists on waiting before cranking over, even when engine has just been turned off... must be something re the glow plugs. not a patch on my 308!
It's also strangled by slow acting auto tranny
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Are you talking about the "all new" LW Focus aka 2011 Focus for Australia but aka 2012 Ford Focus for the North America market?

The current Australian-market LW Focus is supposed to have excellent build quality as it's made in Germany (unlike my 2009 LV Focus which is made in South Africa. Funnily enough mine seems to have excellent build quality even though it's made in South Africa!

The new auto is a 6 speed "Powershift" double clutch made by Getrag. It's supposed to be good .. and better than the VW DSG at low speeds.
 
DeKa said:
Are you talking about the "all new" LW Focus aka 2011 Focus for Australia but aka 2012 Ford Focus for the North America market?

The current Australian-market LW Focus is supposed to have excellent build quality as it's made in Germany (unlike my 2009 LV Focus which is made in South Africa. Funnily enough mine seems to have excellent build quality even though it's made in South Africa!

The new auto is a 6 speed "Powershift" double clutch made by Getrag. It's supposed to be good .. and better than the VW DSG at low speeds.
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This car is about 3months old.
Not the new model from what I can tell (just had a look at the ford website)

I was keen to drive this car as it has a 2lt HDi engine (PSA engine, the same as my 308).
I thought the car felt cheap. Considering its on the same floorplan as the Mazda 3 and Volvo S40, it doesnt appear to be in the same class.
Maybe higher spec Focus is a big step up


Being made in South Africa I wouldn't see as a problem. Golfs (dont think the Mk6 is now) were made there


Congrats on your purchase PaulM. Hope you have a good run out of it




Decca
 
Decca said:
This car is about 3months old.
Not the new model from what I can tell (just had a look at the ford website)

I was keen to drive this car as it has a 2lt HDi engine (PSA engine, the same as my 308).
I thought the car felt cheap. Considering its on the same floorplan as the Mazda 3 and Volvo S40, it doesnt appear to be in the same class.
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OK - yes, you are talking about the LV2 then, not the new LW. I guess like anything it depends on the day it is built. My LV is good but still somewhat basic inside. The one you are driving does have the Powershift auto which is an automated dual clutch manual so it does need a different driving style compared to your car - just like a VW Golf with DSG (the Ford transmission is the same basic concept).

Good work PaulM - enjoy :)
 
PaulM said:
BTW has anyone got a Satnav with their 308? Thoughts? Location? Experience?
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As mentioned in one of my ealier replies: I do have the Peugeot SatNav (I've bought a 2008 model 2nd hand with all options included).
I like how it's built in and very easy to see (and hear) when driving. But entering new destinations is very, very awkward. It hasn't got touch screen, so you have to enter addresses by the rotary dial - really crap. However using saved destinations is quite easy.
Don't know if the never models have a touch screen, that would be good.
 
beat said:
As mentioned in one of my ealier replies: I do have the Peugeot SatNav (I've bought a 2008 model 2nd hand with all options included).
I like how it's built in and very easy to see (and hear) when driving. But entering new destinations is very, very awkward. It hasn't got touch screen, so you have to enter addresses by the rotary dial - really crap. However using saved destinations is quite easy.
Don't know if the never models have a touch screen, that would be good.
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Thanks! I dont think it is a touch screen and interestingly the dealer talked me out of getting one!
 
strange? I have the 'old' RT3 and I'm still very pleased with it. I recently drove a RCZ with the latest satnav in it and I was amazed by the way it worked: very easy to use, very clear voice, 3D if you want it, good descreption of the road to follow
 
jurgen_s said:
strange? I have the 'old' RT3 and I'm still very pleased with it. I recently drove a RCZ with the latest satnav in it and I was amazed by the way it worked: very easy to use, very clear voice, 3D if you want it, good descreption of the road to follow
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I thought it was strange as well - but they are damn $$ and really should included in the Allure package!

On a side note - how do people find the MFD? Is it helpful or gimmicky? One thing I found bout the Focus MFD was that I loved the colour LCD which showed the functions (i.e. lights on, etc) but the info wasnt really that helpful.

There's not alot of info around on the 308 MFD so I;m guessing it's oil temp; oil level; coolant temp; trip etc - does it have tyre pressures?
 
PaulM said:
There's not alot of info around on the 308 MFD so I;m guessing it's oil temp; oil level; coolant temp; trip etc - does it have tyre pressures?
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The MFD on mine (2010 308 Touring) only shows fuel consumption, distance to empty, distance to destination etc..
 
TroyO said:
Are you talking about the MFD in the middle of dash or the display on the instrumental panel?
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Hey Troy - both :) but yeah mainly the one in the instrument panel.

So I'm guessing the dash one has:
- time
- date
- outside temp?
- trip meter
- l/km?
 
Yeah, the one on the middle of the dash has those functions, plus it's also for the display radio/cd/usb, bluetooth and also changing a lot of the in car settings.
 
PaulM said:
Hey everyone :) newbie here.

Have been seriously considering a 308 Diesel instead of a Golf GTD due to the amazing price atm and the special offers. I also love the look - it stands out as unique rather than like every other car.

I'd be really appreciative if anyone who owns a 11 or 12 308 to give me some feedback.

How's it handle?
Fuel economy?
Gearbox (looking at auto)?
What's the torque/power range? I read somewhere that it's avail from 1800 revs (insane) but is that really the case?
How's it handle bumps etc?
Are there any annoying traits?
Is the sunroof a gimmick or does it really work?
What about the MFD - does it give meaningful info?
Leather or cloth?
Headlights - do they do the job? I used to have bi-xennons & they are awesome.
I live in Darwin - air cond that has guts and is cold is a must. How's the 308 cope?

Also - has anyone chipped theirs? I saw Superchips boast a possible 154Kw & 445nm out of their chip. That's a stunning result (120kw/340nm standard).

Thanks :):D
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Hi Paul, et al,

I have a petrol Sportium wagon, but I am a recent defector from Citroen :)

If the auto is the same as was in my HDi C5, then it is not particularly good - mine was incredibly sluggish when trying to accelerate after (for example) slowing for a roundabout; changes were reasonably smooth, but poor compared to my wife's Hyundai i30.

I am delighted with my petrol 1.6, but miss the thick torque of the diesel - and it there is more of it in the newer diesel than my C5 had.

Ride is a little jiggly, but some bumps are absorbed superbly - coming from the soft C5 though, I am not such a good judge. Handling seems great - but remember the diesel has around 100kg more in its nose than the petrol. I'd never describe it as "floaty".

Annoyances? The exterior mirrors are a little low and need the passenger-side to dip - I miss that badly. The cupholders should not be trusted, the glovebox is a joke; the wipers sweep too slowly for truly heavy rain, although the wet-weather roadholding is sensational. I miss the front parking sensors and auto-dipping interior mirror too.

Love the glass roof.

The MFD gives adequate information I suppose - certainly I've never found the info wanting.

I've had a succession of leather-upholstered cars and am so glad to get back to cloth.

The headlights are abyssmal - if you can get bi-xenons do so. So too, the air-con is woefully inadequate and the fan is noisy. My C5 blower was near inaudible even on Black Saturday when outside temp indicated 52 degrees, and I was cool inside the car. Low-thirties in the 308 sees the air-con struggle and the fan roar.

I don't believe in chipping a car - it just doesn't make sense to me. (And I expect someone will disagree vehemently.) Manufacturers do a lot of testing and research on their engines, particularly ensuring reliability is up to scratch for their production process. To suggest some third party can change the programming without some degree of detriment to some aspect of the engine's performance or behaviour or reliability is inane. If it was that easy, the manufacturer would have already done so - and reaped the rewards of far higher outputs than they currently were capable of.

Cheers,

Michael P
 
And another thing that's driving me nuts!

Hi all,

just while we're in a 308 thread with some knowledgeable people...

As I have said, I have a 308 Sportium with in-built bluetooth for my phone (works quite well). But when someone hangs up the little display gives two options - end call or "Activate Secret".

The dealer didn't know what this "Activate Secret" was, and it doesn't seem to do anything. There is no mention of it that I have found in the handbook. No Klingon-like cloaking that I know of, no request for special codes the next time I used it. Not even an ejector seat! :confused:

Anyone know what "Activate Secret" means?

Cheers,

Michael P
 
Metal Mick said:
Hi Paul, et al,

I have a petrol Sportium wagon, but I am a recent defector from Citroen :)

If the auto is the same as was in my HDi C5, then it is not particularly good - mine was incredibly sluggish when trying to accelerate after (for example) slowing for a roundabout; changes were reasonably smooth, but poor compared to my wife's Hyundai i30.

I am delighted with my petrol 1.6, but miss the thick torque of the diesel - and it there is more of it in the newer diesel than my C5 had.

Ride is a little jiggly, but some bumps are absorbed superbly - coming from the soft C5 though, I am not such a good judge. Handling seems great - but remember the diesel has around 100kg more in its nose than the petrol. I'd never describe it as "floaty".

Annoyances? The exterior mirrors are a little low and need the passenger-side to dip - I miss that badly. The cupholders should not be trusted, the glovebox is a joke; the wipers sweep too slowly for truly heavy rain, although the wet-weather roadholding is sensational. I miss the front parking sensors and auto-dipping interior mirror too.

Love the glass roof.

The MFD gives adequate information I suppose - certainly I've never found the info wanting.

I've had a succession of leather-upholstered cars and am so glad to get back to cloth.

The headlights are abyssmal - if you can get bi-xenons do so. So too, the air-con is woefully inadequate and the fan is noisy. My C5 blower was near inaudible even on Black Saturday when outside temp indicated 52 degrees, and I was cool inside the car. Low-thirties in the 308 sees the air-con struggle and the fan roar.

I don't believe in chipping a car - it just doesn't make sense to me. (And I expect someone will disagree vehemently.) Manufacturers do a lot of testing and research on their engines, particularly ensuring reliability is up to scratch for their production process. To suggest some third party can change the programming without some degree of detriment to some aspect of the engine's performance or behaviour or reliability is inane. If it was that easy, the manufacturer would have already done so - and reaped the rewards of far higher outputs than they currently were capable of.

Cheers,

Michael P
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Thanks Michael.

Few questions:

Is yours a MY2011 or 12 model? What package did you get? i.e. Active, Allure etc? My understanding is that the Sportium is an active package with a few tweaks.

Re: ride - I currently drive a 1981 Meteor so I think the ride wont be an issue :roflmao:

I got the allure package so from my reading I get the dipping mirrors and parking sensors. :D

Re: headlights - Bixenons arent an option? The allure comes with double hallogens - are they the same as yours?

Aircond is a worry - I'm hoping that they have fixed that with the MY11/12 updates :) - as I live in Darwin aircond is a necessity! I was reading elsewhere that the aircond can be fixed by using mychill gas as opposed to the standard factory gas used.
 
Hi Paul,

mine is a MY11 Sportium, which was an XSE plus 17" alloys (and a space-saver spare, dammit!), "sports" seats, nifty bluetooth integration and... nothing else, if I recall correctly. I guess the new "Active" replaces the old XSE.

I think the bi-xenons weren't an option when I bought it, and I guess the headlights are unchanged in terms of performance. Inadequate, in other words.

Yep, the climate control needs work. Not sure if it is a capacity thing or a software issue. I'd heard that the change of gas would work wonders too, somewhere, but I don't know if the dealers will do that, and if a third-party organization does it, I'm not sure how warranty stands. The 207 loaned me at the last service had better-functioning and quieter aircon, though.

That said, I still am very happy with my 308. It may be that my C5 spoilt me a little.

At the Melbourne Motor Show, I saw many competitors for the 308 and only a few tempted me - a Skoda's Octavia and Superb...and the Peugeot 508.

Cheers,

Michael P
 
Metal Mick said:
Hi Paul,

mine is a MY11 Sportium, which was an XSE plus 17" alloys (and a space-saver spare, dammit!), "sports" seats, nifty bluetooth integration and... nothing else, if I recall correctly. I guess the new "Active" replaces the old XSE.

I think the bi-xenons weren't an option when I bought it, and I guess the headlights are unchanged in terms of performance. Inadequate, in other words.

Yep, the climate control needs work. Not sure if it is a capacity thing or a software issue. I'd heard that the change of gas would work wonders too, somewhere, but I don't know if the dealers will do that, and if a third-party organization does it, I'm not sure how warranty stands. The 207 loaned me at the last service had better-functioning and quieter aircon, though.

That said, I still am very happy with my 308. It may be that my C5 spoilt me a little.

At the Melbourne Motor Show, I saw many competitors for the 308 and only a few tempted me - a Skoda's Octavia and Superb...and the Peugeot 508.

Cheers,

Michael P
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Cheers Michael - so you had the "whale mouth" version?

I'll be interested to see then what tweaks they did in the newer version. Will make sure I keep an eye out for the things you've mentioned specifically.

Tell me, does the MFD do tyre pressures? Hard finding any info out about exactly what info it does give.
 
Hi Paul,

mine does not do tyre pressures. And I guess "whale mouth" describes mine accurately! :D

I keep mentioning my C5 because many of the bits are probably common. My C5 did do tyre pressures, and if I ran the car at recommended tyre pressures, it would yell at me from time to time. The local dealer's solution? Over-inflate the tyres...

(If you want to do a search on the Citroen pages, you'll discover my tale of woe, but have a few stiff ones first. Horrific stuff!)

Cheers,

Michael P
 
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