Where each one leads
Buick Century
Ahead on none of the like-for-like measures.
Ford Focus
- On Canada's official test the most frugal 2018 Ford Focus uses 7.0 l/100 km, the 2005 Buick Century 11.1.
Too close to call: new York safety inspections failed, against cars of the same year.
Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare
At a glance
| Buick Century | Ford Focus | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 1981–2005 | 1999–2018 |
| New cars registered in Europe | — | 2,529,698 (2010–2022) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | — | 895,531 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | — | 159,279 |
| In traffic in Finland | — | 57,546 |
EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).
Reliability and problems
| Buick Century | Ford Focus | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | — | 68% |
| … against cars of the same age | — | −1% |
| New York safety inspections failed | 2.7% | 3.0% |
| … against cars of the same year | +40% | +36% |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | — | 3.2% |
| US owner complaints | 1,817 | 22,105 |
| Most complaints about | Engine and engine cooling | Power train |
| Model year with most complaints | 1999 (235) | 2012 (3,770) |
| US recall campaigns | 34 | 36 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 2,772 | 1,969 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | 44 | 60 |
Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).
Safety
| Buick Century | Ford Focus | |
|---|---|---|
| NHTSA overall rating | — | 5★ (2018) |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).
Fuel, emissions and price
| Buick Century | Ford Focus | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 11.1 l/100 km (2005) | 7.0 l/100 km (2018) |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol hybrid | — | 6.7 l/100 km |
| Real-world use in Europe, diesel | — | 5.5 l/100 km |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol | — | 7.6 l/100 km |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | — | 124 g/km |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | — | 96 kW (129 hp) |
| Average mass in running order | — | 1,414 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | — | €27,290 |
| Average odometer in Finland | — | 192,000 km |
Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).