Ford Focus 2014 News

Ford Australia has confirmed it is contacting almost 43,000 Focus owners to warn of a vehicle defect that could cause a fire.

The Australia Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has commenced legal proceedings against Ford Motor Company of Australia.

An automatic transmission designed to save fuel has increased complaints among Ford customers who claim it's not a smooth operator.

LW Ford Focus owners are being advised not to accelerate aggressively from take-off due to a potential driveshaft fault.

Want proof the Australian new-car market is getting tough? Several models have disappeared from showrooms because they can't handle the competition.

There are plenty of deals on wheels in the race to the end of the year.The two best-selling cars in Australia -- the Toyota Corolla and Mazda3 -- are in a neck-and-neck race to become Number One for the year.The Corolla leads the year-to-date tally and Toyota as a brand is trying to eclipse 200,000 sales for the 10th time -- as market leader for a record 12th year in a row.The reigning champion Corolla overtook the Mazda3 in the year-to-date tally in July by just 21 sales -- but the pair have swapped the monthly lead three times in the past four months.The Mazda3 landed the most recent punch, outselling the Corolla in November and closing the gap to top spot and now either brand could win for the year. In decades of Ford versus Holden rivalry the finish was never this close.Even if these two cars are not on your shopping list this is still good news because their discounting has dragged other brands into the battle, giving buyers more bargaining power than usual.December and January customarily make for sharp buying because dealers are trying to clear 2014-built stock.But the tight battle at the top of the charts has increased the pressure in the biggest segment of the market. Here are the best deals we found this week, in order of each car’s popularity on the 2014 sales charts.Toyota CorollaThe discounts are hard to find online but they’re available at the dealer if you go in with a reasonable target price rather than a made-up one.Toyota is trying to walk customers up to the Ascent Sport ($23,990 drive-away for manual and $25,990 drive-away for auto) but the best deal is still on the most affordable model.Aim for $21,990 drive-away for the Corolla Ascent hatch or $22,740 drive-away for the sedan. Both come with seven airbags but the sedan gets a standard rear-view camera and parking sensors.Mazda3Mazda is being discreet with its discounting and dealers will try to upsell you to the dearer models. Once again, the cheapest models are the best buying. The website says "free on-roads", which effectively means you can take the RRP and turn that into a drive-away price. Aim for $19,990 drive-away for a manual and $21,990 drive-away for an automatic.Hyundai i30The Hyundai i30 hatch comes with a $1000 EFTPOS card, but you can turn that into a $1000 discount. Aim for $19,990 drive-away for a manual or $22,540 drive-away for an auto -- if you don’t take the spending card. There’s also a finance offer: no deposit or repayments until 2016, but be sure to check the interest rate.Holden CruzeThe Australian-made Holden Cruze is struggling, sales are down, and it is on track to go out of production at least one year before the Commodore (when Holden will import the new generation Cruze). Which is why Holden has an epic deal: $19,990 drive-away with automatic transmission plus a five-year warranty. The only catch: metallic paint is $550, the dearest of the mainstream brands.Vokswagen GolfThe German brand wants to overtake Toyota for global sales leadership by 2018 and is dropping Golf prices the world over. At $22,990 drive-away for the manual and $24,990 drive-away for the automatic it is about $4000 off the full RRP. But the best buying is the Jetta sedan (an updated model is due early next year). The price is an unbelievable $19,990 drive-away for a manual and $22,990 drive-away for an auto, about $7000 off the full RRP.Ford FocusThe Ford Focus Ambiente sedan and hatch have been trimmed to a super-sharp $18,490 drive-away for a manual or just $19,990 drive-away for an auto -- once you take up the $1000 discount or “cash back” offer funded by Ford.Nissan PulsarThe Nissan Pulsar is the sharpest buying in the small car class: $18,476 drive-away for a manual or just $19,476 drive-away for an automatic if you ask politely. There is just one catch: Nissan wasn’t very good at clearing stock this time last year, so these deals are on 2013-built cars.Even though they’ve been sitting around for at least a year, the dealer will prep them so they’re as good as new and the three three-year warranty starts the day you take delivery. But it’ll be marked down slightly at resale time because you’re trading in a 2013 model, not a 2014.Mitsubishi LancerGiven that the Lancer is one of the oldest cars in the class (it has been with us in this guise for seven years) its discounting could be a little sharper than this: $18,990 drive-away for a manual and $21,490 drive-away for an auto -- once a $1000 cash back is taken into account.Hyundai ElantraRecently given a freshen up the Elantra can be had for the same money as the Hyundai i30 hatch: aim for $19,990 drive-away for a manual or $22,540 drive-away for an auto if you don’t take the $1000 spending card. Not the sharpest deal around but not the worst.Kia CeratoLast but certainly not least, the Kia Cerato is among the sharpest deals out there, especially when you consider the market-leading seven year warranty: $19,990 drive-away for a manual or an automatic (yes, same price for both), about $4000 off.

Ford boosts standard equipment across the Focus range with no price change.

Updated Ford Focus ST unveiled at Goodwood ahead of Australian showroom arrival in early 2015. Ford has given its Focus ST hot hatch a new look and a load of new technology -- but no more power -- as a diesel performance model joins the line-up for the first time. The facelifted version of Ford's rival to the Volkswagen Golf GTI was unveiled at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK ahead of its arrival in Australian showrooms in early 2015. However, the diesel version of the Focus ST has not been confirmed for sale Down Under as it was primarily designed for Europe. The visual highlights on the new Ford Focus ST include sleeker headlights and tail-lights, new front and rear bumpers and optional 19-inch wheels. The 18-inch wheels are the same as those on the current model but have been painted in a dark grey "charcoal" finish. Ford may not have changed the power output of the Focus ST's 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine (184kW and 360Nm) or the straight-line performance (0 to 100km/h in 6.5 seconds) but it has changed the way the car drives by re-tuning the steering and the suspension -- and fitting new tyres to its hottest hatch.  The current model Ford Focus ST rides on a highly-regarded and super-grippy Goodyear tyre that also happens to protect the edge of the wheels as the sidewall sits proud of the rim. But for 2015, the Ford Focus ST will switch to Michelin Pilot Sport II tyres, the same used on Ferraris, Porsches -- and the Renault Megane RS275, the world's fastest hot hatch. Ford fine-tuned the stability control's torque vectoring system, which it says now delivers more grip and more control in corners. Ford also fitted new engine mounts to improve smoothness when accelerating on uneven surfaces. As with the current Ford Focus ST and Ford Fiesta ST, the updated model was engineered by Ford Team RS based in Cologne, Germany, a two hour drive from the famous Nurburgring race circuit. Inside, the Focus ST benefits from other upgrades that came with the facelift of the regular models, such as a redesigned centre dash panel with fewer buttons and a larger screen. The new Focus ST will also be easier to live with day to day thanks to the larger centre console storage and door pockets.  Ford has even revved up the USB port which now charges twice as fast as before. A new race-car-style "flat bottomed" steering wheel has been fitted to enhance driver feel and improve knee room. The Ford Focus ST gains "stop-start" technology (which cuts the engine when idle in traffic and automatically restarts it again when the clutch pedal is pressed) improving fuel economy from 7.4L/100km to 6.8L/100km. In Europe, the Ford Focus ST will be available with black leather seats, bi-xenon headlights, cross-traffic alert (which warns of oncoming cars when reversing out of parking bays) and automatic emergency braking up to 50km/h. It is not clear if any of these options will be available in Australia. Missing from the Focus ST update is the addition of an automatic or dual-clutch transmission which accounts for 80 per cent of sales of the arch rival Volkswagen Golf GTI. Ford sources say the Focus ST is unlikely to develop a twin-clutch gearbox for this generation car. Ford says it has sold 140,000 Focus ST (both this and the previous, non turbo generation) in more than 40 countries since it went on sale in 2002. Meanwhile, reports out of Europe and North America say Ford is putting finishing touches on the next generation Ford Focus RS after numerous disguised prototypes have been caught on camera. The Ford Focus RS is expected to be powered by a turbocharged 2.3-litre four-cylinder engine shared with the new Ford Mustang, but Ford is yet to substantiate the reports or even confirm if there will indeed be a new generation Focus RS. If a new Focus RS goes on sale it's unlikely to arrive until late 2015 at the earliest. Ford Focus STPrice: $38,290 plus on-road costs (estimated)Engine: Turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinderPower: 184kW and 360NmTransmission: Six-speed manualEconomy: 6.8L/100km0 to 100km/h: 6.5 secondsOn sale: Early 2015

Ford says their capped price service offer, MyFord, has been successful in bringing thousands of owners back to the brand -- 13,000 in 2013 alone. So they're taking the offer further, raising it to seven years and 135,000km from the six years/105,000km that rolled out in 2011.The revised program -- available on vehicles built from 2007 -- has been extended to cover brake pad replacements and rotor machining across the range except the sporty FPV, ST and XR5 variants and the light commercial Transit van. All eligible models will have front pads capped at $259 and rear ones at $219, except the rear-wheel drive Falcon and Territory rear pads, which will be capped at $259. Machining is capped at $88.Ford has also announced a year's free membership and roadside assistance with state motoring organisations -- NRMA, RACV, RACT, RACQ, AANT, RAA and RAC -- at participating dealers with the sale of any new car, except FPV and Transit.“The addition of the Auto Club Program is another customer-focused offering that Ford owners will enjoy,” Ford Australia general manager, customer service division, Stephen Kruk, says. “Customers expect this level of certainty from their dealers and we’re happy to say that since it was introduced in July 2011, the program has been very well received by our customers.”Owners can check the maximum price for a service, and all terms and conditions at www.ford.com.au/myfordcps.  MyFord Capped Price Servicing is available on the following vehicles.Ford Fiesta – WQ, WS, WTFord Focus – LS, LT, LV, LVIIFord Mondeo – MA, MB, MCFord Falcon – BF, BF FPV, BF MkII, BF MkII FPV, BF MkIII, FG, FG FPV, FG MkII, FG MkII FPVFord Escape – ZD, ZCFord Econovan - JHFord EcoSport - BKFord Kuga - TE, TFFord Territory – SY, SY F6X, SY MkII, SZFord Ranger – PJ, PK, PXFord Transit – VM, VNThis reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

You are, of course, welcome. What is it you say? Kia ora? On the other hand New Zealand’s much vaunted practice of mass importing used cars - so-called grey imports - is a custom best kept east of the Tasman.In view of the response to last week’s column, this is an issue worth clarifying. When New Zealanders had the most wretched fleet of vehicles outside the third world, getting about in Anglias and Zephyrs, grey imports were a means of making motoring affordable.New Zealand’s automotive conditions are not ours. Here, where according to Roy Morgan the average worker earns 26.3 per cent more than the equivalent Kiwi, new car ownership has never been more affordable.Our government imposes tariffs and luxury vehicle tax, yet cars - even prestige cars - sell at a record rate. In the most popular segment, you can get a Hyundai i30, Mazda3 or Ford Focus for less than $21,000 with full factory warranty, capped-price servicing and legal recourse in the event of failure.You have some surety of retained value. Most incoming cars are tyred and tuned for local conditions. What would you get with a grey import of uncertain history flogged by a dealer who is not accountable to the brand whose wares fill his forecourt? Next to none of the above.Many missives I’ve received boast of New Zealand’s six-monthly certificate of road worthiness. None grasp its necessity. D’you reckon it might have something to do with the NZ vehicle fleet being the oldest of any Westernised country? Here there are more than 60 brands to keep competition acute and standards of quality and equipment high.Market pressure does not exist on this scale or concentration elsewhere. New Zealand needed used imports for the very reasons Australia does not. Yet the Productivity Commission blithely advocates a practice that will diminish the quality of cars on the road, erode security of ownership and destroy Australian-owned businesses.At issue is not importers of specialist vehicles who do niche numbers for enthusiasts. It’s countless grey Corollas. Even the basic specification of factory-imported. Despite 54,000 New Zealanders leaving for Australia in 2012 alone, economists tell us the joint’s experiencing an upturn. Great.A country whose fairest city is destroyed by natural disaster deserves all good fortune. I don’t occupy an economist’s lofty perch. If I did, I wouldn’t be blind to a post grey import Australia in which tens of thousands of substandard cars blight the streets - nor to unemployment figures swelled by tens of thousands “liberated” from jobs in car retail.New Zealand, by all means send us your best and brightest. And Russell Crowe if you must. But hold your counsel on this issue. As anyone using their grey matter can see, the scenario for used imports is all black for Australia.