Ford Focus 2015 News

Is this image an early look at the 2015 Ford Focus expected to debut at Geneva motor show in March? If so, it means we could also see the popular small car appear with a plug-in hybrid option, according to Auto Express in the UK.Their image, if genuine, shows a revamp for the Focus -- which Ford announced as the global best-selling car for 2012 (although Toyota countered that its Corolla topped sales if you take all its different names into account).The changes show the expected adoption of more recent cues, with a wider single-section grille rather than the thin horizontal one with a triptych of intakes below on the current Focus.That would bring the face more into line with the Fiesta that arrived here in September last year, and the updated Kuga and Mondeo that are on sale overseas. The image also shows a more rounded bonnet and new front lip spoiler, while the interior is said to be getting a less cluttered dashboard.Auto Express cites an un-named source inside Ford as saying the carmaker wants to give the Focus a more aggressive appearance, and will also dial up the dynamics with improvements to the suspension and steering.Engines are said to carry over from the current line-up, which in Australia means the continuation of the 92kW/159Nm 1.6-litre petrol four cylinder and a 125kW/202Nm 2.0-litre four, both mated to either a five-speed manual or six-speed dual-clutch auto, the 120kW/340Nm 2.0-litre turbodiesel with the DSG transmission, and the range-topping Focus ST's 184kW/340Nm turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol four and slick six-speed manual.However a plug-in version is also tipped, using a system borrowed from the C-Max Energi (not sold here) with a 2.0-litre petrol engine and electric motor producing a combined 143kW of power and a 32km range under electric-only drive. Ford is yet to confirm that the image and details are accurate, so it may be a waiting game until closer to Geneva show before we know more.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott

Longboards are fast downhill. So is the Ford Focus ST, so it's no surprise Ford lent a car for this promo video, having it chase a team of four longboarders down a mountain road. Sweep cars don't usually get to have much fun -- they're there to carry spare parts and pick up any people that run out of puff (or road). But with the Focus ST's agility, we're pretty sure the driver had as much fun as the longboarders, judging by the big grins on all at the end of the epic run -- shot by action video specialist Devin Graham. Watch the desktop version of the Ford Focus ST vs longboarders video here.  Also watch: Graham's incredible paintball battle video with the Nitro Circus stunt tea.   

The 59-year-old, one of the last senior executives from the tumultuous Jacques Nasser era, started as Ford's vice president of design in 1997 after working with BMW, Audi and Volkswagen.

It gets a frontal update soon to reflect the styling of the all-new Mondeo.The Cabriolet is expected to follow in 2015, provided the economy picks up in Europe, with a full foldaway top and a sharper look than the previous Focus CC. 

Ford has revealed new performance-boosting tuning packages for European versions of the Focus ST and Fiesta ST hot hatches, courtesy of its semi-official tuning partner Mountune. The kits boost Focus ST’s outputs from 184kW/340Nm to 205kW/400Nm, and the Fiesta from 134kW/240Nm to 160kW/320Nm, while maintaining their full European manufacturer warranty. The upgrade drops the Focus ST’s 0-100km/h acceleration by over half a second to below 6.0, and 50-100km/h happens 0.8 seconds quicker in 4.9. The Fiesta ST makes similar performance gains, reducing its 0-100km/h figure by half a second to 6.4, and its 50-100km/h figure by 0.7 seconds to 5.7. Mountune has an established history with the Focus and Fiesta models, having fettled previous-generation high performance versions of each nameplate.  Ford Australia spokesman Neil McDonald confirmed the possibility of Mountune packages for local versions of the Focus ST and Fiesta ST in future.  “It’s something we’re looking at locally but at this stage it’s too early to put any timings on when it will be available. However, it’s clearly a great opportunity to provide something extra for some of our Ford performance hatch customers.” Mr McDonald would not be drawn on how Mountune-badged models would sit with the existing FPV performance branding, insisting that the Mountune packages would need to be assessed for local warranty and ADR compliance first. In Europe, the kits take between 60 and 90 minutes to fit to the ST models, and the Focus ST kit includes a larger intercooler, upgraded air filter, cast-alloy inlet duct, and a remapped ECU, and costs the equivalent of AU$2025. The Fiesta ST kit is simpler, comprising just an aluminium high-flow airbox with cold-air intake, air filter upgrade and an ECU remap. Fittingly, it’s cheaper too, at the equivalent of AU$990. This reporter is on Twitter: @Mal_Flynn  

These cars are operating in one of the toughest of all market segments and buyers are being wooed from all directions. Ford has revised the specifications of the entry level model, the Focus Ambiente sedan by introducing the choice of a manual gearbox. The manual option was previously offered only on the hatchback. Ambiente is now on sale with a recommended driveaway price of just $19,990. An excellent price for a fully imported Euro styled car that sits a fair way up in the image stakes. Ford Australia is also offering driveaway pricing, at $27,490, on the Focus Sport and Focus Trend manual for $22,890. To further increase value, the Ford Sync system is now standard across the entire Focus range. Sync synchronises hands-free, voice-activated in-car connectivity, this consists of USB and Bluetooth connectivity including music streaming; access to contacts stored in a connected phone via voice commands. It also lets you access music from a connected USB or iPod device via voice commands, as well as by way of steering wheel controls. You can view music and call information on Ford Sync’s in-dash display. The multifunction trip computer used by the Sync system also give economy-minded drivers information by way of the Ford EcoMode system. Passive safety features on the Focus include ABS brakes with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist; Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) and Torque Vectoring Control and Hill Launch Assist. Secondary safety is provided by driver and passenger front and side thorax airbags, and side curtain airbags that aid front and rear passengers. Focus Ambiente is powered by a Duratec 1.6-litre petrol engine with 92 kW of power and 159 Nm of torque. Performance is good without being exactly exciting and our tests show it can get fuel consumption in the six to seven litres per hundred kilometres range on the open road, and seldom used more than nine litres around town even in heavy traffic. Further assisting the low price of buying a Ford Focus is the MyFord capped price service plan where Ford will publish the maximum price you will pay for its standard services at a participating authorised Ford dealer. As an example, the maximum amount the owner of a new Focus 1.6-litre petrol would pay at a participating dealer for the first 15,000 km service is just $320. The new prices of the Ford Focus range, with the previous prices in brackets: Ambiente 1.6-litre manual five-door hatch: $20,290 ($21,990) Ambiente 1.6-litre automatic five-door hatch: $22,590 ($24,290) Trend 2.0-litre manual five-door hatch: $22,290 ($24,490) Trend 2.0-litre automatic five-door hatch: $24,950 ($26,790) Trend 2.0-litre turbo-diesel five-door hatch: $28,090 ($30,500) Sport 2.0-litre manual five-door hatch: $25,890 ($27,890) Sport 2.0-litre automatic five-door hatch: $28,190 ($30,190) Sport 2.0-litre turbo-diesel five-door hatch: $31,690 ($33,690) Titanium 2.0-litre automatic five-door hatch: $32,990 ($33,840) Titanium 2.0-litre turbo-diesel five-door hatch: $36,490 ($37,340) Ambiente 1.6-litre manual four-door sedan: $20,290 (n/a) Ambiente 1.6-litre automatic four-door sedan: $22,590 ($24,290) Trend 2.0-litre automatic four-door sedan: $24,950 ($26,790) Trend 2.0-litre turbo-diesel four-door sedan: $28,090 ($30,500) Titanium 2.0-litre automatic four-door sedan: $32,990 ($33,840)  

It was smiles all round at Central Coast Ford when homegrown singing sensation Karise Eden dropped by the West Gosford dealership. The winner of The Voice met staff at the popular car dealership last Friday when she stopped by to pick up the Ford Focus Titanium she won on the Channel 9 show earlier this year.  For general manager Tony Kutlucan, handing over the keys of the popular 2012 vehicle, which was imported from Germany, to the coast's favourite daughter was a proud moment. “My family and I watched The Voice and we were cheering for Karise to win because she was just such an amazing woman and representative for the Central Coast,” he said. “So when she won the show earlier this year we contacted Ford immediately and asked if we could be the ones to hand over the keys to her new car to her.” Despite being one of the biggest artists in the country, Eden hasn't forgotten where she came from and continues to live on the Central Coast. “It was really nice to know that when she heard we asked to be the ones to give her the car she said she was more than happy to come along and support a fellow coastie, which was a bit of a buzz for staff at Central Coast Ford,” Mr Kutlucan said.

So anyone shopping for a Volkswagen Golf GTi has again got a reason to include a feisty Ford on their list of potential rivals. It's not a white-hot Focus RS, which was a sellout success last year despite a $59,990 pricetag, but a new ST turbo that takes the place of the retired-from-duty XR5 that did well during its run down under. Don't let the new name confuse you, for the ST is almost a straight update for the XR5 - with a $38,290 pricetag and a 184 kiloWatt EcoBoost 2.0-litre engine - and a new headline body colour called Tangerine Scream. There are sure to be other ST models, and Ford has already shown a Fiesta tease wearing the Sport Technologies tag as it migrates the name around the world of blue oval vehicles. It says the Focus ST is the first "global performance cars" and plans to sell the Focus ST in more than 40 countries. Ford is trumpeting everything from more power and a six-speed manual gearbox to equipment that runs to sports steering, multi-layer ESP stability control, bi-xenon headlamps and predictable body upgrades. There is also fuel economy of 7.4 litres/100km and CO2 emissions of 172 grams/kilometre, plus a capped-price service plan. Just like the Toyota 86, Ford has added a 'sound symposer' that pipes induction noise from the engine into the cabin. "The price is up a little bit, but there is a lot more equipment. The price puts the car right into Golf GTi territory, and also the Mazda3 MPS," says Neil McDonald of Ford Australia. "This is the replacement for the XR5. The name change is a global one and we're aligning with those vehicles." Ford has cleverly timed the local announcement of the Focus ST for the same day when Opel is revealing its launch program for Australia, including its own warmed-over hatch. It's the Astra GTC, available with both 1.4 and 1.6-litre turbocharged engines from $28,990. But Opel, which is setting up for the first time as an independent brand and not just supplying cars to Holden, believes there will be no comparison with the new Ford. "It's a different buyer and a different car," the product marketing manager at Opel Australia, Min-Sean Chew, tells Carsguide. "Our car is a stylish coupe with brilliant dynamics. Theirs is just a hatch." The Focus ST continues down a road pioneered by the XR5 in April, 2006 when the fast rod arrived with a $35,990 bottom line. It went away towards the end of last year as Ford switched its focus on Focus to the value models and supply from Thailand. McDonald is hinting, but not confirming, more hot hatch action for both the Focus and Fiesta. "I would imagine there will be more on ST," he says. "There has been speculation about the Focus RS but we haven't announced anything." The first Focus ST deliveries will be in October. And, while there is no Fiesta ST yet, Ford Australia is just about to begin sales of a limited-edition Fiesta Metal, with a tuned 1.6-litre Duratec engine that delivers 98 kiloWatts. It also has 17-inch alloys, sports suspension and special black paint with a price of $22,990 for the 250 cars in the run.  

While price and spec will be different here, the keenly anticipated performance hatchback, has gone on sale in the UK priced from $21,995 (A$35,000) on the road. Powered by an advanced, direct-injection 2.0-litre, all-alloy, turbocharged, four-cylinder EcoBoost engine, the powerful ST is capable of returning 7.15 litres/100km and as little as 169g/km of CO2.  Highly developed suspension, non-linear variable-ratio steering and performance brakes have all been specifically tuned, while the striking central exhaust, imposing trapezoidal front grille and even the Tangerine Scream paint option which were inspired by the original Ford Focus ST Concept, have been brought to production. Focus ST will be available in both hatchback and estate bodystyles (in the UK). It will have a high level of comfort, safety and convenience features standard. UK spec' includes Ford Power keyless start, Recaro seats, DAB radio, Bluetooth and 18in alloy wheels, with the range-topping ST3 model adding heated, leather seats, bi-xenon headlights, LED daytime running lights and keyless entry. Additional sports styling options include rado-grey alloys wheels, red brake calipers and illuminated scuff plates. The new Focus ST was developed jointly by Ford's Team RS in Europe and its Special Vehicles Team (SVT) in the United States. The car goes on sale in 40 countries, from this year.  

... to take on the most competitive segment in this country. It's up against a classy field including Mazda3, Corolla, Lancer and locally-built Holden Cruze as well as VW Golf. But new Focus has plenty to recommend it ushering in a dynamic new look with real cut-through on the street and a classy new interior featuring Ford's acclaimed kinetic design language. Two distinctive bodystyles are available, sedan and hatch, each with its own appeal. Drivers will no doubt appreciate the cockpit-style driving environment yet the cabin has lost none of the comfort and practicality that has become a characteristic of Focus. Within the two bodystyles there are  three powertrains and four specification levels. The car has an impressive array of smart technologies, outstanding occupant safety and further advances in levels of driving quality. The strength of new Focus's body is down to extensive use of high-strength steels. Fifty-five per cent of the body shell is made of high-strength steels, of which 31 per cent is ultra-tough boron steel, more than any other Ford built to date. Meanwhile, high-strength steel is used in the integrated door opening reinforcement rings and door load paths to provide excellent protection from side impacts. New Focus also features a patented front chassis subframe, which de-couples during severe frontal impacts, avoiding deformation in the passenger cell footwell area. Pedestrian protection has been boosted by the addition of a "soft" cowl design in the front body structure and Ford has also relocated the windscreen wiper system to help further reduce injury risks. Option packages such as the Convenience Pack bring new technology to Focus. The well-specified mid-level Trend model is $24,490 for the 2.0-litre GDi petrol engine with five-speed manual transmission. Focus Sport has a greater emphasis on driving enjoyment. Key features include sports suspension, 17-inch alloy wheels, sports front seats, dual zone climate control and a Sony audio system with 4.2-inch colour screen and multi-function display. Sport also scores the Convenience Pack as standard equipment. It is more comprehensively equipped than the outgoing Zetec model. Focus Titanium has even more goodies and sells from a starting price of $32,590 for 2.0-litre GDi engine and six-speed PowerShift transmission variants. Needless to say, Focus is a key element of the Ford product portfolio in Australia. Expect a "European" feel to the car's dynamics and impressive fuel economy from the diesel model. The double clutch Powershift manumatic would be difficult to overlook for everyday and sporty driving as it offers the best of both worlds and an extra gear over the manual which is five speed only. What happened to the six-speed manual? NEED TO KNOW Four variants; Ambiente, Trend, Sport and Titanium. Engines: 1.6-litre four cylinder or new 2.0-litre GDi (Gasoline Direct Injection) and a 2.0-litre Duratorq TDCi turbodiesel. Dual clutch six-speed Powershift manumatic is available, manual `box is a five- speed. First appearance in Focus of rain sensing wipers, auto headlights and auto dim rear view mirror, follow me home lights. Available in five door hatch and four door sedan. Five star crash rating. Prices start at $21,990.