Ford Focus News

First glimpse of Ford's new-look Focus ST hot hatch reveals a nose job.The exotic line-up at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, where $2 million collector cars are commonplace and the La Ferrari fades into the background, included one surprisingly humble star.It was the new Ford Focus ST, making its global debut. Australian sales will start next year and the hot hatch has a big new performance role in the US.There is no confirmation from Ford Australia on the exact timing for local deliveries but it is likely to be in the first half of next year.The ST is much as expected and follows the new-look common to Ford's small cars. The more distinctive nose - some people say it was inspired by Aston Martin - also will feature on the new Mustang.The Mustang was also making its European debut at the Festival and the big difference from the static reveal of the two cars was their showing on hill climb runs during the four days of what has become Britain's annual motoring show.The new ST's basics are much as before, with a turbocharged four-cylinder engine and sports suspension and brakes. The variant will continue to be built in Europe for Australia despite the change to Thai factories for lesser models in the line-up.There is also an ST diesel for the first time with 136kW which is unlikely to make it here.The updated petrol engine, with variable valve timing on inlet and exhaust, makes 183kW. The ST covers the 0-100km/h sprint in 6.5 seconds but uses a claimed 6.8L/100km.Ford says its Team RS group concentrated on suspension work for the new car, new front springs and tauter tail shock absorbers. The electric power steering and stability control settings have been revised for the ST requirements, with sharper steering response and improved torque vectoring for the front-driver.There are also a new 19-inch Michelin tyre, a predictable rear wing and twin exhausts. The biggest benefit for owners is likely to be in the cabin, where the smoother new dash design for the Focus update - with a far fewer buttons - is delivered with an ST twist, including Recaro sports buckets and leather-wrapped wheel.Ford says the car will come with collision avoidance, lane keeping assistance and adaptive bi-xenon headlamps.

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.

As the Australian car manufacturing industry grinds to a halt, Ford has given a ray of hope to the struggling parts supply industry and university graduates who want to get into the car business.Ford has assisted nine key suppliers win lucrative contracts with foreign-made Ford cars, and will next week host a supplier fair in Geelong that will be attended by senior executives from Ford's global purchasing and product development divisions.Although Ford announced last month that 300 blue collar jobs would be cut early from its Geelong and Broadmeadows plants, the company has managed to move 20 factory workers across to its engineering division -- which with a headcount of 1100 staff will become the industry's biggest group of design and engineering employees in Australia by 2017.Ford will also hire 20 sales and marketing executives this year followed by a planned intake of up to 20 university graduates for supporting roles next year. One of the parts suppliers that has won an overseas Ford contract, MHG Asia-Pacific, with factories in Geelong and Melbourne, makes glass as well as interior and exterior plastics for cars.Later this year it will begin shipping those parts to Thailand for a top-secret Ford passenger car that is yet to be announced. It is the first time since MHG opened its doors in 1970 that it has exported parts to the Ford factory in Thailand.Ford currently imports the Fiesta and Focus small cars and the Ranger pick-up from Thailand, but other models are due to be built there, including an Australian-designed and engineered seven-seater SUV based on the Ranger.MHG cannot say how many parts it will ship to Thailand and what the contract is worth because of confidentiality agreements with Ford.However, MHG is understood to have not necessarily been the cheapest supplier pitching for the business."It's a very competitive, global bidding process but we won out in the end," said MHG chairman and founder, Steve Haritos. "You've got to provide a product and a service that's better than those in other parts of Asia."Mr Haritos said he is fighting to keep his company alive -- and protect the jobs of his 180 workers at two sites, in Geelong and Melbourne -- once Toyota, Holden and Ford shut their factories by the end of 2017.MHG currently supplies parts to all three car local makers. "There's a challenge ahead (but) our aim is to save as many jobs as possible, hopefully we won't lose one job," said Mr Haritos. "We can only give it our best shot."Meanwhile Ford said its plans to introduce updated versions of the locally-made Falcon sedan and Territory SUV are well on track, even though 80 per cent of the cars sold so far this year were imported.Despite continuing their sales slide, the new versions of the Falcon and Territory will be introduced in the second half of the year, the company says.This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling 

The bewildering battery of buttons in the Ford Focus has finally been banished. A clean new cabin with far less confusion is on the way as part of a major overhaul for the car that Ford now claims as the world’s bestseller.It’s 12 months away but the Focus overhaul is a major move that brings a sophisticated new look - with an Aston edge to the nose - and is also expected to include a 1.5-litre EcoBoost economy car for Australia.This week’s preview is in advance of the Geneva motor show and sales in Europe later this year. The timing for production in Thailand, one of eight Ford factories that builds the Focus, is not set. “All we’re confirming is 2015,” says Ford Australia spokesman Neil McDonald.“We get our cars from Ford Thailand Manufacturing, so there is a customary delay while they ramp up production for our region.” The new look for the Focus follows a similar styling drive for the Fiesta and Mondeo, although only the former is available in Australia.“Mondeo is probably arriving really late this year, with the official launch at the start of next year,” says McDonald. “The Fiesta has already been launched with the global front, and Mondeo is next cab off the rank.” The button blitz in the cabin follows widespread complaints about the confusing layout of the dashboard but there are other major changes to the Fiesta.Ford claims fuel economy improvements of 17-19 per cent for its petrol and diesel engines. A new 1.5-litre EcoBoost powerplant will join the existing 1.0-litre motor in Europe. The car is also available with SYNC2 infotainment, perpendicular parking assistance and an improved city-stop safety package.Mechanically, Ford says the Focus will return to the top of the driver rankings in the compact class with a stiffer front end, revised suspension and dampers and new electronic stability control.Ford is not discussing specifications for Australia, although McDonald confirms the Focus wagon, very popular in Europe, is not coming. The Blue Oval brand says the restyling of body and the cabin changes are likely to get the biggest tick from buyers - and the Carsguide test team.European design boss Martin Smith says: “When redesigning the interior of the new Focus, Ford listened to consumer feedback and responded with a more intuitive layout, complemented by a steering wheel and central stack with fewer controls and switches.”  The new Ford Focus has undergone a major overhaulThis reporter is on Twitter: @PaulWardGover

Ford has revealed the first official images and details of its mid-cycle refresh of the third-generation Focus small car, ahead of its public unveiling in Geneva next month. The new model brings styling upgrades both inside and out, bringing the Blue Oval’s top-selling nameplate in line with the refreshed Fiesta and the upcoming Mondeo.Differing from the rendering that appeared online in January, the official images show a new headlight design, bonnet and front bumper, plus reshaped taillights and a smoothened hatch treatment over the existing model on sale locally since 2011. Only the hatch and wagon (available overseas) have been shown for now, but the sedan is likely to score the same treatment front and rear.Those who criticised the current model’s array of interior controls and switches will be impressed that Ford has greatly reduced the button count on the new model, with a significantly larger 8-inch multimedia screen taking their place in the centre stack.The new Focus will also be the first European model to use the second-generation of Ford’s Sync connectivity system. Sync 2 promises improved voice command interactivity, plus split-screen satnav with more detailed mapping options. Also within the cabin is a redesigned steering wheel, centre console, revised trim materials, and the adoption of the MyKey parental control system.Among a host of other technological refinements, the new Focus also becomes the first Ford to extend the current Active Park Assist system’s automated parallel parking system to include perpendicular parking, with the new model able to reverse into standard parking spaces alongside other vehicles.Rear cross-traffic alert will also make its Focus debut, along with a new Park-Out Assist function to help with exiting parallel parks.  The Active City Stop collision avoidance system can now activate at speeds up to 50km/h (up from 30km/h).Ford will also add its new 1.5-litre EcoBoost petrol and TDCi turbodiesels to the Focus lineup, with the petrol available in either 110kW or the 134kW guise already used by the Fiesta ST. The diesel will be available in 70kW and 88kW tunes and Ford is claiming efficiency gains of up to 19 per cent over the existing petrol and diesel options.In Australia, the 110kW petrol will likely replace the existing 92kW 1.6-litre naturally aspirated engine, and the 134kW would be a logical successor for the 125kW 2.0-litre. Models equipped with the Powershift dual-clutch auto will be available with steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters for the first time, replacing the current shifter-mounted manual control buttons.Under the skin, the front structure has been stiffened and geometry and steering retuned for improved dynamics, and general refinement has been boosted with thicker noise insulation and side window glass.AustraliaSpeaking with Carsguide today, Ford Australia spokesman Neil McDonald confirmed that the new Focus will not arrive locally until 2015, despite a European on-sale date soon after mid-year. Local drivetrains and specifications are also yet to be confirmed, but there are still no plans to import the wagon bodystyle to match its Golf, i30, Cruze and 308 rivals.This reporter is on Twitter: @Mal_Flynn  

Ford’s Fiesta ST is already arguably the king of the light hot hatch set, but a new report out of the UK suggests that an even hotter RS version is under development. AutoExpress suggests that a RS-badged Fiesta could be followed by the much-anticipated third-generation Focus RS, if a business case can be made for the models. Ford has been toying with the idea of a Fiesta RS since at least 2004, with a pumped-up concept based on the previous generation model shown at the Geneva motor show that year. Stranding in the way of the number crunchers though is the current economic woes of the Ford hatches’ European-market heartland, and the plans are reportedly far from being locked in. If a green light is given, tradition suggests we’ll see the new RS models towards the end of the Fiesta and Focus model life cycles, which could result in a Fiesta RS arriving at least 12 months ahead of as Focus RS – and as soon as 2015. The likely power source for a Fiesta RS would be an uprated version of the ST’s 134kW/240Nm 1.6-litre turbo, producing in the order of 172kW to trump the existing 160kW/320Nm Mountune-enhanced version available overseas.  A tricky diff is possible to help put such power to the ground, along with widened tracks, monster brakes, and pumped wheelarches and other agressive body enhancements to help link it with the RS-liveried Fiesta WRC racer. Development mules have already been sighted of a Focus with the same treatment, with the likely motive source a version of the 2015 Mustang’s circa-227kW 2.3 litre EcoBoost engine. This reporter is on Twitter: @Mal_Flynn  

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