Bangkok--Sep 23--Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide
Ford of Europe will introduce the all-new Ford Focus to the world’s media and the French public at the 2004 Mondial de l’Automobile in Paris on 23 September.
Ford's theme for the show, appropriately, is La Collection Focus.
La Collection Focus debuts the all-new model as an entire family of vehicles. New 3-door, 5-door and wagon versions of the dynamic and stylish new Focus family will be revealed alongside the Ford Focus C-MAX, which the comprehensive new Focus family clearly embraces.
“It is difficult to overstate the importance to Ford of the all-new Focus,” said Lewis Booth, Chairman and CEO of Ford of Europe. “This is true not just for Europe but also globally as the new Focus is central to Ford's plans in the rapidly growing Asian Pacific markets.
After six years and 4 million sales worldwide, the original Focus is still one of Europe’s top-selling cars, and a benchmark for quality of driving and ownership experience in its class. The next generation model aims to deliver more: maturing in terms of involving and engaging its driver, while providing improvements for all occupants in terms of quality, craftsmanship, packaging and refinement.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NEW FORD FOCUS RANGE
EXTERIOR DESIGN: A DISTINCTIVE PROFILE
The new model is unmistakably a Focus, retaining the original model’s spirit of individuality from the rest of its segment — with a fast, coupe-like profile for the 3-door and 5-door models and the sporty new wagon.
Slightly larger than its predecessor, the new Focus has a more muscular stance — highlighted by flared wheel arches that are more prominent and yet more integrated into the overall design. It appears to be hugging the road even when at a standstill, while the bold lines of Ford’s ‘family’ radiator grille, headlights and air dam — shared with Focus C-MAX — give the new Focus a purposeful personality.
Sitting lower than on any other Ford vehicle, the ‘family’ nose is steeply raked. From it the key lines of the body structures sweep up towards the rear — creating a hunched and athletic profile. From the low, wide styling of the nose, a power bulge arches back from the radiator grille to the A-pillars, set off with prominent ‘cheekbones’ that are shared by all Focus models.
Moving the front pillar forward 100mm in a steeper angle generates space and has a positive impact on crash protection, while from an external sculpting point of view it allowed the designers to give the new Focus family its unique silhouette.
Visually the most dramatic and obvious difference between Focus and its competitors is at the rear. Through ingenious packaging of the components beneath, Ford has innovated in creating a very fast profile at the rear, which allows the 3-door to look believable as a coup? as well as being a full-value 5-seater — a silhouette which is shared elegantly by the 5-door model.
INTERIOR CRAFTSMANSHIP: PREMIUM ENVIRONMENT
"Delivering a premium quality driving environment was of prime importance,” said Adrian Whittle, Ford Focus Chief Programme Engineer. “Inside the car this is borne out by the ‘cockpit’ driving position, the ‘flow-through’ instrument panel and console design and the use of carefully selected high quality materials. The goal was consistent: to give the driver an environment that communicated the Focus DNA. The Focus is still a real driver’s car!"
Rich, bright blue is a new interior environment feature on Sport and Titanium models. Combined with a medium light stone colour in the lower half of the interior, the blue tone gives the Focus interior a warm and airy feel. Black remains an option on all models.
The Focus interior and exterior colour teams worked closely together to ensure colour compatibility in the array of customer choices and series offerings, which now include five levels: Ambiente, Trend, Sport, Ghia and Titanium.
The new Focus instantly reflects its design team’s attention to the feel of the interior, both in terms of the look and feel of the materials used in the touch zones and the ambience created by the design, which very naturally forms the impression of each area being specifically fitted around the occupants. All interior materials in the new Focus range meet strict allergy-testing standards based upon T?V (Toxproof) criteria — as does Focus C-MAX.
ADVANCED FEATURES: AFFORDABLE, RELEVANT TECHNOLOGIES
Focus also introduces several new technologies to the Ford range that are developed with an emphasis on relevance and affordability for customers, including:
-KeyFree System — interacting directly with the car to unlock it without fumbling.
-Solar Reflect Windshield — blocking nearly five times the level of solar radiation as standard tinted glass, significantly improving the efficiency of air conditioning.
-Adaptive Front Lighting System — technology that guides headlight beams in line with the front wheels. Ford’s approach uses halogen rather than xenon lamps, making the option less expensive and thereby affordable for a broader range of customers.
-Blue Tooth(tm)Hands Free Phones — wireless technology that allows the connection of mobile telephones without compatibility issues.
-Voice Control — hands-free command of audio, telephone, climate control, in-car entertainment and navigation systems.
-In-Car Entertainment — optimised Ford systems are available throughout the range of series, with premium sound systems by Sony, featuring either a 6-disc in-dash changer or an MP3-capable single disc CD player with four 20-watt premium speakers that deliver a characteristic “Sony Sound”.
-Rear Seat Entertainment — MP3-enabled independent audio system available, with high-mounted screen for DVD or games consoles provided in the wagon.
DRIVING QUALITY: BUILDING ON SUCCESS
The new Focus has been engineered to build on the dynamic capabilities of the original — carrying on the tradition of providing an ultra-stiff body shell, enhanced Control Blade rear suspension and stiff, new front chassis subframe — while making strides in comfort and refinement, including reduced noise and enhanced sound quality in a spacious cabin environment.
A longer wheelbase (by 25mm) and wider track (by 40mm) than its predecessor give the new Focus a sure-footed stance and an improved interior package. Knee room and shoulder room are more generous, and, despite the ‘fast’ shape of the new Focus’s roofline and rear decklid, rear-seat headroom remains generous and luggage capacity has been expanded by 10 per cent over the previous model to 385 litres.
Focus engineers worked to lock out unwanted intrusions from wind noise and road rumble. The serenity of the driving environment is immediately clear, with 20 per cent thicker front door side glass, double door seals and lightweight foam insulation in the engine compartment and rear body cavities all working together to isolate unwanted environmental noise. Wind noise has been cut by 20 per cent on the road, making for class-leading performance, particularly in difficult wind conditions.
From the moment the engine is started, the absence of vibration in the seat, steering wheel and gear lever is tangible in both Duratec petrol and Duratorq TDCi diesel variants. The car settles quickly into its low speed purr through the advanced insulation and tuning of the exhaust, intake and engine mounts. On the move, the driver senses refinement, in which the engine sound is accompanied by much reduced road noise — even over rough or broken road surfaces — thanks to stiffer suspension attachments and rigorous development of the body and chassis systems.
Electric-hydraulic power-assisted steering (EHPAS), on all but 1.4-litre and 1.6-litre Duratec petrol engine-equipped models, makes low speed manoeuvres easier while preserving precision on the open road. Larger diameter brakes also provide more ‘feel’, enhanced emergency stopping power and longer brake pad life.
BODY STRUCTURE: PREMIUM CONSTRUCTION
Robustness and manufacturing quality, attributes for which the Focus C-MAX has already been recognised, flow through the sculpture and engineering of the entire Focus family. Enhanced safety and premium build quality feature as strongly in the new Focus range as the class-leading dynamic prowess customers have come to expect.
Technicians at Ford assembly plants in Saarlouis, Germany, and Valencia, Spain, who delivered 3 million European Ford Focuses with award-winning build quality, have refined their processes with lessons from the first Focus and the Focus C-MAX.
Laser sighting and laser welding, state-of-the-art robot construction, specialist techniques and the latest technology, such as X-ray checking of welds, help give the new Focus exemplary build quality: panel gaps have been reduced to 3.5mm throughout the vehicle, with tolerances cut by one third to just 1mm.
FOCUS SAFETY: NO COMPROMISE
Throughout the bodystyle range, the new Focus has a structure that was designed to protect its occupants within a lightweight and highly efficient survival cell. It is constructed from variable-gauge laser-welded panels of high strength steel. Both the occupant cell and surrounding envelope of energy absorbing crush zones have been rigorously tested in virtual and physical form, verified by the most powerful computers in the industry and tested in the state-of-the-art Volvo Safety Centre in Sweden.
Crash load paths through the body structure have been optimised for maximum energy absorption outside the passenger environment, both in straight frontal impacts against a rigid barrier and in offset crashes.
POWERTRAINS: A WEALTH OF CHOICE
The new Focus pioneers Ford’s new 115 PS, 1.6-litre Duratec Ti-VCT engine — with twin independent variable camshaft technology — as part of a comprehensive powertrain line-up.
Twin Independent Variable Camshaft Timing (Ti-VCT) improves airflow through the engine and delivers more torque while reducing average fuel consumption by up to 5 per cent. The new Duratec Ti-VCT augments the Focus family’s broad petrol engine range that also includes 16-valve engines in displacements of 1.4 litres (80 PS), 1.6 litres (100 PS) and 2.0 litres (145 PS).
Focus also offers advanced, Duratorq TDCi high-pressure common-rail diesel engines. The range features 1.6-litre (109 PS) and 2.0-litre (136 PS) Duratorq TDCi choices, which made their debut in the Focus C-MAX.
These lightweight, low-friction engines offer an optimal balance between strong torque at low engine speeds for smooth responsive driving fun and low fuel consumption — the 2.0-litre unit benefiting from Ford’s six-speed manual transmission. To meet and surpass emissions requirements both diesel engines will be available with a Diesel Particulate Filter.
Ford’s new Durashift CVT Continuously Variable Transmission is available on models powered by the 1.6-litre Duratorq TDCi engine. Developed by Ford with ZF Transmissions, the Durashift CVT can switch between fully automatic and seven-speed manual selection. It cuts fuel consumption by up to 8 per cent over traditional four- or five-speed automatics. Focus also offers Durashift 5- and 6-speed manual transmissions and the Durashift 4-speed automatic.
Note to Editors: For further information and technical details of the new Ford Focus, go to http://media.ford.com End.
--InfoQuest (EB)--