2012 Ford Focus Coming To Australia In August

2012 FORD FOCUS

Ford Australia has today confirmed a local launch for the all-new 2012 Focus, going on sale from August this year.

The new third-generation Focus will be offered locally in both sedan and five-door hatch form.

When it goes on sale in Australia, the 2012 Focus line will also see the addition of a new range-topping Titanium variant, bringing it into line with the local Mondeo and Territory range. 

Developed as part of the company's One Ford plan, the new Focus is a global model and the fifth to be built on Ford's C-segment platform.

"The new Focus is evidence of One Ford in action, and truly represents the best of Ford Motor Company," Ford Australia President and CEO, Bob Graziano said.

"Our investment in a new global small car platform is enabling us to provide consumers in Australia, and around the world, with an affordable range of cars which offer quality, fuel efficiency, safety and smart technology beyond their expectations."

Importantly for Ford Australia, the new Focus was developed in Europe, and local models will be sourced from the company's Saarlouis plant in Germany.

Styling

The new Focus also represents the next step in Ford's 'Kinetic' design language.

At the front end, jelly bean-like headlights sit above a tall centre air-dam flanked by sharply-angled side intakes, separate from the foglight housings.

Behind the wide grille are a pair of bonnet strakes that reach back to the windscreen glass, with a second line continuing up into the A-pillar.

Largely identical up to the rear passenger door, the profile of the Focus sedan and hatch features multiple character lines running together along the wheel arches, and through the top and bottom of the doors.

Prominent wheel arches create a connection between the outgoing second-generation Focus and the brand-new 2012 model.

The tail-lights of both models extend into the rear quarter panel. On the hatch, the fuel cap design is blended with the lines of the drivers side tail-light, while on the sedan the traditional circle cap suffices.

Mechanical And Powertrains

The new Focus will arrive in Australia with three engine options, spearheaded by the company's 2.0 litre EcoBoost GDi (gasoline direct injection) petrol engine, producing 149kW and 300Nm of torque in its international specification.

Local power figures for the Focus have yet to be confirmed, although the same engine will also debut in the updated Mondeo, on sale in Australia in the coming months, with the same output.

Ford's updated and Euro V-compliant 2.0 litre Duratorq TDCi diesel engine will also feature. Focus-specific figures have not been confirmed for Australia, the same engine produces 120kW and 340Nm in the current Mondeo range.

In the Mondeo LX, this engine lists fuel consumption figures of 5.9 l/100km.

A five-speed manual transmission will be offered with the petrol engine, and a six-speed manual will be on offer with the diesel. Ford's new six-speed PowerShift automatic transmission will also be available, depending on the variant.

A 1.6 litre Duratec Ti-VCT petrol engine will also be available, positioned as the fuel economy leader in the 2012 Focus range. In international models, this engine is offered in two tunes: one producing 77kW/150Nm, and the other 92kW/159Nm.

Fuel consumption figures have not been released, although Ford promises an improvement of more than 15 percent over the outgoing model.

Ford's engineers have developed a new optimised  'Control Blade' multilink rear suspension, and semi-isolated front and rear subframes.

A new Electric Power Assist Steering system features in the new Focus, which Ford says has been tuned to provide "pure and precise" responses at high speed, remaining light and manoeuvrable for parking.

Developed by Ford of Europe, a new Dynamic Cornering Control system transfers power between the drive wheels to reduce understeer, as well as improve traction and turn-in.

Features And Equipment

In Australia, the new Focus will be offered with Active Park Assist, cruise control with Adjustable Speed Limiting Device, Adaptive Cruise Control, and keyless entry with push-button start.

Passive safety features include driver and front passenger airbags, side front airbags and side curtain airbags for front- and rear-seat occupants.

The new Focus also makes use of more high-strength steels than any previous model in the Ford line-up.

High strength steels make up 55 percent of the body shell and more than 26 percent of the vehicle structure is formed from ultra high-strength and Boron steels.

Ford’s Human Machine Interface (HMI) system features in the cockpit, with twin five-way toggle switches on the steering wheel controlling the two main vehicle displays located in the instrument cluster and high in the centre of the instrument panel.

Pricing and Availability

The 2012 Ford Focus will be available in Australia from August. Pricing and specifications will be revealed closer to launch.

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