Ford confirms warm ST-Line variant for Endura SUV
BY JUSTIN HILLIARD | 3rd Sep 2018
FORD Australia has confirmed that its incoming Endura large SUV will be offered with a warm ST-Line variant, among others, when it enters showrooms in December this year.
Announced in a video posted to its Facebook page, Ford Australia provided fans a sneak peek of the ST-Line, which adds a sporty edge to the Canadian-built Endura – the somewhat spiritual successor to the home-grown Territory.
Specifically, the ST-Line ups the ante with its black mesh grille insert, body-coloured door, wing and side mouldings; aggressive front and rear bumpers, chrome dual exhaust tailpipes, and black 20-inch alloy wheels. Larger, 21-inch rims are optional.
Inside, perforated partial-leather/Dinamica microfibre upholstery, 10-way power-adjust front seats, a red-stitched sports steering wheel with paddle shifters, aluminium sports pedals, a black headliner and velour floor mats feature.
Furthermore, a sportier suspension tune combines with speed-sensitive power steering to improve the Endura’s dynamics beyond that of regular variants.
As such, the Endura joins the Focus small car and Escape mid-size SUV as the only models in Ford Australia’s line-up to soon be available in ST-Line form.
As previously reported, the Australian-market Endura will be exclusively offered with five seats and a diesel engine, meaning the hot ST flagship available overseas is unlikely to make it Down Under due to its 250kW/515Nm 2.7-litre EcoBoost twin-turbocharged V6 running on petrol.
The diesel engine in question is expected to be the same 2.0-litre EcoBlue twin-turbocharged four-cylinder unit used in the 157kW Ranger Raptor performance pick-up, among other Ford models.
In the European-market model, the EcoBlue engine produces either 110kW (eight-speed automatic transmission with front-wheel drive), 140kW (six-speed manual gearbox with all-wheel drive) or 175kW (automatic with AWD) of peak power, depending on engine tune. Maximum torque outputs are yet to be confirmed.
Given that an automatic with AWD is shown in the video, the 175kW EcoBlue unit appears most likely to power the Endura – at the very least in ST-Line guise.
While Ford Australia told GoAuto that pricing and full specification will be released closer to the Endura’s launch, it did confirm that multiple variants will be offered in the range, suggesting that the Trend and Titanium will fill out the line-up, perhaps alongside the luxury-orientated Vignale.
The Endura is expected to be available with a long list of advanced driver-assist systems, including autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane-keep asisst, adaptive cruise control with stop and go functionality, blind-spot monitoring, cross-traffic alert, high-beam assist, traffic sign recognition and park assist.
Additionally, an 8.0-inch touchscreen is likely to be powered by Ford’s Sync3 infotainment system, which supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. A digital instrument cluster, wireless smartphone charging and a Bang & Olufsen Play sound system are also set to be offered.
When the Endura arrives, it will enter the sub-$70,000 large-SUV segment that is led by the Toyota Prado (10,702 units) and Kluger (8808), Subaru Outback (6543), Isuzu MU-X (5113) and Mazda CX-9 (5073) in year-to-date sales.
Ford Australia already fields the Everest (3135 units) in this segment, with the seven-seat model receiving a comprehensive facelift late last month.
While the Endura is known as the Edge in overseas markets, Toyota Australia denied Ford Australia use of the trademark locally after extended negotiations.
