Sydney show: Ford reveals Fiesta line-up

WHILE Ford's headline act at the Sydney motor show was the first public reveal of the locally-built Territory cross-over's interior (see separate story), it also took the opportunity to preview some forthcoming imported models.

It revealed the line-up for the Fiesta light car, which goes on sale next April, and the addition of a 2.3-litre four-cylinder Escape to the compact cross-over wagon range when a facelifted version arrives in January 2004. Currently the Escape only comes as a 3.0-litre V6.

The Fiesta will include two bodystyles and three series variants - a three or five-door Fiesta LX, the three-door Fiesta Zetec and the five-door Fiesta Ghia.

All models will come standard with a 1.6 litre Duratec all-alloy engine, featuring double overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder, developing 74kW at 6000rpm and peak torque of 146Nm at 4000rpm.

The engine will be mated to either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic gearbox.

Ford Australia president Geoff Polites forecast 400-500 sales per month, with pricing pitched around Mazda2 and Honda Jazz levels, which means starting around the $16,000-$17,000 range.

Fiesta LX will include remote central locking, power steering, power front windows, power adjustable mirrors, a single-slot CD player, dual-stage driver and passenger airbags and body-coloured front and rear bumpers.

Fiesta Zetec will be offered as a sportier three-door only and adds air-conditioning, steering column-mounted audio controls, front foglights, ABS brakes, and 15-inch alloy wheels.

Top-spec Fiesta, the Ghia will incorporate the features from both LX and Zetec as well as front maplights and a six-disc in-dash CD player as standard. Fiesta Ghia will also offer optional side thorax airbags and side curtains.

The Fiestas in Sydney are the first Australian-spec vehicles to be produced in Ford of Germany's Cologne production plant. They are also the first vehicles to include the all-new Fiesta interior, which is currently being upgraded in Europe.

The 2.3-litre four-cylinder engine to be launched in the XLS model of the ZB Escape is already sold here in the Mazda6 mid-sized sedan. But in this application the MZR has been substantially detuned from 122kW to 108kW and from 207Nm to 201Nm.

The four-cylinder Escape also includes a mechanical brake-assist system, which supplements the driver's pedal effort to minimise braking and stopping distances under hard braking conditions.

It is also expected to pitch Escape pricing under $30,000 for the first time, but Ford is tipping only an incremental boost to the Escape's sales, which have averaged about 260 a month this year.

The rest of the changes to the Escape range will be restricted to relatively minor interior and exterior upgrades such as cloth changes, new steering wheels, new alloy wheels and the like.

Expect Mazda to announce the change from 2.0 to 2.3-litre power for its base model Tribute - on which the Escape is closely based - as well as a facelift in December.