Focus undercuts Astra

FORD AUSTRALIA’S all-new Focus will be priced from a competitive $20,990 when it goes on sale next month.

Pricing and basic specifications were released earlier this week for the Blue Oval’s second-generation small car, which will be available in entry-level CL, mid-range LX, sports-oriented Zetec and more luxurious Ghia variants.

Opening the all-new range is the Focus CL, which will be available in four-door sedan and five-door hatchback guises from $20,990 – and fitted with including air-conditioning, twin front airbags, a CD stereo and front power windows.

Next up is the Focus LX, which adds 16-inch alloy wheels, anti-lock brakes (with electronic brake-force distribution), front side airbags, front and rear power windows, power mirrors, cruise control, leather-wrapped steering wheel and foglights.

The LX sedan and hatch will be priced from $24,990.

Available only as a hatchback, the $27,490 Focus Zetec will offer a lower, more aggressive bodykit plus 17-inch alloy wheels and sports suspension.

For the time being, the sedan-only Ghia will be the Focus flagship, Priced from $30,990, it adds a four-speed automatic transmission (with Sequential Sports Shift), dual-zone climate control, six-disc in-dash CD, leather seat trim and power adjustable driver’s seat.

Two optional packages will be available for the basic CL: a $1190 Safety Pack (ABS/EBD and side airbags) and a $890 Smooth Pack (alloy wheels, colour-coded power mirrors, cruise control and a leather-wrapped steering wheel).

All new Focus variants will be powered by a 107kW 16-valve Duratec four-cylinder engine, which replaces both the 85kW 1.8-litre and 96kW 2.0-litre engines that power the current model.

While the new pricing represents an incremental $330 price rise over the current model at base level, it constitutes a significant price drop across the rest of the range. LX and Zetec variants will be $1080 and $1070 cheaper respectively and the flagship Ghia will be priced $480 lower.

Focus II will also compare well against its major rival in Holden’s Astra, which in new AH hatch guise is priced $1000 higher at $21,900 in five-door CD form. Powered by the same 90kW 1.8-litre engine, Holden’s superseded TS Astra Classic will also continue on sale until supplies are exhausted, priced from $19,990 in sedan and hatch form.

Meantime, the Mazda3 – with which the new Focus shares much of its basic architecture – is priced from $20,790 in entry-level Neo sedan and hatch guise, while Toyota’s traditional segment-leading Corolla remains priced from $19,750 in Ascent hatch and sedan guise.

With Ford’s Valencia, Spain, plant stretched to its capacity limit, three-door Focus hatch derivatives will not join the Australian-bound, South African-built four- and five-door models from launch.

PRICING:

Focus CL hatch $20,990
Focus CL sedan $20,990
Focus LX hatch $24,990
Focus LX sedan $24,990
Focus Zetec hatch $27,490
Focus Ghia sedan $30,990
Note: Automatic transmission $2000 (standard on Ghia)