Ford Begins Shipping New Focus Estate To Meet Strong Customer Demand

BRENTWOOD, UNITED KINGDOM – May 4, 2011: Ford dealers will soon start selling the new estate version of the all-new Ford Focus, with full production now underway.

The new German-built model is being shipped to dealers for sale from late May. Customers will then have a choice of two dynamic and attractive bodystyles – five-door and estate – to suit their lifestyles.

“Customer and media reception for the all-new five-door Focus has been exceptional, and we expect an equally enthusiastic welcome for the estate model,” said Roelant de Waard, vice president, Marketing Sales and Service, Ford of Europe.

“Ford dealers across Europe are seeing strong demand as they launch the new Focus range, with well over 20,000 customer orders by early April – and this figure is rising fast.

“New Ford Focus brings class-leading levels of technology, design and driving quality to the medium car market, and the estate will deliver these same qualities to an even broader group of customers,” he added.

Dynamic and Practical Estate
The attractive Ford Focus estate is an important model for the UK market, with about 15 per cent of all Focus customers forecast to choose this bodystyle.

"The estate has always been a key strength of the Ford Focus range in Europe and its popularity is second only to the five-door," said Gunnar Herrmann, who oversaw the development of the new Focus as Ford's global medium car line director.

"Customers want the extra space and flexibility a traditional estate provides, but still expect all the technology, great driving dynamics, and superb styling of the five-door.

The new Focus estate provides a balance of dynamic looks and functional practicality. Standard full-length integrated aluminium roof rails enhance the estate’s attractive kinetic design, while the tailgate neatly incorporates a compact roof spoiler.

Stylish and Spacious
The spacious interior has been carefully designed to offer generous accommodation for both passengers and their luggage.

At 2,648mm, the estate shares the same wheelbase as the five-door model, but to accommodate a larger load area, overall length is increased by 198mm to 4,556mm. This provides valuable extra space, without sacrificing the compact overall dimensions of the Focus.

With the rear seats in place the estate has a large, regular load compartment, with a volume of 476 litres. The rear seats offer a flexible 60/40 split and have a convenient ‘flip and fold’ mechanism to tip the seat cushion forward and create a flat load platform with the seat backs. In two-seat mode, the maximum load capacity is a substantial 1,502 litres (luggage volumes quoted with standard mini spare wheel).

The suspension layout, with inclined monotube dampers, enables the lowest possible floor height, while also maximising load width between the wheel arches. The estate can accommodate loads measuring 1,149mm wide, an increase of 119mm compared with the five-door model.

Flexible and Versatile
In keeping with its family car character, the new Focus estate is available with a comprehensive range of features.

Customers can tailor the load compartment with a variety of accessories, from floor liner mats and luggage nets to dog guards and load retention barriers.

The standard polished aluminium roof rails provide the stylish basis for a complete roof carrier system, including dedicated cross bar fittings to transport everything from bicycles to skis.

For the comfort and safety of younger passengers, the driver can be reassured by convenience features like the rear seat belt minders – to alert the driver if rear seat passengers are not securely belted in – and power operated rear door child locks.

Full Choice of Low-CO2 Powertrains
The estate is available with the same exciting choice of low-CO2 powertrains and smart technology features as the all-new five-door Ford Focus.

The powertrain line-up includes the state-of-the-art new 150PS 1.6-litre Ford EcoBoost turbocharged direct injection petrol engine, and a choice of advanced and improved Duratorq TDCi common-rail diesel engines, all of which offer significant reductions in fuel consumption compared to the outgoing model.

In addition to the highly efficient petrol and diesel powertrains, the new Focus range also incorporates other features from Ford ECOnetic technologies to help minimise fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

All vehicles with 1.6-litre Ford EcoBoost petrol and 1.6-litre TDCi diesel engines are equipped with standard Auto-Start-Stop, meaning CO2 emissions at 109g/km on the diesel model.

Unprecedented Level of Smart Technologies
The new estate also benefits from unprecedented investment in vehicle technologies, which has resulted in the Focus line-up offering customers an exciting array of advanced features generally found only in larger, more expensive vehicles.

Some of the key innovations in the all-new Focus include:

Low Speed Safety System – available for the first time in a Ford, this system is designed to help drivers avoid the kind of low speed collision when a car drives into the rear of the vehicle in front. It uses a forward-facing infra-red laser mounted next to the rear view mirror to detect objects in front of the car. If the system foresees that a collision is imminent, it pre-charges the brakes. If the driver does not react, the brakes are then automatically applied and the throttle is released.

ActiveParkAssist– an advanced new system which automatically steers the vehicle into parallel parking spaces. The system uses two ultrasonic sensors to scan for large enough gaps between parked cars. Once a suitable gap has been identified, the driver is informed and clear parking instructions are shown in the centre console display. The driver controls the accelerator and brake, and selects a forward or reverse gear, while the system turns the steering wheel completely automatically.

Lane Departure Warning – using a forward facing digital camera, this feature is designed to warn the driver via a vibration in the steering wheel if it detects an unintentional drift out of the lane. The camera system continuously monitors the vehicle’s position relative to the road markings. If the vehicle drifts from the centre of the lane, and the system does not detect an obvious lane-change manoeuvre or use of the indicators, the vibration alert is triggered.

Lane Keeping Aid– this advanced feature extends the functionality of the Lane Departure Warning system by using the steering system to actively steer the vehicle very smoothly and precisely back into the lane, rather than just triggering an alert.

Traffic Sign Recognition – this system uses the digital camera to identify traffic signs on either side of the road and on bridges, providing the driver with information about the latest detected speed limit, cancellation signs and overtaking regulations via the instrument cluster display.

Auto High Beam– this feature switches the headlamps automatically between high beam and dipped beam, helping the driver to maximise visibility.

Driver Alert– this system uses the digital camera to detect when a driver is becoming tired or even falling asleep. By monitoring the vehicle’s position relative to the road markings, the system can recognise the kind of sideways drifting which is typical when a driver is feeling drowsy or their concentration levels start to drop. If this is detected, the system alerts the driver.

Adaptive Cruise Control – a radar-based cruise control system which helps to maintain a comfortable distance to other vehicles. If the system detects that the vehicle in front is slowing down or is too close, it decelerates automatically to maintain the preset distance.