New Ford Focus Comes At A More Competitive Price
Petaling Jaya 05 February 2009 – Auto Connexion, the new distributors of the Ford brand in Malaysia launched marked its first Ford car launch today with the introduction of the 2009 Ford Focus. The new Focus is available in 4-door Ghia Sedan and 5-door Sport Hatchback form.
The Sport Hatchback is priced at RM112,888.00 while the Ghia Sedan is priced at RM111,888. Prices are for Peninsular Malaysia without road tax, insurance and registration. Considering that these are fully imported as completely built-up units, the retail prices are very competitive indeed, and if I remember correctly, the new model is selling at a considerably lower price than the previous model.
Being built on the same platform as the previous model means this update is a facelift, with some changes to the front and rear ends, plus some improvements to the interior specifications. What the consumer gets is an improved car at a lower price than before. In case you didn’t know, the Focus shares the same platform as the Volvo S40. Of course the S40 comes with a 5-cylinder 2.4 litre engine and a 5-speed automatic transmission, has more safety features, and sells for RM60k or thereabouts more in Malaysia.
At this price level, the new Focus models do stand some chances of success; it is, after all, a continental 2.0 litre car with 145 Ps on tap, and is sold at Honda Civic and Toyota Altis price levels. Yes, the engine is the very same engine as the outgoing model, but there are some tuning refinements to give a slight improvement in fuel economy.
Power is transferred to the front wheels through a 4-speed automatic transmission with a manual shift option; not the best combination perhaps in an era when everybody else is going to five or even six-speed gearboxes. In 4-speed transmission form, the Focus is a little short on the get-up-and-go department. Nevertheless, the Average Joe looking for a solidly built executive car will find the Focus quite adequate. It travels along smoothly, and can cruise easily at speeds of between 140 to 180 km/h without fuss. The only problem Joe would face is if he needs to get someplace in a hurry and puts pedal to metal; the Focus suffers some lag, and it doesn’t even have a turbocharger. This is due to the gearbox kicking down to second on heavy throttle especially in the mid-range speeds of around 60 to 80 km/h, and slipping a little before it bites.
When asked about why a 5-speed transmission was not introduced, a spokesman for the company said that nothing can be done until the full model change a couple of years down the road.
Handling is still the best feature of the Focus. We had a short drive up to Genting Highlands and back, and in this respect, the focus came through like a shining star. Like the previous model, the Focus takes full command of the road and makes even a mediocre driver look good. Straight line stability is excellent too, thanks to a high caster angle; this also probably means the Focus is stable at high speeds too; we will be able to verify that later when we take it for a longer test.
As it stands, the new Ford Focus is worth taking a second look at; keep your eyes on this site as we will be doing a fuel consumption test later.
