The facelifted Ford Focus is now here in Malaysia as a fully imported unit from Sime Darby Autoconnexxion. Unlike the pre-facelift models offered by Ford, the entire new range consisting of both a 4-door sedan (Focus Ghia) and a 5-door hatchback body (Focus Sport) are powered by the 145 PS 2.0 litre Duratec engine, mated to a 4-speed automatic transmission.
This marks the first new Ford in Malaysia styled with the new “Ford Kinetic Design” style, Ford’s take on a more dynamic look to its cars. Other than a new look for the outside, the door mirrors are also now larger and there are now signal indicators on the side mirrors. The rear track is now wider, which can improve stability and also improve aesthetics.
The interior is done up in a dark colour, which Ford claims is deliberate to minimize windscreen reflection in the bright countries of South East Asia. The dash center stack illumination lights up in red at night.
Set between the two large binnacled RPM meter and speedometer is a multi-info display LCD which can show time, outside temperature, trip meter, odometer, distance to empty, average speed and average fuel consumption. shame there’s no real time fuel consumption, a feature that has moved down the segments and is even available on the City and the Swift.
Other creature comforts include a slididing fron armrest (slides forward 80mm), two cupholders with butterfly lids, dual-zone air conditioning including rear air cond vents, a 6-way power adjustable driver’s seat and a premium leather interior. Safety features include ABS brakes and 2 airbags.
The price? RM 112,888 for the 5-door and RM 111,888 for the sedan. Prices are for Peninsular Malaysia, without road tax, insurance and registration.
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Nice design at a affordable price. Autocar always praise Ford, maybe this is a good deal and pose as a alternative to PUG? maybe?
looks real good and yes, a real alternative to the pugs now. only difference is brand strength and the strength of the fan base that will affect sales. these 2 brands bring real value european motoring to malaysians. hope malaysians are more aware of their new choices now.
Great…~!I Always love their interior design, and I agreed with you alex, affordable price…
But Paul, Is your thumbnailed photo for malaysian unit?,its lefthanded car ler…
The pricing is very competitive indeed.
nice …
ford make their cars have the experience and the feelings that you dun find in other cars such as toyota or honda. ..
RM112k for a ford … not bad lar ..
What’s the torque like? Any pics of the hatch?
Been waiting for this! Actually considering between this or upcoming Mazda3 (no idea when it will arrive here) or maybe the Peugeot 308 Turbo. Anyone who has test driven the 308 and Focus MKII care to give their views in term of the driving satisfaction? It seems to me that the 308 has a better torquey engine but the Focus handles and grip better (as expected..best in its class) Hah both still have a 4-speeder though =(
Is it true that the leather upholstery is only for the sedan Ghia version while the hatchback Sport only gets fabric??
I had booked Sylphy, now what?anyone give some suggestion? Started to confuse.
I can’t help but notice the hideous fluorescent green wigs(at least, I HOPE they’re wigs) on the models.
The rear ends of Focuses never really appealed to me. Front looks pretty decent, though.
cbu? cbu from where? phillipines? what about other safety features such as traction control and dsc? could have brought in the manual version too… then it would be a good option for petrolhead daddies with family. hehe
We can clearly see the trend here, manufacturers starting to reduce their prices to increase sales, especially during this economic turmoil. They knew the pool is getting shallower. Please hold your purchases if you’re not desperately need a car. We can push this price war further and hopefully will benefit us, poor Malaysian who has been sucked all this while.
Japanese manufacturer next to reduce their price. Who wanna start first?
this car always get alot of praise from UK journalists , in europe its always one of the top 3 cars….bt there , its too common….those who luv driving wil luv this car
Nice, but may loose in terms of interior space compared to other rivals. 2.0l sedan more like in the realms of camry and honda. Maybe the mondeo would be a better choice”?
i dont like the backside, not sporty enough.
the mondeo is a better bet.
the interior probably loses to the japs too.
for those who has booked a japanese sedan, altis sylphy or civic, unless you really like the interior dashboard design, i think keep to the japs.
the brand power also loses out i believe, ford doesnt have a strong following here. and parts availability.
Ford has been well known in terms of build quality and handling. Based on the specs they are offering now, it is a bargain compare to most Japanese cars which are within the pricing range. My friend is driving the old version (07′) which is extremely agile and fun to drive. They might not have good exposure here in Malaysia but I guess that works towards our advantage coz we get to drive one of the highest aclaimed car in the industry at a bargain deal. For car enthusiast who have little worry for resale value, I strongly urge them to give this car a thinker before making any decision.
If you’re going for Japanese car, I suggest you try Honda because they offer better engine (more power), style, price, space and resale value.
Sorry Alex, but Ford Focus for build quality and handling? I used to own a Ford Laser TX3 BP Turbo. IMHO handling was not something worth mentioning as an attribute. I checked out the previous Focus. Gaps, etc. were not to my expectations. Unless you mean ‘well known’ in a negative manner?
Wow it’s getting competitive, damn I’d rather part my cash with this one rather than the Altis, if I got the cash lah…
Car = good looking, models = worse than The Star’s no smoking ad…
Both models shown are lovely but hate their choice of wigs. As for the cars, love both designs espc the hatchback n the nice looking instrument cluster. Red is stunning. Hate the bare space of the hatchback where the tail-lamps are supposed to be. High-mounted tail-lamps just doesn’t suit the hatchback (they’re more suitable on MPVs/SUVs). Are those parking or fog lamps mounted on the rear bumper? Love that.
All said n done, AutoConnexxion will face an uphill task selling these Focuses. They might sell a few here n there but it won’t be encouraging.
maibatsu_thunder, you owned a Jap Ford. The Focus is an European Ford. So maybe alexsincl was referring to the latter. But then again, I don’t find those Lasers’ handling to be as bad as you made them out to be, or maybe you pushed yours way over its’ limits? All cars have their limits, you just need to know them.
Autocar praises Ford? Harhar. They would’ve write something more encouraging if that’s the case, but alas, Japmobiles impress them more.
n8cky,
Well, I can definitely tell that u won’t hv regret either way, although I’d pity what u miss if u stick wit that nissan.
nissan = well, all things typically japanese: gud 2nd hand value, reliable, low maintenance cost blabla.
focus = best. car. ever. Just that it doesn’t carry japanese badge, period.
Hi unitedtas, yes Mazda-Ford. I wouldn’t say bad. Just nothing to brag about. Normal A-to-B, but plus points were good acceleration, massive rear legroom and headroom. I’ve also driven the Lynx, which was OK lah. That too, nothing really mind blowing about ride comfort. Ride and Handling wise perhaps better than 7th gen Civic. I drive like an old man most of the time having grown up with drum brakes all around, worm & roller steering, etc. Well within commuter car limits, I hope. At Sepang I pushed a Civic 1.7L past its limits once, ended up nosediving it in the gravel.
paul, just now i was viewing the camry with the bmw front. i tried to log in but it says the link is broken or something. and now the camry topic is gone.. :S
i hope this focus will do well, it’s always been underated here…they should bring in the 5sp manual with maybe some sportier bodykit and wheels…what do they have to loose?
Ford marketing and showroom at East Malaysia is very poor, especially at Kuching ( sometime I do not even know exactly where their showroom and service centre )…Not sure how they can sell this car here, pick ups can lah….
Ford marketing agent at East Malaysia is very poor…need to beef up, RM112K…Not sure also where the service centre in here especially at Kuching.
maibatsu_thunder said,
February 5, 2009 @ 10:42 pm
Sorry Alex, but Ford Focus for build quality and handling? I used to own a Ford Laser TX3 BP Turbo. IMHO handling was not something worth mentioning as an attribute. I checked out the previous Focus. Gaps, etc. were not to my expectations. Unless you mean ‘well known’ in a negative manner?
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the laser tx3 is well known for having “iffy” handling. the lynx is also a ford-mazda, but it did have more decent all round handling. the focus on the other hand, is a totally different vehicle. once you get in and sit down, you know straight away you are in a continental car. although ford doesnt sell many cars here ( i have no idea why really), they have sold more than 5 million focus cars since the mk1 all around the world
Remeber the days when Laser and 323 head to head can be found anywhere on the road? Those days are gone. Even this fully imported Ford coming from the Philipine plant. Under AFTA, it should cost lest. NAP has failed.
Fix Or Repair Daily, that’s all I have to say
From 1 April 2010 Sime Darby is offering free maintenance for 3 years or 60,000km and 3 years or 100,000km warranty..
4-speed auto ‘boxes are obsolete.
i’m a bit surprise to see the ‘new’ Focus here.
emm.. made in filipina, eh?
that don’t really inspire confidence….
beside, don’t they just love anything american only?
whatever doubt i have, i’m going to welcome the Focus. if its the European Focus, then it should be great news for the conti cars in general. more choice.
but maybe hard to sell as the price is similar with the ‘old’ Focus that enjoy quite limited sales.
and i don’t think it is easy for the Japanese to reduce their pricing even in worse ecomony condition as that will enrage the huge number of existing owners in killing the 2nd hand value and the fact that the YEN is raising and raising… but who know..
lastly, is it just me or there seems to be unusually lots of continental car nay-sayers / haters / japanese car lovers with negative commetns in continental car thread lately?
Feeling the heat / reality, perhaps?
the car looks good…the side profile of the sedan is abit….S40-ish….very very well priced..but……being a ford….there only one thing bugging me….RESALE VALUE…
Alex everyone keeps saying it but in the B-C-D 2.0L and under segment, only Honda has a 5AT, Latio, Swift/SX4, 308, Vios, Camry, Altis are all 4AT. I’m sure all of them would introduce 5AT but the cost-benefit studies they must have done 3-5 years back prior to introducing these models didn’t allow it. My guess is their next jump would be to 5 or 6 A/T or even more. The upcoming Hyundai Genesis will have an 8-speed auto. I hope that’s 8 forward speeds and doesn’t include reverse.
handsome.. got some mustang lines on it
nice car but the new front looks less agressive than before..but what the hey, its a sweet price packaging…
xatomic, if you want to know what focus drivers feel about their ride, head on to www.fomec.org … large community of local focus owners there.
maibatsu…focus and tx3? that’s akin to comparing an orange to an apple..
msian said,
February 6, 2009 @ 11:06 am
the car looks good…the side profile of the sedan is abit….S40-ish….very very well priced..but……being a ford….there only one thing bugging me….RESALE VALUE…
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The S40 and the Mazda 3 and this Ford is based on the same platform.
I don’t like how the sedan looks. The 5 door is much better (but of course, it was designed to be a 5 door first).
In comparison to whatever this is targeted as, I would say this would be one of the more fun to drive choices in this category. It is however, a little long in the tooth already and due for a replacement.
Only pity they don’t bring in the Focus wagon (its HUGH inside!). Would be seriously tempted to get one if it did. Right now, only the Chevy Optra is available as a wagon in the similar price range
could be competetive…imported / manufactured /assembled from where ahh?
What’s wrong with the models spec’d for Malaysia? Does a 2.0L 145hp with 4 speeds auto the right spec? What makes them think that by selling @ 117k (OTR with insurance), they have a triumph card over the closest priced Mitsubishi Lander 2.0GT? The 2.0GT even has 155hp and CVT and also come with “PREMIUM” leather seats though it has 4 airbags less than the Focus but so what? How many times you’ll use the 6 airbags? But the extra hp difference is a everyday pleasure or pressure. I am puzzled that they dont even analyse the market to see how they should position their products. What’s the hottest selling 2.0L sedan in Malaysia now? Honda Civic 2.0s? Nissan Sylphy 2.0? Wouldnt a 2.0L 160hp with 5 spds semi auto trans, ABS, EBD, VSC, 6 airbags, blade suspensions, all discs brake, leather sport seats, xenon headlamps with a price tag of 120k excl insurance attack the 2.0L sedan segment while the hatchback with a little differentiation can help – throw in the RS rims and add 6 speed manual trans and keep the price similar to the sedan to attack those who wants sportiness and hatchback design?
WilliamSmith – I guess it might be too expensive to put everything in one package! Just because the Japanese can do it doesn’t mean Ford can do it too. But, all the same, there will be buyers of this new Focus.
Woohoo better specs than Civic yet cheaper. But still the Civic will sell more because people are now encouraged to buy local rather than American!!!
Dear All,
I am speaking as a FF MKII owner. I have 5 units of cars sitting in my garage.
1) Altis 1.8
2) FF 1.8
3) Swift 1.5
4) Golf MKV
5) Wira 1.6
Focus & Golf has earned “driving experience” as compared to Jappy makes.
That is all i wish to comment and i am sure, existing FF MKII owner would agreed to me comment.
Please exlcude Resale Value / FC & etcs issue when we are taling about “driving experience”
a18;
whatever you say man…………
nice car indeed. ;)
Does this Duratec engines come with VVT mechanism?
another great product by Ford :-)
freeze,
This car designed in germany, made in Phillippines probably, well, the last time’s focus at least was :3 Dun buy american kah…. u sound like some islamist asking the whole world to save the Palestinians…. yet, u hv no idea this car is as european as BMW.
a18,
Yeap, u roxx man!!
Srsly la, wit upcoming economic crisis goin to hit our country soon, it rly makes no sense purchasing a car bcuz of “good residual value”, cuz u’re gonna lose money anyway, so might as well get a fantastic car. Focus, is the best of them lot.
Now the cheapest 5-star Euro NCAP car has become cheaper (IIRC, the 2.0 hatchback was rm118k++ last time). Yet, I can bet wit all my pride n honour that this will still not sell. Nope, msians would still prefer to get good 2nd hand value instead of safety that they kononnya treasure so much, but act as nothing more than an excuse to bash proton. Pakai seat belt pun xleh, nak minta traction control std la, 99999 airbags la, abs la, this la that la blabla pooorah. The reason why I hate to talk abt safety: focus is a living proof that msians dun buy safety, they buy japanese snobbery.
WilliamSmith,
CVT, to many people, is not a plus thing. Why’d you think Honda did away with the CVT in the City? Those things are costly and is there just mainly for fuel economy and smooth driving. Kinda negating the fact that the Lancer has one of the higher amount of horsies in the 2.0L segment.
Have you also compared the materials in FF vs the Lancer, or Civic 1.8 (against price range of <120k)? Lancer’s Premium leather is about the ONLY best thing in its interior. Everything else is plasticky and hard.
Your argument about “How many times you’ll use the 6 airbags?” is the funniest though. I would really really really…STRONGLY really have the 6 airbags for the times I need it, rather than 2.
You also wrote “I am puzzled that they dont even analyze the market…..”. I think they did. If you REALLY look at the market, FF sits comfortably in the middle of the pack of the other cars. It has the best handling characteristics among all of the C-Segment. Handling IS an important criteria. It’s as much about driving pleasure as it is about having control of your car to avert disaster (knock on wood, god forbid, etc).
But I do wish that we get the ones with more gears and options though. Because Thailand gets the 1.6 with 6 speed manual trans. They’ll also get the dual-clutch ones when they’re available. 1.6 would offer better fuel consumption, and that engine comes with variable timing.
tokmoh,
the peugeot 308 vti at rm96500 on the road is also a 5 star euroncap car and is more affordable than the ff… unless of course you’re classifying it as ‘the most affordable 5 star euroncap car with 2.0L engine’ then the ff is probably the most affordable with full 5 stars.
not my cup of tea…but hey..this is one of the best car in its class…n affordable…
lowprofile,
Yea, I missed that one. I kinda forgot that title has been snatched by that Peug. Thnx for pointing out.
I’d like to rant more on how msians worship civic, altis, sylphy, latio etc japmobile too much. Bt bah. Their money, sukati diorg laa……
Personally I like the exterior design, maybe some say its too European and not to the most Malaysian taste. Another thing why I prefer Japs model against Ford is because of the maintenance cost. In comparison oil filter for Ford Escape RM36, Toyota Camry is only RM16 in any spare parts shop along Jalan Ipoh. Spark plug around RM140, Camry RM36 per set. Why its expensive, they said because its imported from US but for the Toyota is from Thailand, but its original Toyota anyway.
9211
not only of it origin but volume also matter since japanese makes are more popular demand than euro/us. Altis sold much much more than Focus in Bolehland, this would help UMW/other importer to bring spare in bulks to lower it cost… even those chinaman dealer would be happy to store more japanese makes spareparts over others as its move faster(sell)…
not sporty anymore…
When you compare parts prices it has to be done carefully. There are DISTRIBUTOR BRANCHES, DEALERS & STOCKISTS, STOCKISTS who get their stock from I-don’t-know-where, GENERIC PARTS and FAKE PARTS. So there are at least 4 different levels of parts prices, not including POTONG KERETA. So, you have to compare within the correct segment otherwise there’ll be a disparity due to which segment you got the parts pricing from, and doesn’t reflect real life situations.
where is this car made in? is this imported from germany?
Still i prefer Civic.
stop buying corolla and buy this
aren't you guys getting bored with sooooooo many N/T/H on bolehland road. Ford one's king of the road in the 80's and WRC! and they did all over the world.
aren't you guys getting bored with sooooooo many N/T/H on bolehland road. Ford one's king of the road in the 80's and WRC! and they did all over the world.
a18, one of the cars I drive is a Mk2 Focus, its a good car.
Handling is great and the ride is like that of a larger car.
I test drove the previous Ford Focus hatchback in Nov 08. I was deciding between that and the Honda Civic 2.0 and in my opinion, the handling of the Ford was better than the Civic 2.0. If not for the lack of boot space and additional specs e.g. paddleshifts, cruise control etc, I would have chosen the Ford.
So unless you're the type who buys Japanese cars because of resale value, you should definitely consider this car if you love driving. I'm thinking of getting one when I sell of my Fiat Coupe. Assuming my finances haven't been decimated by the economic crisis!
Looks good but unfortunately won't sell well since it's an American brand. High maintenance, after-sales service and resale will be minus points.
hey paultan, do a test drive..
Ya .. give a test drive report.. the facelifted focus 2.0 have different suspension system from the previous model.. i am interetsed to know the how much it has improve?
Hai guys…just one to share some info that I found at Fomec forum.
This FF model buildup for economical, comfort, safety and the engine Duratec HE is built to last long and to have low maintenance and not for performance. it does not need change of drive chain a.k.a timing chain for its useful life. The best part it is also built to have low petrol consumption for 2.0l engine of 11.6 city/5.9 highway/8.0 combined as depicted below:
1) 24.4mpg (11.6l/100km)urban
2) 47.9mpg (5.9l/100km) extra urban
3) 35.3mpg (8.0 l/100km)combined.
It is also has low CO2 emission at 193 grams per kilometer.
Service every 10,000km not like normal car 5000-8000km with castrol semi synthetic oil.
If you guys interested into performance, you also can upgrade this engine from standard 145hp to massive 300hp without turbocharged!!!!…This the best part that I heard form fomec after did some article search. If you have a lot of money…why not do basic upgrading, just upgrade the intake and get 180hp.Please get info at fomec forum…..
sooo…excited to go and collect our latest purchase..The Ford Focus Ghia 2.0
I am looking spare parts for Ford Focus 2.0 Sport 2008. Its RHS Drive Shaft Assembly. The ford agent in Brunei dont have stock. Its my son’s car, the car is just 2 1/2 year-old. The estimate cost in Brunei is B$2600.00. I wonder, someone can help me find the part, with less price than the estimated price in Brunei. The car is cheap but the parts are outrageously high!