Ford Focus to spawn a rugged, off-road-styled SUV

Ford Focus to spawn a rugged, off-road-styled SUV

Ford is reportedly set to introduce a small SUV that will be based on the Focus. The new model will be underpinned and share parts with the fourth-gen Focus (seen above in its Active crossover guise) as well as the next-gen Escape/Kuga, but will feature more rugged off-road styling cues than the latter.

According to Ford executive vice-president of product development and purchasing Hau Thai-Tang, the as-yet-unnamed vehicle will have an off-road positioning and imagery and will carry a premium price tag, Reuters reports.

He added that the upcoming offering is a prime example of how the automaker is revamping its product development process by utilising more flexible vehicle architectures and increasing parts commonality to bring new products to market more quickly.

A source familiar with the matter said the all-new model, which could debut next year as a 2020 model, will have a design recalling the Blue Oval’s classic Bronco off-roader from the ’60s. The automaker had in 2004 shown a concept bearing a Bronco nameplate, but that moniker is set to be used for a larger SUV underpinned by the Ranger platform, and confirmed for 2020, making this one a “Baby Bronco”.

The new SUV is in line with the directional change the automaker is making in North America – it has announced that it will be phasing out its sedans there because of declining demand for conventional passenger cars, and switch over to offering crossovers and will explore other possibilities combining the best attributes of cars and utility vehicles.

GALLERY: 2019 Ford Focus Active

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Anthony Lim

Anthony Lim believes that nothing is better than a good smoke and a car with character, with good handling aspects being top of the prize heap. Having spent more than a decade and a half with an English tabloid daily never being able to grasp the meaning of brevity or being succinct, he wags his tail furiously at the idea of waffling - in greater detail - about cars and all their intrinsic peculiarities here.

 
 

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