Ford Focus Zetec S

Ford is adding a new Ford Focus Zetec S to its model line-up with the new car being specifically designed for the UK market. The Zetec S combines sporty styling and economy, offering a choice of four engines, including the new 1.6-litre 180PS EcoBoost petrol engine.

The Zetec S is based on the Zetec model but adds a full sports styling kit, 17-inch alloy wheels with sports suspension featuring stiffened springs and dampers, aluminium-style sports pedals, red LED tail lamps and Ford Power starter button.

Ford Focus Zetec S interior

The four engine options are as follows;

• 1.6-litre 180PS EcoBoost petrol (0-62mph in 7.9 seconds, 139g/km of CO2 and a top speed of 138mph)
• 1.6-litre 115PS TDCi ECOnetic
• 1.6-litre 125PS Ti-VCT petrol
• 2.0-litre 163PS TDCi

Anthony Ireson, Ford Britain marketing director, said,”Zetec S models have always been popular with UK customers and so we are delighted to welcome our new Ford Focus Zetec S to the range. With sporty exterior body styling and impressive performance and economy, this latest addition is set to be another showroom hit”. Ford contract hire is on the site now.

Ford 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine

Ford has unveiled their new 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine that will debut in the UK in the all-new Ford Focus next year, giving the Focus class-leading fuel economy and low CO2 emissions. The new 1.0-litre,  three-cylinder EcoBoost is Ford’s smallest petrol engine and delivers 125PS with 114g/km CO2 with turbo-charged direct injection plus this unit returns 56.5 combined mpg.

The same engine, with 100PS and 109g/km CO2, will feature in the all-new Ford Focus, Ford C-MAX, Grand C-MAX and the new B-MAX which enters into full production in the middle of 2012.  The new engine will be built in Craiova in Romania, and capacity for Europe will be up to 700,000 units per year with annual production of up to 1.5 million worldwide. 

The 1.0-litre EcoBoost delivers a performance  more akin to a 1.6-litre engine but with significantly improved fuel economy and lower CO2 emissions. Stephen Odell, Ford chairman and CEO Ford of Europe, said,”The new 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine is a true collaboration from start to finish, with expertise from Ford specialists  across Europe leveraged in designing both the engine and the cutting-edge facility in which it will be produced”.

Mr Odell went onto to say,”This will be reflected in the class-leading European CO2 emissions of the new 1.0-litre EcoBoost Ford Focus when it debuts in early 2012; low emissions that will be achieved alongside the spirited and refined performance that customers expect from Ford”.

Ford Fiesta

Ford has extended its market share in October as the UK’s overall sales leader in car sales (compared to October 2010) as the latest car and van registration sales data is released by the SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders). Total car sales year-on-year for the overall market were up 2.6% at 134,944, however Ford’s car share was 13.7%, selling 18,476 units in October.

Ford Transit

The Ford Fiesta was the UK’s best seller in October and the Fiesta and Ford Focus were the number 1 and 2 best sellers, year-to-date. Ford also topped the UK commercial vehicle (CV) sales with the Transit, capturing 21.7% of sales in the medium CV sector in October and 24.8% for the year to date sales position. Ford’s whole product range also performed well with strong sales reported for the C-MAX, Ford Kuga and Ford Galaxy as well.

Mark Ovenden, Ford of Britain managing director, said,”Ford comfortably beat the positive trend in the UK car market in October, which is a great credit to our strong dealer network. Against intense competition our best-ever vehicle range is helping to strengthen Ford’s continued UK market leadership. Particulary pleasing is the success of our most recently launched models such as the Focus and C-MAX, which are boosting customer appreciation of the distinctive attributes of the blue oval brand”.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has just released the new car registrations data for September 2011 which saw 332,476 new cars registered, down 0.8% on last year. The main growth in the new car sector came from “Fleet” registrations (companies who have a fleet of vehicles greater than 25 vehicles) which grew by 7.3%, while private registrations were down by 9.3%. 

Business (sub-25 fleets) also reported a 13.4% growth year-on-year from 18,266 units in 2010, to 20,707 in 2011. The SMMT expects the full new year car market to end 5.3% lower than 2010, at around 1.92 million units. Average new car CO2 emissions also fell by 4.0% to 138.5g/km and the top car models sold in September were as follows;

1. Fiesta – 15,647
2. Focus – 14,754
3. Corsa – 14,339
4. Golf – 10,628
5. Astra – 10,462
6. Polo – 8,607
7. Insignia – 7,323
8. MINI – 6,903
9. 3 Series – 6,352
10. Qashqai – 6,068

1.0-litre EcoBoost engine for Ford Focus

Ford has just announced at the Frankfurt Motor Show that its Ford EcoBoost 1.0-litre engine will go into full production and will feature in the European Focus car range first, then the C-MAX followed by the all-new Ford B-MAX.

This 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine is the smallest Ford engine on offer and features advanced turbo-charging technology, improved twin variable camshaft design and intelligent technology, to deliver the same performance as larger engines, yet still offer lower fuel consumption.

Ford intends to launch two versions of the 1.0-litre engine in the Ford Focus range by early 2012 offering a 100PS (5-speed) and 120PS (6-speed) option. The 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder EcoBoost engine in the Focus and C-MAX, will also come with Ford Auto-Stop, Active Grille Shutter and Ford Smart Regenerative Charging. The car should emit less than 120g/km of CO2 yet still drive like a 1.6-litre petrol engine.

Ford Fiesta

The latest Society of Motor Manufacturers (SMMT) July 2011 new car registrations data has been released showing new car registrations fell by 3.5% (compared to July 2010) to 131,634 units. However Ford increased its market share for the month of July to 15.5% for the month and for the year-to-date position, to 15.4%.

Ford’s introduction of the latest all-new Ford Focus has helped boost their sales and the Focus is now catching up on the Ford Fiesta which is still the UK’s best selling car. The Ford Fiesta Van also performed well with 16.7% of the market but it was the Ford Transit that led the way in the commercial vehicle sector as the UK’s best selling van, with 28.5% of the market share.

Ford of Britain managing director, Nigel Sharp, said,”Ford’s best ever vehicle range demonstrated the breadth of its appeal by helping the company to increase share in all the key market sectors in July. Our latest, the new Ford Focus Studio, priced at under £14,000, will help us maintain this momentum as we and our dealers gear-up for the September sales rush”. Ford contract hire  on all the range (cars and vans) is on the site now.

Click for the £214.94+VAT offer

Ford Lease, one of the partners on Comparecontracthire.com, has just loaded their second quarter pricing with some great new offers available on Ford business car leasing. Two that really are stand out as great value for money are as follows:

1. Ford Mondeo 1.6 TDCi Eco Zetec 5-door with Start Stop from only £214.94+VAT (CO2 114g/km and combined mpg 65.6)
2. Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi Edge 115bhp 5-door from £209.32+VAT (Co2 109g/km and 67.3 combined mpg)

Both offers are based on 4-year contracts, 10,000 miles per annum, rental payment terms of 3 in advance  followed by 47 rentals, on non-maintained car leasing. Other terms are available and as usual, free metallic paint is also on offer.

Ford Kuga

One of our leasing partners, FordRetailOnline, has just loaded a batch of special offers with some great discounts. The Ford car lease special offers are based on three year contracts, 10,000 miles per annum, non-maintained contract hire with an initial rental of only three in advance. Availability on these models is on a first come first served basis.

Here are their offers – which have been loaded today

1. Ford Fiesta 1.25 Edge 3-door 60 PS with metallic paint FOC now from £137.17+VAT per month
2. Ford Focus 1.6i 105PS Zetec 5-door hatch with metallic paint FOC from £219.90+VAT per month
3. Ford Kuga TDCI FWD Zetec with metallic paint from £267.07+VAT per month
4. Ford Mondeo 1.6i Ecoboost Zetec with Start/Stop 5-door with metallic paint FOC from £228.55 +VAT per month
5. Ford S-Max Zetec 2.0 TDCi 140PS MPV from £281.96+VAT per month
6. Ford Galaxy Zetec 2.0 TDCi 140 PS from £327.29 +VAT per month

Vans – 4 year contracts (3+47 payment profile)

1. Ford Transit 280 SWB Low Roof 2.2 TDci 85PS from £227.70+VAT per month 
2. Ford Transit Connect 200 SWB Low Roof 1.8 TDCi 75PS from £199.29+VAT per month

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, (SMMT), has announced that April new car market registrations fell by 7.4% to 137,746 units, however this figure was ahead of expectations by 1.5%.

Registrations for the first 4 months of the year are down 8.5% to 696,082, but the full-year figure forecast remains the same at 1.93 million units. Fleet business (25+vehicle registrations) was up by 6.5% in April and diesel sales also recorded a strong growth.

The top 10 selling cars in April were as follows;

1. Ford Fiesta -6,755 units
2. Volkswagen Golf – 4,973 units
3. Vauxhall Astra – 4,900 units
4. Vauxhall Corsa 4,888 units
5. Ford Focus – 4,843 units
6. Volkswagen Polo – 4,524 units
7. Vauxhall Insignia- 3,912 units
8. Nissan Qashqai- 3,738 units
9. BMW 3 Series – 3,133 units
10. Volkswagen Passat -2,720 units

Paul Everitt, SMMT Chief Executive, said,”New car registrations in April demonstrated continued stability in the marketplace, with demand remaining lower than in 2010, although slightly ahead of industry expectations. The coming months will remain challenging, but we do expect to see a return to growth in the second half of the year”.

If you are thinking of getting a new car for your business, car leasing is a cost-effective way of financing and we have prices on all makes and models on the site now.

Ford C-MAX

Ford is the only car manufacturer in the world with the official TUV allergy-tested certification and the new C-MAX and Grand C-MAX are the latest models to achieve certification. There are over 80 million people across Europe who suffer from some form of allergy and Ford has invested a considerable amount of time and money in ensuring their cars offer hayfever and other forms of allergy protection.

Over 100 materials and components have been allergy-tested and approved and other models in the Ford range that offer this unique protection, include the Fiesta, S-MAX, Galaxy, the outgoing Focus, Mondeo and Kuga. All the results of the TUV measurements and assessment results for Ford’s cars can be found at the TUV website. Ford contract hire leasing is also available now for both business and personal users.