New models - Ford - FocusFord adds cruise control to base FocusCruise control kicks in at Focus base level as Ford leans heavily on small-car sales12 Sep 2013 By TERRY MARTIN FORD has added cruise control as standard equipment on entry-level Ambiente variants of its Focus small car in a bid to boost sales of what is easily its most popular passenger model in Australia. As sales of the Blue Oval brand’s Australian-produced vehicles continue to struggle, the Focus – built in Thailand (or Germany, in the case of the ST hot hatch) – has strengthened its position over last year by more than 18 per cent, with around 13,500 sold to the end of August. This is well behind dominant players in the class, namely the Toyota Corolla (28,596 YTD), Mazda3 (27,729), Hyundai i30 (19,824) and Holden’s albeit struggling locally built Cruze (17,339), but Focus nonetheless holds a useful 8 per cent share of the biggest-selling market segment in Australia and Ford is working to continue the upward trend. Applicable from September build onwards, the cruise control upgrade brings the entry-level Focus up to the mark set by its main rivals and applies to hatch and sedan variants of the Ambiente, both of which remain priced from $20,290 plus on-road costs. Ford has also made the somewhat miserly move of introducing lumbar support as a $50 option to the Ambiente and the second-rung Trend model grade, the latter kicking off from $22,290. Read moreAll new modelsAlfa Romeo Abarth Alpine Alpina Audi Aston Martin BMW Bentley Chery Brabham Chrysler Chevrolet Cupra Citroen DS Dodge Fiat Ferrari Foton Ford Great Wall FPV Haval GWM Honda Holden Hyundai HSV Isuzu Infiniti Jeep Jaguar Lamborghini Kia LDV Land Rover Lotus Lexus Maserati Mahindra McLaren Mazda Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-AMG Mini MG Nissan Mitsubishi Pagani Opel Porsche Peugeot Ram Proton Rolls-Royce Renault Saab Rover Smart Skoda Subaru SsangYong Tesla Suzuki Volkswagen Toyota Volvo Focus pricing
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