Ford Australia has won two coveted awards in the 2012 motoring organisations’ annual Australian Best Cars Awards.
Against a line-up of world-class vehicles, the six-speed automatic Focus Titanium turbo-diesel was voted country’s Best Small Car over $35,000 in the 2012 motoring organisations’ annual Best Cars Awards.
Ford Falcon G6 EcoBoost was also voted Best Large Car Under $60,000.
Judges praised Ford for its work on the Falcon EcoBoost by providing a more fuel efficient response to large car motoring, saying it was “definitely a sign of moving with the times”. “The EcoBoost is arguably the best mainstream Falcon ever built, bettering the scores of last year’s winner, its sibling the LPG-fuelled six-cylinder Falcon EcoLPi in some key areas,” judges said.
Ford President and CEO, Bob Graziano, said the twin awards for the Focus Titanium TDCi and Falcon G6 EcoBoost were a validation of the high levels of engineering work that went into both vehicles. “More importantly, they provide a good benchmark for customers looking at either an Australian-designed and built large car or European-inspired small car,” he said.
“The Falcon EcoBoost is part of a suite of new technologies we’re delivering for customers. The 2.0-litre EcoBoost engine represents world-class Ford technology available right here in Australia. It is the first rear-wheel application of this engine in a Ford anywhere in the world and we’re very proud of it. “Importantly, when we started work on fitting the EcoBoost engine in the Falcon, it was not simply a case of dropping the engine straight into the car.
“Significant local engineering work has been undertaken to make sure it met – and exceeded – the expectations of our customers. That meant delivering small-car fuel efficiency unheard of in a large car.”
The Falcon and Focus beat several leading finalists for the award, which combines the expertise of Australian Motoring Clubs including the NRMA, RACV, RACQ, RAA, RAC, RACT and AANT.
The EcoBoost engine develops 179 kW of power at 5500 rpm and 353Nm at 2000 rpm and in the Falcon XT sedan, delivers fuel efficiency of 8.1 litres / 100km (ADR 81/02). The EcoBoost engine is available in XT, G6 and luxury G6E sedan models.
In awarding the Focus Titanium turbo-diesel Australia’s Best Small Car Over $35,000, judges said: “It might be a surprise to some that a small car from the Blue Oval would stand in triumph over models from prestige European makers including BMW and Audi, and even a Lexus.
“But remember that Ford rely on their European divisions for their small car, which means it’s both sophisticated and well suited to our local market tastes.” Judges also praised the Focus Titanium’s active and passive safety levels and technology, with the availability of SYNC in-car connectivity for both music and phone, as well as its standard Active Park Assist technology.
Australia’s Best Cars is one of the most comprehensive and independent consumer-focused vehicle testing and awards programs.
The development of the EcoBoost engine for Falcon was a key element of Ford’s $232 million investment in a range of sustainability initiatives across all of Ford’s local vehicle lines, including a new diesel engine for Territory and the high-tech EcoLPi engine for Falcon sedan and ute.
The EcoBoost was made possible with a $42 million Federal co-investment under the Green Car Innovation Fund, as well as co-investment provided by the Victorian Government.
Carsales 2012 Australia's Best Cars
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