The wraps are almost...
The wraps are almost off of BMW"s all-new 5-Series hatchback! Called the Gran Turismo, the new model has been spied testing here in Germany almost completely undisguised for the first time.
The mag"s picture ends...
The mag"s picture ends speculation about the future of the car in Europe. There was some internal debate at the blue oval about whether or not the Focus saloon would make it to showrooms anywhere on the Continent, after slow sales of the current model. Bosses displayed a concept version at last month"s Beijing Motor Show - see image - to illustrate the importance of the newcomer to the rapidly expanding Chinese market. But with testing of the saloon now in progress in Europe, it looks as though all systems are go.
The mag"s image clearly shows how the four-door Focus is taking design cues from the Mondeo, with a similar profile and rear end styling to the larger car. This move is deliberate because Ford wants to target the car at a more upmarket audience, just as Volkswagen has done with its Bora.
The three and five-door Focuses are due to make their world debuts at the Paris Motor Show in September. Despite previous suggestions that the company was going to wait until the Geneva exhibition in March to introduce the saloon, a spokeswoman told Auto Express that the wraps will come off the four-door in France in eight weeks" time.
"The Focus will be shown as an entire model range at Paris," revealed the spokeswoman. "Three-door, five-door, estate and saloon models will be unveiled, and all variants will go on sale in Britain in January."
Although it doesn"t appear to be as practical as the Focus hatchback, the saloon is expected to feature a larger boot capacity than the outgoing four-door, and its luggage area will be at least as spacious as that of the five-door. It will also have the option of a fold-down rear seat to allow owners to accommodate bulkier loads.
The car will use the same engines as the rest of the Focus range, with the exception of the entry-level 1.4-litre petrol unit, which will only appear in the three and five-door variants. That means the saloon will kick off with a 105bhp 1.6-litre petrol powerplant, with 115bhp 1.8-litre and 130bhp 2.0 motors also on offer. Meanwhile, diesel buyers will have three engines to choose from. They will be 90bhp and 110bhp versions of the 1.6-litre TDCi unit currently available in the Focus C-MAX mini-MPV, plus the 136bhp 2.0-litre powerplant offered in the C-MAX and Mondeo.
A sporty ST version of the four-door, with either a 175bhp 2.0-litre petrol engine or a 160bhp 2.0 diesel, is tipped to join the line-up at a later date. Prices for the saloon are likely to be the same as those for the five-door hatchback. Expect the range to start from í‚á£10,000 and rise to í‚á£18,000, competing directly with the new Vauxhall Astra.