Archive for January, 2012

Top engine for Ford’s MPV twins

Friday, January 27th, 2012

Ford‘S top-of-the-range MPV twins, the S-MAX and Galaxy, are the latest models in the blue oval brand’s line up to offer the company’s new flagship 175PS TDCi engine.

Developed for performance, and with 400Nm of torque or pulling power at 1,750rpm, the 175PS 2.2-litre Duratorq TDCi engine is the largest displacement and most powerful diesel engine available in Ford‘s passenger cars.

Meanwhile, two-litre diesel S-MAX and Galaxy models equipped with an automatic gearbox have been given a 10PS power boost – up from 130PS to 140PS – and a two-litre flexifuel engine which is capable of running on any mix of bioethanol and petrol in the same fuel tank has also been introduced for both ranges.

Fixtures and fittings have also been improved with wireless Bluetooth mobile phone connectivity now standard across the range while the range-topping S-MAX Titanium benefits from even more standard equipment in the shape of a Solar Reflect Windscreen, ambient lighting and chrome door handles. The optional Titanium X pack now includes bi-xenon lights.

Extra kit for the Galaxy Ghia includes new 10-spoke 17-inch alloy wheels, Solar Reflect Windscreen, ambient lighting and rear compartment air conditioning.

A new Ghia X Plus Pack is now available, with 18-inch alloys, bi-xenon lights and powered rear quarter windows to complement full leather trim and glass panorama roof.

To complete the changes, entry-level versions of the S-MAX and Galaxy now become Edge models instead of LX, in line with changes to other Ford products.

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Ka can make a reat used buy

Friday, January 27th, 2012

WHEN the Ford Ka first appeared at the motor show I thought it was as ugly as sin, but its cheeky, up-front styling very quickly became part of our consciousness.

Now it is even more ingrained in the country’s psyche, and I must admit that the shape has grown on me.

That strong, sharp edged design was well chosen by Ford, and it now adorns almost every model in the range, all of which are selling like hot cakes.

Of course, Ford’s cars have improved beyond all recognition since the early 90′s and they are well worth a wedge of anyone’s money.

I would rather have a Ka than a VW Lupo, SEAT Arosa or Fiat Seicento in the ever-widening city car class. That’s not to say it’s perfect, mainly because the interior is so small, but it does do most things very, very well.

And later models with body coloured bumpers look so much better than the early offerings with their vast areas of black plastic front and rear.

The Ka was designed on the Fiesta chassis to save development time, and so has exactly the same wheelbase. Of course, the stalks and some of the switches also come from the Ford main parts bin, but it does feel different and individual inside.

There was only one engine choice until the last year – the venerable 1.3-litre unit from the Fiesta which has been around for a long time. It produces 60 bhp and doesn’t like to be revved very hard, where it quickly runs out of puff.

But it produces decent performance for a small car, in what is quite a light body – performance which certainly betters that of other city cars.

It drives the front wheels through a standard five speed gearbox, with a light clutch and excellent brakes. There’s no power steering (PAS) in the ealy Ka models. This did not arrive until the better equipped Ka2 and Ka3 came out. But it was available as an option on the base model and many owners added it to the spec.

Cars without PAS are still reasonably light of steering except when parking, and some drivers prefer them at speed because they give better driver feedback. The standard Ka got PAS in 1997.

Handling and roadholding are excellent, with neutral balance tending to understeer on the limit, but excellent safety with strong grip.

The ride too is very good – again much better than some other city cars – taking the worst of surfaces in its stride, and particularly the bump and grind of city streets at low speeds.

Equipment in the base model includes tinted glass, stereo cassette, split-fold back seat, driver’s airbag and immobiliser. Ka2 adds the PAS, plus electric front windows, central locking and height adjustable driver’s seat. Ka3 adds air conditioning, alloy wheels, leather covered steering wheel and up-rated audio equipment.

Insurance is a very reasonable group 2, economy should be around 42mpg and servicing – which can be handled by any garage – is every 10,000 miles.

Pay about £2,245 for a ’96 P-reg Ka, £2,820 for a ’97 R-reg Ka2, £3,460 for a ’98 S-reg Ka3, or £6,190 for an ’01 Y-reg LuxuryKa. All prices are from a dealer.

FORECOURT FACTS

Model: Ford Ka

Driving: Nippy, agile and comfortable

Performance: Decent acceleration and can keep up on motorway

Economy: 40+ is good, but later engines from other makers are better

Safety: Driver’s airbag, ABS optional

Recommended Buy: Ka2

Alternatives: Daihatsu Cuore, VW Lupo, SEAT Arosa, original Mini

Hit:

Miss:

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All set for a rallying Fiesta

Friday, January 27th, 2012

Ford has taken rallying back to the future by launching an afFordable competition car that gives WRC thrills at road car money.

The Fiesta ST Group N is a showroom specification version of Ford’s supermini that has been developed for rallying by the Blue Oval’s competition division, M-Sport.

Their brief was simple: a fun, reliable but safe rally car that would enable beginners and enthusiastic amateurs to compete without breaking the bank. “We wanted to revisit the days when an enthusiastic amateur driver could take a standard car from a Ford dealer and use the parts kit supplied to build a competition car,” says M-Sport boss Malcolm Wilson.

To achieve their goal the M-Sport engineers used technology from the super successful Focus World Rally Championship car.

As soon as you climb into the cockpit through the complex metal framework of the roll cage, the attention to detail is striking. Special efforts have been taken to protect the occupants’ heads while Sabelt racing seats compatible with the Head And Neck Safety device that’s being used increasingly in motorsport have also been slotted in.

To ensure that driver and passenger stay firmly in place as the car storms through the stages, there’s a six-point Sabelt harness.

If you think this is taking safety a step too far, the project’s business manager Andrew Wheatley explains: “We haven’t compromised safety at all. We imagine this will be run predominantly by young drivers and they are going to make mistakes.”

Mistakes or not, the car still had to be fun to drive. As soon as the two-litre motor is fired, its rumble reverberating through the stripped out cabin, you have some idea of what this car is capable of.

The M-Sport engineers hiked power by fitting a new air filter and exhaust system and working on the Electronic Control Unit and electronic fly-by-wire throttle. This not only boosted the 150bhp motor’s output by 10 per cent but also improved response and engine torque in the lower gears.

A new gearbox was also fitted. This does away with synchromesh and has a ‘dog’ engagement. It cuts change time in half so even if you wanted to use the clutch to swap cogs, once you pull the lever the ‘box will be in the next gear before you have time to dip the pedal. It means you can move up through the five-speed gearbox with an almost seamless flow of power to the front wheels.

Ford’s boffins were starting from a position of power as the Fiesta ST has already been universally praised for having the best handling in its class. But still the engineers felt they could improve on it. They added adjustable Reiger dampers, strengthened the rear axle and made the steering quicker to improve the car’s turn-in.

The results are astonishing. When you’re pinned into the driver’s seat by the harnesses you could be in a shrunken version of the Focus WRC. Only the largely untouched dashboard in front gives away this machine’s relatively humble beginnings.

The engineers have managed to transform this into possibly the most focused Fiesta ever built. A twitch on the steering wheel is sufficient to change direction while the suspension still manages to cushion bumps even though body roll has been virtually eliminated.

Head into the rough stuff and it does exactly what the engineers wanted. Former Formula One star Mika Salo drove the first version as a course car on the 2005 Rally Finland in August. He reveals: “It’s fantastic fun. As long as you have a nimble chassis that turns in well and that you can balance easily you don’t need to have masses of power.

“This car does just what you’d expect. It’s predictable and easy for a rally novice like me to drive. I’d love to have a go against other competitors now!”

He might not have to wait too long. Malcolm Wilson plans to set up a one-make series with the Fiesta ST Group N to run alongside the WRC and act as a feeder for the Junior WRC.

Cost-wise, the car is right on track to make that happen. The modifications come at a price, but it’s a relatively modest £9,100.

And even though this boosts the standard road-going Fiesta ST’s price to £22,695 this could still be by far the safest and cheapest way there is of getting on the first steps of the ladder to a career in top flight rallying.

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More cars on the road

Wednesday, January 4th, 2012

IT looks as though there are going to be more cars than ever on UK roads this year, thanks to the rail operators.

The simple fact of life is that it is now so absurdly expensive to travel anywhere by train that anyone with a car will use it unless there is an alternative air route.

Expecting punters to pay literally hundreds of pounds to travel between UK cities by train is just not realistic if they can do the same journey in the comfort of their own cars for a fraction of the cost.

For the last couple of weeks I have been driving one of the UK’s most common and ordinary cars yet it is a comfortable, air-conditioned, roomy and supremely economical form of transport.

Its full title is Ford Mondeo 2.2 TDCi 155 Titanium estate. Endowed with a long-legged six speed manual transmission it performed effortlessly at the motorway maximum and with the cruise control on it was just as easy as sitting in a train carriage.

Economy averaged 46mpg to give a range between fill-ups of more than 500 miles at a cost of under £40.

Despite being a diesel it boasted a top speed of almost 140mph with lively acceleration to 60mph in just over eight and a half seconds.

It costs £160 a year for road tax and the official cost of fuel for 12,000 miles of motoring is just over £1,000.

True, you have to fork out about £18,000 for the car in the first place but the argument facing travellers is not whether to buy a car at all but whether to use the train instead of the car that they already own and use on a daily basis for shorter journeys.

AfFordable air travel is only a viable option for those journeying between cities with major airports, whereas the majority of the UK is accessible by the rail network.

It seems incredible in the year 2006 that a nation claiming to be one of the most developed in the world has a rail network that is not only notoriously unreliable and overcrowded but is now forcing even more of us on to the roads by the latest utterly unrealistic price hikes.

Of course it is a delicate balancing act for the government because those of us who use the roads generate vast amounts of revenue in fuel duties and the Chancellor does not want to lose that.

On the other hand the government appears to feel the need to persuade us to use the roads less in order to hit C02 targets, which when you consider what is happening elsewhere in the world are totally meaningless.

Look at any factory, aeroplane or herd of cows and you see that the amount of ozone-destroying emissions from cars in the UK is pretty inconsequential.

Perhaps the answer lies with the lead being shown by UK health trusts.

If they are in danger of failing to hit their waiting list targets they simply send letters to those on the waiting list telling them that they are no longer eligible for treatment.

As there is no one left on the waiting list it enables the health authority to hit its target and if those patients happen to die as a result then there are even fewer people in need of treatment.

I am currently awaiting my letter from The Department for Transport informing me that I am no longer eligible to use my car so that Johnny “Two Jags” Prescott and his merry men can meet global emissions targets by banning all motorists.

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High speed Transit

Wednesday, January 4th, 2012

IT’S vantastic – and white van man would kill for it.

Ford has taken a Transit Connect van and dropped a Focus RS engine under the bonnet.

The result is the Transit Connect X-Press – the fastest and most dramatic version of Ford‘s commercial van to hit the road.

With a top speed of 130mph and a 0-60 acceleration time of less than seven seconds this is one van even hot hatch enthusiasts would like to get their hands on.

But this is a one off developed by a group of Ford engineers based at the company’s Lommel Proving Ground in Belgium.

And because it was built in Belgium it is a left hand drive vehicle, which adds to the strange feel of it when you get behind the wheel.

Inside the cabin is nothing like any other Transit Connect. There are Sparco race-style leather and Alcantara bucket seats in black and white and the whole of the dashboard has a black flock covering.

And just in case someone gets a little too enthusiastic there is a “race-spec” roll cage fitted.

Get behind the wheel and its hard to believe you are driving a van. The performance is dynamic and the handling true sports car. If ever it is marketed it will become a best seller – although I doubt if many fleets would be happy to pay the insurance.

Since it was built the Transit Connect X-Press has been featured at motor shows and Ford events all over Europe.

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