Ford seems to
relish the Johannesburg International Motor Show. At the last event three years
ago they showed us one of the stars of the show, the revived GT 40. At JIMS 2011 Ford again wowed
the audience when taking the covers off, wait for it, the all-new Ranger bakkie (pickup). Massive in size, good in looks, and
apparently quite rugged, the Ranger looks set to offer a serious segment
challenger.
Ford SA will build
the Ranger right here in Silverton
in Tshwane, keep some of the units and export the rest to a global customer
base in 148 countries. The vehicle
is said to be as dynamic as it is
powerful. We got to sit in it, and felt like we were sitting inside a Focus. Wait
for our launch report early next
month.
Of course JIMS was also the place where Focus ST made his appearance. The hot hatch makes good of a 2.0-litre
Ecoboost engine to deliver 184kW
to the front wheels, via a 6-speed
manual gearbox. It promises to be the perfect antidote to the usual salad of bratwurst and frog’s legs.
Also presented was the Kuga,
unfortunately in its old look. A new
facelift is almost on sale in Europe. Not sure which version Mzansi is
getting though. The Kuga is a mid-size
SUV (by SA standards) that will rough it out with the likes of Kia Sportage and Hyundai ix35.
3 comments:
The bakkie market just got even more interesting.
My ST looks better than this new one I must say
nice bakkie shame
Post a Comment