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Ford has rolled out from its Chennai factory its latest Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), Ford Endeavour, designed especially for Asian markets.

Presenting the first Endeavour built at the Maraimalai Nagar factory, David Friedman, Managing Director and President, Ford India, said on September 24, "The Endeavour's roll-out is a major milestone for Ford's operations in India, as it marks our entry into the growing SUV segment. The Endeavour taps Ford's SUV heritage with world-class design and engineering to deliver a high degree of safety, performance and comfort in an affordable SUV."

Its price? "Well, we are not yet ready to announce the price. It will be ready for sale in November. However, it will be in the affordable range", Friedman added.

Randy Shockley, Vice-President, Marketing, Sales and Service, Ford India added, "It is a comfortable seven-seater, optimised for family use. The Ford Endeavour is ideal as it meets the needs of an SUV customer. It offers a superior combination of SUV looks, handling and performance. Its tough exterior styling is characteristic of Ford's SUV heritage, and it shows a commanding road presence."

Vinay Piparsania, Vice-President, External Affairs, and Director, Sales Operations, said Endeavour is stylish and yet has a tough, powerful and rugged appeal. The vehicle dimensions (length 4,959 mm, width 1,805 mm and height 1,835 mm) demonstrate a towering image. The exterior has a bright front-end across the full width, the large chrome grille, multi-reflector headlamps, clear combination lamps and styled bumpers. From the side view, the Endeavour presents a strong and streamlined appearance with its high ride height, smooth roofline and roof racks. It is fitted with chrome on the outside door handles and mirrors, and has the largest wheels and tyres on an Indian SUV.

The silver side-step, mud flaps and wheel mouldings provide an integrated rugged accent theme along the length of the vehicle and underline that it is a fully equipped, drive-anywhere vehicle, said Vinay.

Endeavour's interiors provide an elegant, luxurious feel. It seats seven passengers comfortably with easy in-and-out access to the third row seats. Packed with typical Ford features, it has power windows, power and tilt steering, three rows of premium velour fabric, front centre arm-rest with storage, premium titanium finish on key components, personalised dual AC with dedicated vents for all three rows with independent controls, tiered seating with plenty of leg room, shoulder room and excellent visibility, he said.

Powered by a 2.5 L turbocharged and inter-cooled diesel engine, the Endeavour offers the best in class ride and handling performance in varied driving conditions, such as high altitude, high temperatures and dusty off-road conditions. The vehicle dynamics have been developed to offer excellent, low speed steering and smooth transition shifts. It has good ground clearance and approach and departure angles that affirm its true off-road capability, Vinay added.

The Ford Endeavour will be on view at dealers' premises across the country beginning in October with delivery from November 2003.

David Friedman said India was among the first countries for the launch of Endeavour and it had rolled out after grueling tests in South Africa, Thailand, Australia and Japan. 20 per cent of its content had been made locally, at the Maraimalai Nagar plant, he said, adding this percentage could go up in the versions to follow.

R Rangaraj

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Published on 24th Sep. 2003

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