Ford has revealed its S-MAX concept to journalists ahead of the vehicle’s global debut at next month’s Frankfurt motor show.
“When Ford unveiled the SAV – sport activity vehicle – concept in 2005 it immediately captured the public’s imagination and inspired us to produce today’s S-MAX, a true white space vehicle,” said Barb Samardzich, Ford of Europe’s vice president of Product Development.
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The new concept has Ford’s latest global design language as seen on the Fusion/next Mondeo and facelifted Fiesta, including a high mounted grille and swept-back headlights. The lights feature what Ford terms ‘organic’ LEDs. These are said to offer greater flexibility in terms of positioning and design, fast response and colour range.
High quality materials have been used for the interior, which will seat between four and seven occupants. This includes an ultra-soft leather wrapping for the instrument panel, as well as leather and carbon fibre detailing for the sculptured seats.
Ford SYNC with MyFord Touch is another feature. This means wireless internet access for passengers, supported by a tablet docking station that allows second row occupants to seamlessly integrate their personal devices into the vehicle.
SYNC AppLink enables the driver to voice-control smart phone apps from an expanding list of service providers, which include Spotify, Kaliki, Glympse and Aha, bringing additional music, news, personalised information as well as location and navigation options into the vehicle.
SYNC also enables additional features to improve health and well-being:
- Ford’s ECG Heart Rate Monitoring Seat records the driver’s heart rate, delivering long-term heart activity data, and offers the potential to connect with Ford SYNC to alert remote medical experts to unusual activity or even trigger active safety systems to take over in an emergency
- Glucose Level Monitoring connects with Ford SYNC could warn parents if a sleeping child in the rear seats suffers a diabetic episode
Communications and sensor systems provide detailed information about the driving environment, to enhance awareness and safety:
- Car-to-car communications technology enables the vehicle to ‘talk to’ similarly equipped vehicles, warning of oncoming traffic on the wrong side of the motorway, or if a vehicle has stopped in a blind bend in the road
- Ford Intelligent Protection System with Pre-Collision Assist identifies pedestrians and automatically applies the brakes if a collision is imminent
- Advanced version of Active Park Assist featuring perpendicular parking capability, park out assist and Cross Traffic Alert is the next generation of Ford parking technology. This is able to control steering, gear selection and fore and aft movement, and assist drivers in leaving parking bays by alerting them to approaching traffic
The interior design offers:
- So-called ‘Thin Seat Technology’ for the third row, enabling the seats to be raised and lowered in a single action. An intelligent second row of seats makes it easy to get in and out, with a centre seat that folds into the floor
- Dual-View Display in the centre console delivers different images to the driver and front passenger using the same screen, ensuring the driver receives important information without being distracted, while the front passenger can enjoy a film at the same time
A model based on the S-MAX concept is set to enter production at Ford of Europe’s Valencia plant in late 2014 alongside the Mondeo and a replacement for the Galaxy. Like the concept, the S-MAX will be available with Ford’s new 1.5-litre EcoBoost petrol engine.
Author: Glenn Brooks
