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Ford Yet-To-Be-Named Off-Road Small SUV Teased, Looks Better Than The EcoSport

As you already know by now, crossover and sport utility vehicle customers are getting downmarket, downsizing to the compact and subcompact segments. The latter is gaining traction at an impressive rate, but Ford doesn’t have anything better to offer than the EcoSport in this class. For that matter, the Escape is also showing its age.
Ford Yet-To-Be-Named Off-Road SUV 126 photos
Photo: Ford
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Addressing these issues, the Ford Motor Company took the decision to publish the teaser of a prototype of sorts, depicting a “yet-to-be-named off-road” small SUV. The Dearborn-based automaker didn’t offer any indication of where it would fit in the lineup, but from the looks of it, it appears to bridge the gap between the EcoSport and Escape. And it also appears to be influenced by the all-new Bronco.

Both the newcomer and Bronco are “designed to win a growing number of people who love getting away and spending time outdoors with their families and friends.” That’s sweet talk from the Blue Oval’s part, with the translation coming in the form of “we know SUVs sell really well, especially the off-road type, so here’s yet another one.”

The circular LED headlights and FORD lettering in capital letters on the front grille give a macho feeling to the mysterious utility vehicle. The bash plate up front, generous-sized wheel arches, and roof bars are also proof of the lifestyle-oriented nature of this SUV. All in all, not a bad effort from a stylistic standpoint.

If you were wondering why Ford would need another high-riding vehicle in its range, that’s because SUV sales could account for 50 percent of U.S. industry retail sales. For this reason, the automaker decided to reallocate $7 billion in capital from passenger cars to SUVs. This chunk of cash will help Ford offer “an industry-leading lineup of eight SUVs” by 2020, and “five of which will offer hybrid powertrains and one battery electric.”

One of those SUVs will be the performance-oriented Explorer ST, following in the footsteps of the Edge ST.
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Editor's note: 2018 Ford EcoSport pictured in the gallery.

About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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