Photo: Ford
When the S-Max Concept was presented last year at the Frankfurt Motor Show, that was the sign the Blue Oval is prepping an all new generation of the highly successful MPV. After a year or so since our first glimpse on what's in store, here it is, cool dads and moms, the all-new Ford S-Max in all its glory.
First of all, a sad announcement: there's very low to no chance at all for the Blue Oval to bring the 2015 Ford S-Max to North America. But the updated Galaxy will more than make up for that. Now back to the all-new S-Max. Ford says it's the new class leader in terms of fuel economy and driving dynamics.
But the thing is this: underneath that lovely body shell, there's a new platform that's shared with the next-gen Ford Mondeo. Adaptive Steering is also on the menu, changing the steering rack's speed according to vehicle velocity, which translates to impressive maneuverability round town and tight parking spaces. As for styling, there's trapezoidal grilles here, sculpted headlights with LED daytime running lights there, a little bit of new Focus, some Fiesta as well, you know, much of what we first seen on the Ford S-Max Concept from last year.
Like a true, modern seven-seat family hauler, the new Ford S-Max boasts with amenities such as power-folding seats on both the second and third row of seats. It's even got a hands-free boot lid a la the new Ford Escape, marketed in Europe as the Kuga. Although Ford has been scant with the details, side airbags at the back, Sync2 infotainment and heated/ventilated massage front seats are some of the available features already confirmed.
New-gen active parking is also available, a gizmo that can even do perpendicular parking. As if that wasn't enough, the system alerts you of crossing traffic when you reverse from the parking spot. In addition to that, the new S-Max gets auto braking, blind spot monitoring and lane-keep assist. Slated to go on sale in Europe in the summer of 2015, it's still a mystery what powertrain options customers will be offered.
We expect the same old 2-liter TDCi turbo diesel coupled to either a six-speed stick shift or the dual-clutch Powershift box, with power ranging from 118 to 177 horsepower. In addition to them oil burners, we also expect to get 1.5-liter and 2-liter EcoBoost petrol mills with 158 and 237 horsepower, respectively. Last but not least, voices hint that four-wheel drive will be introduced as well.
But the thing is this: underneath that lovely body shell, there's a new platform that's shared with the next-gen Ford Mondeo. Adaptive Steering is also on the menu, changing the steering rack's speed according to vehicle velocity, which translates to impressive maneuverability round town and tight parking spaces. As for styling, there's trapezoidal grilles here, sculpted headlights with LED daytime running lights there, a little bit of new Focus, some Fiesta as well, you know, much of what we first seen on the Ford S-Max Concept from last year.
Like a true, modern seven-seat family hauler, the new Ford S-Max boasts with amenities such as power-folding seats on both the second and third row of seats. It's even got a hands-free boot lid a la the new Ford Escape, marketed in Europe as the Kuga. Although Ford has been scant with the details, side airbags at the back, Sync2 infotainment and heated/ventilated massage front seats are some of the available features already confirmed.
New-gen active parking is also available, a gizmo that can even do perpendicular parking. As if that wasn't enough, the system alerts you of crossing traffic when you reverse from the parking spot. In addition to that, the new S-Max gets auto braking, blind spot monitoring and lane-keep assist. Slated to go on sale in Europe in the summer of 2015, it's still a mystery what powertrain options customers will be offered.
We expect the same old 2-liter TDCi turbo diesel coupled to either a six-speed stick shift or the dual-clutch Powershift box, with power ranging from 118 to 177 horsepower. In addition to them oil burners, we also expect to get 1.5-liter and 2-liter EcoBoost petrol mills with 158 and 237 horsepower, respectively. Last but not least, voices hint that four-wheel drive will be introduced as well.
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