Ford will roll out a concept version of its S-Max crossover during the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show, and it will feature a variety of new technologies that can even track a driver’s health.
The 7-seat S-Max is the larger, more upscale version of the Ford C-Max “people mover” recently introduced in the U.S. market. The Concept hints at an update being seen by the automaker as a way to draw in the young European families Ford desperately needs to attract in order to reverse years of substantial losses in the struggling Continental car market.
As has become typical with Ford’s recent concepts, what you see is pretty much what you will get, global design director J Mays said during a Detroit media backgrounder. The design, he said, is a “very good indication of what the next S-Max will look like.”
Meanwhile, “Some of the technology will be available on the production vehicle,” he hinted, adding that, “Some is further out.”
(Infiniti to reveal new Q30 Concept in Frankfurt. Click Here for a sneak peek.)
Among the more likely to reappear in production, updated versions of the Ford Sync and MyFordTouch infotainment system. Those technologies are slated to reach Europe next year. And the S-Max Concept’s navigation system has been programmed, Ford claims, to speak 19 major European languages.
Other technologies include a built-in WiFi hot spot, a tablet computer docking station for rear seat passengers – and more of a stretch, a system that could track both a driver’s heart rate and blood sugar levels. Ford says the latter technology would be able to alert a motorist – and rescue crews – in the event of a medical emergency.
Technically a 5+2-seater, Ford has sold 350,000 S-Max crossovers since the vehicle was introduced eight years ago, with women and family buyers making up the majority of its market. The vehicle essentially serves as a European minivan alternative.
(Volvo teases new Concept C also coming to Frankfurt. Click Here for a closer look.)
For now, Ford says it has no plans to bring the S-Max to the United States. Then again, it said the same thing about the C-Max before launching that smaller CUV here two years ago. As it evolves to more and more global platforms, however, that could provide impetus to add the S-Max to American dealer showrooms, especially as buyers continue to migrate to more flexible vehicles – with an emphasis on crossovers and people-movers – that may open up a new opportunity.
A friend came down summer before last on the ferry to see us in Palermo in one of these; common in Rome, but Palermo’s a poorer city. I don’t know why we can’t get one in the USA. The “new” Escape (Kuga in Europe) has been sold there since late 2008, and they now see its a hit here. We WANT up-to-date 7-seaters too.