The seven-seat Ford S-Max has been a huge hit in Europe since its introduction in 2007, and the Blue Oval is looking to keep up the momentum with a five passenger Ford S-Max, dubbed the Trend, for the growing China market. The S-Max will have an additional 185 liters of cargo capacity sans third row, and the eliminated seating will also make the crossover lighter. Power will come from Ford's corporate 2.3-liter engine mated to a six speed automatic transmission.
While it's cool that Ford is offering the S-Max in China, the hot-looking people hauler already has fold-flat seating, which means the move to ditch the third row is all about removing costs. Hey, at least the S-Max is available in China. In the States we have to make due with the Taurus X.
[Source: World Car Fans]
New KITT Attack Mode revealed at Comic Con
London 2008: Honda OSM concept roadster says, "Cheerio!"
London 2008: Lotus unveils the Evora
2010 Chevy Camaro - Official Details and Images
2010 Chevy Camaro - LIVE from the reveal
In the Autoblog Garage: Aprilia RSV 1000 R
First Drive: Maserati Quattroporte S in Europe
First Drive: 2008 MINI Cooper S JCW
In the Autoblog Garage:2009 Nissan GT-R
North American Exclusive First Drive: Alfa MiTo
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Chris @ Apr 11th 2008 8:23AM
Following the link and it appears to be a larger Mazda5 with Ford badging....
Tinu @ Apr 11th 2008 9:20AM
They couldn't find any other location to put those little round lamps?! Nobody thought about putting them in the squarish opening in the bumper?!
That One Person @ Apr 11th 2008 10:55AM
I have seen a couple of these running around Dearborn and they are sharp. They definitely look better than the Mazda5.
Anyways, this thing doesn't share anything with the Mazda5 except maybe some engine options. You are thinking of the C-Max.
Mirko @ Apr 11th 2008 9:00AM
The S-Max's third row has always been an option in Europe. You can already get S-Maxes without the third row.
There's an optional slide-out cargo floor for the 5-seater S-max.
As seen here:
http://www.ford.de/safari/s-max/sm_innen/sm11/-/-/-/-
J.A. @ Apr 11th 2008 9:43AM
Car taxation in China makes driving a 7-seat vehicle more expensive than a 5-seat one.
The five-seat version of the VW Touran is much more popular than the seven-seat version, and will likely be the main competitor of this vehicle.
tomiii @ Apr 11th 2008 9:55AM
Those round lamps are there most likely to differentiate S-Max from Galaxy, the version for not-so-sporty Fußball-Mütter.
Yaroukh @ Apr 11th 2008 10:24AM
follow the guy who's stolen your glasses
Rick @ Apr 11th 2008 4:01PM
It looks like a Mondeo version of the 5. I can't stand that mirror glass section, it's too large. And why make a van body but give it rear doors? We got our 5 speficially for the sliding doors which makes easy work of loading and unloading 2 kids.
JUSBEEZ @ Apr 11th 2008 5:45PM
haha, this exact car was behind me today driving to downtown Detroit. I thought it was a focus at first then saw the S-max badges. Its not good looking unless you like the mazda 5
ed @ Apr 11th 2008 6:29PM
The rest of the world gets 6-sp with a four banger... we get 4. Thanks ford. Really, you shouldn't. Glad you are thinking for us, because a small engine with less power doesn't need more gears to make use of the power. Shoot, while you are at it, just make all small cars with 3-sp.