2005 Ford SAV Concept

So Why Isnt This Car Coming Here?

This has got to be the coolest family-oriented concept I have seen coming from a major carmaker since the Lexus LF-X crossover concept from a couple of years back. Of course, all the rhetoric coming from Ford about this one is that it is strictly Euro-flash. Upon its presentation last March, Ford claimed that the SAV was principally the "future Ford of Europe design direction." This has since been reaffirmed with similar stylistic treatments for the European Focus and Fiesta.

The Ford SAV concept was displayed at the Geneva Auto Salon back in March. If youre wondering about the delay in my response time, well, you can just keep wondering. OK, maybe the next bit of information will give my real reason away. Last week, Ford confirmed that the SAV is heading for production to fill

Upon its presentation last March, Ford claimed that the SAV was principally the "future Ford of Europe design direction." (Photo: Ford Motor Company)

a niche between the Fusion-sized (Fusion being the North American sedan not the European crossover - sorry about the con-fusion) Mondeo sedan/wagon and the Galaxy minivan. Good enough reason to take a closer look? Thought so...

So is this SAV a bloated wagon? A shrunken minivan? A bulbous SUV? And didnt BMW coin that acronym to describe their X5, and now their new X3? Yes. It stands for Sport Activity Vehicle in Bavaria.

Despite being one of the hot market segments in Europe,

SAV stands for Sport Activity Vehicle in Bavaria. (Photo: Ford Motor Company)

North America has few examples of car-based crossovers that attempt to emulate minivans rather than minivans trying to be SUVs. Many automakers market intriguing vehicles in Europe that are a weight class below full-size minivans (I apologize for the oxymoron) with similar capabilities for five and sometimes six passengers. Mazda has actually brought one of these across the pond, dubbed Mazda5, currently available in dealerships across the nation. Other than this little mini-MPV, most often in North America we get small SUVs with all- or four-wheel drive, the latter feature only used three or four times per year when were too lazy to

Ford owns a large portion of Mazda, so they could make use of just about any component they wanted for the SAV. (Photo: Ford Motor Company)

shovel the driveway. But perhaps that bridge will be crossed if Mazda sees any success with its mini-minivan. The Mazda5 is truly a "mini" van. Seating for six in three adaptable rows, and based on a compact car (Mazda3) platform, it will be a smaller and cheaper (at the pumps, too) alternative to the ever-growing minivans on the road today. And being a Mazda it reportedly quite zippy (see new vehicle reviews/road test section in this publication for 2006 Mazda5).

How does the SAV relate to the 5? Well, Ford owns a large portion of Mazda, so they could make use of just about any component they wanted for the SAV, but will they? Ford of Europe already has an enlarged

The SAV is likely to ride on the same chassis architecture that the next-generation Mondeo will be strapped to. (Photo: Ford Motor Company)

version of the Focus known as the C-Max, which leads many to conjecture that the SAV will up the ante in the name game to D-Max, or possibly E-Max (the letters C, D and E designating compact, midsize and large-midsize models in North American car talk). The C-Max, named for maximizing the interior space of its C-segment architecture, is probably closer in size to the Mazda5, so the SAV is more likely to simply be philosophically similar, both slotting below their respective brands minivans.

It doesnt require too great a leap of imagination, however, to assume that many of the working powertrain components could be binned from somewhere within the Ford family. In fact the SAV was, according to the press brief, "...created with the disciplines of Fords shared

And what is the SAV, really? Its a highly adaptable and innovative vehicle targeted at small, young families. (Photo: Ford Motor Company)

technology approach, which gives designers flexibility to create diverse body styles and vehicle formats." Essentially, a game of pin the Ford tail (really nose) on the global platform donkey. Welcome to the wonderful world of platform sharing... everybodys doin it.� In Fords case it already sells the Five Hundred and Freestyle, which are based on Volvos S80/XC90 chassis architecture, the Fusion and Lincoln Zephyr, which both share the Mazda6 platform, and others. The SAV is likely to ride on the same chassis architecture that the next-generation Mondeo will be strapped to, a derivative of Fords P2 global midsize platform.

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