Ford X-MAX -or- How Ford’s Getting Ready To Mess Up Its Iosis-X Concept

Wow, check out that cool concept”. How many times have you said those words? Obviously as many times as, “how did the hell did they manage to …uck it up”, once you saw the production version. And from the looks of things, that’s going to be the case with the production version of Ford’s 2006 Paris Show study, the Iosis-X that’ll aim at rivals like the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V. Before you say that’s just a rendering from Autoexpress (left pic)), check out the camouflaged image of Ford’s upcoming compact crossover caught by Autozeitung (right pic). Compare the CGI with the actual spy pic and you’ll discover that Autoexpress folks did an impressively accurate job. Compare both with the Iosis-X concept and you’ll see a lost chance from Ford’s behalf. -Continued: Click "Read More..." below

Key phrase here is “retaining the Iosis-X’s design cues”. Remember that cause you’re definitely going be hearing a lot of it when the X-MAX or whatever its name’s is, goes on sale in 2008. Letdown aesthetics aside, the X-MAX (well call it X-MAX for the sake of the conversation) will be loosely based on the Ford Focus/ Volvo S40-V50/ Mazda3 platform and it will be most probably be offered in 2WD and 4WD versions. The latter will use Volvo’s simpler 4wheel-drive system rather than the complex 4WD system from the more expensive Freelander 2. While Autoexpress claims that it’ll be fitted with the same engine range as the current Focus, inside tipsters have told us it’ll feature a new array of motors that’ll also equip the facelifted Focus (premier in Frankfurt this September).

Pics Via: Autoexpress & Autozeitung

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