New Focus to the MAX

Ford Iosis gives us clues for Focus and C-Max

Bold new C-MAX gets seven seats.

Ford is taking family car styling to the MAX! Revealed on the Geneva stands, the Iosis MAX points the way to the look of the next-generation Focus and C-MAX – and this concept is no pie-in-the-sky show car.

Insiders say the three-bar grille, headlights and tail-lamps will be carried over to the MPV, as well as the Skoda Superb-style split-opening tailgate. The sliding rear doors won’t, as they are too complex and costly.

The C-MAX will come as a five-seater and, for the first time, a seven-seater. A development of the multi-surfaced dash seen in the show car is also likely.

Providing the power will be the concept’s 178bhp 1.6-litre EcoBoost turbo. It incorporates stop-start technology and will be mated to a Powershift twin-clutch box. But the engine will appear first in the Mondeo and S-MAX, within the next 12 months.

It was thought the C-MAX would arrive in 2010. But Ford is debating whether the Focus should debut the design. The projects are being worked on in parallel. If bosses decide to sell the Focus in all markets, it will arrive first, as early as 2010, with the C-MAX following in 2011.

See pictures of the Iosis MAX from its unveiling at the Geneva Motor Show.