Fiesta SUV spied in London

By Paul Bond

11th July 2011

Ford's new baby SUV has already been spotted out in the open, but these new pictures show that the Fiesta-based crossover has been conducting all-important on-road testing in the heart of the capital too.

Taken with a camera phone at Victoria Embankment, these new pictures confirm that this prototype mule - disguised beneath the body of a five-door Fiesta - will have a significantly  taller ride height than the forthcoming B-MAX.

It's also clear that this new car will have a wider front and rear track - with the wheels protruding from either side of the camouflaged bodywork. This test vehicle does without the chunky all-terrain tyres and 16-inch alloys of other mules we've seen, suggesting that Ford is testing a variety of suspension setups, aiming to strike a good balance between sharp handling and decent off road ability.

Although grainy, the interior shot reveals a Fiesta-style dash layout that's likely to change for the production model, but does reveal that this car uses a traditional manual gearbox rather than Ford's Powershift automatic, while a big-bore single exhaust suggests that this could be the 1.6-litre turbocharged EcoBoost petrol.

Ford hasn't yet confirmed its existence, but expect the Fiesta SUV to make a strong showing in concept form at a major European motor show next year.