A few months ago, our vigilant spy photographers caught a Ford Fiesta mule that was thought to be hiding a new small SUV.
Since then, Ford confirmed that it’s working on “a yet-to-be named rugged small utility” vehicle. Fast forward to the present day, and a report coming from Reuters talks about a new small off-roader, currently referred to as the ‘baby Bronco’.
Expected to arrive in 2019 or 2020, it will benefit from “off-road positioning and imagery”, in the words of Hau Thai-Tang, the company’s Executive VP for Product Development and Purchasing, who briefly talked about the model at an investor conference in New York.
Also Read: 2020 Ford Bronco: Here’s What We Know So Far
Using the word “off-roader” to describe it might be a long stretch as, unlike the real Bronco that will arrive in 2020 with a body-on-frame construction, the small SUV will be based on the same platform as the new Focus.
The architecture is extremely versatile and supports different vehicles, and besides the Focus, the Escape should lend some of its features, too. Some (if not all) of the engines will likely come from the next generation Escape.
Ford is also thought to be working on a pickup version based on the same platform. It’s said to be aimed at the North American market, at first, and could also go on sale in Europe eventually.
