What Is It?
Ford SYNUS
What's Special About It?
No need to go underground for protection, Ford debuts a concept vehicle that offers rolling safety for the city streets. A virtual fortress on wheels, the Ford SYNUS features armored trucklike styling, with cartoonish flair, right down to a driver-side door combination lock and a four-spoke, vault-style handle that operates the rear hatch.
Based on the Ford Fiesta, a pint-size B-car popular in crowded countries where narrow roads are consumed with urban traffic, the undersized SYNUS is completely buttoned up for occupant safety. When parked in "secure mode," the SYNUS closes protective shutters over the windshield and side windows. Narrow windows located behind the B-pillars and on the roof are fixed and bullet-resistant.
Most unusual is the rear hatch, which has no window at all. Instead, passengers are treated to a 45-inch LCD widescreen mounted on the inside of the tailgate. This massive display allows occupants to surf the Internet, watch a movie or simply observe the outside world via hidden cameras on the vehicle's exterior. Those same cameras function as a rearview mirror with the driver seeing a high-definition closed circuit image of the rearward view when looking directly at the rearview mirror. The SYNUS also provides seats that configure to form a conversation area, allowing front and rear passengers to face each other. Interior side panels are covered in memory foam that conforms to the body, allowing passengers to literally leave their handprint on the wall, while the SYNUS eco-minded powertrain prevents drivers from leaving their footprint on the environment.
Powering this urban sanctuary is a turbocharged, intercooled 2.0-liter, four-cylinder diesel engine used in Ford's world-car Mondeo sedan. The engine is tuned for 134 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque. It's compatible with bio-mass diesel fuel, a non-toxic biodegradable fuel made from agricultural products and unusual components like recycled restaurant grease.
What's Edmunds' Take?
The SYNUS looks like a cartoon hero's vehicle of choice, and we wouldn't be surprised to see a caped man in tights spring forth from the cabin. But while this mini-SUV may be a radical concept, it is in fact an extreme example of a future Ford product. The Blue Oval has already announced plans to bring its sub-Focus-sized B-car to the United States in 2007. — Kelly Toepke
Ford SYNUS
What's Special About It?
No need to go underground for protection, Ford debuts a concept vehicle that offers rolling safety for the city streets. A virtual fortress on wheels, the Ford SYNUS features armored trucklike styling, with cartoonish flair, right down to a driver-side door combination lock and a four-spoke, vault-style handle that operates the rear hatch.
Based on the Ford Fiesta, a pint-size B-car popular in crowded countries where narrow roads are consumed with urban traffic, the undersized SYNUS is completely buttoned up for occupant safety. When parked in "secure mode," the SYNUS closes protective shutters over the windshield and side windows. Narrow windows located behind the B-pillars and on the roof are fixed and bullet-resistant.
Most unusual is the rear hatch, which has no window at all. Instead, passengers are treated to a 45-inch LCD widescreen mounted on the inside of the tailgate. This massive display allows occupants to surf the Internet, watch a movie or simply observe the outside world via hidden cameras on the vehicle's exterior. Those same cameras function as a rearview mirror with the driver seeing a high-definition closed circuit image of the rearward view when looking directly at the rearview mirror. The SYNUS also provides seats that configure to form a conversation area, allowing front and rear passengers to face each other. Interior side panels are covered in memory foam that conforms to the body, allowing passengers to literally leave their handprint on the wall, while the SYNUS eco-minded powertrain prevents drivers from leaving their footprint on the environment.
Powering this urban sanctuary is a turbocharged, intercooled 2.0-liter, four-cylinder diesel engine used in Ford's world-car Mondeo sedan. The engine is tuned for 134 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque. It's compatible with bio-mass diesel fuel, a non-toxic biodegradable fuel made from agricultural products and unusual components like recycled restaurant grease.
What's Edmunds' Take?
The SYNUS looks like a cartoon hero's vehicle of choice, and we wouldn't be surprised to see a caped man in tights spring forth from the cabin. But while this mini-SUV may be a radical concept, it is in fact an extreme example of a future Ford product. The Blue Oval has already announced plans to bring its sub-Focus-sized B-car to the United States in 2007. — Kelly Toepke
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