Ford is no longer willing to sell you an old-fashioned three-box sedan. But if you live in China, it will give you something that vaguely looks like one, called the Evos.
The Evos were revealed at the Shanghai Auto Show yesterday, along with a few other China-only models (including a review of the Accompaniment – the name lives on!) The Evos were developed for China, will launch in China and the Blue Oval does not intend to bring it to the US or Europe. But while we will not get this particular elongated notchback in our forest neck, we still need to recognize the Evos as a foretaste of what is to come. Because it’s about as close to the abandoned baking style as Ford is more willing to go.
In profile, the Evos is the most crossovery crossover I think I’ve ever seen, because it does not fit into one category. Although there are many clues with the Mustang Mach-E, the Evos is not an electric vehicle, so it has longer front and rear overhangs with a more pronounced hood and an excessively short cabin. In appearance, the design does not seem particularly space-efficient, although it is slightly difficult to judge from images.
If the Evos were lower and dropped the hatch, it would be a sedan. Conversely, if the roofline extends a little further before going backwards, it will be a wagon. But as it is, the Evos are not here or there, and fit them perfectly for the crossover label. It’s ‘alternative rock’ in car form.
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Ford says the Evos is the ‘first vehicle largely developed by a China-based team’, thanks to a new joint venture with Chinese firm Changan Automobile. Like the Mach-E, it’s built on Ford’s Full Network Vehicle E / E system and offers updates to the air and BlueCruise Level 2 technology for hands-free driving on ‘pre-qualified sections of split highways’. C-V2X vehicle-to-vehicle-and-vehicle-to-infrastructure communications are also included, which will be of paramount importance to promote autonomy in China’s urban centers.
The focus on technology carries over to the inside with a solid plate that spans two screens, consisting of a 12.3-inch panel for the digital instrument panel and a 27-inch 4K touchscreen for everything. They are separated by a boundary, but the overall effect is reminiscent of the end-to-end performance Byton is going to present in his cars. (And maybe more – has anyone heard of Byton lately?)
Ford says that this information system, based on Sync + 2.0, utilizes Baidu’s work in artificial intelligence, with a partnership between the two that had been in the making for years. If you read between the lines, it is clear that Evos is the product of a lot of cooperation with Chinese manufacturing and technology companies, which are designed exclusively to make money from the market. It’s no surprised that the car is not destined for the West.
That said, don’t be surprised to see a Ford that looks a lot like the Evos in your local showroom over the next few years. Views of what is said to be the upcoming Ford Mondeo in Europe suggests that sedan will be reincarnated as a crossover in its next life, and there are rumors that Ford will most likely do the same with the Fusion in North America. Welcome to the sedan of the future.