2005 Ford SAV Concept

But perhaps that bridge will be crossed if Mazda sees any success with its mini-minivan. The Mazda5 is truly a "mini" van.

Ford owns a large portion of Mazda, so they could use just about any part they wanted for the SAV. (Photo: Ford Motor Company of Canada)

Seating for six in three adaptable rows, and based on a compact car (Mazda3) platform, it will be a smaller and cheaper (at the pumps, too) alternative to the ever-growing minivans on the road today. And being a Mazda it should be zippy, too.

How does the SAV relate to the 5? Well, Ford owns a large portion of Mazda, so they could use just about any part they wanted for the SAV, but will they? Ford of Europe already has an enlarged version of the Focus known as the C-Max, which leads many to conjecture that the SAV will up the ante in the name game to D-Max, or possibly E-Max. The C-Max, named for maximizing the interior space of its C-segment architecture, is probably closer in size to the Mazda5, so the SAV is more likely to simply be philosophically similar, both slotting below their respective brands' minivans.

However, it doesn't require too great a leap of imagination

The SAV is likely to ride on the same chassis architecture that the next-generation Mondeo will be strapped to, a derivative of Ford's P2 global midsize platform. (Photo: Ford Motor Company of Canada)

to assume that many of the working powertrain components could be binned from somewhere within the Ford family. In fact the SAV was, according to the press brief, "...created with the disciplines of Ford's shared technology approach, which gives designers flexibility to create diverse body styles and vehicle formats." Essentially, a game of pin the Ford tail (really nose) on the global platform donkey. Welcome to the wonderful world of platform sharing... everybody's doin' it. The SAV is likely to ride on the same chassis architecture that the next-generation Mondeo will be strapped to, a derivative of Ford's P2 global midsize platform.