New Ford B-Max: Backpacker RV?
 

I've been looking for a vehicle that makes 35 mpg and allows me to sleep inside for "backpacker" thrift in a secure vehicle.

The Ford B-max may be it. The 3-cyl/1-liter ecoboost engine provides 100 hp. High strength steel negates the need for a B-pillar allowing an innovative door configuration. It is built on a Fiesta platform.

ford: b-max at geneva motor show 2011 - designboom

You-Tube: 2m+ flat interior configuration

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Moderator, at least on of the links in the above post lead to a dubious SPAM site. Please remove.

Look fine to me. Please clarify. :)

Checked both sites, and nothing odd popped up here.

Nissan had something like those doors in a microvan sold in US/Canada about 25 yrs ago called "Multi".

Not sure how you could sleep in there without removing the back seats.

At least with the fugly Pontiac Aztek, the cargo area was advertised as doubling as sleeping quarters.

Looks like a Mazda 5. I like the 5, and I like the new Fiesta, so this interests me.

The rear and right-front seats fold down for a 2+ meter flat surface. Seems with a little after-market decking, a prone sleeping position could be possible, albeit minimal.

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ETA: When it hits European showrooms next year, the B-Max will be fitted with Ford's latest EcoBoost engine, a turbocharged 1.0-liter three-cylinder direct-injection gasoline unit that returns nearly 60 mpg and emits less than 100 g/km of CO2. The engine is fitted with an auto stop-start system to help boost mileage and lower emissions, and drives the front wheels through a six-speed twin-clutch Powershift gearbox.

OP, Judging by your UA, DL, and AA status... you're likely in the US. Which makes me wonder, is this vehicle even destined for the US market?

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I'm not a huge car guy, but I read that the Fiesta is Ford's first crack at a "universal" platform.

If this thing takes off in Europe, they should be able to move production to other continents with a minimum of retooling...

The B-Max is a concept car which will soon make production. Assembled in Romania and not slated for the US, but some chatter that fuel prices may accelerate its appearance here.

I started this thread because it's a imaginative concept and would be great car-camping in British Columbia bear country and elsewhere.