Ford didn't bother with a press conference in Geneva, but it did reveal a very important concept in the city by the lake. The Iosis Max is billed as a preview of Ford's next generation C-Segment car, also known in Europe as the Focus. In 2011, the Focus is getting a redesign and going global, and the Iosis Max is a clear indication of where Ford is going with its new compact sedan.
If the Verve-to-Fiesta transformation is any example, the shapes of the concept could carry over to the production Focus. The sliding rear doors and center tunnel -- reminiscent of last year's Explorer America concept -- probably won't make an appearance in showrooms, nor will the headlamps, which feature gills similar to those found underneath a mushroom cap.
Under the hood the Iosis features the same 1.6L EcoBoost, dual-clutch transmission and auto start-stop featured on the Lincoln Concept C and Volvo S60 concepts in Detroit. When the next Focus arrives in 2011, expect this powertrain to achieve almost 40 mpg (combined) with decent performance to boot.
