I ambled up to the vast Ford stand in Frankfurt eagerly looking for my first glimpse of the stunning iosis concept when my attention was turned to the completely unexpected Ford Galaxy show car. Though billed as a 'preview model', the Galaxy show car is pretty much the car that will hit Ford showrooms before the end of 2006.

A quick glance may have you thinking that the Galaxy show car is merely a facelift of the current car, but this Galaxy is in fact an all-new car, developed in-house by Ford, not in conjunction with the VW Group as with the current car. If you took notice of the SAV concept car at the Geneva Show earlier this year you won't be surprised by the looks of the new Galaxy, sharing that car's headlight shape and grille design, though with less aggressive sculpting of the inverse trapezoid lower grille. It is worth noting that the SAV is going into production as a new model in its own right, fitting in below the seven-seat Galaxy in the Ford range.

The new Galaxy's styling is subtle, but the designers have paid meticulous attention to detail. Look closely and you'll see the kinks at either end of the side windows echoed in the shape of the front and rear lights. The wheelarches are intentionally pronounced, and the shapely rear lights disguise a deep hatch indicating the low load floor behind. Other niceties on the show car include a fixed glass roof extending to the second row of seats, and integrated roof bars that slide back to form a rear spoiler.

It's not exactly clear how many of the show car's features will be standard across the new Galaxy range, and Ford were coy about the interior in particular. The preview car features a host of equipment, including luxurious leather trim. One feature that is likely to become standard is Ford's new infotainment system christened HMI (Human Machine Interface), which sounds like something out of The Matrix, but is essentially Ford's equivalent to BMW's I-drive system.

Shane O' Donoghue - 26 Sep 2005