Ford S-MAX Vignale Concept revealed

The Ford S-MAX Vignale Concept is the second of Ford’s range-topping Vignale Concepts to arrive to tempt Ford buyers to spend more.

The Ford S-Max Vignale (pictured) arrives to top the S-Max range

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The arrival of the Ford Mondeo Vignale Concept last year made it clear Ford were ready to do a 21st century version of the ‘Ghia’ badge engineering to create a range-topping sub-brand with the Vignale badge with all the whistles and bells on it. Today’s arrival of the Ford S-MAX Vignale Concept reinforces that conclusion.

Just like the Mondeo Vignale, the S-Max Vignale comes with plenty of upmarket materials and toys, like 21″ alloys, chrome mirror caps, Vignale Grill, embossed leather with quilting, tablet docking and a Milano Grigio paint job.

Ford are planning to have specially trained relationship managers for Vignale buyers who will offer proper hands-on help in ‘Vignale Lounges’ located in select Ford dealerships.

Martin Smith, Ford’s Design exec in Europe, said:

Spacious and aspirational, the S-MAX Vignale Concept goes beyond traditional automotive design and speaks to customers who value aesthetics.
Our Vignale designers were inspired by trends from furniture to fashion to create this new expression of Ford.

It’s a nice idea, if not exactly a new one, and a decent way to take more cash from buyers who want the ultimate spec.

But we can’t see many forsaking premium brands like Mercedes, Jaguar or BMW for a Ford Vignale although, if you’re not a badge snob, a Ford Vignale will make a cracking secondhand buy in a couple of years time.