2003 Ford Faction Concept Was An Urban Lifestyle SUV

When most people hear “SUV,” they think tough, upright vehicles with the grit and mettle to head off-road at the drop of a hat. But back in 2003, Ford pondered what an urban lifestyle SUV could look like – that is, a utility vehicle designed to handle city life over backcountry adventures. Thus, the 2003 Ford Faction was born, a small SUV built with the urbanite in mind.

The 2003 Ford Faction broke cover at that year’s Los Angeles Auto Show. It was designed at Ford’s Ingeni studio in London, billed as a “tough, yet fashionable three-door SUV” featuring all-wheel-drive (AWD) and a “refined interior” influenced by European design elements and materials.

It boasts all manner of (at the time) cutting-edge tech, including City Eye, which is a camera system that provided a view directly behind the vehicle. That’s mundane by today’s standards, but it was novel and practically unheard of at the time.

The 2003 Ford Faction also featured a city-friendly door system, which utilized double-link hinges that helped aid ingress and egress in tight parking situations. Part of that system was a hidden door handle, which popped out and presented itself to the driver. To facilitate a feeling of “openness” even in crowded urban environments, the 2003 Faction featured a roof dominated by a glass panel, along with ample cargo room.

Packing the turbocharged 2.0L I4 engine borrowed from the European Ford Focus ST, the 2003 Ford Faction was rated to produce 167 horsepower and 143 pound-feet of torque. Its permanent AWD system allowed it to venture outside of city limits into sketchier terrain if desired, meaning it was geared toward conquering practically any environment.

As for the “Faction” nameplate – it was created “specifically for people who live in the middle of the action.” While the Faction never made it to market, its spirit lives on on the Ford Maverick, which was designed with a similar demographic in mind. In fact, the Maverick nameplate was derived from the type of customer The Blue Oval wanted to attract to the compact pickup.