2018 Ford EcoSport's Honeycomb Cargo Floor Is the Bee's Knees

CARS.COM — The environment is everybody’s beeswax, and Ford has looked to our little honey-making, hive-dwelling friends for inspiration for its new cargo shelf — which accommodates heavy loads while treading lightly on the earth. The honeycomb design, which Ford calls “a testament to nature’s ingenuity,” weighs in at just 6 pounds but is capable of holding nearly 700, and it debuts on the 2018 EcoSport subcompact SUV.

Related: 2018 Ford EcoSport Video Review

What will EcoSport buyers be able to haul in the lilliputian SUV after its arrival in dealerships early next year, thanks to this new cargo shelf? According to Ford, an entire landscaping project making use of five 94-pound bags of premixed concrete, four 40-pound bags of soil and eight 1-gallon containers of water weighing about 8 pounds each.

Beyond its loadbearing properties, however, Ford emphasizes its EcoSport-friendly eco-friendliness. The 38.5-inch-by-25.5-inch adjustable cargo surface is made of 100 percent recycled paper and held together by water-based glue.

“Customers can slide the shelf into multiple different slots like an oven rack, even store it on the back of the seats,” said Mike Mazzella, EcoSport assistant chief engineer, in a statement. “It helps make the EcoSport super flexible in everyday use.”

The cargo floorboard derives its hefty strength-to-weight ratio from its resin-reinforced honeycomb design previously used for skis and aerospace frames. A layer of hexagonal cells is sandwiched between two layers of composite material. It can be used as a load floor in its lowest position, a secure storage area beneath the floorboard in the middle position or a cargo floor that lines up with the fold-flat second row in the highest position; it can also be removed entirely and stored.

Watch the YouTube video below.