A family venture by Ford (From Basingstoke Gazette)

A family venture by Ford

3:38pm Friday 17th December 2010 in Cars

This car is crucial in more ways than one. Its primary purpose is to replace the outgoing C-Max, Ford’s compact MPV and therefore one of its more important models competing for the business of expanding families everywhere.

But what isn’t quite so obvious is that the C-Max also gives us a sneaky peek at what the next generation Focus is going to be like – so pay close attention.

The first thing to note is that the new C-Max is far more distinctive than the outgoing model. Thankfully Ford is right in the middle of a period where it is building cars that look and feel modern right from the moment you first set eyes on them, and in spite of the fact that this car is primarily designed to be practical it has enough about it to make you want to find out more.

It’s also important to point out that Ford is offering the latest C-Max in two flavours: regular and Grand.

If you have the need or just want the extra space, the Grand C-Max offers a seven-seat configuration with sliding rear doors. But it’s the standard C-Max with five seats and conventional rear doors that is the least expensive way in.

The second-generation C-Max has a slimmed-down model range with just Zetec and Titanium trim, but even the Zetec model has all the kit you would want to have: 16in alloys, manual air conditioning, a leather steering wheel and a slick audio system with DAB, Bluetooth and USB connectivity.

The five-seat version also means a permanently capacious boot which although not particularly long, is deep and tall: over 600 litres of space is available with all the seats in place.

The entry-level diesel is the 1.6-litre TDCi unit offering 113bhp and a useful 199lb.ft of torque, which manages the remarkable feat of offering respectable performance (114mph and 0-62mph in 11.3 seconds) with truly impressive economy and emissions: 61.4mpg combined and 119g/km is impressive. In an ideal world the beefier 2.0-litre diesel is the engine of choice.

In an industry and a segment where progress is everything, the C-Max really is pushing hard to be at the head of the pack.