Ford FOCUS C-MAX TDCI DIESEL RANGE
With A Pair Of Economical Common Rail Diesel Engines Available, Fords C-MAX Aims To Take The Fight To The Class Best. Andy Enright Reports
When designing a
mini-MPV, there are a vast array of options open to car manufacturers. They can maximise interior space but this normally comes at the expense of driveability and style. Fords recent renaissance has been built upon making cars that are a delight to drive, so its no surprise that their Focus C-MAX mini-MPV doesnt resemble a hulking breezeblock. So subtle are its lines that many would have to glance twice to distinguish it from its hatchback sibling.
With a frugal TDCI common rail diesel engine up front, the C-MAX proves both economical and acceptably quick. But will it be enough to steal sales form a well-established bunch of rivals?
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A little background is perhaps in order.
Ford adopted the Johnny-come-lately tactic into the lucrative
mini-MPV sector. When the market first took off, Ford were caught on the hop, their market analysts confident that sales of these ungainly eggs would prove little more than a brief fad. Buyers would come to their senses and recognise that something a little more conventional (i.
e. more Focus or Mondeo-shaped) would see to their needs. They were wrong. Six years after
Renault popularised the genre with the Scenic, Ford responded with the Focus C-MAX.
The ongoing excellence of the two TDCi diesel engines available to C-MAX buyers help it recover a lot of the lost ground, but it still has a lot of convincing to do. The 108bhp 1.6-litre diesel is a development of the existing 1.4TDCi common rail unit and, like the 2.
0-litre TDCi powerplant, was developed in conjunction with
Peugeot and
Citroen, drawing on both companys shared expertise in the field. Fords Centre for Diesel Excellence at Dagenham has become a well-respected think tank when it comes to state of the art oil burning engines and the latest TDCi units do its reputation no harm. The 1.6-litre engine is primarily aimed at customers with an eye on fuel economy, and will return a very creditable 57.
6mpg on the combined cycle while emitting just 129 grams of carbon dioxide for every kilometre travelled. Despite the focus on frugality, itll still zip to 60mph in 11 seconds and run on to a top speed of 116mph. Torque is delivered from very low in the rev range and this makes the C-MAX TDCi 1.6 agreeably quick off the mark when you need to accelerate out of a T-junction into flowing traffic.
Both oil burners are now offered in Euro III or Euro IV compliant forms and the 1.6 TDCI is also the only engine in the range to be offered with CVT automatic transmission.
"Fords Centre for Diesel Excellence at Dagenham has become a well respected think tank"
If you really want to take advantage of the Focus C-MAXs excellent dynamics, the punchy 134bhp 2.0-litre TDCi engine makes a capable partner. Backed up by a six-speed gearshift, this is the biggest common rail turbo diesel in the entire Ford line up and develops more torque than a
Porsche Boxster S. This means that as long as you keep the needle in the sweet spot around 2,000rpm, youll have plenty of acceleration in reserve whether its just you at the wheel or even if the car is fully stacked.
It gets to 60mph in 9.3 seconds and will hit 125mph where conditions permit. Despite this muscle at the command of your right foot, the 2.0-litre model still manages an average of over 50mpg and emits 148g/km of CO2.
Why would you possibly want to buy elsewhere, especially with 1.6-litre pricing opening at just £15,790 and the 2.0-litre at £17,540? The thing that may prove a deal breaker to some customers is the fact that whereas the
Volkswagen Touran can be specified with seven seats and the Renault Grand Scenic is also thus equipped, the C-MAX only offers five seats. This raises a perplexing question.
Just as the Ford Fusion has found little favour with buyers who couldnt really see what it offered over and above a normal Fiesta, there may well be a significant proportion of potential C-MAX customers who cant see the point of a car that seats no more bodies than a cooking Focus hatch. If the exterior may be a little low key, the C-MAX more than makes up for it with the ideas factory that is the cabin. Although its not available on entry-level versions, Fords rear
seat flexibility system really is the ace in the C-MAX hole. A 40-20-40 "tip and tumble" rear seat sees the centre section flip rearwards into the luggage compartment, leaving the remaining two seats to slide diagonally along a runner towards the centre of the car, giving unprecedented levels of space for four. The rear seats are set high, which does away with the usual mini-MPV complaint of virtually sitting on the floor and means that the kids get a great view forward. The flipside to this is that if youre regularly carting taller passengers about, that sloping roofline may cause a few grumbles. With 100mm of extra legroom and 60mm of additional shoulder room, space is otherwise pretty generous in the back of the C-MAX.
Even in the standard three-abreast bench position theres plenty of room, offering 946mm of legroom and 582 litres of luggage compartment space. Remove the rear seats altogether and theres a monstrous 1,692 litres available. One trick Ford did miss was the ability to tumble the front passenger seat forward to a flat position. The fascia design of the C-MAX reflects the exterior lines in its calm maturity.
The riot of bisecting lines, angles and arcs that the Focus introduced have been replaced by a quietly styled dashboard with classy Sony branded stereo equipment taking pride of place. The gearlever is mounted high and feels more natural than a floor mounted stick. Materials quality has taken a noticeable hike too, the soft touch plastics used on the upper dash surface being reminiscent of latter day Audis. The Focus C-MAX TDCi versions have a great deal going for them with economical engines, some clever ideas inside and a great ride and handling set up.
The styling is low key inside and out and without seven seats to offer as a carrot, its difficult to see hordes of buyers trading up from Focus hatches into C-MAX mini-MPVs. Perhaps Fords historical lack of commitment to the mini-MPV sector has bled over into the development of the C-MAX. With a little more rear legroom and a little more utility, the C-MAX seems almost apologetic at what it has become. Still, there's no shortage of mini-MPV buyers who feel the same way and feel as if family commitments have grudgingly forced them into buying such a vehicle. If so, the Focus C-MAX TDCi models may make a perfect marriage of malcontents.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Ford Focus C-MAX TDCI diesel range
PRICES: £15,790-£18,990 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUPS: 7E-8E
CO2 EMISSIONS: 129-148g/km
PERFORMANCE: [2.0 TDCi] Max Speed 125mph / 0-60mph 9.3s
FUEL CONSUMPTION: [2.0 TDCi] (combined) 50.4mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front, side and curtain airbags, ABS, EBA
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Heightmm 4333/1825/1558
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