Disclaimer: The model featured on this page is not available on the U.S. market at the time, nor is it available for purchase at dealerships.
Ford C-Max Minivan
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The seven seat version of Ford’s European mini minivan is likely to be headed stateside within the next few years. Called the Grand C-Max, it is based on Ford's new global C-segment platform that will underpin the next-generation Focus and offer clever packaging with a compelling adaptation of the automakers kinetic design language. The Ford C-Max is dubbed a compact “multi-purpose vehicle” and it has been popular in Europe since its 2005 introduction as the Focus C-Max. The next Focus and C-Max are expected to come from either the Focus plant in Wayne, Michigan, and/or the Louisville truck factory that Ford is now fast retooling for smaller vehicles. The North American Ford C-Max should be a slightly scaled-up version of the current design. It’s basically a tall-body compact wagon/van, and will compete with the Mazda 5 and Kia Rondo. The bottom line is, compared to current minivans, the Ford C-Max is promising the same flexible practicality in a smaller, handier, more fuel-efficient package.
C-Max Power
While the European version of this van is available in a variety of diesel and weak gas engines, the US model will employ the 2.5-liter 4-cylinder that becomes the new base engine for Ford’s 2009 Escape and the 2010 Fusion midsize sedan. This will be Ford’s first EcoBoost four-cylinder production engine, a turbocharged 1.6-liter direct-injection unit. A “flex-fuel” unit with the capability to run on E85 ethanol-blended fuel may be an option. A 6-speed manual will likely be the standard transmission, with an automatic available. The suspension will be four-wheel independent, with co
mponents borrowed or adapted from the Focus.
2011 Ford C-Max Design
Styling should pick up various cues from the “kinetic design” Fiesta, such as a prominent two-tier grille, a tapered hoodline, trapezoidal headlamps, muscular wheel-arch bulges, creased lower-body lines, and postmodern “geometric” taillamps. C-Max rides on the same 104-inch wheelbase as all the Focus variants, and its overall length, at 172 inches, actually places it between the sedan and the hatchback. Other C-Max features will include semi-automatic parallel parking a blind-spot detection system.
Driving the C-Max
The 2012 Ford C-Max will rely on front-wheel-drive/4-cylinder powertrains, with a possible all wheel drive version in the future. For safety features, current models already boast standard ABS, antiskid system and traction control, front side airbags, curtain side airbags that cover all seating rows, and top-level European crash-test ratings. The 2012 model will carry these technologies and possibly more. The C-Max offers communicative steering, responsive brakes, tied-down chassis, crisp gearbox, and agreeable ride-and-handling compromise. The one-box design does have slightly high noise levels. The U.S. model will get an estimated mileage of a city/highway combined 32 mpg with its manual transmission and 29 mpg with its automatic.
Ford C-Max Cabin
The cabin of the C-Max is a versatile format, where the rear seats can each individually be removed or folded, and stowed. At least three trim levels will be offered, an available Sport Package with handling and cosmetic upgrades, and perhaps a luxury package of some sort with leather upholstery, upscale trim, and non-essential niceties like “ambient” interior lighting. Other options should include a full-length sunroof with solar-control glass, automatic climate control, navigation and rear entertainment systems, cell phone and iPod connections with Ford’s Sync voice-control, and steering-linked headlamps with bi-xenon bulbs available separately. The elevated roofline makes the C-Max easy to get into and out of, and it provides a commanding seating position for all occupants. Second-row head- and legroom are particularly generous. Instead of the typical split rear bench, there are three individual rear seats, each of which can be tilted forward or removed. Behind-the-seats cargo space is a generous 19.9 cubic feet, with a maximum of 57.7 cubic feet available when the rear seats are stowed.
Conclusions
The C-Max actually comes in two formats: standard wheelbase and long-wheelbase Grand C-Max. The five-seater has a sportier appearance with conventional rear doors, while the seven-seater gets sliding doors. The five seat C-Max will not be brought to the US, at least not for now, as Ford does not feel there is a proper market for it. Ford is moving full speed ahead with the “One Ford” global product strategy announced by CEO Alan Mulally nearly two years ago. The aim is to reduce costly, needless duplication by developing “world” models that can be built and sold successfully anywhere, the U.S. included. Not surprisingly, the plan emphasizes new cars and crossover SUVs in the subcompact, compact, and midsize categories. All aim to steal sales from the likes of Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, and, of course, Toyota. The first of these vital new Fords arrive as 2011 models, starting with the subcompact Fiesta sedan and 4-door hatchback that are due to go on sale in early 2010. A redesigned Ford Focus compact follows later that year in the same two body styles. The seven seat C-Max was first unveiled in 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show.
