Ford Grand C-Max test drive since 2010 Minivan

250 kilometers driving Ford Focus C-Max

There is nothing revolutionary or unusual in Ford Focus C-Max. An ordinary 5-door single-combed body, five seats in the cabin, front-wheel drive and transverse engines all like competitors. But there is certainly differences. Moreover, most of them can be called pluses.
 
The external design of the Ford Focus C-Max is traditional for a single crew: the hood is sloping, the rear door is vertical, the windows are large, providing good visibility. The headlights, a radiator grille, a bumper, the roof line are very similar to the elements of the Ford Focus station wagon.
 
Inside, the car looks like a typical mini-wen. The salon is very convenient, spacious, easily amenable to transformation. During a test drive, the car was loaded with baggage. By the way, to put and take things very simple thanks to a wide loading opening and a thoughtful height of the luggage ward floor.
A number of rear seats are made in the form of three separate chairs: two large on the sides and one slightly smaller in the middle. The back of the middle chair is thrown forward and in this position an additional plus serves the central armrest. Two cup holders are mounted in the opposite direction of the sensor back.
 
The middle seat can be thrown back, folded and moved to the luggage compartment. In this case, the clearance is formed between the two side seats. They, too, are shifted diagonally back and to the middle of the cabin, opening the space for passengers. A place is also freed on the sides of the seats. If there is a lot of cargo, all three seats are folded, thereby increasing the capacity of the trunk from 0.55 to 1.62 cubic meters. m. If desired, the car enthusiast can fold only one or two, or take separately the entire series of seats from the car (which will not cause any difficulties, three chairs weigh only 16 kg). There are no other rear seats.
 
The driver’s seat is adjusted in height, equipped with an armrest. The lumbar background on it is fixed rigidly. The steering wheel and steering column can be adjusted for yourself in height and length. Although the driver in any case sits high enough, the feeling of bus landing does not arise (which is usually observed during the operation of other mini-lins). The braking of the car is very intelligible, controlled. The brake pedal is hard, elastic, does not fail. On the backs of the front seats there are pockets and leaning tables, headrests on all seats are adjusted in height.
 
What else is the salon rich in? The central console and the gearbox handle are finished with silver metal. There are front electric windows, cosmetic mirrors with backlight, front and rear lighting lamps, central locking with remote control, Russian -speaking on -board computer (issues reports of fuel consumption, mileage, medium speed, external temperature and low fluid levels in the glass of glass miners). There is an electric heating of the rear window, an additional stop-signal, a niche for storing small objects above the instrument panel from the passenger, the same niche is also under the device panel from the driver. Two barding compartments are in the floor in front of the rear seats. In addition, there is a luggage compartment curtain, an additional outlet of 12 V in the trunk, a cigarette lighter, an ashtray, locks with children from children on the rear doors and eyes for fastening the cargo in the trunk.
The Ford Focus C-Max salon is favorably different from the Ford Focus model with improved quality materials and decoration. The fact is that Ford Focus upholstery is considered noisy. Of course, it is impossible to compare its rattling with rattling upholstery of domestic cars, but after driving Ford Focus C-Max, this defect is too noticeable. The decoration of the salon of the new car is still closer to the Ford Mondeo finish, if not to say that they are absolutely similar. The following can be argued: Ford Focus C-Max is a reduced Galaxy. By purchasing it, you buy a higher quality machine than Focus (even import assembly).
 
On the road, the model behaves impeccably, it is understandable and easy to control. For testing, a car with a diesel engine (2.0 l) was selected. I immediately want to note the economy of this unit: a quarter of the tank was enough for four days of driving (approximately 250 km), and the luggage compartment was fully loaded.
The dynamics of the model turned out to be decent, despite the diesel engine. Throughout the entire test drive, his work did not cause any complaints. True, there was a certain feeling of failure on the bottom, but probably a gasoline engine was deprived of this drawback. During movement, there was no sensation of an enlarged body. In general, the car differs from its competitors with habits. Ford Focus C-Max behaves like a passenger car.
 
Having decided to disperse it to maximum speed, we were amazed at the result: at 180 km/h, the car holds the road perfectly, to control the restructuring as well as at 60 km/h. The feeling of fear that usually appears when you control a small light car at a huge speed, does not arise. Perhaps the reason for this is the lack of sailing, overwhelmingness and rolls. Even at considerable speed, the noise of the wheels and engine does not penetrate into the salon, the sounds of city streets are not heard.
 
During movement in traffic jams, we used mainly second gear as the most elastic one. It allows you to move easily and smoothly. It is especially worth noting the excellent work of the manual transmission: the inclusions of the gears are clear, the levers are short. The gearbox lever itself is not in the floor, but on the dashboard, right in front of the armrest, like on the Lexus RX-300 or Volkswagen Multivan T5, which can be called a more successful solution that creates additional comfort for the driver.
 
After seeing the car for the first time, we thought that problems would arise with parking. But they are used to the dimensions of Ford Focus C-Max surprisingly quickly. It turned out that it is parking, there are enough lateral mirrors. But if one of us wanted to purchase this car for ourselves, he would immediately install the rear parking sensors: the dimensions of the rear bumper during parking are not felt as well as on the highway. The head restraints of the rear seats do not allow to properly see the situation on the road to the rear -view salon mirror. And due to the fact that the model is quite high, it is almost impossible to notice any sticking or standing behind it, for example, during parking. But the borders, while driving the Ford Focus C-Max, can not be afraid. The car overcomes them quite briskly, without wrapping its overhangs.
 
In general, the Ford Focus C-Max is very convenient and functional, without applications for originality, from which it only benefits. The car behaves equally well on the highway and in the city. And you can use it not only as a family machine. It can make an excellent office on wheels, you only need to equip the vehicle with a laptop, a phone and other necessary office equipment.
 

Technical characteristics of Ford Focus C-Max with a diesel engine
 
Body
Type: bearing, 5-door station wagon
Length: 4333 mm
Width: 1825 mm
Height: 1595 mm
Base: 2640 mm
Equipped mass: 1431 kg
Full mass: 1990 kg
 
Engine
Location: in front, transversely
Type: diesel
Working volume: 1997 cubic meter. cm
Number of cylinders: 4
Maximum power: 136 l. With. / 4000 rpm
Maximum torque: 320 nm/ 2000 rpm
 
Transmission
Front drive
Box type: mechanical, 6-speed
Brakes
Front: ventilated, disk
Rear: disk
 
Dynamics
Maximum speed 200 km/h
Acceleration to 100 km/h 9.6 c
Fuel
Variety DT
Fuel consumption, l/100 km: at the city cycle 7.5; with a suburban cycle 4.5
Tank capacity 55 l
 
Basic configuration:
external rear -view mirrors with electric adjustment and housings painted in the color of the body;
armrest for the driver;
sleep steering wheel;
comfort Seat seats installation system: the rear seat consists of three separately folding seats in a ratio of 40/20/40 with the function of regulating inclination and dismantling, it is possible to move the extreme rear seats;
manual air conditioning;
reading plafones installed above the rear seat;
front lamps for reading cards;
sunscreen visors with backlight mirrors;
holder for sunglasses from the driver;
folding tables built into the backs of seats;
on-board computer;
central locking castle;
ABS with the EBA and EBD function;
Intellegent Protection System, which includes airbags of the driver and front passenger, as well as side airbags;
driver's seat with mechanical adjustment in height and lumbar support;
immobilizer;
electric drive of the front windows;
the stereo radio receiver/CD is a 6000CD model with RDS Eon, PTY functions, a protective device from Keycode theft and 6 speakers (4 in front, 2 behind).
 
The editors thanks F&C Trading for the car provided for a test drive.

 
 

Source: Magazine Cars and Prices No. 14, April 12, 2004.