24/03/08

• Price18,745
• We like...The way it drives
• We don't...Cheap-looking cabin trim

If you love driving, the C-Max is as good as an MPV getsThe first C-Max didn’t quite do it for us. It drove in the controlled, no-messing style we’d expect from a small-ish Ford, was relatively cheap to own, and roomy. All good. But it had none of the style that its key rival, the Renault Scenic, overflows with and the C-Max had five seats to the seven found in its other main challenger, Vauxhall’s Zafira. It also wasn’t quiet enough at speed.

This new one’s looks have been smoothed and are contemporary. And, after we’d spent time with the C-Max, we liked it better than before. This is a very accomplished car: while this Ford excels in no one direction, it is pretty good in most.

For a start, where the previous one was a frump, this now has enough of the latest Focus and Mondeo hatchbacks about it to look good, even handsome. And Ford has thrown everything it knows into making it move over the road well. There’s a firmness across bumps but the suspension works easily to keep things comfortable. Take a bend quicker than you ought and the C-Max stays composed where more softly-slung rivals would lean. The 136bhp motor is fine, punchy but quiet as it works, while the controls on our manually-geared example stirred slickly and with a precise weight. The C-Max was always a fine thing to drive, but now it’s hushed and calm at speed, too.

The cabin on our Titanium model is packed with equipment, as you’d expect for the price. A clever keyfob is included, meaning that, as long as it’s in your pocket, the doors open at the press of a button on the handle, as ds the boot. Once aboard, you twist an ugly knob jutting from the right of the steering and, provided you’ve held down the clutch pedal, the engine fires. Most rivals have similar systems so we can’t blame Ford for joining in. But its try at this needs work to match the no-fuss goodness of Renault’s keyless set-up.

All the same, this Ford ds the stuff you’d want of a mid-sized MPV: it provides generous room for five grown-ups and a big luggage area and there’s a vast pick of seat/load space choices. You can, for instance, fold away the centre rear chair and shuffle the remaining two across and back to create even more sitting room.

The cabin is logically laid out and looks good, although it isn’t as classy to look at or touch in parts as that of a Volkswagen, while some trim is poor-quality for an £18,000 car. The leather seats in ours cost £1200 extra.

The cost of owning one beats that of most others, while for company drivers its 154g/km CO2 output keeps taxation sensible. Will it do for us now? Definitely; there’s much to relish and little to fault.

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• Engines2.0 TDCi
• Power136bhp
• 0-60 mph10.0sec
• Economy48.7mpg
• CO2g/km154
• Insurance groups10
• EuroNCAP
• Airbags6
• Seats5

Motors.co.uk value verdict: