Maxi-mum attention to quality; Driving the ford c-max gave ANDY RICHARDS a taste of family motoring in style

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), Jan 4, 2008

Byline: ANDY RICHARDS

DRIVING the Ford CMax with my wife and children is what family motoring should be all about. The car looks great, you feel great.

You coast along in a stylish, flexible people mover and whether it's crammed full, it always offers impressive quality. It has a dynamism of a sports car and the resourceful space of a multi-activity vehicle.

And it's such a good feeling to have it waiting outside the house, particularly on a cold, dark, frosty morning, when it really is like a family friend.

I love the driving position and the huge windscreen which gives such great views, but after a heavy frost, it's a large area to scrape clean.

I did my best on a freezing winter morning and then flicked on front and rear windscreen heaters and they ate up the remaining frost with superb efficiency - as I warmed up courtesy of the impressive heated seats.

It'sareflection that, while most manufacturers do these kind of things on vehicles of a similar ilk, Ford seems to do them better. On the way to work the CMax, brimming with technology, also ensured I didn't stray from the straight and narrow as far as concentration is concerned.

When I took my eyes off the windscreen and began to fiddle with the radio's dashboard controls, my sat-nav screen immediately flashed up a disapproving message encouraging me to focus my attention on the road .

The C-Max is sure-footed and grips the road reassuringly. There's minimal body roll when you corner. Around town, on country roads or on busy motorways it's equally impressive .

I took a SEAT Altea on trial the week earlier and the difference in suspension on the vehicles was immediately apparent - the Ford was streets ahead.

As far as refinement goes, it's hard to find any grumbles. The diesel unit powering my test car rumbled a little when turned on, but not offensively and the noise disappeared once up to speed. Generally, it was pretty quiet unless revved very hard and road noise was negligible. At motorway speeds the C-Max is susceptible to crosswind buffeting, but overall, wind noise in the cabin was no problem .

And the cabin is clean, tidy and attractive. Good quality plastics and brushed metal detailing on the dashboard give it a classy feel and it's solidly built and it's rattle free.

CAPTION(S):

CLASS ACT - the Ford C-Max looks good and feels great