Ford is sensitive about just how late it is to the midi-MPV party with its C-Max. But now it's turning adversity to advantage with claims that the newcomer is out on its own for chassis dynamics and style.
Ian Miller, Ford's product planning man, told us at the international press launch that the C-Max evolved from "future thinking because we weren't looking at what our competitors did in the past".
The C-Max does indeed carry the chassis of the next Focus which will be unveiled at Geneva next spring, going on sale later in the summer. Significantly it offers clues to how the new Focus will look. Miller won't give anything away here, preferring to proffer the line that C-Max will give a fresher and younger image to midi-MPV customers assumed to be worthy middle-aged family types.
The C-Max then should provide icing on the cake, particularly since 2004 will be split between old and new Focus ranges.
A lot of emphasis will be put on a new 108 bhp 1.6-litre diesel engine which is a development of Fiesta's acclaimed 1.4 TDCi. The other options are a punchy 134bhp 2.0 TDCi and a 1.8 petrol developing 120bhp that's a bit less impressive.
Ford's better-late-than-never attitude on the C-Max was evident when we had our second testing experience, driving up and down Austrian hills and dales around Graz, the venue for the international launch. The first, more intimate experience was on Ford's own Lommel proving ground in Belgium, recently detailed in Motors.
Both occasions showed that MPV practicality need not come at the expense of fun. C-Max is taut, rolls little and offers oodles of grip. At Lommel, there was back-to-back testing with rivals such as the Zafira, Citroën Picasso and the new VW Touran. C-Max, carrying on the dynamic integrity of the Focus, showed clearly that it was the winner.
The electric-hydraulic power-assisted steering is very satisfying - and we also liked the completely car-like position with a sensibly angled steering wheel and a gear lever mounted high up, just where you want it.
The C-Max's wheelbase is 25 mm longer than that of the current Focus. At 4,333 mm from nose to tail, the Ford is 74 mm longer than the new Scenic. It's a five-seater with a rear centre seat which can be folded into the boot, allowing the other rear chairs to slide diagonally backwards and inwards, maximising leg and elbow room. The rear seats can also be removed to fit long or difficult loads. Conventional boot space amounts to 550 litres or 1,620 with the rear seats out.
A lot of attention has gone to a quality ambience in the cabin, with big, clear instruments and soft-touch mouldings on most important surfaces.
Ford's latecomer arrives with fresh thinking and driving dynamics that, in one area at least, set it apart from the rest of the midi-MPV bunch.