More customers are interested in the TDCi turbo diesel C-MAX models than in the petrol-engined types. That's clear from the fact that Ford lists more of the former than of the latter, with three separate mini-ranges featuring Euro III diesel engines, Euro IV diesels and another group with CVT transmissions as standard, something which isn't offered in the petrol range.
But there will always be people who don't fancy a turbo diesel, even in a compact MPV like the C-MAX where we often applaud a diesel for being able to cope better with hauling around a full load of passengers and their luggage. As with the TDCi range, the two-litre size is as far as Ford goes with its petrol engines here.
You don't get anything like the same economy or mid-range pull as in the two-litre TDCi - with a combined fuel consumption almost 12mpg higher, and 136lb/ft of torque at 4500rpm rather than 235 at 2000 - but you do get quieter and smoother running, and the petrol models feel that little bit more nimble when being pushed briskly along country roads.
In fact, sitting on an early version of the same platform which underpins the 2005 Focus, the C-MAX is almost certainly the best-handling compact MPV, with no sudden change of attitude, as found in some of its rivals, suggesting that a point has been reached where the driver wants to go somewhat faster than the stodgy old suspension designers anticipated. On most surfaces the ride quality is right up with the best in the class.
With the Ghia specification you get 16" alloy wheels, light sensitive headlamps, rain sensor wipers, body-coloured rather than black side mouldings in the doors, and indicator repeaters on the outside edge of the door mirrors. Inside, there's a lot of extra equipment over the Zetec, including cruise control, an overhead console, electric adjustment for the driver's seat, a leather knob for the console-mounted gear lever, and pull-up sunblinds for the rear door windows.
There's an abundance of stowage spaces (including a wide-lidded fascia-top box and a couple of compartments under the rear-seat passenger's floor) and the Ghia has a 40/20/40 rear seating arrangement in which the smaller centre seat can be folded away, allowing the two outer ones to slide inwards a little so as to provide more outside elbow room. They don't just slide in a straight line across the interior of the car, but "converge diagonally". It's all quite convenient, though.
One potentially annoying thing is that, if the front seats are set well back, and the rear ones aren't, then rear passengers' knees are likely to come into contact with the hard surface of the folded-down picnic tables. It's surprising that so few manufacturers have thought of a way round this.
The Ghia comes with an electric parking brake of the kind about which it's possible to worry a little: will it always work, and will you always be able to make a clean getaway on a steep upward gradient?
I was interested to see that the owner's manual warns about leaving the key in the ignition for at least a second after switching off the engine: "If you remove the key immediately, the electric parking brake may not apply automatically."
As well as its standard equipment, the Ghia can be fitted with a wide variety of extra-cost options. Our test car came with an abundance of these, including ESP, powerful xenon headlamps, and rear parking sensors which had a far too noisy warning screech.
Dynamically, the C-MAX has it over most of its rivals in the compact MPV class. I'm also impressed by the driving position and the excellent view from the driver's seat, as well as by the fact that Ford has managed to provide it with conventional rather than cross-over wipers.
Second opinion: The handling of the C-MAX is often hailed as being extraordinary, but while the Ford arguably leads the class in this respect I don't think it leads it by very much, since plenty of the mini-MPVs around today are a delight to drive. The C-MAX is more enjoyable to drive the faster you go, which seems an odd state of affairs for a car whose main selling point is surely practicality. A very pleasant car to live with, all the same, but I greatly prefer the diesel engine and would be much happier with a "real" handbrake rather than one which depended on nothing going wrong with the electronics. David Finlay.
