Ford C-MAX

Text: Jack Carfrae / Photos: Stefan Baldauf/SB-Medien

19th January 2009

It’s the MPV that can’t stop growing! Our spy snappers caught this Ford C-Max mule out testing in Scandinavia and, as the pictures show, it’s about to get another row of seats.

Ford’s baby MPV has been a roaring success since its introduction in 2003, but it has always been bettered by Vauxhall’s seven seat Zafira in the people carrying stakes.

But our exclusive shots can reveal that the Blue Oval is fighting back. The longer wheelbase, elongated B-pillar and jutting rear bumper all point to an extra set of seats in the back, which will finally allow the C-Max to go head-to-head with its seven-seat rivals.

Though our pictures show the bigger C-Max in its current guise, it’s likely that the production model will receive a few mild styling tweaks to differentiate it from previous models.

Ford isn’t burning its bridges with smaller families, though, as it will still offer the C-Max with five seats for those who don’t need the extra baggage.

But bigger families who hanker for the top quality and tight handling of Ford’s mini-MPV can now breathe a sigh of relief. Expect to see the seven-seat C-Max in UK showrooms by the end of the year.

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