USED Ford Focus C-MAX MPV (03 - 07)

My car

I had been a nominated driver for my father in laws c-max and the time had come to replace my escort 1.6 finesse 1998 s reg.I was impressed ny the c-max and bought my own at a more respectable price nearly new at £10000.Performance is great much better then my petrol car of the same engine size and with the high miles i do good fuel economy as expected for a diesel.

The LX is great and very comfortable to drive just a little more equipment would make it a great buy from new comparing it with my father in laws zetec model. This is the first time I have had a diesel and the old things of slow and noisy are a thing of the past just avoid cvt transmission as i do find driving my manual much better then when I am asked to drive my father in laws the gearbox changes up too early and when tring to overide via the manual area the car still wants its own auto ways

My car

I traded up from my 5 year old 1.6 petrol Ford Foucs LX to get a new C-Max 1.6 TDCI LX. I negotiated a top deal at the end of September '04 and took delivery of a 1.6 diesel in LX trim.

Whilst it is a step down from the Ghia trim, it suffices for my daily commute. The equipment included electric mirrors and windows, a/c, CD player as standard and comes with ABS brakes, which weren't standard on my old Focus.

What do I like about it? Well, I hate MPVs with a passion but the C-Max lets you have your cake and eat it! You get the higher driving stance but with the panache of the new focus chassis to make driving along twisty roads a real joy. The drive is hushed and you only notice noise when you accelerate hard. The torque for a 1.6 diesel is very good and gives my Passat TDi 130 sport a run for its money! The brakes are competent and the gearbox is easy, if a little notchy from third to fourth. The boot is capacious.

My only gripe is that there are squeaks and rattles from the interior plastics at times - they come and go. Listen out for rattles from the seat belt pillars and the tray positioned on the front dash. The other thing you'll notice is that it has a small petrol tank - the C-Max does great MPG but you watch the needle drop quite quickly because of the small tank - can fill up for about £36.

Otherwise, it's perfect. The family love it and rate it far higher than the mark 1 focus, which in itself wasn't a bad car except for the rattles - deja vu?!