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

My car

I've had this car from new for 2.5yrs, 27Kmiles.

Good: Great engine, lots of torque, v.enjoyable on dual carraigeway.Feels very solid Combined 45mpg.Not too much wind noise. Very good car to drive.

Bad: Ventilation, windscreen & side windows steam up and dont clear easily.Cant clear condensation from side windows. Revs go up on their own from 800 to 1000rpm. You can take your foot off the clutch and the car drives up to 30mph, without touching the accelerator

Ride is firm and the seats a bit hard.

Problems: boot locked & rear windcreen motor replaced,under warranty.Unfortunately 2 dealers and 3 attempts to fix the 'driving on its own' problem,but still exists.

New front discs and pads, after only 25K. Replaced front tyres after 20K.

Dealership Service: Poor. One dealership replaced rear pads(without asking).Problem actually lay with front pads and the car came out from the garage worse than when it went it.

Would I buy another one?

I'd like to, but I'm going to test drive others as I have a long standing back problem and the ride is a bit too firm. My left knee is giving me a problem, so I may want a diesel automatic. Ergo, will test VW and Citroens. Ford’s new Price List states they have a new Diesel Auto 'Powershift' gearbox , but my enquiry to Ford,via email,met with a resounding silence.

Its a pity.The car has a great deal to offer and if I didnt have my back problem and a dodgy left knee, I'd certainly consider this car again.

My car

I chose this as a company car and its now 3.5 years old and done 65K. I love the driving position, and the electronic brake. BUT the radio, electronics, seat belts, boot lock have all failed. The boot kept opening when driving, the clock is in its own personal time zone. Ford had it in to fix - and since then I can't get traffic reports on the radio - and Ford dealer didn't understand what I meant so gave up!. Radio also won't hold local tuning for Classic FM so turn on to static! Seat and trim seems to get dirty very quickly and breaks - and I don't have kids or dogs! Agree with others about tires seeming to need replacing more often.

I'm now trying to choose a replacement and don't want Ford for reliability issues but will miss the drive position.

My car

I have had a 1.8 petrol ghia c-max from new in nov 2005 and have had no major problems with the car apart from the battery keeps going flat.I have spoken with the head technician at my local ford dealership who has told me that they have had a disproportionate number of cmax`s coming in with battery problems.This has been put down to insufficient mileage.I usually do 50-60 miles or so a week and evidently this is not enough.The new ford focus uses the same running gear etc so why don`t they have the same problem?

My car

This car is BAD to say the least and the ford dealer was bad.The list of faults was endless and we couldnt wait to get rid of it.Everytime it went for a service they reported serious break failures on the rear.This was despite the recall work to stop it squealing in reverse.The dashboard displayed luggage compartment open and alarmed for 3 years constant.The clock couldn't hold it's time and was rubbish to set.Car nearly killed us at least 50 times due to cutting out in traffic or road junctions ,this was the EGR valve the dealer said ,but couldnt offer a fix.So when you lose your breaks and power steering just hope for the best.The boot comes open during travelling.Dealer reply ,"is it when u press the break pedal because we know about that fault" but it wasn't.Dealer cracked the engine cover on a service and car was off road for three weeks.Couldn't even drive it for 20 miles in the end.The last 20 mile trip and the alternator failed and again took three weeks to repair.Various trim fell off and the panel gaps must be the worst in the industry.Basically there is nothing good about this car other than a six speed box and i rarely used it.Looking on the forums it seems the mondeos also suffer from the egr valve fault.Wonder if it has killed anyone yet.My wife refused to drive it as she nearly got wiped out by lorries on more than one occasion.So now i have bought my own car as i wanted more control over its repairs .Not a FORD