Ford C-MAX Owner Reviews: MPG, Problems & Reliability

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My C-Max has plagued with constant electrical problems. I've had central locking problems, hill start warnings, traction control warnings, service lights coming on and low washer fluid warning lights. The car has been been back to the main dealer several times and I'm now absolutely fed up with it. Today I took it back again with the washer bottle emptying itself over night, as well as yet another warning light, a service light and the hill start light fault on again. A phone call later from the Ford main dealer stating no faults were found and these faults are not stored on the cars fault list. As for the washer bottle again no fault found yet fill in the evening it's empty again the morning after with water running down the road. I've had several ford cars over the years, no more after this.

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An excellent all rounder. Comfortable, reliable, economical and good to drive. Normally I change my car every 3 years but I have yet to find anything better for the money, and I have owned BMW and Mercedes before. Your review claims space is tight but I have never found this a problem. Rear seat adjusts to increase passenger or boot space as required

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Yes Green thumbs up

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Car drives well, good fuel consumption though its a noisy diesel engine, I was told by Ford that it's normal. Still better than the 2009 Nissan Qashqai 2.0-litre petrol automatic I had before. The automatic gearbox is slow at changing gears so the car vibrates, there was also very loud drumming noise at speed, i.e. above 40 mph coming from the rear. My dealer suggested that I turn the radio up. Make sure you test drive on a motorway. I didn't, I got stuck in rush hour traffic.

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I had a MkII C-Max prior to this latest model, and in some respects the new one is an improvement. The exterior and interior look has improved, as has the fuel consumption and engine mapping (no flat spots and more verve). The new cruise control, however, is a retrograde step - the useful on-off lever under the unit has been deleted (saved Ford 50p, 20p?) - idiots! The new gearchange buttons on the auto gear-lever are pants compared to the old stick change, which was satisfying to use. Why no steering-wheel paddles as on the Focus? We do now, of course, have sat-nav, electric, heated seats and a heated steering wheel (I wouldn't be without it now) and keyless entry. The glass roof is a joke - why no sunroof Ford? And why no power tailgate? Climate control operation has improved, but is still dangerously fiddly. In fact all the buttons in the car are awkward to use. Some buttons on the steering wheel have been uprated. Strangely this makes them harder to use, but they look better! Of course, the C-Max is fitted with voice control. The basic car, though, is good and Ford have got the suspension just right, as usual. Drive a Peugeot 3008 - too soft. An Audi Q3? Too hard! The Ford lets you know what's going on (push too hard and the wheels start to go in different directions). A Q3 is easy to spin round - you get no warning. The cabin is quiet now, although the PSA engine is as clattery as ever. However, wind noise at the windows is worse than before. Ford radios are deteriorating over time - do they make them themselves now? I Like the 8-inch infotainment screen which can be readily switched from radio to climate or sat nav, phone. The home screen displays clearly all the info you normally need. As before, there's the a trip computer in front of the driver. The beauty of the C-Max is that, because it is only slightly higher than a Focus, Ford can use a more compliant suspension than used in SUVs that handle well. The C-Max handles as well as the stiffly-sprung Q3. Unfortunately, Ford do not offer a higher powered diesel engine than 150PS, but the C-Max does come with a thin spare wheel. The boot space is good, but the rear seats don't slide although they do tumble and can be removed. Ford call the Titan X front seats 'sports' seats - no way, and where's the pull-out seat extension? All in all the C-Max is a cracking car, and the Titanium X has all the toys you want. For much more money VW will give you a Golf SV, devoid of all the goodies tacked onto the Titanium X. Note: the C-Max has a big turning circle (11 metres).

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Yes Green thumbs up

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Love this car, our second Cmax, first diesel though. Smooth auto box, plenty of punch when needed, handles like a dream. Interior comfort and room great, plenty of storage. In Moondust silver with titanium spec chrome grill, looks like the dogs danglies!!. Simply love the car.

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Yes Green thumbs up

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Brilliant in every respect. Well put together and pleasure to drive. Fuel consumption is bad. Round town you expect and get high 30s to 40 but on a run, motorway or A road you will not exceed 42mpg. Took it to the local dealer who said all was OK and fuel consumption would improve in warmer weather. Did not see that little caveat in the brochure.

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No Red thumbs down

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Bought it pre-registered with 4k on the clock. Very pleased with comfort and quiet(er) road/wind noise. No problems to report; just replaced the front tyres at 24k miles. MPG is not as good as I had hoped - 44mpg, driving with care. I like the heated front screen, but wish it had keyless entry. I'm looking for a replacement but nothing looks/drives as well to my mind.

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Well, what can I say I bought this car from Ford Direct, and I have fallen in love with driving again. My old car was a 2003 Focus and this is so much better - although I have the more powerful 1.0l 125 its performance is not super quick but hey its quick enough when it needs to be. Based on this I would swerve the 1.0l 100ps version if given the option. Options-wise I have the City pack (powerfold mirrors and rear parking sensors) which is rather useful(as not had parking sensors before) also factory fitted privacy glass(which on my frozen white car looks rather good). As a family with two children under 5 I find the cabin space adequate with enough space for the kids in the back not to kick the front seats and the boot space will take a pushchair, shopping etc with ease. The MPG figures that ford states are somewhat off, I do must of my driving around town and I cannot hit the 44mpg(urban) no matter how easy/slow I drive, at present my avg is about 38mpg but saying that its pretty good. I must say that I love this car and would recommend it

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Yes Green thumbs up

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Very good car. Pros: computer systems such as bluetooth and cd, radio work really well, engine is very powerful, loads of torque throughout gears, the gearbox is really smooth, the best gearbox I've seen in a manual car. The power steering has to be the best thing, you can really throw this car into corners and forget you're driving an MPV. Cons: Very low mpg compared to figures, achieves only 44mpg on shell v-power and about 40 mpg on normal fuel (go for v-power if you own this car). Hard plastics all around cabin( not nice), also a lot of flimsy bits of plastic all over the place even on the steering wheel the plastic silver bit (looks like ford trying to copy Mercedes) is very flimsy and will flake off on edges. Also our car is on 15k and still mpg is not good, only 50mpg on motorway at 65mph in 6th gear. Best to buy this car second hand as the first 10k miles will be of very few mpg, maybe only 40.

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Upgraded to current version last year because the dealer offered me a no-brainer deal. More economical in and around town when engine cold than previous models. I have this model to tow my caravan which it does admirably. The fact that I can outrun most people in it when there is just me on board is, of course, irrelevant. The only downsides of the new model is that it doesn't have a spare wheel (marginally improves economy I guess, but useless otherwise) and there is less storage space, probably also to save weight. On the other hand it is great fun to drive, has immense chuckability, goes round roundabouts at, well I'm not prepared to say, and stops on a sixpence. Not quite enough poke to outrun the big Beemers (mine is the lower powered 2.0 version) if they push hard but I'm usually long gone by the time they realise what they need to do. Why drive anything else?

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Yes Green thumbs up

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Had our C-MAX for around 8 months so far, it is a company car from new. The 1.6 TDCi has lots of torque and has quite a pull in 2nd and 3rd.. Nice to have 6gears on motorway. I have found the actual MPG to be a way off the advertised figures though, constantly getting around 40mpg around town, and only hits 50-55 on motorways.. nothing like the 60-65 book figures I saw! Driving position is good, but I am tall and tend to hit my left knee on the centre console though.. The audio and hands free system is good and the voice recognition works reasonably well.. Also I am annoyed by the fact the A/C comes on automatically if you put the temp dial all the way to cold, or put the direction to windscreen only, or the fan speed to anything over 2... gets very annoying!! So far only done just over 6k, and no problems or breakdowns yet, reliability seems ok.. Plenty of storage room, and lots of legroom in the back for the kids... We took the family pack which had integrated window blinds and seat back trays in the back which the kids love, and also went for privacy glass.. A good all round family car!

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My version has cruise control fitted, which allowed me to test the stated MPG figures, and I've found that in 5th gear, at 55mph on a motorway the MPG in that scenario was pretty much exactly what the manufacturer stated, 53MPG for open-road. Obviously, how you drive will affect the figures, so I just wanted to debunk others who claim lower mpg figures.

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Moved over from a VW Plus (both cars have higher profile, so easy to get in and out) but have been disappointed with the MPG which is no-where as good as claimed. The gear change is also very clunky (6 gears) and feels like gear changes were about 15 years ago. Also the ride is a bit hard (not uncommon in this day and age in my opinion).

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Only owned a short while - it's been fine, other than the reverse lights packing in

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always starts, no overall problems apart from wear and tear

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Yes Green thumbs up

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No Red thumbs down

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Problems with coil packs, spark plugs and cat converter failing - all within 18 months

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in 5+ years only failure has been the alternator

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No Red thumbs down

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No Red thumbs down

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Yes Green thumbs up

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Never had a major problem. The only exception was the air con which later turned out to be a leaking pipe. Best car i have ever had.

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Yes Green thumbs up

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Clutch went at around 16,000. When it was new frequently locked me out

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No Red thumbs down

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Excellent reliability so far with only a replacement brake bulb required.

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No Red thumbs down

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No Red thumbs down

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IT HAS NEVER FAILED ME.

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Just replaced EGR valve. First major repair in 5.5 years.

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Yes Green thumbs up

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No defects in 6 years of ownership - excellent

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Yes Green thumbs up

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Not really had car long enough to experience any problems

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Yes Green thumbs up

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All equipment on the vehicle has always operated first time without fail. Engine is snmooth and has plenty of torque

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Yes Green thumbs up

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No Red thumbs down

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Too many parts that should last the lifetie of a car have failed and needed replacement

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No Red thumbs down

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No Red thumbs down

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Yes Green thumbs up

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Only had new battery, tyres, alternator, plugs since having car.

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Yes Green thumbs up

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I've only had the car 4 months. It has been reliable apart from a continual whining noise coming from the turbo, which is appallingly bad and incredibly annoying. Ford say its 'normal'

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No Red thumbs down

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Only owned for 3 months - no issues

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Yes Green thumbs up

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No problems since purchased

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Hasn't broken down but brake discs and pads replaced on front

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Yes Green thumbs up

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Never had the slightest problem with it

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Leaking injectors, failed alternator and clutch and now a water leak

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No Red thumbs down

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good

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very good

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Yes Green thumbs up

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Yes Green thumbs up

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No Faults except a blown tail light.

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No Red thumbs down

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very relaible car

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Yes Green thumbs up

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Yes Green thumbs up

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no major problems

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No Red thumbs down

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No issues in past 12 months

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No Red thumbs down

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No Problems so far

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No unforeseen costs, runs like a dream

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Yes Green thumbs up

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Yes Green thumbs up

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Never had a problem, apart from with the built in sat nav and that doesn't really count

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Yes Green thumbs up

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Teething problems with the onboard computer

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Yes Green thumbs up

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good after ERG valve was replaced

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No Red thumbs down

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great, can't fault it so far.

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No Red thumbs down

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no problems at all in the time i have had the car

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Reliable

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No Red thumbs down

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Absolutely excellent. No problems except for blocked fuel filter.

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Yes Green thumbs up

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No problems at all.

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No Red thumbs down

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No problems so far.

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Yes Green thumbs up

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Only problem at 43000 miles was a water leak in glass seal. Fixed FOC by Bristol Street.

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Yes Green thumbs up

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I worry due to the cars condition i purchased it in why is was traded in by the previous owner

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No Red thumbs down

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Total reliablity - no breakdowns or unexpected problems

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Yes Green thumbs up

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i fault in 2 years, faulty turbo

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No Red thumbs down

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Has broken down twice and had to be towed to the garage

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No Red thumbs down

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no breakdowns in last 7years only part failure alternator in 2012

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Yes Green thumbs up

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had no problems at all

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Yes Green thumbs up

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No problems during first 14000 miles

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No Red thumbs down

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Excellent car. No problems so far. Comfortable and very stable on the road.

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Yes Green thumbs up

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a comfortable well equipped car , but has lag in picking up from slowing down I think its dangerous and scary , been back to ford they say its perfect, also absolutely terrible mpg nothing like what ford publish 26 mpg in town sometimes less and never above 37 on motorway trips, I would not recommend to anyone I feel conned by ford, also this car has broken down 3 times all to do with the keyless entry the rac told me this engine is not suitable for low mileage if so why did ford sell it to me?

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No Red thumbs down

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Good allround practical vehicle

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Yes Green thumbs up

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Could be slightly bigger but overall an excellent drive with good handling and a decent punch from the engine. Not convinced about build quality and economy is not as good as my old vw with a pd engine but still reasonable.

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I am very pleased vith it,but will not replace it with the same model due to huge price rises.

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Yes Green thumbs up

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Yes Green thumbs up

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Very comfortable with enough performance and economy to be satisfiying.

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Overall good

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Excellent all round vehicle. Big roomy cabin and seating at right hight for older persons. Huge amount of boot space especially with back seats folded.

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Would not buy another as fuel economy not as good as my last focus but according to ford this one has a better engine

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Great, it does all i want

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Yes Green thumbs up

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Unexciting, uninspiring, practical family car

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No Red thumbs down

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Good value, basic motoring in reasonable comfort

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No Red thumbs down

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Exceptionally good design and excellent to drive. Very nice lines.

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Yes Green thumbs up

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A much better package than you might think given its price. A lot of car for your money.

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Yes Green thumbs up

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Average sort of car much as i expected. Useful for carrying diy items.

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It's a rattly little 'van with windows', but i love it.

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No Red thumbs down

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Yes Green thumbs up

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It is absolutely fantastic, no trouble at all and i'd have another tomorrow. The only thing i would change about the car is the 1.6 petrol engine, so possibly a diesel next time round.

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Yes Green thumbs up

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Ok in general, but the boot lock constantly pops open even when i move off

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No Red thumbs down

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Yes Green thumbs up

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Yes Green thumbs up

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Practical spacious and economic

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Yes Green thumbs up

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I love it!! This is my second c-max and i would recommend it without hesitation - it's everything i wanted and more.

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Excellent

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Yes Green thumbs up

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Practical family car

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No Red thumbs down

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Great value and comfort for my needs

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No Red thumbs down

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This is the ideal car for a family of 4. Not to good on petrol around town. Has good room and boot space.

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Yes Green thumbs up

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Very happy

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Yes Green thumbs up

Ford C-MAX owner reviews

"The Ford C-MAX is a five-seat MPV, which is good to drive, practical and economical, but it isn't as safe as some newer models"

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