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Yes, I believe the electronic parking brake has now gone from the C-Max range, and good riddance too. Prone to failure, and caused excessive rear pad wear.
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Haven't driven the C-Max but I'm 6'5" and find the current Focus comfortable and easy to drive. The C-Max I tried in the showroom seemed to fit me well enough.
But we dismissed the C-Max quite early in the process and eventually bought a Verso, not because of anything in the front half but because the back end doesn't really live up to the MPV promise. We were looking for something that could take a third boostered child in the second row, and the C-Max's middle seat there is a pretty token effort. Tawse doesn't say how important that is to him, but the Verso's three, independently-staggerable seats work brilliantly - and fold flat too.
But, returning to comfort in the front, our Verso has just returned from a 1500-mile trip to and through western France, and although the seats may not be the best ever (our other car is a Volvo, so I've been spoilt), they're pretty good and I had no trouble getting or staying comfortable. Crucially, there's plenty of room beside the clutch, and a nice wide rest, for my size 47 left foot - I think the high-mounted gear lever helps here; my minor gripe is that, unlike the Volvo, there's no corresponding place for my right foot when cruise-controlling on a French motorway.
Oh and yes, the starter button is silly - and annoying when all you want to do is open the windows without starting the engine - but generally I'd give the Verso a thorough Tall, erm, Bloke's (sorry, Swear Filter) Endorsement.
}:---)
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Having just gone from a normal Focus 1.6 tdci to the 1.8 version, there is a noticable drop in economy, without much increase in power.
I used to get around 48mpg from the 1.6, the 1.8 is averaging around 42mpg, although this may improve as the mileage rises (its currently done 12,000).
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I have a 2004 1.8 Petrol Zetec.
I've read that the diesels have more poke, but I'm surprised how uneconomical they are around town - possibly because they take time to warm up. I get 34-35 mpg doing a mixture of motorway and town. My wife can get a few more on a run as she sticks to 70!
At 6' 2" I'm a bit shorter than the OP but also have short legs/long body so the steering column issue hasn't occurred for me. Seating is generally comfortable, but I can honestly say I find it no more comfortable overall than my old Vectra B. Took a while to get used to sitting on rather than in the car - good job there's a wheel to hold onto when cornering fast! Rides OK, but nothing special, fairly quiet, but could do with higher gearing. Interior quality pretty poor - plastics and squeaks. The door trims wouldn't look out of place on a commercial vehicle. Zetec seats stain easily - with water!
Suggest you go for a good long test drive first to see if you like it.
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Had a C-Max - agree no more comfortable than most medium cars but was very easy to get in and out of. Build quality generally poor. Lots of rattles from dash. Plagued with faults - window mechanism failed, boot opening by itself, tailgate leaking, wiper motor failed, reverting to limp home mode for no reason, etc.
TDCI engine superb performance - Not so good the £950 I paid for a new clutch and DMF..
Generally the concept of the vehicle good but badly implemented. The last Ford I will ever buy.
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If the width of the centre console and steering column is an issue in the C-Max, try a Honda FRV for comparison. This has a clear floor across the front to accomodate three front seats. As did the Fiat Multipla.
I think the new Scenic has a dash-mounted gearchange which should encroach less too.
A Volvo C30 or V40/S40 with the flying buttress console design might also be worth a look?
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If it's anything like the new S80 with the same style centre console then taller people need not apply. Even an average height bloke like me found the edge of the floating console got in the way, plus it was quite a sharp edge and made the side of my knee ache after a couple of weeks.
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I'm 6 feet tall, and have no problems sitting in my C-Max, either in the driver or passenger seat. In fact it's the first car I've owned where I've not had to move the seat all the way back.
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Ravenger: let me begin with an apology, since this is not directed at you personally. But it does rile me rather when we get onto the subject of cars that are comfortable for a tall driver and people of merely ordinary size chime in that they fit just fine. 'You' from now on refers to anyone, not Ravenger specifically.
Right, now I'm going to get this off my chest: if you're only 6'0", you are NOT TALL. Not tall at all. According to the chart in my son's baby log book, 50% of adult males are in the height range of 1.73m to 1.83m (5'8" to 6'0"). In other words, at 1.83m, you are shorter than 25% of adult males. You, on the other hand, are bang in the 5'4"-to-6'2" 'Typical' spectrum that car designers bother to consider when making their ergonomic decisions.
These charts, I should add, are based on data compiled up to the 1960s; today's generation is appreciably taller than that, so 1.83m won't even qualify for the 75th centile for much longer.
As a footnote, the smallest Beest, from whose book these figures came, is, at 5 years and 1.27m, somewhere near what ought to be the 101st centile. He's going to be appreciably bigger than me. Perhaps he'll be an ergonomist.
}:---)
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I understand. My colleague who is at least 4 inches taller than me finds his knees are very close to the glove compartment when he sits in the front passenger seat of my car, and that's with the seat all the way back. He's not tried the drivers seat though. He finds the rear seats have more room, especially when the seats are slid back.
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Conversely if you search for C-Max on the www.tallclub.co.uk website you'll see a report from a 6ft 7in bloke who says he can comfortably fit both legs under the steering wheel.
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Thanks all for the advice - I really appreciate it.
Having given it some thought I think I am going to stay with the choice of a 1 or 2 year old Toyota Verso and now only have to decide on petrol or diesel.
My gut says petrol but my wallet says diesel. I was interesting to see a post by HonestJohn, that someone posted a link to on here yesterday, pointed out the costs of repairing diesels out of warranty, Frightening!
www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/faq.htm?id=113
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I rented a new C-Max for 4 days last month. It was a fairly base model (LX?) with a petrol engine that was barely up to the job and returned barely 35mpg. Definitely underpowered I'd say.
I couldn't judge the front of the car at all when parking, and the vast expanse of black plastic reaching out to the very distant front windscreen seemed both unattractive and a real waste of space to me?
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"the vast expanse of black plastic reaching out to the very distant front windscreen seemed both unattractive and a real waste of space to me"
What else could you use the space for? In more conventional cars the front end would involve a more vertical windscreen and a longer bonnet. Under some of that plastic is the engine compartment.
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What else could you use the space for? In more conventional cars the front end would involve a more vertical windscreen and a longer bonnet. Under some of that plastic is the engine compartment.
On the Mk1 C-Max there's a very handy map compartment with a lid on the top of the dash. Unfortunately they removed that for the new version, just leaving a recess.
One thing I do dislike about the C-Max is the lack of cubby holes with lids to hide stuff, at least on the Zetec model I've got. My previous Citroen Car had some very useful lidded cubby holes.
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I rented a new C-Max for 4 days last month. It was a fairly base model (LX?) with a petrol engine that was barely up to the job and returned barely 35mpg. Definitely underpowered I'd say. I couldn't judge the front of the car at all when parking..
Diesel engine and parking sensors rectifies both these problems. We have front and back parking sensors on ours, which I'd definitely recommend.
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My experience of Toyota quality, service, maintenance and overall owning experience versus Ford makes it a clear no brainer choice.
The surveys are correct.
Edited by madf on 02/09/2008 at 17:19
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Thanks WillDeBeest - I am single, no kids but I want a vehicle that I can carry my surfing kit in the back and my boards on the roof. In winter, perhaps my bikes in the back.
Have you got a diesel or a petrol? If diesel, do you find it noisy. I have never owned a diesel and am kind of put off by stories of diesel noise.
I too have big feet so the footrest is actually vital.
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