Ford C-Max - WikiHQ

The Ford C-Max (stylized as Ford C-MAX and previously called the Ford Focus C-Max) is a car produced by the Ford Motor Company from 2003 to 2019. It has a five-door compact multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) design. The Ford Grand C-Max has a longer wheelbase.

Ford introduced the C-Max in the United States as its first hybrid-only line of vehicles, which includes the C-Max Hybrid, released in September 2012, and the C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid, launched in October 2012. Although the C-Max was initially available only in Europe, the first generation was partially available in New Zealand.

From September 2017 to mid-2018, production for the C-Max ended in the US. In June 2019, Ford ceased production of the vehicle at the Saarlouis in Germany.

First generation (2003)

The Ford Focus C-Max is preceded by the eponymous show car, which was designed by Daniel Paulin and unveiled at the 2002 Paris Motor Show.

Ford originally planned for a release in the year 2000, to compete with the 1997 Renault Megane Scenic. However after unveiling of the Opel Zafira with its 7-seat configuration, Ford restarted development, targeting for a 7-seater as well. This would require the Focus to utilize a new platform, instead of the Ford C170 platform used by the Focus Mk1, the C-Max was the first product to use the new Ford C1 platform, also used by the Ford Focus Mk II and the compact MPV Premacy/Mazda5. Its internal code name is C214. Regardless, due to technical difficulties Ford never released a 7-seat version of this generation of C-Max.

It seats five passengers and has a large amount of cargo space, which can be increased by folding the rear seats flat. Some models feature diagonally sliding outer rear seats. It also shares the control blade independent rear suspension from the Focus.

Engines and transmissions

The available four-cylinder engines are the same as the Focus.

The 1.6 L Duratec was the basic engine for C-Max, and the 1.6 L Ti-VCT Duratec was also available.

The 1.8/2.0 L Duratec HE engines are the rest of available Mazda petrol engines.

The 1.8 L Ford flexifuel, or 1.8f, was a flexible-fuel hybrid engine sourced from Volvo, B4204S5, and was able to run on gasoline and ethanol (E85). Ethanol added about 25 hp extra for a total 125 hp, although with higher consumption.

The 1.6/2.0 L Duratorq Ford/PSA-made diesels were available along with Ford's 1.8 L Endura engine, which is upgraded and named Duratorq.

{| class="wikitable"

! Model/engine !! Capacity !! Cylinders/valves !! Power/rpm !! Torque (Nm)/rpm

| 1.6 Duratec || 1,596 cc || 4/16 || at 6000 || at 4000

| 1.6 Duratec Ti-VCT || 1,596 cc || 4/16 || at 6000 || at 4150

| 1.8 Duratec HE || 1,798 cc || 4/16 || at 6000 || at 4000

| 1.8F Flexifuel B4184S2|| || 4/16 || at 6000 || 4000

| 2.0 Duratec HE || 1,999 cc || 4/16 || at 6000 || at 4500

| 1.6 Duratorq || 1,560 cc || 4/16 || at 4000 || at 1750

| 1.6 Duratorq || 1,560 cc || 4/16 || at 4000 || /* at 1750

| 1.8 Duratorq || 1,753 cc || 4/16 || at 3700 || /* at 1900

| 2.0 Duratorq || 1,997 cc || 4/16 || at 4000 || /* at 2000

<nowiki>*Overboost</nowiki>

Transmissions mated with engines are Ford IB5 (1.6/1.8 Duratec), Ford Durashift (2.0 Duratorq), MTX-75 (2.0 Duratec / 1.6-1.8 Duratorq) manual and Ford Powershift double-clutch transmission available with 2.0 Duratorq. The 4F27E mated with the 2.0 Duratec engine. A CVT automatic was also available

Facelift

In December 2006, the facelifted version of the C-Max was revealed at the 2006 Bologna Motor Show and went on sale in late spring 2007. The pre-facelift version of the car (2003–2007) was called the Ford Focus C-Max. The name change to C-Max is attributable to Ford's MPV strategy of creating a 'Max' branded line of MPVs, starting with the Ford S-Max, launched in 2006.

The facelift brought the car in line with Ford's "Kinetic Design" design language, evidenced through its twin trapezoidal grilles, large wheel arches, and angular headlights. As the car does not have a bodyshell originally designed for Kinetic Design, though, Ford officially states that the car contains only "elements" of the design language.

File:2006 Ford Focus C-Max Ghia Automatic 2.0 Rear.jpg|Before facelift

File:2010 Ford C-Max Zetec TD 115 1.8 Front.jpg|After facelift

File:2010 Ford C-Max Zetec TD 115 1.8 Rear.jpg|After facelift

File:Ford C-MAX mk1 dashboard.jpg|Interior

</gallery>

Second generation (2011)

Alongside the third-generation Ford Focus Mk III, the second-generation C-Max (C344) is built on Ford's new Global C platform. The appearance is inspired by the Iosis Max concept, shown at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show. In addition, Ford added a long-wheelbase, seven-seat minivan variant of the C-Max, the Ford Grand C-Max.

The vehicle was presented at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. Early European models include 5 seats, and 7-seat models entered the market at the end of 2010 (except Russia, where there is only the 7-seat model). At the 2011 North American International Auto Show, Ford announced a seven-seat C-MAX for the North American market, but this model was cancelled prior to launch.

Ford unveiled the Ford C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid and the C-Max Hybrid at the 2011 North American International Auto Show. Like the conventional C-Max, the C-Max Energi and Hybrid are five-seat only. They replace the Ford Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid since Ford discontinued the Mercury brand after the 2011 model year and the Escape Hybrid after the 2012 year model. The C-Max is Ford's first hybrid-only line of vehicles. Both the plug-in and hybrid versions are based on the European gasoline- and diesel-powered versions.

The C-Max Hybrid was released in the United States in September 2012 as a 2013 model,

Production of the C-Max Energi in the United States ended in September 2017, while Hybrid production ended in 2018.

Features

The new Mk III platform is the first in its class to support torque vectoring control.

The redesigned C-Max features flat folding third-row seats, a hands-free power lift gate, rear-view camera, park assist, and panoramic sunroof. HD radio, Sirius XM, Sync, dual-zone climate control system, and a navigation system come as standard or as available options on the different trim lines.

The aerodynamics (drag coefficient, cw) of the car has been improved, being 0,30 for the five-seater and 0,32 for the Grand C-Max.

Specifications

thumb|left|Ford C-Max Hybrid on display at the entrance to Ford's [[Wayne Stamping & Assembly plant]]

The front-wheel drive hybrid has a 2.0-liter four-cylinder Atkinson cycle engine mated to an 88kW electric traction motor and a 1.4 kWh lithium-ion battery for total system power output of . The top speed in all-electric mode of and the car's top speed in hybrid mode is .

The hybrid has a maximum cargo volume of with rear seats folded flat, and in the cargo area behind the rear seats, providing more room than the regular Prius liftback, but less cargo room than the Prius V, which provides with the rear seats folded.

The Hybrid is offered in two trims:

The SE features eco-friendly cloth seating surfaces, Ford SYNC system with A/M-F/M stereo with single-disc CD/MP3 player, USB and auxiliary input jacks, six speakers, a multi-informational gauge cluster and color display screen, keyless entry, alloy wheels, and split-folding rear bench seat, plus a security alarm.

The SEL adds leather seating surfaces, MyFord Touch with AM/FM HD radio stereo with single-disc CD/MP3 player and USB and auxiliary input jacks, a Sony premium surround sound system, SIRIUS Satellite Radio, power dual front seats, keyless access, push-button start system, and other luxury features. For the 2017 model year, the SEL trim level on both the C-Max Hybrid and Energi were renamed to the Titanium trim level and also all the 2017 Ford C-Max Hybrids and plug-in Energis were expected to have restyled headlights and taillights.

The Energi Plug-In Hybrid was only available in SEL trim, but for the 2017 model year, the C-Max Energi was also available on the SE trim level.

EPA ratings

Ford's design aimed for the C-Max Hybrid to deliver better fuel economy than the Toyota Prius V. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) initially rated the hybrid model at with the same rating for combined/city/highway cycles. These ratings allowed the C-Max Hybrid to improve the fuel economy of the Toyota Prius v by on the city cycle, by on the highway cycle and by combined. However, after criticism and lawsuits about worse-than-expected real-world fuel economy, in August 2013 Ford voluntarily lowered the EPA ratings and issued customer rebates. The revised fuel economy ratings were reduced to for city driving, for combined and for highway. The revised rating for the updated 2013 C-Max Hybrid is still better than the combined rating for the Toyota Prius v. A second downward revision was made during June 2014.

Ford boosted the on-road fuel efficiency of its three 2013 model year hybrids through changes in the cars' vehicle control software in an effort to improve customer satisfaction. The upgrade was offered free of charge to existing owners of these hybrids. Some of the changes include:

Increasing the maximum pure electric speed from , allowing increased use of electric-only mode on the highway
Optimizing the use of active grille shutters to reduce aerodynamic drag under more driving and temperature conditions, including cold weather, during air conditioner use, and when the engine coolant temperature is higher
Reducing the electric fan speed as a function of coolant temperature to minimize the fan’s energy consumption
Shortening engine warm-up time by up to 50% to enable electric-only driving and engine shutdown at stops sooner after cold starts
Optimizing the climate-control system to minimize use of the air-conditioning compressor and reduce the energy used in cold-weather operation

Sales

A total of 969 units was sold during September 2012, allowing the C-Max Hybrid to rank as the ninth-best selling hybrid car in the United States that month. During October, its first full month in the market, 3,182 units were sold, outselling the Prius V by more than 400 units, which had ranked as the fourth-most sold hybrid in the previous months. Sales of the C-Max Hybrid also led Ford to achieve its best October hybrid sales month ever with a total of 4,612 sales, up 142% over October 2011. Ford reported that 25% of C-Max Hybrid sales took place in California, with Los Angeles and San Francisco as the top-selling regional markets. A total of 10,935 C-Max Hybrids were sold during 2012, Since its inception, a total of 72,330 units had been sold in the United States through December 2015. After running both vehicles through Consumer Reports real-world tests, the magazine found that C-Max hybrid achieved a combined fuel economy average of , with and for city and highway.

The problem lay with EPA's rules that allowed automakers to group similar vehicles and apply the same ratings, which Ford did with the Fusion hybrid and C-Max hybrids.

Ford Motor Co. officials said the real-world fuel efficiency in the C-Max Hybrid depended on driving style and other factors, and that the company did not expect the car's fuel efficiency numbers to change, as they followed EPA's test guidelines. Ford said they were working closely with the EPA to determine if their hybrid vehicle testing procedures needed to be changed. They explained that several factors could affect hybrid fuel economy more than that of regular gasoline engines, including speed (as the difference between could produce a 7 mpg difference in fuel economy); outside temperature (the difference between could result in a 5 mpg difference); and vehicle break-in (a 5 mpg difference could occur from the difference ).

Due to the criticism and lawsuits, in July 2013, Ford announced it would boost the on-road fuel efficiency of the C-Max and its other two 2013 hybrids through changes in the vehicle control software, in an effort to improve customer satisfaction.

In June 2014, Ford found some glitches in their internal tests and had to drop the MPG ratings by 1-2 miles per gallon for a few models like the 2013-2014 Fusion and C-Max hybrids, including the plug-ins. To mitigate customers' concerns, the automaker provided financial compensation. Depending on whether the vehicle was bought or leased, owners got from $150 to $1,050 to help cover the increase in fuel costs due to the new ratings.