Ford Grand C-Max cars

The style of the car

The Grand C-MAX is a compact, five-door MPV. It’s a bigger version of the five-seat C-MAX, with a longer, taller body. Unusually for a car of this type, it has sliding back doors that give easy access to the back seats. The large windows let in a lot of light and give everyone a great view out.

How it drives

The Grand C-MAX is enjoyable to drive, and much more fun than most MPVs. Light steering, a precise gear change and the good view out make town driving and manoeuvring easy. All models have parking sensors, too. It’s comfortable over bumps and feels secure on motorways. There’s a large choice of petrol and diesel engines available. All give you good acceleration but if you regularly carry a full load you’re best off with one of the more powerful options. These versions are also a good choice if you plan to use your Grand C-MAX as a tow car; the towing limit is 1200kg. A manual gearbox is standard; automatics are available but relatively scarce.

The interior

The Grand C-MAX is a compact MPV with five doors and seven seats across three rows. It’s the same size as the Citroen Grand C4 Picasso and Vauxhall Zafira Tourer. Access to the back seats is easy through sliding back doors. While there’s a lot of space for four passengers in rows one and two, the middle seat of row two and both seats in row three are more suitable or children. There are two sets of Isofix mounts for child seats on row two. With all seven seats in place, boot space is adequate. Row three flips down into the boot floor, creating room for four large suitcases. Fold row two out of the way and the Grand C-MAX can double as a van. All models come with air con, heated windscreen, Bluetooth and parking sensors. Higher-spec models have sat nav, cruise control and part-leather seats.

Running costs and reliability

The Grand C-MAX costs less to buy than some of its rivals. All the engines available return good fuel economy. Petrol engines return 30-40mpg, according to official figures, while diesels return 40-50mpg. Road tax and insurance costs are low. Fords are generally well made and reliable and the Grand C-MAX is certainly robust enough to stand up to the rigours of family life. Safety experts Euro NCAP gave the Grand C-MAX a three-star safety rating because it lacks the advanced driver assistance systems found on some similar cars.

How it compares with similar cars

The Grand C-MAX rivals include the Citroen Grand C4 Picasso, Renault Grand Scenic, Vauxhall Zafira Tourer and Volkswagen Touran. The Renault is better looking and the Volkswagen’s interior has a more premium feel. The Citroen’s and Vauxhall’s third-row seats have a bit more space. But the Ford is much better to drive than all of these. And its unique sliding back doors make access easier, especially when putting small children in child seats.