Behold, the future of mini-minivans is upon us here in Frankfurt. Ford introduced the seven-passenger, sliding-rear-door-having Grand C-Max. This vehicle (minus the "Grand" modifier in the name) will hit the U.S. market in late 2011.
The Grand C-Max and the somewhat less grand, five-seat C-Max are the first Ford vehicles introduced that are based on the new Focus platform. We'll get the updated, full-Euro-level Focus late in 2010 after an unveiling at January's Detroit show.
The C-Max is a handsome little mover that Ford claims will occupy "white space" in the American market. In other words, there are no competitors in that class. Either the company is intentionally forgetting the Mazda 5 or it considers the similarly sized little minivan to not be a proper competitor since it seats only six. Certainly, Ford will be hoping the C-Max sells a whole lot better than the rare Mazda.
arumage says:
06:22 AM, 09/16/09
The Kia Rondo seats 7, although it doesn't have sliding doors.
roar02ram says:
06:29 AM, 09/16/09
And the Mazda 5 supposedly sells out its North American allotment without any marketing support...which is pretty impressive, actually.
eventhorizon1 says:
06:56 AM, 09/16/09
Ford is certainly impressing me with its new willingness to bring us fresh, euro-spec products like this.
I have a '05 Vibe that I love for its versatility, and am looking for a higher quality product to replace it with-we just may have a winner.
arumage says:
07:08 AM, 09/16/09
The Mazda5 is a close relative of the previous-gen C-Max.
firstwagon says:
07:47 AM, 09/16/09
"Ford will be hoping the C-Max sells a whole lot better than the rare Mazda."
I don't know about the US but the Mazda5 sells great in Canada. It's the perfect van for people with 2 kids (the most common family size). Loads of room for 4 and a bonus seat when you are stuck given rides to your kids friends.
I see lots of them at my daughters elementry school every morning.
Outnumbers the Flex by a wide margin.
arumage says:
08:04 AM, 09/16/09
There aren't too many in the US, but they do tend to sell their allotment. It's just that Mazda didn't expect to sell many in the US so the allotment is low.
rwcole1 says:
10:27 AM, 09/16/09
This seems like a great size for most people- with or without kids. I drive a full sized mini-van just to have room for moving stuff and carrying Ms. Dog. The rear seats rarely get used. I would love to see a five seat version of the seven passenger van with plenty of leg room front and rear and rear seats that totally fold away. Give us tall people room for our KNEES!
The Mazda 5 is too cramped and doesn't get much better mileage than my full sized Mazda MPV. I would like to see at least 30 mpg gallon overall. Anyone know how much this thing weighs. Any hints about a hybrid or deisel version for the US?
arumage says:
11:08 AM, 09/16/09
I wouldn't be too surprised if you couldn't get 30mpg overall. With the new Ecoboost engine and hopefully a 6-speed automatic, I wouldn't think it would have too much trouble returning 30mpg overall. The 2.3L in the Mazda5 was never known to return the greatest mileage, but it gets 5mpg more than an MPV. Under the new rating, the MPV gets 16/23 and the Mazda5 gets 22/28.
charlesb says:
11:11 AM, 09/16/09
If priced near the Mazda5 it's a winner. If Ford decides to price it 5 grand higher, much like the Flex vis a vis the CX9, then it will bomb. I'm betting on the latter, by the way.
arumage says:
12:05 PM, 09/16/09
The Flex is not $5k higher than the CX-9. It's actually slightly less expensive. They even offer similar standard features. The Flex just offers more optional equipment not offered on the CX-9. You can probably get a better deal on a CX-9 at the dealer since it's been out a couple of years, but MSRP's are very similar.
actualsize says:
08:28 PM, 09/16/09
If the larger one with sliders and 3 rows of seating is the C-max, does that make the smaller 2-row version with hinged doors the C-mi...? Oh, never mind. That's just wrong.