• Spacious for five
• Individual rear seats give good configurability
• Not most practical in class

This second-generation C-Max uses the same seating concept as the original model did. That means three individual rear seats that can slide and fold independently, making for a really flexible interior.

The backrests fold down in a 40-20-40 split, which is much more practical than the 60-40 you’ll find on most comparable hatchbacks. And when in place, you’ll find lots of legroom for adults plus Isofix mountings in both outer seats. 

The C-Max has a high roofline that allows plenty of headroom – tall passengers will be able to sit upright, no problem. There’s not as much overall space as in a Citroen C4 Spacetourer, though, nor is it as bright and airy. And while rear passengers do get a central armrest and picnic tables on the front seat backrests, the overall space isn’t as clever or useful as that model.

Nor is the centre seat as wide and spacious as the likes of the Volkswagen Touran, and you’d struggle to seat three abreast in this car. It’s also worth mentioning that the C-Max, unlike its bigger brother the Grand C-Max, uses conventional rear doors rather than sliding ones, though it has this in common with many rivals.
Boot space is good, though for maximum luggage capacity you’ll need to tumble forward or even remove the rear seats. This isn’t a particularly simple process, especially compared to rivals where the seats fold nearly flat with just a single movement.

Safety

The Ford C-Max doesn’t offer the best safety rating in its class – though it scored five stars in its initial Euro NCAP test in 2010, the revised model tested in 2017 scored just three stars. 

This was made up of a decent 76 per cent score for adult occupants but only 60 per cent for children, and a dismal 29 per cent in the safety assist category.
From 2015 onwards there’s an autonomous emergency braking system available, which operates at speeds of up to 112mph, and cross traffic alert helps when reversing out of a road or parking space. Adaptive cruise control is available optionally, but even the most expensive cars can’t be specified with LED headlights for greater vision at night.