Ford C-Max: Обзор модели и история выпуска

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.

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. C Max Mk I was the first product to use the Ford C1 platform, also used by the Ford Focus Mk II and the compact MPV Premacy/Mazda5. Its internal code name is C214. 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.

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.

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.

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.

Ford released the C Max Energi in the U. S. market by mid October 2012, and during that month 144 units were delivered to U. S. retail customers, and ended with 2,374 units delivered in 2012. 967 units in Canada through December 2016, and 1,229 in the Netherlands in 2015.

Ford Motor Company announced the C MAX Solar Energi concept, a solar PV powered vehicle to run electrically without depending on the electric grid for fuel. The C MAX Solar Energi Concept was unveiled at the 2014 International CES in Las Vegas. This is a collaborative project of Ford, SunPower Corp. and the Georgia Institute of Technology.

For the North American market, the C Max Hybrid was assembled alongside the 2012 Focus and Ford Focus Electric at Ford's Wayne plant in Michigan. The C Max Energi was also assembled in Michigan. Since 2015, all European versions are built in the Saarlouis Body & Assembly, Germany. Ford of Europe announced that it would end production of both the C Max and Grand C Max in Germany by the end of the second quarter of 2019.

The C Max Energi was awarded the 2012 Green Car Vision Award by the Green Car Journal at the 2012 Washington Auto Show. Both the Ford C Max hybrid and the Energi plug in hybrid were among the five finalists for the 2013 Green Car of the Year awarded by the Green Car Journal at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show. In Europe, the C Max is designed with lower VOC and allergens, along with several other Ford vehicles.