[Closed] Ford Focus CMAX thoughts

I had one (until I moved to Canada) and really liked it. Mine was an 2004 2.0 Diesel and was nice.

Seats tip/tumble/come all the way out but they are fairly heavy to lift. No idea on the boot space compared to a Mondeo but it was fairly large. Liked the way the seats slid about to make a comfortable ride for 4 people.

Can't remember many negatives to be honest off mine.

we had an 08 1.8 zetec that we got ex motability a few months old with 2K miles and had till end of 2011. nice to drive, solid feeling. A lot of warranty stuff with water pump, belts etc, which led us to punt it earlier than we planned to. It only did short trips - school run, etc and over the 30K miles we put on it the average fulel consumption was 26.5mpg. Replaced it with a preregistered 1.6Kia Soul, which does everything better and so far 35 mpg on same trips

seats up boot was similar size to the Mk5 Golf I had around the same time, although with seats down loads of space.

edit - slidey seats not standard and not on ours

The 1.6 petrol 07 is unbelievable slow, to the point of almost dangerous.. not sure about the diesel.

Boot space - plenty, as the back seats can be completely removed, giving you a van.

Loads of handy compartments around the car too - under the rear floor mats, on the dash, etc.

Definitely a family wagon for long journeys. Oh and plenty of headroom in the rear - I'm 5'10" - and I felt buckets of space.

There's no left foot rest, just a flat floor and the pedals, which find uncomfortable to drive with.

Wife has a 54 plate 1.8 petrol Ghia (with the slidey seats, which we've never used). Only problems have been the boot lock switch (cheap) and the alternator (not cheap).

Comfy and nice to drive, Ghia has cruise control etc. Postman Pat van looks though. Boot is very deep, but not that wide, and has vertical sides rather than wheel arch intrusions (difficult to explain).

Just about to sell at around 45k miles, and replace with a smaller car.

We have the 1.6 diesel. Nice car - plenty of space, rides well, cheap to run. Not very fast - get the 2 litre if that's what you want. With care, you can crack 60mpg on a run, but this will drop to less than 40mpg round town on a cold engine. Ours is just a basic LX but still has slidey seats, air con, remote locking etc.

I looked at several before plumping for a Zafira. Rear legroom was poor, and the boot was OK but nothing like as spacious as Zafira/Scenic/Picasso etc.

I looked at getting one but went for a Roomster which is better in every way IMO - except looks I suppose!

Just bought a 58 plate 1.8TDCI Titanium,had a older Merc A class before and the Cmax is better in pretty much everyway.

Plenty of interior space,boot is pretty big imo.

Plenty of kit on it as the Titanium is the top of the range model.

Engine is pokey enough for me and seems pretty smooth and quiet(for a diesel) the ride is a revelation compared to the A class we had previously ,much more smooth plus the turn in is better too.

Downsides the odd rough edge on some interior plastics and the parcel shelf is pretty crap.

I have driven the Zafira as well ,it does have more interior space but it is a bigger/longer car.The 3rd row of seats are a bit of a joke only any good for kids and hardly any boot space when in use.
It was a 1.8 petrol too which did not suit the car at all,not enough torque and silly indicator switches too.
Other than that though quite a nice car.

We had a 2.0 Diesel. Great fuel economy and solid powerful engine. Lots of space and would have been perfect for us, but for all the electrical problems. Alternator was first, then Fuse box damaged by water, apparently a common fault? Cost a lot to repair, and we still got engine management light coming on, engine briefly cutting out.
Sold it and bought Honda 🙂

1.6 Zetec, 59 plate. It is Mrs A's car and she loves it. Loads of space, never skips a beat, nippy fast too. Stowing built up bikes vertically is awkward though- so I bought a BingoBongo for myself. The Ford is definately faster and comfier though, and a lot of fun to drive too.

I've had a 2.0 diesel for the last five years and I can't see me getting rid of it anytime soon.

No real problems, solid engine with great mpg in the summer/on a run. Not so great in the winter as my commute is all stop start 30mph speed limits.

Can et two bikes in with front wheel off with seats down, I have squeezed my bike in before without taking the wheels out too.

[quote=Ambrose] nippy fast too.

Can't be the 1.6 Zetec then. What were you driving before, to think it's nippy??

The 1.6 TDCi is a good (Peugeot Citroen design) engine made by Ford.
But for some reason the ones in Fords develop problems with turbos, EGR valves, blocked breather hoses (a build up of gunge in the hose) and other assorted problems. The turbo is at the top and front of this engine (unusually) so the gunge from the crankcase breather hose only needs to travel a few inches before it gets into the turbo.
It is important to get one that has been properly maintained; frequent / good quality oil changes etc. 5w/30 is important.
If the oil level (after an oil change or topup) gets too high then a phenomenon known as engine over-run can occur; which is where the engine gets out of control and starts to run on its own engine oil. In the 1.6 TDCi engine too high an oil level is not much above the lower level on the dipstick.

Google: 1.6TDCi problems turbo, egr valve price.
and dont forget dual mass flywheel, something else that Ford do to the Ford standard.
There is also a theory that Ford do not know how to fit fuel-injectors (torque settings and seals) to there own engines. The same engines in Citoens and Peugeots do not seem to have the same level of problems, oddly.

Also have a look at Ford cars in general, what do you notice about them? RUST.

Brill car, but +1 for Macavitiy's comments. 1.6TDCi has to be treated with kid gloves.

Have a look through my forum history.
We had a 1.6TDCi. turbo blew up (my fault for not getting it serviced on time)
Paid £800 for it to be replaced.
Year or so later, turns out engine is permantly damaged, due to to turbo blowing up. Ford Dealership wanted to charge me £5000 for a new engine! I dug around and discovered they hadn't done the replacement work correctly. Got them to replace the car under threat of taking them to court for shoddy work.

Now have a 2.0TDCi. Much nicer, and reliable!