Detroit 2011: 2012 Ford C-Max struts its mini-minivan stuff

Small MPVs are all the rage in Europe, but here in North America – the land of “bigger is better” – these moderately-sized people-haulers have never quite sold in droves. Ford firmly believes that it’s time to bring the small MPV segment back to North America, and the 2012 C-Max is its first foray into offering this sort of pint-sized family-hauling package here in America.

We’ve already driven (and enjoyed) the European-spec Grand C-Max, and the good news is that not much will change mechanically before the car arrives here in the States. A 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine will be the base powertrain with an all-new 1.6-liter EcoBoost inline-four being the up-level mill. The C-Max offers seating for seven (or “five plus two,” as Ford says), and the latest crop of Blue Oval tech will be found inside.

The C-Max will go on sale later this year shortly after production begins at Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant. Visit the forum for the link to more photos.

[Source Autoblog]

Live photos copyright ©2011 Steven J. Ewing / AOL

Officially Official: 2012 Ford C-Max puts the ‘mini’ back in ‘minivan’

A few days after the Paris Motor Show, we had the chance to sample the Grand C-Max, Ford‘s latest Euro-spec MPV destined for North American soil. Other markets around the world are ripe with these mini-minivans, but here in the States, our only C-segment MPV option is the very likable Mazda5. The long-wheelbase C-Max will drop its “Grand” nomenclature when it arrives here in North America, and the public will get its first taste of the new Ford at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show.

Ford calls the C-Max’s seating configuration a “five-plus-two,” meaning that the interior is best suited for five passengers, and that the two rear seats are best used for small occupants. What’s more, Ford offers a unique storage solution for the middle seat in the second row, allowing it to fold down and is stow underneath the bottom cushion of the rear passenger-side chair, creating a set of two captain’s seats in the process (check out a video here). The rest of the C-Max interior is very much akin to what we’ve seen in the 2012 Focus, and we’re quite impressed with the high-quality craftsmanship that FoMoCo is putting into its latest crop of cabins.