ROAD TEST: Ford B-Max
By Brendan Seery
Johannesburg - I don’t shock easily, but I got a serious push back on my heels the other day when the talk at the lunch table turned to prams (the wheeled transport devices which help us convey our offspring from place to place).
Apparently, the blue-chip brand name prams can cost upwards of R30 000 these days - and they are in demand as northern suburbs Johannesburg’s newly-minted mums and dads keep up with the Joneses.
And, like SUVs, each year these baby transporters get bigger and bulkier.
In my day - or, more correctly, in the days when my kids were at that pre-walking stage - the pram (did two children and then we passed it along) folded up not much bigger that one of those picnic “Captain’s chairs” – about 15cm wide and about a metre long. That meant it went easily into the boots of our Volkswgan Jetta and Opel Kadett.
Today’s prams, with wheels not much smaller than those on the first Minis, and their assorted accessories - cupholders (sorry, bottle holders) hoods, covers and probably a hi-fi lullaby system for all I know - seriously test even the biggest boot.
That’s why the Great SUV Scam has gathered so much momentum, in this country particularly.
Ask most people why they bought a SUV - even a small one such as Ford’s EcoSport (the best seller in this category in the country) - and they will tell you two things: Safety (because it has a higher driving position) and space. Both are rubbish. Being higher up in a car means a higher centre of gravity and more propensity to tip over in extremis. And there is generally less space than in a hatchback or sedan in the range.
MEASURING UP
Our SUVs are tiny in comparison to the real deal, truck-like ones you get in the US of A. Compact SUVs (and even the bigger ones) in this country look the part, with butch wheels, high stances and station wagon-type appearance. But when you get out the tape measure (which few buyers do), you’ll find that there is more space in a conventional “three box” sedan.
My old Jetta had space and the utilisation of it became my personal art form, enabling us to pack in amazing amounts of luggage, food and toys when embarking on holiday. And, such was the legroom in the back I never got kicked in the back while driving… although even the good aircon could do nothing to tone down the “are we there yet?” whining.
Over the years, there have been some clever solutions to the “family transporter” requirement which didn’t mean going faux off-road.
Some were American in inspiration, such as the Chrysler Voyager “minivan” (Heaven help us, what on earth did the Yanks consider a full van?) and other repeats of tried and tested favourites such as the VW Kombi.
Both those cars, though, came with the somewhat less desirable realisation that you had sired too many children and needed a schoolbus (couldn’t you have used contraception or just watched TV?)…
SLIDE ON IN
Seeking to provide another alternative (and fill in another niche to keep as many people as possible in the brand), Ford has come up with the B-Max – a “maxxed-out” version of the B-segment vehicle - which in Ford’s case is its Fiesta.
The B-Max has one up on the Fiesta for a start – sliding doors on each side of the body. This means no dings in supermarket carparks and the doors also offer easy access to the rear seats. Whether it offers quite the same level of protection as a car which has a traditional B-pillar (the chunk of metal which separates the front and back doors) is something that would worry me – although Ford’s assurance is that the car is one of the safest on the road, having garnered a 5-star Euro-crash test rating, and it comes with seven airbags.
As far as space goes, there is a lot of it in the B-Max, but not all of it in the right places.
There is plenty of it above your head, because the car is higher than the Fiesta on which it is based; and there is plenty of it for the occupants of that second row. However, the boot can charitably be described as not huge. Chuck in one of those fancy northern suburbs prams and there won’t be much room left for anything else.
Which sort of defeats the object, doesn’t it?
The B-Max boot holds 304 litres but you get 276 litres in an ordinary Fiesta and as much as 316 litres in the next-segment-up Focus hatchback.
For about the same money as a B-Max, you get a cavernous 421 litres in the boot of a Focus sedan. Just like my Jetta.
Driving the B-Max is just like driving a Fiesta – although with a bit more body lean because of the height – which means very good.
The Fiesta is still one of my favourite Fords because driving it is such a good experience.
All B-Max models are powered by Ford’s funky one-litre, three-cylinder turbopetrol, which gives good pulling power and amazing economy (if you don’t see less than seven litres per 100km on the highway and low eights in town, you’re driving like a lunatic).
However, sliding doors aside, the B-Max – priced from R234 900 to R287 900 – doesn’t offer a family enough room. If it was my family, I’d get the 1.0 Ford Focus sedan.
It’s the clear winner of this particular space race. - Saturday Star
FACTS
FORD B-MAX
Engine: 1-litre, 3-cylinder turbopetrol
Gearbox: six-speed /automatic
Power: 92kW @ 6000rpm
Torque: 170Nm @ 1400-4500rpm
0-100km/h (claimed): 11.2 seconds
Top speed (claimed): 189km/h
Consumption (claimed): 4.9 litres per 100km
Price: R234 900 - R287 900