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These are the first official images of the Grand Ford C-Max, the new seven-seat version of the MPV.

The Grand C-Max was due to be revealed at next week's Frankfurt motor show, but the pictures have leaked on to the internet ahead of the launch.

See the Grand Ford C-Max high-res photo gallery here

Much of its styling follows the same themes as the five-door C-Max unveiled last week, ...Read the full article

I quite like the look of this, it's a big improvement on the current dull C-Max.

I haven't yet worked out though why there is a need for a 7 seat C-Max and an S-Max. Surely the price difference won't be that great?

Is it just me, or is there a whiff of Kia about it all? I like it in general and its defo better than the current C-max

Lee23404 wrote the following post at Fri, Sep 11 2009 4:32 PM: I quite like the look of this, it's a big improvement on the current dull C-Max. I haven't yet worked out though why there is a need for a 7 seat C-Max and an S-Max. Surely the price difference won't be that great?

I agree, surely Ford will be stealing sales from itself, which seems strange in an already very competitive market segment

I like the interior, but I'm not particularly struck on the rear end. And I too can't see why they need three seven-seaters in their range. Still, I guess each one has its own market.

Cab drivers love their 7 seaters and they don't all wanna have the same car innit...

 

meh. think 'kinetic design' has had its day.  Duller version of Kuga front end, Mazda 5 side, Chevrolet Cruze interior.  Why is there a 7 seat version anyway? S-Max anyone?

Meh. Think 'kinetic design' has had its day.  A dull version of the Kuga grafted onto the front, Mazda 5 side and Chevrolet Cruze interior.  And anyway, why a 7 seat version? S-Max anyone?

Must say the Ford kinetic thang doesn't seem to graft on to everything so well. This looks odd. Front end is OK, though very familiar, side is pure Mazda 5 with added fussiness, while the rear is Ssangyong-horrendous. The sliding side doors are to prepare the way for the same on the new S-Max, which will sell in the US where sliding doors are obligatory on MPV's. Will sell in droves.

C'mon Ford - did you HAVE to pinch 'Grand' from Renault? (What was wrong with C-Maxed Out?!) Oh well, at least it's better proportioned than the 5-seater. The seats look nice. But the dash could be from almost anything. And the rear half of the exterior is a dog's breakfast.

I like that, and it's been a while since I've thought that about a Ford. Shouldn't take sales from S-MAX, the C-MAX is a part time 7 seater, sized as a five seater MPV with a bit of added versatility for school runs and stuff at the cost of all the luggage space. I'd buy this, but not the S-MAX as that wouldn't fit where I need to park it.

Could Ford be planning to pull the Galaxy/S-max?  Renault were certainly talking about pulling the Espace, since the launch of their new "Grand" Scenic (larger than the previous Grand Scenic and therefore close enough to replace the ageing Espace). 

 As buyers are looking to down-size their cars on economic and environmental grounds, it may make sense to pull the old large mpv and replace with the more popular and affordable midi mpv.