By Guilherme Marques
The B-Max is the first open car in history. But that is underselling what is one of the best small cars you can buy today.
“It does things which other vehicles simply cannot do and will have a major impact on the market for compact cars” – those are Stephen Odell’s words, the big boss of Ford Europe.
Mr. Odell was so excited about his new pillarless baby, it seemed he had just invented the next best thing to the wheel. He did have a point though, the B-Max is something different.
So let’s talk about those doors. There is no B-pillar, which means that when you open the front door and the rear sliding door, you can access the rear seats, or get a baby in, with unprecedented ease.
After all, the overall width on offer is 150cm – almost Ford Transit like. But is this just a marketing exercise? I have to say, no. It really works, it really makes it easier to use the space in the back.
The ride is comfortable but the short wheelbase, while offering excellent agility in traffic, robs some space in the back. If your kids are not too tall or long legged, they will be fine.
The exterior design resembles the S-Max more than the C-Max, which is definitely a good thing, since the middle Max comes last in the Max beauty contest.
I still think Ford is over designing its cars right now and they could do with less creases and a happier face, but the B-Max design works well and it is probably the better looking Ford right now, next to the new Fiesta.Although someone clearly smarter than me once said beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So, behold and decide for yourself.
Less subjective is the fact that the B-Max is a very good car indeed. Our press model came with the Safety Pack, which includes the new Active City Stop system, parking sensors and electric mirrors and the Titanium Pack, meaning 17’’ wheels and heated front seats.
Ford asks €24,930 for it, but you can have a 1.6 Diesel B-Max for a basic price of €22,850. With car sales plunging, I would not be surprised if you could get one of these cars for something closer to €20,000 – car wise, that would be one of the best buys you could ever make.
