The sole gasoline engine in the lineup is a 1.8-liter Duratec inline-four. It's really nothing special compared to the high-powered, larger displacement fours available here, but it's proven in reliability and offers reasonable performance at 120 horsepower and 124 lb-ft of torque. Hardly life altering, it can move the C-Max to 100 km/h in a sleepy 10.8 seconds before topping out at a respectable 193 km/h (120 mph). If the new model comes to North America expect a larger, more powerful four-cylinder.
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| The 1.8-liter Duratec inline-four, the only gasoline engine offered, moves the C-Max to 100 km/h in a sleepy 10.8 seconds. (Photo: Ford Motor Company) |
Strangely, there's no word on whether or not Ford will drop their new SCi direct-injection gasoline engine into this Focus. I believe that it would be better suited to lugging around people and cargo than the 1.8 Duratec, simply because there's more usable power and torque. The laws of physics simply can't be manipulated to overcome power versus mass in this one: the engine must be revved hard before progress can be made on the 1,312 kg (2,892 lb) vehicle. This engine, like all others, drives the front wheels, and can be had with either a five-speed manual or five-speed automatic transmission.
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| The two popular diesel engines offered in the C-Max are clean, efficient, quiet and work like fine Swiss watches. (Photo: Ford Motor Company) |
It only takes a glance at the spec sheet to see why Europeans don't have to think too hard about opting for one of the diesels. Despite the knowledge that these are some of the finest engines on the market, designed by master diesel craftsmen at PSA-Peugeot-Citroen, they offer a lot more grunt. Available is a 1.6-liter TCDI or a 2.0-liter TCDI, both using the latest common-rail direct injection turbodiesel technology. They're clean, efficient, quiet and work like fine Swiss watches.
The smaller engine generates 108 horsepower, yes less than the gasoline engine, but torque is up to an amazing 176 lb-ft. It's only marginally slower to 100 km/h than the 1.8 liter gasoline engine, taking 11.3 seconds to hit the target speed, but load it up with kids and cargo and the tables would turn. Its final speed is marginally slower than the gas engine too, at 188 km/h (117 mph).
