Ford B-Max Review and Prices
The Ford B-Max is a taller, more practical alternative to the Fiesta with neat doors. Unfortunately, its interior is really starting to show its age
- Used
- £5,750
What's good
What's not so good
Find out more about the Ford B-Max
Is the Ford B-Max a good car?
The Ford B-Max is a compact people carrier that’s roomier than a conventional small car. It’s well worth considering if you want a practical family car with a high driving position.
It might look a little like a swollen Ford Fiesta on the outside, but the B-Max’s clever sliding rear doors make it one of the most practical MPVs on sale. It’s certainly easier to fit a child seat to or jump in the back of than a Kia Venga or Hyundai ix20.
There’s loads of headroom and plenty of adjustment to help you get comfy in the driver’s seat, but some scratchy plastics and a very dated infotainment system make the B-Max’s cabin feel quite old-fashioned. You have to pay extra for satellite navigation too, even on top-spec Titanium X models.
Things don’t really improve when you come to pack the B-Max full of luggage. Sure, its square boot is easy to load, but at 318 litres it’s a full 122 litres down on the Venga and ix20. Thankfully, you can fold the back seats and the front passenger seat down at the same time if you need to carry long items.
For carrying smaller objects you get some handy underfloor storage in the boot, a couple of shopping hooks and some useful cubby holes dotted around the cabin. It’s no tardis, but there’s more than enough space to hide away the usual family bits and bobs.
The B-Max’s height means you get a great view out over the road ahead. There’s a slight blindspot caused by the chunky side window frames, but for the most part it’s a doddle to drive around town.
The practical B-Max proves small people carriers are still worth a look in the face of an ever-growing crop of fashionable SUVs
If you rarely venture out the city you’ll want to pick a B-Max with a nippy 1.0-litre turbo petrol engine. The 125hp version is even perky enough to deal with the odd motorway journey and it’s fairly frugal, too. For regular long drives, however, you’ll be much better off with the improved pulling power of the 1.5-litre diesel.
It’s no limousine, but the B-Max soaks up rutted country roads impressively well for a small car and its tall body doesn’t lean much in tight corners either. Even at motorway speeds you’ll hear barely any wind noise, tyre roar is mostly muted and it’s nice to know the B-Max got a five-star safety rating from Euro NCAP. Just bear in mind that the tests have been made much stricter since the B-Max was evaluated in 2012.
It isn’t exactly the most high-tech MPV on sale but the Ford B-Max is cheap to buy, economical and comes with bundles of clever features designed to make it easy to live with.
How much is the Ford B-Max?
The Ford B-Max has a RRP range of £13,435 to £20,670. The price of a used Ford B-Max on Carwow starts at £5,750.
What's it like to drive?
The B-Max might look like a tall, ungainly MPV but it drives just like an ordinary small car – providing you avoid the rather weedy entry-level diesel, that is
If the Ford Fiesta is an olympic gymnast, the B-Max is its retired elderly coach. It’s not quite as athletic, but it’s much more able than its looks suggest
What's it like inside?
Clever doors and a roomy cabin make the B-Max one of the easiest MPVs to live with, but its boot isn’t exactly the biggest around and its infotainment system is pretty archaic
Ford B-Max colours
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- From £745
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- From £745
- Used
- £5,750