Ford B-Max (Team Review) – Fifth Gear

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: ennext over to our cutting-edge tracks for the fifth geared team test today the team tested the Ford b-max this brand new family car is based on the Fiesta and costs from 13 to 19 thousand pounds it's killer features are its sliding doors and lack of central b-pillar the massive opening is designed to make carrying large loads and little children a doddle we're testing the top spec model with Ford's 1 litre turbocharged engine gentlemen I give you the innovative Ford b-max yeah which is innovative that's the fellow thing isn't it when you open both the doors in the b-max you're faced with this it's just a big open hollow car with seats in it it's amazing but the one thing about those sliding doors is that I keep a worried they're gonna slide when you don't want them to and they always slightly give me the creeps you see look if you took the handbrake off and pushed it forward a bit down a hill and then a hammer I got again what sort of scenario have you just conjured up I know it probably won't happen ever but I just keep on thinking about it it's proper a team I'm howling mad Murdock I got tonzura I don't like this seat position I feel like I'm sat up in the air this is uh this has been engineered to eliminate travel sickness in the back what yeah now because the back seats it quite a lot higher than your front seats like a Land Rover Discovery so I can look over your shoulders and over your head and don't feel troublesome and it's good for the kids because they can see where they're going the B max is of course a Fiesta on steroids it's six inches tall are you 6 inches longer when the biggest problems when packaging a tall car together to a huge amphitheatre of space comes at the detriment of center of gravity so we decided to just set up a simple selection of cones for slalom the sudden direction change in this slalom will reveal whether the v-max is extra height has made it unstable Jonny one hitch is at 30 miles an hour then 50 and then a gut-wrenching 70 imagine I'm taking you to bingo when we did it at 30 cough up see fine it wasn't being pushed hard at all that's quite a fella says there Ford's say the B max has class-leading driving dynamics so far I reckon they're right 50 miles an hour it didn't really have any stability interruption it's also got a supercar inspired torque vectoring system which electronically distributes power between the front wheels for better grip and attraction to change in direction not a great deal of body roll from the driving seat that's actually quite impressive impressive even though I do still feel like I'm transporting some old people in a happy bus then we did it 70 Jason decided to get out and stand and watch I've got an uncanny ability to look into a crystal ball and see trouble why are you stopping yep there's also a madman in the form of TIFF Needell in the back goading him on camo Dottie let's go and give it some proper beans 70 is an accident waiting to happen and I'd rather witness an accident from here then inside that guy yeah go on 70 is quite ambitious journey Johnny I'm not really believing was gonna hold on a score like it did a bow that one I'll tell you I bailed that one had he not he would have been in the fence at 70 miles an hour the electronic stability control had a workout it cut power and applied the brakes without it the car would have slid and I would have lost control I trust these ESP system was up there brilliant oh you should you stayed in the car potato you described to prove just how much credit the ESC should be given we did a final run with it disabled so the B max features some genius family-friendly design and despite being taller than the Fiesta on which it's base is still very stable partly thanks to 21st century safety electronics I'd always be worrying about those sliding doors but despite that the b-max gets an innovative eight for an urban family it's a really good consideration I'll give it a strong eight out of ten I'm gonna give it a seven and a half which gives the Ford b-max a-team test score of twenty two and a half out of 30 younext over to our cutting-edge tracks for the fifth geared team test today the team tested the Ford b-max this brand new family car is based on the Fiesta and costs from 13 to 19 thousand pounds it's killer features are its sliding doors and lack of central b-pillar the massive opening is designed to make carrying large loads and little children a doddle we're testing the top spec model with Ford's 1 litre turbocharged engine gentlemen I give you the innovative Ford b-max yeah which is innovative that's the fellow thing isn't it when you open both the doors in the b-max you're faced with this it's just a big open hollow car with seats in it it's amazing but the one thing about those sliding doors is that I keep a worried they're gonna slide when you don't want them to and they always slightly give me the creeps you see look if you took the handbrake off and pushed it forward a bit down a hill and then a hammer I got again what sort of scenario have you just conjured up I know it probably won't happen ever but I just keep on thinking about it it's proper a team I'm howling mad Murdock I got tonzura I don't like this seat position I feel like I'm sat up in the air this is uh this has been engineered to eliminate travel sickness in the back what yeah now because the back seats it quite a lot higher than your front seats like a Land Rover Discovery so I can look over your shoulders and over your head and don't feel troublesome and it's good for the kids because they can see where they're going the B max is of course a Fiesta on steroids it's six inches tall are you 6 inches longer when the biggest problems when packaging a tall car together to a huge amphitheatre of space comes at the detriment of center of gravity so we decided to just set up a simple selection of cones for slalom the sudden direction change in this slalom will reveal whether the v-max is extra height has made it unstable Jonny one hitch is at 30 miles an hour then 50 and then a gut-wrenching 70 imagine I'm taking you to bingo when we did it at 30 cough up see fine it wasn't being pushed hard at all that's quite a fella says there Ford's say the B max has class-leading driving dynamics so far I reckon they're right 50 miles an hour it didn't really have any stability interruption it's also got a supercar inspired torque vectoring system which electronically distributes power between the front wheels for better grip and attraction to change in direction not a great deal of body roll from the driving seat that's actually quite impressive impressive even though I do still feel like I'm transporting some old people in a happy bus then we did it 70 Jason decided to get out and stand and watch I've got an uncanny ability to look into a crystal ball and see trouble why are you stopping yep there's also a madman in the form of TIFF Needell in the back goading him on camo Dottie let's go and give it some proper beans 70 is an accident waiting to happen and I'd rather witness an accident from here then inside that guy yeah go on 70 is quite ambitious journey Johnny I'm not really believing was gonna hold on a score like it did a bow that one I'll tell you I bailed that one had he not he would have been in the fence at 70 miles an hour the electronic stability control had a workout it cut power and applied the brakes without it the car would have slid and I would have lost control I trust these ESP system was up there brilliant oh you should you stayed in the car potato you described to prove just how much credit the ESC should be given we did a final run with it disabled so the B max features some genius family-friendly design and despite being taller than the Fiesta on which it's base is still very stable partly thanks to 21st century safety electronics I'd always be worrying about those sliding doors but despite that the b-max gets an innovative eight for an urban family it's a really good consideration I'll give it a strong eight out of ten I'm gonna give it a seven and a half which gives the Ford b-max a-team test score of twenty two and a half out of 30 you\n"