Ford B-MAX MPV (2012-2017) - Reliability & safety
Ford isn’t performing well for customer satisfaction these days, but the Ford B-MAX is very safe
There are no concerns at all with the safety of the Ford B-MAX. Ford has strategically strengthened the car to take account of the fact that it lacks central pillars and this has paid off with excellent crash-test results. The B-MAX comes with all the modern safety equipment you’d expect, too. Less impressive is the fact that customers have found Ford as a brand to be quite unsatisfactory in certain areas.
Ford B-MAX reliability
Ford climbed to 16th out of 26 manufacturers in our 2018 Driver Power customer satisfaction survey, which is good news when it comes to buying one of its cars. In our 2016 survey, the B-MAX itself fared fairly poorly, though. It came a reasonable 76th out of 150 cars, but delve deeper and its 130th-place finish for reliability is distinctly underwhelming. Still, owners did feed back that the B-MAX is a very practical car that’s good to drive.
Safety
Safety shouldn’t be a concern here, with Euro NCAP awarding the B-MAX the maximum five-star crash-test rating, which includes a 92% score for adult occupant protection and 84% for child occupant protection.
The Vauxhall Meriva also scored five stars, but with ratings of 89% and 77% in the same two categories. The Citroen C3 Picasso only managed four stars. It was marked down because not all of its safety equipment is included on lower trim levels – although, in fairness, Ford’s Active City Stop, which can automatically brake the car if it detects an imminent low-speed collision, costs £200 and is an option across the range.
As such a low-cost extra, though, it’s curious Ford doesn’t fit this as standard, although all cars are fitted with six airbags, electronic stability control and emergency braking assistance as standard. Hill-start assistance is also standard on every model except the 1.4-litre petrol.
