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Adult occupant protection 
Frontal impact driver | 
Frontal impact passenger | 
Side impact driver |  |
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Child restraints | 18 month old Child | Britax Roemer Baby-safe, rearward facing |
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| 3 year old Child | Britax Roemer Duo Plus, forward facing |
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Pedestrian protection No image car front available |
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Safety equipment | Front seatbelt pretensioners |  |
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| Front seatbelt load limiters | |
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| Driver frontal airbag | |
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| Front passenger frontal airbag | |
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| Side body airbags | |
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| Side head airbags | |
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| Driver knee airbag |  |
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Car details | Hand of drive | LHD |
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| Tested model | Ford Focus C-MAX 1.8 Trend |
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| Body type | small MPV |
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| Year of publication | 2003 |
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| Kerb weight | 1420 |
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| VIN from which rating applies | all Focus C-MAX |
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Comments The Focus C-MAX has a strong and stable passenger safety cell which provides balanced protection for its occupants. The restraint systems and airbags worked well to protect them, keeping the driver’s chest and head away from the steering wheel. Side impact protection, which includes seat mounted thorax airbags and curtain head protecting airbags, was impressive. The Focus C-MAX is the first car to achieve 4 stars for child protection.
Front impact
Two-stage tethered airbags combined with belts fitted with pre-tensioners and load limiters worked well, although impact forces fed to the occupant’s chests were a little on the high side. And the driver risked knee injuries from hard points behind the fascia. The Focus C-MAX proved strong, showing minimal distortion around its sills and screen pillars and only minor intrusion into the footwell. All rear seats have three-point belts.
Side impact
The seat-mounted thorax airbag and head curtain airbags tested here are fitted as standard to all models. They proved effective; the curtain also protected those sat in the rear. But the Focus C-MAX failed to score full marks because forces transferred unrealistically between the dummy’s back and his seat, reducing the impact forces reaching his chest instruments.
Child-protection
The older child was forward facing in a Britax Romer Duo Plus. The younger child sat in a rear-facing Britax Romer Baby Safe secured using the adult belt. The children’s heads were well protected in the frontal and side impacts but the head and chest loads on the 18-month-old in the frontal impact were a little high. The labelling on the restraints was clear and permanent. A pictogram (which could be peeled off) on the passenger’s end of the fascia gave the only warning against placing a rear-facing restraint opposite an airbag.
Pedestrian protection
The bonnet top provided some cushioning where an adult’s or child’s head might most likely strike and the leading edge of the bonnet also provided some protection. But the bumper proved to be very unforgiving.
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