For quite a while, I didn't really get Ford's MPV-style vehicles. The Fusion offered little more than a Fiesta and I wasn't altogether certain quite what the five-seat Ford Focus C-MAX mini-MPV offered over and above their excellent five-seat Focus hatchback. Then came the S-MAX, a full-sized MPV for people who didn't want the wobbly handling and the van-like styling. Suddenly, everything became clear - Ford was the name to remember for MPVs with a sporty edge. With styling that apes the S-MAX, the latest C-MAX makes much more sense. The Focus hatch is a car that drives so beautifully that plonking a bulbous body on top of it and raising the centre of gravity would seem like a bad idea. But when I tried the C-MAX, my first thought was that they'd delivered me a Focus hatch in error. With the sharper styling of the latest car, it even looks the part. I even grew to like the fact that it didn't come fitted with endless rows of seats and nowhere to store my shopping. I'm trying to think of the last occasion that I needed to fit seven people into a car and I'm still thinking. I'm not a quick typist.

With a wheelbase some 25mm longer than the Focus, the C-MAX offers a good deal of interior space, helped by a novel seating arrangement. The 'wheel at each corner' design also helps maximise interior dimensions. The styling is a good deal less introverted these days with a redesigned front end that includes design elements from the S-MAX - most notably, the lower trapezoid front grille, a redesigned upper grille, headlights and tail lamps. Specify the optional bi-xenon lights and a light strip runs across the top line of the lamp unit. It's all rather Audi, as are the LED tail lights. Ford's rear seat flexibility system remains the ace in the C-MAX hole. A 40-20-40 "tip and tumble" rear seat sees the centre section flip rearwards into the luggage compartment, leaving the remaining two seats to slide diagonally along a runner towards the centre of the car, giving unprecedented levels of space for four. With 100mm of extra legroom and 60mm of additional shoulder room, even extravagantly dimensioned passengers should be able to find space in the back of the C-MAX. Even in the standard three-abreast bench position there's plenty of room, offering 946mm of legroom and 582 litres of luggage compartment space. Remove the rear seats altogether and there's a monstrous 1,692 litres available.

The fascia design of the C-MAX reflects the exterior lines in its calm maturity. The riot of bisecting lines, angles and arcs that the Focus introduced have been replaced by a quietly styled dashboard with classy Sony branded stereo equipment taking pride of place. The gearlever is mounted high and feels more natural than a floor mounted stick. Materials quality has taken a noticeable hike too, the soft-touch plastics used on the upper dash surface being reminiscent of latter day Audis. Six basic engines are offered, the range split between three petrols and three diesels. The 90bhp 1.6-litre diesel unit is a development of the Fiesta's 1.4TDCi common-rail powerplant, plus there's a 115bhp 1.8-litre Duratorq TDCi unit. Pick of the range however, has to be the punchy 135bhp 2.0-litre TDCi engine sourced from Peugeot. Backed up by a six-speed gearshift, this has proved to be the engine most able to take the fight to Citroen, Renault, Volkswagen and Vauxhall. Petrol buyers are catered for with 100bhp 1.6-litre 16v, 125bhp 1.8-litre and 145bhp 2.0-litre options. Plus there's the option on the diesels of an environmentally-friendly Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF). Thus equipped, the 1.6-litre emits 110bhp while the 2.0-litre remains at a healthy 135bhp. Petrol buyers can also get the 1.8-litre 135bhp engine in environmentally-friendly Flexifuel guise.

The Ford C-MAX has to be one of the easiest cars to live with yet devised. Pleasant to drive, pleasant to look at and with a benign image it's overwhelmingly nice. We all know what happens to nice guys but the C-MAX should be the exception the proves the rule.