[makem]

1L Titanium Turbo (as in reg. doc.) Is a 1L Ecoboost in the sales blurb.

First impressions after collecting today:

Exterior.

Wheels have 10 spokes instead of 12.

Nothing else noticeable (to me).

Don't buy the door scuff plates, they are a waste of money and will not stop scuffing. If I had seen them in position I would not have got them.

The boot scuff plate is ok and may stop scuffs but in 3 years I never had any scuffs and I transported all old and new kitchen units in it.

Interior.

Wife says she is closer to me now (good or bad?) Seems the passenger seat (drivers really) is further away from the door.

The larger (rearmost) of the three storage places between the front seats now has a sliding lid on it. Looks like the old writing desk type of door. Is this a good idea? Maybe a casual thief would wonder if your satnav , phone or something else may be in there, else, why close it? I shall leave mine open.

Some extras on the dash:

A temperature indicator which will please some people but not me. It is unnecessary clutter on an already tiny screen. The indication is below the mpg are and who wants to keep looking at the temp?

A battery indicator is at the top of the small LCD screen. Looks like the one I have in Linux and showed nearly full although we had a flash of the 'low battery' alarm. Probably because of the newness. Another waste of space imo. If it shows half full/ quarter full what do you do? Go for a ride?

Next to that is a 'WiFi' or 'Internet connection' indicator. Never saw one on the previous model and I feel sure I would have done.

When the salesman flicked through the settings I did notice at least one new one in addition to the 'My Key' one.

SYNC worked correctly for one android and one iPhone we syncd.

Overall, the car did seem a little better construction but then it would being new? The drive seemed softer and I hope it was due to tyre pressure. I don't like sailing a ship on the roads.

Must remember to check the wipers tomorrow.

Anyone have any specific questions they need answers to?

PS Some very new unused velour mats going cheap for collection.

 

[JimmyH^_^]

nice one and good to hear that you've finally received it I didnt think there was much changed to the 2014 model..which I didnt realise.
The alloys do look nicer with 2 less spokes than on our 64-plate 2014 Titanium
Which engine did you go for in the end? 125ps? as ours is only the 100ps
Is the power button any good? or an inconvenience?
on ours it already had an outside temperature display on the dash.
rear view camera looks nice

 

[makem]

I have the 125 which is the same engine I had previously. I need the extra bit of power having been brought up in fast cars. It was a bit of a come down at first but I soon got used to it and found it pokey for its size.

Again, I have always had a power button and that was the reason for the delay in delivery. It was standard on the 2012 125s and they forgot it was not in 2015. I ordered an identical car and they had to honour it. As far as I was concerned it was a necessary option, certainly not an inconvenience.

Today I will take a look at the SYNC setting, check the tyre presure is recorded and that all options for safety are selected. Then I will test the roof bars by collecting a ladder from my son-in-law. I may get an opportunity to takes some pics of those naff scuff plates. I will also be able to check that it is not a 'ship' now. I am a little afraid some owners may have complained the ride was too hard

 

[makem]

Continuing with findings:

1. Found two new net type 'pockets' in the rear, one at each side of the passengers seat. handy for placing small things in addition to the nets on the back of both seats.

2. Setting of the 'auto wipe' is incorrect. Amount of water on the screen or timing of the 'intermitantness' is wrong. No matter where I set the adjustment to it did not seem to make any difference. The screen was often to wet to see through safely and I had to manually wipe the window or move the setting to make it start wiping. I also noticed what I think is new - two wipes when it first starts. I will take it in after I see if there are any other things needing attention.

3. The 'ship' feeling was down to tyre pressures. All pressures were incorrect and not balanced from one side to the other. That has been corrected and the system tyre pressure monitor reset.

4. Remote locking - Fine for a woman who has a bag for her keys and hands full of shopping or kids, but for the normal (lol) male with big bunch of keys dangling from his waste, the walk to 1.5 M of the door and press the button is a waste of time. More convenient to open the car before you get there. However, on leaving the car it is handy to press the door button twice to lock up and set the alarm.

5. In the 2012 model there were (including me), complaints of a sound like loose floorboards in the back/boot of the car. This has been remedied now.

6. The mat in the passenger side now has the button attachment for fixing it. However, the rubber mat does not have the matching holes so sits on top of the small posts. Not a real problem but worth mentioning if the dealer throws in free rubber mats as did mine before I saw this.

7. The build quality may be better. I pass a cable from the front to the rear for traffic data pickup and power for my satnav and running the cable was a bit more difficult. It seemed the panels and rubbers were just a bit more tighter and better fitted. Or, I am 3 years older and fingers less nimble/strong lol.

8. I am considering having power in the boot to supply the satnav via that cable instead of powering it from the rear power point. Do that method means having a cable from the rear seat over the foot-well which is not a good thing imo. Worked fine for the last three years though. I should have had power fitted in the factory.

9. Roof rails look ok but would have been better all black or a ll silver, not silver with black ends.

10 Dealer fitted the roof cross bars and I think they screwed them far to tight. Supposed to be 4nm (just over finger tight?) only and was more near 20nm. I made sure the salesman removed the bars when I found they were to tight. I will complain and have it noted in case they have damaged the threads, If I find they have, I will have them changed later. They supply an alan-key 'T' bar with two pieces of plastic to set the correct tension. I suppose they work but I will not know until the weather gets better and I can do some checking of the fittings.

11. Mpg showed as 35 with 20 miles done before delivery, now 36 mpg after 64 miles.

12. Lumbar support seems firmer than in the 2012 model,

To be continued (maybe)


Edited by: makem

 

[redfive]

Hi Makem, when i purchased my new B max in January this year it also had the passenger floor mat fixings. Having allready ordered a set of aftermarket rubber mats which came without the fixing eyelets i did some research and found them available on line for acouple of quid. I then used a hole cutter in my drill (having marked the fitting positions through the carpet mats which came with the car) inserted the eyelets the two parts of which clip together through the mat and the rubber mat fits perfectly. Hope this info helps, regards, Redfive.

 

[makem]

Thank you Redfive.

Can you share the source please to save me finding ones which may not work.

 

[redfive]

Hi again makem. Fixings were purchased on e bay from i2buydirect.choose catagory auto, then fixings and connections. Make sure you order FORD ROUND. Currently priced at £2.20 for the set of 4 (2 pair). Hope this helps, good luck, redfive.

 

[Hywel S Wales]

Makem - re your post 12 Nov -
A battery indicator is at the top of the small LCD screen. Looks like the one I have in Linux and showed nearly full although we had a flash of the 'low battery' alarm. Probably because of the newness. Another waste of space imo. If it shows half full/ quarter full what do you do? Go for a ride?


I think you'll find this indicatoris for your mobile phone !

 

[makem]

Makem - re your post 12 Nov -
A battery indicator is at the top of the small LCD screen. Looks like the one I have in Linux and showed nearly full although we had a flash of the 'low battery' alarm. Probably because of the newness. Another waste of space imo. If it shows half full/ quarter full what do you do? Go for a ride?


I think you'll find this indicatoris for your mobile phone !

I would describe it as having the 2D shaped picture of a battery with a battery level indicator in it. As I said it showed a level and there was a warning. As I type this, although I have been out in the car tonight I didn't notice it indicated full but I think it was the other day.

Alongside is another indicator which looks like a Windows WiFi indicator. It is formed by a series of vertical lines in the shape of a triangle getting taller from the left. That is more likely to be a phone indicator? In addition I get a Bluetooth indicator when my phone connects.

Edited by: makem

 

[JimmyH^_^]

I believe this is the signal from your mobiles network..

 

[makem]

So, it is suggested one is to show phone connection, one is to show signal quality and one is to show bluetooth, all related to mobile phone? Seems a bit OTT because the car does not know the quality of my available signal, or does it?

I don't have a data connection, just pay as you go so the phone is effectively off when I am in the car except for the BT side of it. I must compare my phone connection indicator with the car connection indicator to see if they differ.

 

[makem]

Carrying on with the build quality:

Yes, I think there is improvement. I notice the doors close more positively, in particular, the boot. No need to slam a little to make sure it shuts first time, now it almost shuts itself.

Those scuff plates I mentioned, the one for the doors, really are a waste of money. They do not even cover the part which does get scuffed as I noticed today. There was a white mark and some mud on the edge of the drivers door frame, which was not covered by the plate that was pristine! Also I noticed the plate went beneath the door rubber where it would be impossible to scuff.

I wondered if they were fitted incorrectly but they are shaped to fit the contour of the door base so could not fit anywhere else.

 

[redfive]

Hi makem, more from redfive! I purchased aset of aftermarket sill protectors which are stainless steel (NOT alloy like the genuine ford ones) and they are shaped to fit over the edge of the sill, so they do protect the most vunerable area very well and they only cost a fraction of the ford ones for a set of four. They have been on since January, no paint damage so far and only the minimal grazing from the wifes heels!

 

[makem]

Hi makem, more from redfive! I purchased aset of aftermarket sill protectors which are stainless steel (NOT alloy like the genuine ford ones) and they are shaped to fit over the edge of the sill, so they do protect the most vunerable area very well and they only cost a fraction of the ford ones for a set of four. They have been on since January, no paint damage so far and only the minimal grazing from the wifes heels!

Thanks.

Can you give me a link to the source for these please? I am really annoyed because I was unabe to see how they were fitted and as an ignorant purchaser assumed they did what it said on the package.

If you provide me with the source I will be able to speak to Ford direct and ask for them to be removed and my money be refunded as they are no fit for purpose as I see it.

I will take a picture today to show you how they are fitted so you can also compare.

 

[makem]

Better than my pictures taken in the rain:

http://www.ford-accessories.co.uk/b-max/2012/styling/interior-design/scuff-plates/1791123

From a sales source.

 

[redfive]

Happy to helpyou again makem. Sill protectors were suplied by Lockwood International in Leeds, tel: 0113 2440070, current price £45 95, although i only paid £33 95 in January! (but that is for the set of 4) full details are on their website. Hope this helps.

 

[makem]

Happy to helpyou again makem. Sill protectors were suplied by Lockwood International in Leeds, tel: 0113 2440070, current price £45 95, although i only paid £33 95 in January! (but that is for the set of 4) full details are on their website. Hope this helps.

I have found some on-line at about the price you quote and yes, they do go round the bend. Mine don't. I wondered if they had been fitted incorrectly so looked up the Ford brochure.They have not, so really, I don't have a leg to stand on in asking for a refund.

I spoke to a senior man at Fords hear office (Not the B-MAX team) and pointed out my problem. His answer was that these so called scuff plates were more for aesthetic reasons than protecting the rounded edge of the door sills. He agreed that they would not protect that rounded edge but said the paint was tough, to which i replied, not tough enough to stop high heels scratching. He agreed and said that he would see about changing the name of these scuff plates to threshold plates as he agreed, unless you check first, you would expect more coverage. I didn't check so am down the swanny. I can't honestly be bothered now to take it any further.

First time I have been caught out and not been able to sort it, so will add it to experience.

 

[Hywel S Wales]

I have these on my Titanium X (so factory fitted). I agree they are more cosmetic (they do look nice) than practical !

 

[Geriatricus]

1L Titanium Turbo (as in reg. doc.) Is a 1L Ecoboost in the sales blurb.



Wife says she is closer to me now (good or bad?) Seems the passenger seat (drivers really) is further away from the door.

Mentioned this to my better half today in the car, and she agreed that there is a noticeably larger clearance between seat and door in new car on the passenger side. This might contribute to the (subjective) feeling that the car is larger now.

Geri

P.S We also now, have a slightly worn pair of old stlye front carpets sitting in the garage!

 

[makem]

I just noticed two 'wells' in the dashboard!

I am sure in the 2012 model the dash was a smooth curve from front to back which did not allow things to be stood on there.

Now there is a shallow flat depression either side of centre where things could be placed.

Btw. the rubber mat clips recommended earlier work well. I just placed the velour mat over the top of the new rubber mat and drilled a centre hole for each. A hole cutter I happened to have completed the holes. A vice would have been handy to clip them together but my foot sufficed.