Ford B-Max and Made in Chelsea's Cheska Hull pictures and hands-on

Made in Dagenham

Cheska Hull

16 February 2012 11:34 GMT / By Dan Sung

Ford has unleashed its latest take on the small car, the Ford B-Max, with a little help from Made in Chelsea star Cheska Hull at a preview event in London today.

The car is said by Ford to be stuffed to the gunnels with safety technology and gadgets of convenience, so much so that the B-Max will become the first motor vehicle ever to be officially launched at the Mobile World Congress trade show at the end of February.

So, what toys does that mean us tech-lovers get to be excited about? For starters, you get Sony's best in class audio system but the real star of the show is the one of a kind door system. With the idea of maximum access to the car, even in close quarter city parking situations, Ford has removed the central pillar that normally separates the back and front with the latter opening as usual and the former sliding parallel to the rear.

The idea is that you then get super-wide access to both the boot and the side of the car and even the seats fold down completely flat so you can squeeze in your flat pack furniture without having to go back and pay for delivery instead.

The big excitement for gadget fans, of course, is the inclusion of the MyFord Touch and SYNC technologies which hook your car up wirelessly with your mobile phone and bring instant access to your music, calls and texts all by voice control.

Director of Product Development Quality, Ford of Europe, Darren Palmer stated nothing official on the matter at the preview but did confirm that there would be an announcement about it at the Geneva Motor Show 2012, strongly hinting towards some positive news.

He told Pocket-lint: "Technology is something we stand for now at Ford. It's a main staple for us. Thirty-five per cent of our cars sold are done so with, and because of, our auto-park technology. The whole area is something our president is very keen on."

Under the hood of the Ford B-Max is a modest 1-litre Ecoboost engine that'll give you 57.6 mpg. So long as you remember to look after the thing, that should make the car one of the most efficient in its class.

It's available to buy later in 2012. Expect to hear more at MWC 2012 and at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

- Ford Evos Concept pictures and hands-on

Ford SYNC with MyFord Touch hands-on


MWC logo Get all the coverage from the world's largest phone show: MWC 2012 MWC logo



Full tags
Cars, Car And GPS, Ford, Ford B-Max, MWC2012

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