In boxing, a one-two punch is a combination of two punches thrown in rapid succession. Ford must have had a boxing trainer when they came up with the 2013 C-Max.
The first blow — aimed directly at the Toyota Prius — is a vehicle that finally gives consumers a direct competitor in the gasoline-hybrid market. This is the vehicle we will be reviewing today.
The second blow, estimated to come by the end of the year, is a plug-in version of the C-Max. This again is aimed squarely at the new Prius plug-in hybrid.
Toyota has had the ring all to itself for a decade now, pummelling the competition, even the Honda Civic hybrid, each time.
But the C-Max is different. It looks like a Prius, but more European. Size-wise, it is just over 50 mm longer than the Ford Focus, on which it is based, but more importantly, is some 76 mm shorter than a Prius.