Ford S-Max 1.8TDi Zetec: Comments

Re: Ford S-Max - any comments?

I have an S-MAX LX 1.8 TDCi and am very pleased with it so far. I guess if you were to take one stand-out feature of the car versus its competitors it would be its drivability. It's a blast to drive and that is not what you would ever expect from a pretty large MPV. My prevous two cars were a Mondeo and a Focus and I would say the S-max is not far off either of these for road holding and comfort. The 1.8 TDCi engine is a far better engine than the equivalent 1.8 petrol that is the base engine on the Mondeo - quite surprising, I had initially expected the diesel to be more sluggish. The fuel economy is very impressive for the size of the thing - on an urban cycle we are getting about 45-50mpg. On longer trips I think it comes in around 55 mpg.

As for the seating the 3rd row fold fullys into the floor giving you an 800 litre boot - if you fold the 2nd row you get an absolutely enormous load space. I recently fitted a wardrobe in the back with no bother. With all the rows up I think the bootspace is about 250L which is comparable to a Focus or an Astra. The extra cost for the 3rd row is a bit cheeky of Ford if you ask me - I can't imagine there is a single S-MAX in this country that does not have them fitted. It's the whole point of an MPV after all.

As RS2K mentioned it is a big car - the difference between it and the new Galaxy is only 10cm in length and a higher roofline for the back seats. I thnk it might actually be bigger that the outgoing Galaxy. If you were to line it up side by side with a Zafira the size difference is quite noticable. The design of the car plays a bit of an optical illusion when you look at it head on - it seems smaller than it really is. Despite the size I have not found it particularly difficult to park - there are two huge wing mirrors that help a lot here.

Finally the snags - if you check out the various user reviews online you will see that there are a number of teething problems with this model - it's only in production since June. The one we bought was a used rental car (5000km) and it had a problem with the heater. It was covered by warranty and was fixed within a week. I'd imagine that these gremlins are now out of the system as production has ramped.
 
Re: Ford S-Max - any comments?

Thanks Lissard for your really informative post, it was very helpful.
Hopefully now I can persuade hubby it will be worth the money!
 
Re: Ford S-Max - any comments?

The S-Max has to be the nicest MPV on the market at the moment. If there were any 2yr old 1.8TDCi Zetecs out there I would have one now, but we just opted for a '05 Verso 2.0D instead. The Verso wouldn't be as big as the S-Max, but like yourself, we only have 2 and its plenty space. The fold away seats will only get used on very limited occasions.
Plus, I can sit comfortably in the middle seat between the 2 child seats without feeling cramped.

At least Ford are giving the option of purchasing the car as a 5 seater. I always felt that I would never need a 7 seater but wanted the practicality of one, so would have liked to not to pay the premium of having them.

Forget all the rest....thet S-Max looks like a good choice
 
Re: Ford S-Max - any comments?

The s max is great if you only use the last two seats occasionally. For frequent use there is no space or comfort. For 3k more a Galaxy would be a better option if you intend to carry more than 5 people regularly. Also in 5 seat mode the load carrying capacity of the Galaxy in the rear is absolutely huge.
 
Re: Ford S-Max - any comments?

Hi there

I have got a new ford smax since January and have had a few problems but were sorted promptly. The latest problem is that if you miss start the car, ie just turn the car half by accident, the car shakes like the engine is going to fall out of it, I have been back to the ford dealers and they have told me there is nothing to worry about, even though the mechanic nearly died when he heard it. But has anyone else the same problem.

Also in my husbands kindness he helped a man in distress last nite and used the tyre inflation canister to blow up someones tyre which he thought would only cost €10 to replace,but apparently the canister is €50, some thing on the compressor has to be replaced costing €17 (i think he said it is a pipe), and if it was our car had the puncture i would have to have got a new tyre costing €75 / €80. So for the price of a puncure normally max €15, this would have cost me €107.

We have contacted Ford Irl about this and have been told its the eurpoean system and therefore its not there probelm, but I think this would have been nice to have been told this when we bought it would have seriously thought twice about it..

Just wondering is anybody else having a bit of trouble with the Smax...
 
Re: Ford S-Max - any comments?

take a look at Citroen C4 Picasso 7 Seater.It is definitely better than the verso or Scenic but not to familiar with S-Max.
 
Re: Ford S-Max - any comments?

Corker, I think you might be understating the price of a replacement tyre - it will put you back at least €120. The S-MAX does not come with a spare wheel or indeed a jack (supposedly to save space). The compressor can be used to inflate the wheel- and in the case of a slow puncture you can use the compressor on its own to reinflate the tyre. This should be enough to get you to a garage. The rubber gunk should only be used in case of emergency to my mind. Once you use it the tyre is history. We had a puncture recently and my wife got the AA to tow the car to a local garage. A major pain in the ass - but I reckon the €50 yearly fee for the AA is well worth it in this case.
 
Re: Ford S-Max - any comments?

take a look at Citroen C4 Picasso 7 Seater.It is definitely better than the verso or Scenic but not to familiar with S-Max.

S-Max is a different class of car completely.

It's considerably bigger, and it's not a Citroen either
 
Re: Ford S-Max - any comments?

Funny to see my thread reborn!
Well, we bit the bullet and have ordered an S-Max, it is ready for collection, just having a few issues with the finance side of it but thats another story. If people do what they should have done a couple of weeks ago when we asked them to we should have it by early next week.!
We went for the 1.8 diesel zetec model. We are really looking forward to getting it now. Hubby was sold on it once he test drove it. I chickened out of test driving it, but will get behind the wheel once we have it.
Thanks for all your comments, and we will take note of that tyre issue.
Hopefully thats it from me for a while regarding cars!
Anybody got advice on introducing a newborn to their big brother - that is our next challenge!
 
Re: Ford S-Max - any comments?

Congrats on your imminent arrival, JAM.... and I don't mean the car

Make sure you go and buy seat covers. Our kids like nothing better than putting their feet up after a session in the playground and sometimes they/we forget about taking their shoes off. Also get those heavy duty covers that go under car seats for those dropped lollipops.... they also stop the child car seats marking or scoring the upholstery....

Best of luck!
 
Re: Ford S-Max - any comments?

DeBarr, speaking of seat covers, can you recommend anywhere to buy seat covers for a 7 seater? I've checked in car supply shops but can't find anything for a 7 seater.
 
Re: Ford S-Max - any comments?

Hi Ceist Beag.

We got ours from Little People who are based on the Ballyogan Road (not sure here you are based). They have a website but the car seat covers are not on it ([broken link removed]). All the phone details etc are there. You might want to ring ahead to make sure they have them in stock.

The type of covers we got were:
For each front seat we got a "back protector" type which hangs from the head rest of the front seat - this takes the brunt of the dirt when the kids put their feet up.. It's durable and has pockets etc on the kids side for toys books etc. My wife thinks they were about €14 each
For under the car seat in the second or third row theres a full seat protector which sits on the seat and then the childseat is placed on it. I think about €28 for this one. These are really good for making sure car seats doen't tear or mark the upholstery as well as collecting the dropped lollipops.

They are tailored for individual seats which is invaluable for a 7 seater where each seat is moveable. Last weekend when I tidied out the car I took these out as well and was sooooo glad I got them when I saw how much debris has collected on them - the upholstery was perfect underneath..

Hope the above helps.
DeBarr
 
Re: Ford S-Max - any comments?

JAM,

Here's my advice on introducing newborns to their older siblings.

1. Get them a little present from "the new baby". We got my daugher a little tea set from her baby sister.

2. Don't be holding the baby when you first introduce the two - it might make the older child jealous. We had the new baby upstairs in a cot and got my daughter run up and have a look herself.

As it turned out it was no big deal - no newborn can compete with a toddler for attention! Anyhow best of luck - hope it all goes well.
 
Re: Ford S-Max - any comments?

Lissard & Debarr, thanks for the good wishes and advice!
I better be careful otherwise I will be thrown off the site for turning it into askaboutbabies.com
I've got a few months to get ready for it, I'd thought of the present thing already, will definitely go with that.
The bonus, if they really don't get on, at least now we will be able to put them in seperate rows in the car!!!
I'll come back in a couple of months and give you a review of the S-Max. Can't wait to get it now!

Thanks again
JAM
 
Re: Ford S-Max - any comments?

Another little "tip" with introducing new family members is to make a fuss of your older child, spend "quality" time together. Carpenter Junior (No. 1) spends time with Daddy on Saturdays: pottering in the garden, shopping (in hardware stores of course!). It's not about spoiling the older child but about letting them know that they're not forgotten, which can appear that way to them, I'm sure, when the latest arrival inevitably gets so much attention.
 
Re: Ford S-Max - any comments?


JAM: have you heard of http://www.rollercoaster.ie/

Maybe a bit more appropriate for your last query!

Another tip: brief all visitors (esp. grandparents) to make a big fuss of older child when visiting. Some people are tuned into this, but some will just ignore senior when going gaga over junior.

We did the present thing too, and also got our eldest to hold the new arrival at first meeting. This was a bit nerve wracking (she was three at the time), but worth it.
 
Re: Ford S-Max - any comments?


Thanks a million DeBarr, I'll give them a ring so. Sorry, meant to include in my original post, I'm based in Dublin so their location will be handy enough.
 
Re: Ford S-Max - any comments?

dont want to be a damp squib but before you all go covering you world safeist cars in seat covers ,most new cars have safety curtains and extra air bag devices built into the seats and the seat covers cancel them out, you will see a small airbag curtin tag on the sides of the seats.if so means no seat covers at all !!!!!!!
all the new fords have them so beware!!
 
Re: Ford S-Max - any comments?

Excellent point Ford Jedi.

The covers I mentioned though are ok with airbags as they don't cover any part of the seat structure other than the upholstery - i.e. they are not the "wrap around" variety. The front ones hang from the front head rest and are affixed with velcro at the end so they only cover the cloth area at the back of the front seat where kids chuck their feet. The one that sits under the car seat is fitted to mould into the seat shape so again it only covers the upholstery and is affixed again with velcro - I guess it's similar to some of those beaded back seat inserts you see from time to time.
 
Re: Ford S-Max - any comments?

Some great S-Max commentary! Any updates some 6 months later?