28 Feb 07
The other feature that I particularly like, especially as the law on mobile phone usage in the car has just changed, is the Bluetooth phone connection, particularly when used in connection with the Voice Control function. If my phone rings while I'm driving, I can answer it and have a conversation without taking my hands from the wheel, thanks to the microphone and the audio system's speakers; and if I want to make a call, I can use the Voice Control, operated via a stalk on the left-hand side of the steering wheel, to call someone in the system's directory, just by speaking a few one-word commands. It's not exactly HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey, but it's a handy device that promotes safer driving.
Unfortunately, one of my minor niggles is also the Bluetooth. For some reason, it decided to crash in the middle of a conversation and nothing would bring it back. I tried deleting and adding my phone, rebooting in any way I could think of and finally gave up. Of course, when I got in the car the next day, it worked perfectly again and has done so ever since. Technology, eh?
My only other S-Max drawback concerns the fuel consumption - inevitable when you consider I'm running an MPV that uses the same 2.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine as the Focus ST. Boy is it thirsty: the official figure is 30.1mpg, but in the real world it's 22.25mpg, about half of what I'd look for if I was buying a family car - and about the same as that achieved by Alistair Weaver in his current ST long-termer.
This might prove to be a very expensive year.
