Category: Large MPV 
Price Range: £18,595 to £28,745
Good fun to drive, excellent 2.5 turbo engine, sporty yet practical, cheap to buy and run.
Not quite so much fun for passengers with the hard-riding, stiff suspension. Not that much rear headroom or luggage space.
Drop the kids off at school and then have a blast on the way back. But if it's sheer practicality, space and comfort you're after, you'd be better off with the Galaxy
Demand for seven-seat family vehicles on the second-hand market is strong, so the S-MAX should hold its value well for a mainstream Ford. It might not be quite so sought-after as the ideal-for-minicabbing Galaxy, but will no doubt have its own following, as long as vehicles like this don't go out of fashion too quickly.
As a Ford, it'll be as cheap to service and maintain as you can get, and although the 2.5 turbo engine isn't exactly frugal (30.1mpg), the diesels are a good bet for cost-effective motoring (45.6mpg from the 1.8 TDCi, 44.8mpg from the 2.0 TDCi). The 2.0-litre petrol returns 35.3mpg.
Carbon dioxide emissions, and thus VED tax bandings, are therefore reasonably low.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Ford S-MAX
wrote on 01 05 2007
wrote on 21 09 2006