Classy S-Max leads the way

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Friday, August 27, 2010

Every now and then in this gig you come across something which is a genuine surprise and, occasionally, a delight as well.

The Ford S-Max is one such thing.

Launched in 2006 and the deserved recipient of the European Car Of The Year award for 2007, the S-Max — following on from the vastly successful Focus — showed Ford had moved from a place of relative mediocrity to being class-leaders in almost everything they produced.

Sure, there were still some small holes in their model line-up, but the S-Max proved Ford were moving forward with purpose and intent and also that the company’s European arm was providing the sort of leadership of which its American bosses should take particular notice.

Of course Ford nearly followed fellow Detroit denizens GM into the poorhouse, partly because of the company’s insistence on manufacturing irrelevant and unwanted cars to the American buying public, but you’d have to say that its reaction to that crisis was illuminating in its positivity.

And when, just last month the company reported a pre-tax operating profit of $2.9billion, a $3.5bn improvement from second quarter 2009 and a $932m improvement from first quarter 2010, the net effect of its recovery plan was very much apparent.

Looking in from the outside, I must say that it seemed to me Ford America had quickly realised that the way its European arm was being run — sensibly and profitably with product the public actually wanted to buy — it moved quickly to operate in a similar fashion.

The results have been nothing short of staggering.

But, I digress somewhat, because the focus this week is on the S-Max, a car which in many ways redefined the whole MPV market.

We wrote recently about the new Galaxy in a very positive fashion and I would contend that the Galaxy would not now be the car it is if it were not for the S-Max, which has effectively changed the whole idea of MPVs being people-carriers which paid little attention to the whole question of driving dynamics.

Not alone is this a very effective people-carrier, it is also one which is great to drive. The steering is informative and full of driver feedback, grip levels are enormous and the body control is as taut as a snare drum.

This means that not alone is it excellent on sharp and twisty roads and really good fun to drive in its own right, but when its people-carrying duties are call upon, the suspension is so well-tuned that comfort levels are top-drawer.

The driving position is lower than many MPVs and that might put off a few people who like the elevation so many of these cars provide.

However, I liked the fact that the seating position was lower as I felt it provided a greater connection with the road for whoever is at the helm.

This, of course, is a matter of taste, but I felt that if people experienced it properly, they would immediately see the plus side of the equation.

I tested the Titanium version of the car which is particularly well-specified and I thought it was a dinger in every regard.

The engine is the 138 bhp turbodiesel TDCi — effectively the mid-range choice on offer — and found it to be very flexible and economic.

The 0-100 kph capability is 10.2 seconds and top speed is as near as dammit to 200 kph, while it will return 5.7 l/100 km which is just shy of 50 mpg in old money.

The test car was fitted with the Powershift auto ‘box and it worked well with the engine.

There are, of course, seven seats, although the rearmost two are not really suitable for adults, but even with those in play, there’s a good bit of boot space. With them folded flat, the boot is massive.

The interior is very stylishly laid out and very well put together, so there are no quality issues I could see and safety is well covered in terms of the front, side and curtain airbags as well as stability control.

In my humble opinion this car is the standard-bearer of the MPV segment and it is only recently that the likes of Peugeot and Citroen have copped on to the S-Max’s qualities and tried to outdo it.

They will, however, have their work cut out.

It’s no wonder Ford has made such a Lazarus-like comeback.