2008 Ford S-Max 2.0 TDCi Trend Full Review,Start Up, Engine, and In Depth Tour

Bought new July 2010. When delivered door panels did not line up, vibration from front which got worse over time and is still not fixed. Steering is jittery and vague, handling is not like a car despite what the media says, it is awful. The engine is underpowered, struggles with even a moderate load. Fuel economy 42ish on long motorway run, 38 overall. Inside the space is fantastic, as is the level of equipment, driving position very good, although seats uncomfortable for long journeys. Auto lights and wipers are a nightmare, sunlight and shadows set them off, but it takes a lot of rain to make them work. DAB radio loses signal too often, FM radio has very poor reception. Tyre wear slightly higher than usual and replacement tyre is around £180. No spare tyre only powder. DVD system very good but the unit is mounted under front passenger seat & makes changing discs difficult. I have found Ford dealers to be disingenuous or incompetent. Will replace this car with VW as soon as I can afford to do so, and steer clear of Ford. And to the Peugeot 5008 reviewer who said Buy British, Buy an SMAX...it's built in Genk, Belgium.
2.0 TDCi 163 Titanium 5dr
Jason Huggett , west Sussex . Date: 11/05/2011
Overall verdict 5 out of 5 stars What's it like to drive 5 out of 5 stars Running costs 5 out of 5 stars Quality, practicality and equipment 5 out of 5 stars Average MPG 42 My car
Hello,

I'm the sort of person who would say, 'hmmm I wonder why people bother to leave feedback on these sites, have they nothing else better to do ?' but having spent many years searching for a car that is: great for me to drive to work in; sporty but economical; able to fit seven people in occasionally; looks good and of course have the ability for me to spec with a load of useful goodies for me to play with - yes, I'm a bloke in case you're wondering - I felt obliged to share my thoughts on this fantastic car, which meets all our requirements and is still fun after six months of ownership. Not many cars exceed the hype these days but woww, we loveeeee this. We purchased an ex demo car so it has sat nav, sports suspension (full sport interior - looks great), voice control, electric everything, reversing camera with full sensors (my wife still hasn't scraped it or hit anyone in six months - this is a record), panoramic sunroof (great - but shame it doesn't actually open really). Its a diesel, but driving it, honestly, you wouldn't know - really prrrrrrs along - quiter than my car which is supposed to be a top brand......I looked at all versions and having reached 50 mpg on a long drive the 163 cannot be beaten - it still gives real umph when you need it. I could go on - everything about this is positive - the only slight issue, blame myself as I chose it - the sports version is perhaps a little hard on the drive, without sports suspension the car can't be beat !
1.8 TDCi Zetec 6spd 5dr
Alf Clif , . Date: 07/05/2011
Overall verdict 1 out of 5 stars What's it like to drive 4 out of 5 stars Running costs 3 out of 5 stars Quality, practicality and equipment 2 out of 5 stars Average MPG 45 My car
Our relationship with our S-Max was a love/hate relationship which has resulted in our seperation (we sold it). The car was suprisingly fun and rather sporty to drive (for an MPV) as we expected it to handle like a brick. It was well kitted out and was extremeley spacious which was the main attraction. Our family holidays with the five of us were easy as the boot is huge and the second row of seats is really spacious. The main problem we had was it just wouldn't start consistently. It suffered from what appears to be a common S-Max fault of an 'unknown battery drain.' We had replacement batteries, alternators to no avail and when this made no difference we were then faced with an absolutley shocking poor performance from our local Ford garage and the Ford Technical (read Ford Incompetent) Dept. We had weeks of time wasted to and fro'ing from garages and repetitive phone calls and Ford never managed to fix the fault. Other probelms we had included the door window disappearing into the door and not coming out, broken air conditioning system and also bits falling of the CD/audio system. In summary, a huge sporty MPV, it's just a shame it didn't start and the build quality was abysmal.I love driving this car...i find it really comfortable and it doesnt seem large when you are driving it(although it is quite big to park as with all MPVs) The drive cannot be faulted in my view, however there are some internal quality issues.... interior compartment catches (on my SMax anyway....maybe unlucky!?!)are very poor quality and almost all stopped being able to open and close within a very short time from new! Also boot sensor mostly says that the boot compartment is open even when it is not! The front number plate coating has peeled off making it difficult to read and unsightly! Plenty of space is a bonus though!...lots of leg room!