Ford S-MAX (06 on) - Review

Review by David Ross on
Last Updated: 29 July 2010
The Ford S-MAX is a people carrier with a sporty edge. It's designed to stand out from the crowd with sharp styling, tight handling and powerful engines. It certainly doesn't feel like an MPV from behind the wheel with agile handling and accurate steering. There's more to the S-MAX than just looks though - it's also very practical thanks to seven seats and a fold-flat load area. However, if you're not taken by the sports-inspired styling and need more interior space there are more conventional people carriers including Ford's own Galaxy. Both cars were designed together and share the majority of components. The S-MAX had a modest makeover in 2010 with a redesigned grille, LED rear lights, a restyled tailgate and some new engines.
4 out of 5

Other Ford reviews

4 out of 5

Running costs

Residual values are near the top of the people carrier class, with diesel performing particularly strongly. Servicing costs are typically low for Ford products and fuel economy is pretty good especially on the diesel models.

* based on most recent data

Estimated fuel cost for 10,000 miles per year

Unleaded

£1,497 - £2,116 *

Diesel

£1,187 - £1,687 *

The estimated fuel cost figure is a guide to how much this model will cost to fuel each year, so you can compare between cars. It's calculated by using the model's average mpg (calculated from both town centre and motorway driving) and the average fuel price. It's based on the following cost-per-litre: petrol 135p and diesel 141p. Prices are updated daily.

Summary Running Costs

Servicing period

Every 12,500 miles.

Warranty

Three years or 60,000 miles.

Road tax (12 months)

£120.00 - £460.00

Vehicle excise duty (VED) varies according to the CO2 emissions and the fuel type of the vehicle. For cars registered after March 1st 2001 VED or road tax is based on the car's CO2 emissions. For cars registered before March 1st 2001 it is based on engine size.

Full running costs data

3.5 out of 5

Green credentials

  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
  • E
    139
  • F
  • G
  • H
  • I
  • J
  • K
  • L
    232
  • M

CO2 emission figure (g/km)

Fuel economy rating

The arrows indicate the best and worst CO2 bands for this model.

Emissions summary

The S-MAX performs quite well on the eco front. With an average of 182g/km CO2 across the model line-up, its emissions are quite low for a people carrier. The range is also fairly economical, averaging 40mpg. 2010 saw the introduction of a new 2.0 TDCi with three different power outputs but all produce 152g/km of CO2. The 143bhp 2.0-litre petrol emits 194g/km of CO2, while the new 2.0 SCTi EcoBoost turbo engine that only comes with the Powershift dual-clutch gearbox creates 189g/km of CO2.

Find the exact engine and CO2