Ford S-Max 1.8 Tdci Zetec

I HAVE A 1.8 TDCI AND IN THE 3 YEARS THAT I HAVE OWNED THE CAR I HAVE NOT HAD A SINGLE THING GO WRONG WITH IT.HAVING TWINS AGED 3 YEARS OLD NOW I CAN GET THEM AND A DOUBLE BUGGY, AND A WEEKS WORTH OF SHOPPING IN THE BACK.I JUST WISH THAT I WENT FOR THE 2.5 VERSION JUST LIKE MY OLD MANS FOCUS ST

The Ford S-Max 1.8 Tdci Zetec is a great Car with good looks smart and sporty with loads of space love it but it does have noisy power steering

Questionable reliability. My car is 9-10 months but has been back to the garage 3 times after breakdown. Discharged flat battery without apparent cause. Also on going problem of the ignition when the engine is warm. Takes 4-5 tries to re-start the car after brief stop. Instead the whole car shudders with an alarming wrenching noise. No marks also for the ford garage

May be a particular problem with my car but so far a very disappointing experience of a well reviewed car. I will seriously question the reliability of the 1.8 TDCi engine.

A remarkably spacious and comfortable car AND you don't look like an old boring family man. Avoid all small engine mpv's as they are guttless is always a fair comment, but not that relevant here as even the 1.8 is reasonably responsive. There is not a comparable car on the market in looks, space, drive etc. The "stow and go" seats are just the finishing touch.

If you want a diesel, go for the biggest available, otherwise you will regret it!

Cannot honestly recommend this a pleasant car to drive.

So, the Ford S-Max 1.8 Tdci Zetec. Great handling, good acceleration - for a 1.8 and 40mpg. Looks better than the C4 Picasso (certainly the rear quarter is much better), build quality seemed better than C4. However it is not perfect - which is a shame because it wouldn't have taken much - what are those clips in the rear all about? My cat could have done better. Handbrake - gimmick. Strange light clunk on steering at low speed in both directions, shame certain features are not standard - ESP for example, under seat storage, brakes. Boot unlock button on the remote - why? - try this: one button on the remote, press it once to lock the car, and then press it again to unlock - it's not difficult. The radio remote on the steering wheel is pointless, it's on the left side of the steering wheel, reach over and use the over sized control on the radio. I can't reach the rear interior lights which are located between the 2nd and 3rd row of seats. No switch at front! Trust me, you need this on a dark evening when the kids are ripping each other apart! Brakes - what brakes? No roof bars: when all 7 seats are in use I will need a roof box - so why no roof bars? And 1 year's breakdown cover - 1 year!

The underfloor storage is a joke. On the left side is some sort of polystyrene block - ditched that straight away, on the right it is full of the tyre weld etc. Boot cover only fits when not in 7 seat mode. So where am I supposed to put it with the 7 seats in use? Plus you cannot cover the boot when the 7 seats are up - all is visible. Mirrors don't electronically fold in - a shame as they seem to stick out quite far. Boot and door sills could have done with some protective plates.

Would I buy another/recommend - only if nothing better comes along. I suspect something will be along very soon.

The Ford S-Max 1.8 Tdci Zetec People Carrier drives like a car - not like a bus - limited body roll through the bends.

There's lots of space and versatility - even with 7 people and the boot still has some usable space. There's also extra room under the boot floor and under the floor between the front seats and 2nd row.

I'm getting around 45MPG on a long fast motorway journey, with a little less than that with the air/con on.

The 1.8 Diesel will happily sit at motorway speeds +

Great driving position - after a 7 hour journey (2 very quick stops) I had no problems with back ache at all

Slide and flip seats once you work out the sequence are easy to lay down.

If you can get the parking sensors, this would be ideal - would happily recommend it to anyone.