USED Ford S-Max MPV (06 - )

My car

Go to www.smaxownersclub.com - great site for information on s-max and loads of info on s-max problems !!!

My car

We picked our SMax up at the beginning of Sept, and have so far been really pleased with its performance. The interior is comfortable with plenty of room for the kids and I find the back seats easy to convert when a bigger boot space is needed. BUT......there have been a few 'niggles' with the car that I'm not wholly convinced our dealer is rectifying. First came the warning info message - 'Alarm System Service Required'. Also the warning alarm for the lights being on when exiting the vehicle didn't kick in after longer journeys. Both problems were mentioned at the 1500 mile check, but the car still came back to us with the same problems, since they couldn't recreate them. Now, last week we have noticed the 'i' icon (information) on the dashboard is flashing after locking the car - I'm now being told this is 'normal' and a sign that the car is alarmed, although it actually only started last week. So it either hasn't been working correctly since Sept, or I'm being fobbed off!! Anyone else with the same problems?

My car

I've owned my S-Max for just over two months now and must say that I'm very impressed. After negotiating a huge discount from the dealer by comparing to Jamjar online, the whole process has been smooth and convenient. However, I do wonder if the car's residual value will be damaged if Ford are discounting heavily.

The car has covered 4,000 trouble free miles and never missed a beat. My previous car was a BMW 530i SE so was expecting a huge drop off in performance and handling: not a bit of it. The S-Max is torquey and quick and handles well enough to more than cut it on twisty Lincolnshire roads where I'm revelling in being quicker through the bends than many so-called sports cars.

Negatives? Only a few very minor ones such as the plastic seat catches, the cheap looking rear window wiper, inaccurate outside temperature sensor and lack of spare. The center storage box isn't particularly well put together either. Finally, if you opt for the excellent Bluetooth pack you'll lose some cubby space.

Overall, this is a drivers dream that is more than up to the job and looks so good (I can't believe I'm saying this given that a year ago I was dead against buying any sort of MPV). Reason for the 4 stars only? Ford have got this car so right yet seem to have scrimped on some of the minor things. It's so frustrating to think that if they had spent just a very small amount more per unit, it would be faultless. Roll on the facelift when everything will get sorted...

My car

I have just taken delivery of our S-max and have been very impressed with all aspects of the vehicle that was until I was amazed to find a pot of rubber solution and a compressor under the rear floor panel.Having no idea what this was about I read through the new unopened handbook to find that we dont have a spare wheel, jack or wheel wrench.No-one in the buying of this car even mentioned this "oversight" and all the reviews we read did not cover it either.The dealer we bought it from pointed at the small loop at the back of the bootspace and said your spares in there so I dont think even he knows yet(but he will in the morning).We normally tour through Europe for a month for our holidays but I dont feel very confident about travelling without a spare and having to find pots of rubber solution and compressor hoses around the likes of Poland or the Czech Republic seems very daunting.We bought this car specifically for our touring holidays and I must admit knowing there was no spare wheel would have put me off buying the car.£21000 and not even a car jack. Come on Ford get your act together.