Ford S Max

[Locknload]

I have many problems, i don't advise!!

As this is your first posting, perhaps you may want to elaborate what are the many problems...

[Mangosteen]

I have been driving S-Max for about a year, the ride is comfortable and feel more safe though albeit thirsty than the previous Jap car. No regret in having S-Max.

[Kman08]

Touran is another option preety good ride and size a bit cheaper nicer gearbox but not much trunck space unless u arange the seating configuration

[Chuckinola]

Simple, if u wanna buy an MPV. get an S-Max. others r rubbish compared to this. it won all the mpv awards der was. i dont see any estima or wateva winning. it even won the euro 1 award beating all the audi, bmw x5, mercedes bla3. handling wud be superb as they even set a land speed record for dat car in fifth gear. so buy or compromise.

[Chuckinola]

anyway, japanese cars r still the same as korean malaysian cars, only they have a good market. build is still super low budget. try driving a conti like ford for a week, get back to ur japanese car. see the diff. u wud wanna dump ur japanese cars in the kallang river trust me. for those hu never own contis before, dont talk like as if u know it all.

[Dibma]

I've been driving this car for the last 9 months. Up till now, am overall satisfied with the car.

 

Like my ride for its spaciousness, ride / drive quality and adequate power.

 

Dislike...lack of multimedia capability as standard option.

 

Would like to know if other s-max owners have equipped their ride with a DVD player / screen.

 

[Miles]

New S-Max coming next year.....

 

new S-Max

 

new engines with new dual clutch powershift gearbox....

now with the more Singapore friendly 2.0 turbo (200bhp) and 1.6 turbo (150bhp).... mated to the dual clutch powershift gearbox.... if price competitively, its going give lots of cars a run for the money.

 

And if the revise the Mondeo to 2.0T + powershift..... it will be THE car to get.

 

 

[Ferraricalifornia]

but why issit that when i went for a testdrive, the ride was quite harsh to me, plus the 2.3L engine only with 3 onboard is super sluggish?? struggles to even keep on with traffic!!

 

body roll control is good though...no complains about that...

 

i'm also not a fan of the 2nd rows of seats...the individual seats limits usefulness and robs me of shoulder-room...feels much crammer than the cabin space suggests...

 

3rd row is still as useless if 2nd row seats are slide all the way back, which it has to...for my family size...

[Ahksim]

but why issit that when i went for a testdrive, the ride was quite harsh to me, plus the 2.3L engine only with 3 onboard is super sluggish?? struggles to even keep on with traffic!!

 

body roll control is good though...no complains about that...

 

i'm also not a fan of the 2nd rows of seats...the individual seats limits usefulness and robs me of shoulder-room...feels much crammer than the cabin space suggests...

 

3rd row is still as useless if 2nd row seats are slide all the way back, which it has to...for my family size...

 

I drove ford mondeo for about three years and then switched to toyota. Ford car has very good handling but sluggish due to heavy chassis. also, other than RM, there are very few workshops can maintain your car

 

[Ferraricalifornia]

true...the most disappointing is the Ford Focus...very good chassis dynamics, good steering and suspension damping, but lack of power is a huge letdown...interior space is also very cramp...

[Axela72]

I drove ford mondeo for about three years and then switched to toyota. Ford car has very good handling but sluggish due to heavy chassis. also, other than RM, there are very few workshops can maintain your car

 

 

I believe the new 2.0T + powershift..... will take care of your "sluggish due to heavy chassis" concerns. Heard the FC might improve by 20% and the bhps is 200!

 

Read that yourself and comments:

 

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/autoexpr...urbo_boost.html

Edited December 19, 2009 by Axela72

[Tonicwater]

New S-Max coming next year.....

 

new S-Max

 

new engines with new dual clutch powershift gearbox....

now with the more Singapore friendly 2.0 turbo (200bhp) and 1.6 turbo (150bhp).... mated to the dual clutch powershift gearbox.... if price competitively, its going give lots of cars a run for the money.

 

 

The new S-Max and Galaxy looks nice. Hope it makes its way here and not over-priced.

[Cwm12]

Anyway, it is a matter of preference.

 

Sometimes it is heart over the mind matter. When u like it, even your mind has all these times say no, u still will get it.

 

by the way, any brothers who have been driving S-Max have any problems on the followings,

1. Easy to breakdown. This is what most will say about conti car in tropical environment.

2. Is it more expensive to service S-Max than lets say an Odyssey? What is the price range of the servicing and any unpleasant event so far?

3. How is Ford's workmanship and car quality? do parts start vibrating or falling apart after several thousands of km?

 

Regards to all.

 

[Vinceng]

The pick up is sluggish, such that it hesitates for about 2 seconds when you floor the accelerator when accelerating from 0km/h, before picking up speed.

 

This could be due to its heavy kerb weight of about 1650kg.

 

It is also interesting to note how the 6 speed auto operates.

 

Only 5 gears are operational until you hit 120km/h, after which the 6th gear will be activated.

 

If you are traveling at 100km/h for example, the highest gear engaged is 5th gear. You can manually activate the 6th gear if you wish.

 

 

[Jetabout777]

The pick up is sluggish, such that it hesitates for about 2 seconds when you floor the accelerator when accelerating from 0km/h, before picking up speed.

 

This could be due to its heavy kerb weight of about 1650kg.

 

It is also interesting to note how the 6 speed auto operates.

 

Only 5 gears are operational until you hit 120km/h, after which the 6th gear will be activated.

 

If you are traveling at 100km/h for example, the highest gear engaged is 5th gear. You can manually activate the 6th gear if you wish.

 

Just OT a bit, Vinceng's description of the S-Max has similarities with the Mondeo too due to the similar powerplant and transmission. I never quite understood the rationale behind the transmission's unwillingness to upshift to 6th. Always ended up shifting to 6 manually while cruising at 90-100km/h to lower the engine's rpms.

[Miles]

Just OT a bit, Vinceng's description of the S-Max has similarities with the Mondeo too due to the similar powerplant and transmission. I never quite understood the rationale behind the transmission's unwillingness to upshift to 6th. Always ended up shifting to 6 manually while cruising at 90-100km/h to lower the engine's rpms.

 

Im not sure about VW's DSG ever reaching D6 without manual intervention... but my wife's autotronic CVT (with 7 speed manual override) never reach D7 even at very high speed in auto mode. the 7th speed is like over-drive.... need to manually nudge it to engage it. Guess its the design of the transmission to automatically shift up to 5th gear. ... the last ratio is for manual override while cruising at high speed to save fuel.

 

[BigFrenlyGiant]

I've been driving this car for the last 9 months. Up till now, am overall satisfied with the car.

 

Like my ride for its spaciousness, ride / drive quality and adequate power.

 

Dislike...lack of multimedia capability as standard option.

 

Would like to know if other s-max owners have equipped their ride with a DVD player / screen.

 

Hi Dibma.... I just bought SmAX last month (before CNY) and drove up to Port Dickson & Melaka during running in period. So far satisfied with the car, since you had it for a year now... any advice what kinda of problems you face with the SMAX that you like to share?

[Dibma]

Hi there...well recently, 10 days short of my smax 1st anniversary, the battery went totally flat. Lucky it died on me while in Singapore. Called the VANTAGE 24-hr road side assistance and they came and change the battery (no charge).

 

The funny thing when this happen was that I could not get a friend's car to jump start it. An error was displayed "Immobiliser Active". I could not crank the engine at all!! Could not imagine if this were to happen to me when I am up north with the family.

 

Anyway, I reckoned that the battery was from the factory and it has been in the car for quite some time. That's the reason it died in relative short usage duration. A colleague driving a Mondeo had the same issue with the battery. Worst it died only after 3 months.

 

My symptoms was that occasionally after starting the engine, the battery indicator will remain lighted for about 10 seconds. Brought it up during normal servicing but they said the battery is ok.

 

So do take note. Other than that I have no problem. My ride is under utilise (just clock 17k) as I am out of the country most of the time and the wife do not (dare) to drive it yet.