17/11/10

• Price£24,495
  
• We like...Drive; useful space
• We don't...A touch pricey

If it has plenty of seats - like a bus - will it also drive like one? Not if it’s a Ford S-Max. It may pack space for seven, making it a winner if you’ve a big family to haul from place to place.

But it is also genuinely great to drive. Ford has lately made a grand job of making cars that balance a smooth and quiet ride with quick and tidy handling and that’s never truer than here. The S-Max moves with surprising grace. It rides smoothly and steers easily. Although there’s a touch of roll from its tallish, glassy body, it’s less than you’d expect and the driver’s rarely aware of it until he enters a bend too quickly. The car’s controls have a nice weight to them – not too light but never too heavy – and that 2.0-litre diesel is powerful but hushed, only breaking into the cabin if you use it hard.

It’s quick, too, pushing out more than enough low-revs urge to move you briskly, even using low engine speeds. It’s economical and low on emissions, too.

All up, it’s good enough to make you think twice before buying about any of its in-class rivals: Vauxhall’s Zafira, the Volkswagen Touran or the Mazda 5.

And if you thinking extended to buying five-seat alternatives in the form of Mercedes, Audi or BMW estate cars, it even runs them close. Its price is steep, however – pitched a little above its direct competitors.

Still, our Titanium model is handsome and well kitted out. The car’s just had a mid-model-life revamp. Nips and tucks to the nose are made to provide space for LED running lights, while the inside gets new dash inserts, Alcantara panels on the seats and new ambient interior lighting. It may sound a lot but you’d need to have previously owned an S-Max to spot the differences.

And this trim level – one down from the dearest – includes parking sensors, digital air conditioning, parking sensors, voice control for your phone and auto-on lights and wipers. Keyless entry and go, a panoramic roof and a rear parking camera are on the options list.

Like most other seven-seaters, there’s only a tiny space for luggage left if every seat is taken. But there is enough room to sit a grown-up in every seat and getting to the rearmost seats is relatively easy. What’s more every chair folds flat individually into the floor. So, for instance, you can run it as a super-spacey four-seater and have ample room for luggage. It’s cleverer than most.

Should you buy one? Definitely. Price is a sticking point: it’s not cheap. But on every other count, it’s very, very good.

• Engines2.0 diesel
• Power163bhp
• 0-60 mph10.4secs
• Economy49.6mpg
• CO2g/km152
• Insurance groups20
• EuroNCAP
• Airbags6
• Seats7

Motors.co.uk value verdict: