Ford S-MAX MPV (2006-2014) | owner reviews: MPG, Problems & Reliability

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This is the worst purchase I have ever made. In less than 2 years since I owned the car I have spent about £3500 on repairs, from snapped handbrake cable, to fuel injectors, to faulty alloy wheels which led to tyres losing pressure continually, to oil leak and now the final straw was a total engine failure last week. It is now virtually worthless. A piece of metal junk. If you are tempted please don't make the same mistake as me and put your trust in this model.

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Had no problems yet other than an annoying squeak coming from rear suspension

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NO PROBLEMS

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It's been fine

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exhaust problem

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Has never let us down

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No Red thumbs down

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Since new i have a problems with the stereo system. the electric windows, the doors in winter freeze sometimes, the paint is very thin and chips easily, the bluetooth frequently fails.

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the alarm senser has been replaced twice, no other falier in 119,000 miles

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Is diesel so sometimes hard to start in the morning however that's the only problem we have had

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This car is better than expected , it has out performed my expectations

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Amazing. its quick yet can be economical when driven cautiously. petrol prices unfortunatly making it more expensive to run

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Very practical and responsive to drive, an all round fammily car.

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Comfortable, quiet, roomy and flexible.

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Very pleased with the car. Very good performance; speed, handling & fuel economy. Very practical.

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A good car to drive in urban and motorway conditions. Automatic gearbox has no obvious dead spots and is responsive when acceleration is required.

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The car has given me 60000 trouble free miles with minor niggles such as oil pressure, abs and esp warning lights coming on for no apparrent resson and bonnet cable snapping only occurring in the last 5000 miles. No issues have had the car off the road for any long period of time, it has been an excellent and overall a reliable and enjoyable car to drive.

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The best mpv on the market - but it's still an mpv

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So far so good

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Yes Green thumbs up

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Excellent family car, that is very flexible, comfortable, well built, and fun to drive. Would recommend one to anyone

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Yes Green thumbs up

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Great mpv with goo dtowing capabilities. I have had 3 x s max now

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Great all round performer, and great for transporting invalids with wheelchairs

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Chips very easy (stone chips), bluetooth keeps failing as does the usb stereo. Heating is very poor. Heated windscreen is excellent. Could have been the perfect vehicle if it wasn't for poor build quality and very bad dealer network. Almost there, but would not recommend or buy again.

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Very practical car has 7 seats when you need them and is a roomy 5seater the rest of the time or a good sized van when the seats are down. Reliability is good the fuel economy for such a big motor is excellent drivability is amazing more like a big focus i will definately be replacing it with same again.

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Relatively poor biuld quality and high tyre wear lead to high running costs. Too many poor poor design details such as boot floor sloping backwards and access panels on dashboard reflecting on windscreen mean that driving enjoyment is limited as a result. More attention to small details would make a great car Standard spec on all models is relatively poor

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Brilliant car,best that i have ever owned. Ford have done a really good job with the s max. Always look foreward to getting behind the wheel.

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Good value MPV that doesn't look like a mini bus or a Chelsea tractor. Mileage OK but not good, servicing reasonable, reliability good save for a recurring electric window fault. Painful not having a spare wheel, the expansion foam wont fix a rip from a drain to my cost, but a good car non the less and does the job well in reasonable style.

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First S-Max was second hand Zetec and though very good at what I needed from it (space, economy) the build quality was not great with many small problems on engine and trim. Always relatively cheap to fix though. After 3 years I bought another new S-Max but this time a Titanium on lease and it has been much better. Build quality has really improved as has comfort and general refinement levels.

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Possibly due to the build quality or youngish age, it suits every need I have, brilliant fuel consumption, comfort and hard as nails.

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No problems so far

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No Red thumbs down

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Minor problems with alarm system

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NO ISSUES SO FAR.

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Reliability so far is excellent

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It's never let us down

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It has suffered from minor issues since I've had it but in my fifth year of ownership I have spent over Ł1200 this year on repairs for major component failures

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never let us down.

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Excellent

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Bought my s-max in may from ford dealer excellent ride all the space you could ask for I find the seating comfortable the stereo amazing a real turnaround from the blauepoint system although with the classical music the tweeters dont handle it well storage capacity for niknaks and things well ive never had so much Bad points sun glare off windscreen engine management problem costing a new turbo fortunately under guarantee and my first inclination to buy a car was the zafira but I had heard so much about the dreadfull dpf I didnt buy it so bought s-max instead only to find that it has the same manufacturing cash cow installed is it going to be a horror story for the s-max I hope not only 3 stars so far would still recommend at this stage but who knows it could get worst

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Excellent vehicle apart from plastic finsh

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Excellent car to drive, a workhorse, excellent for towing, considering size of the s-max resonable economy 46mpg, comfortable on long journeys incl passengers, although firm suspension. Would buy another but will down size next car with more economy lower emmission and lower price bracket.

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Great family car & enjoyable, to drive.

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Superb

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Great

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Brilliant concept, well executed. Minor penny pitching in fittings.

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Very reliable & very comfortable car to drive. Still enjoy driving the car on a daily basis after nearly 3 years

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Hugely practical, surprisingly good to drive, very good build quality. Have been very pleased with it. Only problem so far is rusty wheel nuts.

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I think it is a good car to drive it has good visability and is very practical

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Very positive experience - ford exceding vw in build quality these days

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I'm very impressed with it. It's fantastic to drive, hugely practical and looks great, it's the only mpv that i've seen turn heads. Economy is Not quite as expected, i think it is impossible to achieve the manufacturers results.

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I love the smax, it is just so practical with a young family and still drives well, other mpv style cars all feel like a bus to drive.

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A brilliant all-rounder. Stylish, practical, fast and well built. Superbly appointed also. Have had minor rattle problem fixed but nothing alse to report. To get a better car than this, i would have to spend over 40k. Brilliant! Lee murray

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Hard to fault

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An excellent car. Had mine for 5 years and 60,000 miles. I've only had to change tyres, brakes and a battery.

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I love this car, so far I have had over 100,000 miles of trouble free driving. The car is spacious, comfortable and easy to drive. The driving position is very relaxed and feels like sitting in an armchair. With all the seats up I have a great family car and then when I use it for business and visit wholesalers, seats down and I have a van, best of both worlds. With steady driving I manage around 58mpg on a long run and around 48 around town. The only things to complain about is the air con isn't strong enough to get the car overly cool on a very hot day, acceleration can be a little sluggish from lower speeds.

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Overall a great car only let down by far worse than advertised fuel consumption. Looking forward to the new model and will go hybrid if available. Ford diesels not fuel efficient enough and too much to go wrong such as DPFs and DMFs.

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On the whole it's been reliable, only a failed battery for 4 years of motoring. However, this last month the electronic brake failed, and with no over ride option we had to call the AA who had to remove the actuators to make the vehicle mobile. A Ł570 bill later and we're operational but it's left us concerned that an EPB or lack of a spare wheel means we're more reliant on the AA (or similar) than before. Not helpful when you need to collect the kids from school.

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No issues at all

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good car with good reliability as one would expect from Ford

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Since aquiring the car it has not missed a beat in any way!

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Very good, no problems since new...

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Very little has gone wrong in 4.5 years I have had the car. Air conditioning needed re-gassing, a baffle in the engine caused power loss problems, and recently an idling pulley needed replacing as it was screeching.

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In the 5 months of ownership the vehicle has not missed a beat. We are very pleased with it in every way.

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No problems

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never had any problem with it

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Yes Green thumbs up

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struggles on cold mornings

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No issues at all with reliability, everything has worked and still does.

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Like the styling and space. Good alternative to a traditional mpv

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Yes Green thumbs up

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Quick comfy and practical

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Practical and versatile family car

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A practical, versatile well thought out car that met the whole families expectation

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Good to drive, quite economical given it's size and engine performance, the main concern is the darkness of the privacy glass which makes manouvering difficult, does it need to be so dark?

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As mpv's go the s-max requires least compromise on the driver enjoyment front, yet is spacious and practical. We have been pleasantly surprised by the good fuel economy too. A great mpv, only let down has been ford dealership.

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Yes Green thumbs up

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I have never owned a ford before but the s max has exceeded my expectations. It is very practical and great to drive.

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Lovely to drive; handling and performance very good - almost car like rather than for a 7-seater. Font seats and middle row very comfortable. Last row of seats are comfortable, but not for tall people or for long journeys. Ladden with gadgets (more than most will use). Only complaint is that there's no 12v socket for the passengers in the rear.

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Good family car when you need more than 5 seats

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No Red thumbs down

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I can hardly fault my car. It has superb economy for a big vehicle and running costs are very reasonable. The only gripes i have are rapid front tyre wear and items falling out of the boot area onto the road due to the high boot floor.

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A fantactic car to own, live with and have.

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This car has got it all for everyone.... well except 4x4esque. Style, sporty, cavernous, easy to drive/park, fault free, good running costs, a totally useable, reliable good looking friend, in fact if it were a lady i would hold her hand in front of my mates.

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Yes Green thumbs up

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The best compromise we could find that gives big space for large family and carrying ability for my business, but with the handling and style i always look for as well. Ours has the darkest privacy-glass which i think improves the appearance and allows me to leave goods 'on display' in the boot area, but i'm getting used to the reduced visibility that comes with that. It also has parking sensors which are essential with this dark glass.

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Highly versatile family car that meets all my needs. Stylish mpv.

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A surprisingly fun package that belies its size, vehicle type and practicality!

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Great better than expected only complaint was dmf failed at 60,750mls disappointed in fords response very poor .

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Very suitable family car

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Excellent all rounder

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The car is excellent in most respects, but was let down by the failure of the very expensive dual mass flywheel, fortunately under warranty. Also, the lacquer on all the alloy wheels is going bad on the "diamond cut" sections of the wheel, the rh front is particularly poor, making the wheels look a real mess.

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Yes Green thumbs up

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Brilliant car. Good mpg considering 90% urban driving. Solid build quality with plenty of storage space.....best of all, brilliant to drive. Had the car for almost a year, ex reps car with 73,000 on clock very clean and straight and no issues to date. Excellent.

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Yes Green thumbs up