The Ford F150 is America’s best selling vehicle. The domestically produced full-size pickup truck is generally recognized as the class of the field. Unfortunately, nothing else Ford sells stateside achieves that standard– and Ford’s “showroom of the future” offers little hope. No wonder the company’s camp followers have turned their gaze upon FoMoCo’s European operations, where the S-Max people mover won the coveted Car of the Year award. Should The Blue Oval Boyz switch on their tractor beam?
Given that Ford’s “New Edge” design language bloat-morphed into New Ed (i.e. your uncle's idea of design), the fact that the automaker’s “Kinetic Design” survived long enough to find expression in the S-Max minivan is something of a miracle. Bottom line: the S-Max looks more like a Japanese Shinkansen or a TGV than suburban soccer-team transport.
Although the S-Max’ front end is relatively demure, the overall design is crammed with funky details: heavily raked windscreen, blistered wheel arches, [fake] gills behind the front wheels, flame surfaced side panels, bizarre window shapes and more. Say what you will about overwrought design, but my 16-year-old daughter wasn't ashamed to be seen in it and my girlfriend said it didn't make her "feel like a mom.” For a minivan, that’s about as good as it gets.
Marketingspeak calls the S-Max a "5+2" seven-seater sports car. In fact, it’s an elevated station wagon with plenty of room for five adults and two midgets. While that pretty much describes any CUV, the S-Max does the "five" part extremely well. First and second row headroom and legroom are fit for a Queen (Vic). Equally impressive, the spacious cabin fully accommodates the center rear passenger. Again, the S-Max’ third row is a short term solution for short people– whose presence reduces rear cargo capacity to that of a Honda Fit.
Journalists have compared the S-Max’ interior an Audi's– which is a bit like comparing a bottle of Aventinus Dunkel Weizenbock to a can of Miller Lite. The S-Max’ soft plastics are excellent, but many surrounding materials are cheap and nasty. The plasti-metal on the middle console, adjacent to a brushed-aluminum strip, next to faux-chrome on the steering wheel, reeks. Note to Ford of Europe: nobody wears a white plastic belt with khaki trousers anymore.
The S-Max’ handbrake is easily the interior’s blingiest touch. The jet throttle facsimile shelters tantalizing buttons marked “Comfort,” “Normal” and “Sport.” Unfortunately, using the handbrake is a pain, since it forces you to adopt an unergonomic bent-wrist grip. And for all the effect the three buttons have upon the S'Max's handling, I’m sure these switches were designed by FoMoCo’s Psy-Ops department. Even so, the S-Max is pleasure to drive in any of its [phantom] modes.
Our tester holstered a 2.0-liter, 140hp (DIN) Duratorque diesel. The mini-mill propelled the minivan with a satisfying turbodiesel snarl-shove at 2200 – 3800rpm, with no bothersome noise or vibration above or below the power band. The S-Max’ ten second amble from zero to 60mph sounds a lot worse than it is; the S-Max’ slick shifting six-speed manual affords easy access to whatever torque the oil burner can muster. In fact, there’s plenty of useful thrust right up to an indicated 120mph.
Although you sit noticeably higher than you would in a normal car, the S-Max has none of the ocean going sway that blights the rest of the minivan genre. At 100mph through high-speed bends, buffeted by stiff side winds, the S-Max stayed level and planted.
There’s not much of a downside to this fine handling. Even over cobblestones, the S-Max’ ride quality remains faultless. The vehicle’s noise suppression is good, but not on par with European luxobarges. My daily driver, a hydropneumatic Citroen, is a far more unruffled cruiser at 70mph. At 110mph, the difference is marginal.
Driven around corners at 6/10, the inevitable understeer… never arrives. Accelerating past that point is pointless, controllable and maybe even a little bit of fun. Aside from the S-Max’ lower center of gravity and world class chassis fettling, its communicative tiller is the main hoon enabler.
The S-Max’ helm provides instantaneous feedback on both the vehicle’s orientation and the quality of the pavement beneath its feet. Saying that, the stoppers are a lot more than merely adequate– and much appreciated by drivers intent on triggering the S-Max’ traction control idiot light.
Ford's stylish, practical and entertaining S-Max proves that The Blue Oval employs engineers and product planners who are as good as anybody in Japan or Germany. It's the mid-sized motor vehicle that should have replaced the pathetic Ford Windstar in the American market. Indeed, the S-Max might even have been the minivan that reinvigorated the entire genre, in ways that the bloated Chrysler Pacifica could only have imagined.
Pistonhead dreams of S-Max importation will probably go unrealized, as any such plans should have been hatched at the beginning of the model’s gestation, when a global strategy could have assured its profitability. Ford’s headed in that direction now, but it’s probably too late. The best-in-class S-Max is destined to be another Ford of NA could-a, should-a, would-a been.
85 Comments on “Ford S-Max Review...”
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This thing in the U.S. would perform a laudable function: Crush the life out of the awful Nissan Quest. Of course, FoMoCo and the EPA would ditch the deisel and the MT, taking most of the fun out of it, but it would still be the “lower-mid-life crisis” vehicle of choice. Bring it on, just for the looks alone.
The S-Max is, in minivan terms, an impressive vehicle. It looks and feels genuinely different to US rivals which are still somewhat guilty of being vans-with-windows. And, if it’s 5+2 configuation is not enough, Ford also offers the larger Galaxy based on the same platform.
Both are stylistically and dynamically superior to any US designed minivan, which look a decade behind. Indeed, this is true of most European minivans (the glamourous Renault Espace for instance). The new Chrysler Voyager, being worse looking the current model, shows that America still has a way to catch up. A traversty, given that it can produce some truly amazing machinery when it really tries.
The S-max seems like it has got what it takes to take on the Odyssenna!
Interestingly Ford’s European stables have a Camcord beater as well….Ford Mondeo….
but will it be brought stateside? Why even bother asking!
um, isn’t this vehicle already in the states? It’s called the Mercedes R class.
MSRP on the Bama built R-Class: $44k to $84k. And not as good looking.
So Ford brings it here and no auto scribes label it an R class wanna be?
Wow!
I am not and probably never will be in the market for a minivan, but if I had to buy one this would be it.
OK, lose the “gills” and the plasti-metal crap trim and give it a slightly bigger engine (2.5L diesel with 3.5L Duratec optional) and I think Ford would sell a pile of these to SUV-abandoners.
Any fuel economy numbers for this beauty?
This vehicle should be sold at Mercury dealerships TODAY. Put the 3.5 V6 in it and it would sell with little investment. Mercury needs product now and bringing a few cars over from europe would solve the problem.
I agree that bringing the vehicle through the Mercury dealerships would pose a good opportunity for ford. Bring it with the MT as well. It looks nice and should help out Ford. None of this will occur, despite Ford’s “Bold Moves”.
aakash:
The S-Max (and cousin Galaxy) is a size smaller than the Odyssey and Sienna (and MB R-class). It’s actually very close to size the outgoing Mazda MPV which didn’t sell well in the US in part because it was too small. And without kid-friendly power sliding doors, it’s not a credible alternative for many minivan buyers.
Given current exchange rates, the S-Max is a $32k-$42k vehicle. Mega Ouch. Contrast that with its smaller & distant cousin, the Mazda5, which sells in the US for $17k-$22k.
Martin,
Great review. Thanks for the insight.
With such a small engine, (even though it is, finally, a diesel) why would this creation sell more easily than the now defunct Pacifica?
philbailey:
Labor costs, exchange rate, forgeddaboutit.
Looks good, I agree. But I have visions of one of these labouring up a hill with 5 kids and camping gear for a week. With maybe a canoe on the roof thrown in. How these vehicles perform empty is one thing, how they perform doing what they are intended to do (haul people and their stuff) is another. With that mouse motor providing the motive force, I am not optimistic.
I always wonder what Americans need all the horsepower for. I’m from Germany and half of the cars I see doing 110+ mph on the left lane of the Autobahn are 2 liter Diesel Passats, Golfs, Tourans, Focus (Foci?), Astras, Mondeos etc. The S-Max is a medium sized car, the 140hp Diesel has ample torque when you need it (for accelerating from 60-100 mph without downshifts) and does everything including hustling along the left lane of the Autobahn at 120 mph. While still getting great mileage. US interstates are speed restricted so either Americans are as big as people say they are, constantly have to tow all their gear from one place to another, or cars offered in the US are too heavy and have oversized, inefficient engines.
Is the S-Max related to the Mazda 5? Do Americans get the Mazda 5? They’re about as good as it gets in the utility/fuel efficiency/fun-to-drive category.
I always wonder what Americans need all the horsepower for. I’m from Germany and half of the cars I see doing 110+ mph on the left lane of the Autobahn are 2 liter Diesel Passats, Golfs, Tourans, Focus (Foci?), Astras, Mondeos etc.
And the other half are big Mercedes AMG’s and Bimmer M’s
Ford gives the world car a try in the early 90’s and comes up with the mediocre Mondeo. A good idea badly executed. Today when the world car idea makes even more sense, Ford doesn’t even try. It has two world class cars in Europe (the S-Max and Focus) but continues to sell outdated and outclassed cars in the US.
Even after loosing $12 billion the boyz from Dearborn still don’t get it.
ejacobs: thanks!
Eric_Stepans: i drove it like a maniac, flooring it most of the time, which normally negates the efficiency advantages of a diesel. so i got less than 27 mpg. 20% better should be easy. the official EU rating is 44mpg.
ye power-addicted: there is a gasoline version with 220 HP; 0-60 in 7.4 seconds. i wanna!
And the other half are big Mercedes AMG’s and Bimmer M’s
Yeah that’s right, but these cars are luxury purchases. I just can’t understand that in a speed restricted country standard family transportation is considered inadequate if it doesn’t have at least a 3.5 liter engine.
My comment is either munched or in the spam filter, trying again:
The S-Max (and cousin Galaxy) is a size smaller than the Odyssey and Sienna (and MB R-class). It’s actually very close to size the outgoing Mazda MPV which didn’t sell well in the US in part because it was too small. And without kid-friendly power sliding doors, it’s not a credible alternative for many minivan buyers.
Given current exchange rates, the S-Max is a $32k-$42k vehicle. Mega Ouch.
rjanecky:
Yup. S-Max is on the EUCD platform which is derived from the C1 platform that the Mazda5 is on. Having owned a 5 for 2 weeks, I would say Michael Karesh’s review is right on: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=1598
I was trying to think of a word that means “the development of a deeply held belief about a subject that most people have no original opinion about through the repetition of an isolated opinion” Sort of like a combination of an urban legend and a self-fulfilling prophecy. A situation where a few people state a “fact”, no one says otherwise, so more people start repeating it as fact. And then others hear many people stating the same fact, assume it’s true with out even thinking about it, and this fact becomes “common knowledge.”
Please no one jump on me for saying this, but I can’t help but wondering if all the Ford of Europe enthusiasm is simply the grass is greener on the other side of the pond. When ever a Europe-only vehicle is shown on an auto-site (Autoblog, I’m looking in your direction) the following comments are just the same to ideas over and over again. 1. I would buy this in a second/pre-order without seeing in person if only they would bring it over.
2. Ford could be doing so great if only they brought this over here/sell all these as Mercuries.
I’m not saying these things points aren’t true, but I tend to be skeptical of cliches. And my thought after looking at these pictures is that the S-max would not sell well in the US. It looks like a mini van to me, and mini vans aren’t selling well in the US, even the good ones. Despite Toyota’s record setting year, Sienna sales were only up 1.5%. If all the people not buying the domestic mini vans were going to imports, that number would be a LOT higher.
I just don’t think the S-max would be worth the cost to Ford when it will compete with plenty of other vehicles (most better looking, in my opinion) that offer cramped third-rows.
Granted this “seven-seater sports car” is better than the Windstar…Aerostar…whatever..but I don’t really see this making a huge splash in our market. I haven’t see but a few 5’s around though it would serve as a fine niche vehicle, kinda a big quirky hatch, but not as any competition to the Odyssey.
I thought with this vehicle that I might read a review without the word hoon. Alas. Good review though.
If the Euro S-max (and slightly taller C-Max) are too small for you, check out the Euro Ford Galaxy…
jbyrne: point taken. my next review will not have the word hoon — i promise
Cowbell:
Shibboleth.
Vega:
The Ford Galaxy (L/W/H 4820/1884/1691mm) is dwarfed by the typical colossal US minivan (5000/1981/1900mm) with its 3.5L-4.0L gasoline engine. The Odyssey and Sienna are not marketed in volume outside North America, where other models take their places. I do see that the Kia Carnival/Entourage gets around, as do the Chrysler Voyager.
Martin:
Nice review, BTW. Please keep the forbidden fruit coming!
If done as Renault did with their Espace and create a Grand version (extra long over the regular, for more luggage space) then this would sell by the bucket loads. Are you going to reveiew the C-Max too? Interesting how euro flavour grows.
Love the looks.
If Ford ever has the good sense to market this on our shores, let’s hope they don’t call it a minivan -too small for our North American tastes.
Play it as a tall-wagon crossover, in a class of its own, and you’ll have buyers on the lot.
Families of 4-5 will do well with such a vehicle.
Good review, although I wish you’d substitute the word child for midget.
But I think all the calls for importing the S-Max and Galaxy to the US are unrealistic. First of all, Ford would lose the 4 cylinder diesel and manual gearbox. Then it would add AWD, at least as an option. It would get too heavy and the handling/ride compromise would suffer, and they would need to charge $32-35K to make any money, for which you can get the luxury trim in an Odyssienna.
If you like it so much, buy a Mazda5. Which not many people do.
OK, for whatever it’s worth, if anyone from Ford is reading this — I want one, with the diesel and the manual shift, please. There is truly nothing at all like that on the market now — a 7-seater wagon that gets decent mileage and doesn’t drive like an Econoline. You can win sales on the fuel economy alone. Even if it only works out to 30 mpg on the U.S. cycle, that’s heads and shoulders above any similar vehicle available now.
And no, the diesel isn’t “too slow” for this American — 10 seconds 0-60 is quick enough for a family car, especially for those of us who know how to use a proper transmission. In response to the post above, I understand that my car is going to bog down a bit if I stuff five people and their luggage in it and drive up a mountain with the AC on high. That’s physics at work! Put a gas V6 and a 4-speed auto in it so it “feels fast enough” and you’ll cut the fuel economy in half and negate the car’s uniqueness.
This should have been available in the US at the same time it was released in Europe, along with the Euro-Focus, and some nice straight-6 Oz Falcons.
There is no point in trying to bring this to the US market now, it will take years, and by that time the competition will have moved on to something new.
At this point Ford NA is toast, it’s past the point of no return.
SearbornSean: “If you like it so much, buy a Mazda5.”
Actually, I might buy one this summer — but I really wish it could get better than 22/27 mpg. How come a small 4-cyl wagon gets the same mileage as a huge Toyota Sienna?
As much as I’d personally like an S-Max, I’ve questioned whether overseas models are a solution:
http://www.truedelta.com/blog/?p=18
The market here for the S-Max is likely around 50,000 vehicles, tops, even if Ford charged $5,000 less than they do in Europe. Which likely means they’d be selling it at a loss.
GM has justified the importation of the Astra by counting only variable costs in the calculation of profitability. The costs of developing the car, tooling the plant, and corporate overhead are not being included. There’s some logic to this–those costs would have been paid even if the car was not sold here–but it’s not standard practice.
US interstates are speed restricted so either Americans are as big as people say they are, constantly have to tow all their gear from one place to another, or cars offered in the US are too heavy and have oversized, inefficient engines.
Our panel will accept either answer…:-)
People will pay a premium for class-leading style, economy and performance -they may not pay a premium for a Ford, but a revamped/reinvigourated Mercury (with proper marketing) may capture the hearts and minds of American buyers.
I like the idea of using the Mercury marque as a guise to import all the euro-spec models. With enough volume, and enough sales, Ford will see the logic of building them locally.
Imagine: Mercury Mondeo, Mercury S-Max, the list goes on…
Gonna toss my cookies if I read “hoon” in virtually all reviews.
Other than that, it’s a really interesting article.
durailer:
Since your plan depends on proper marketing, from Ford, I have to declare it non-viable.
Have you seen the ad campaign for the Edge? I hate the ad more every time I see it.
“Since your plan depends on proper marketing, from Ford, I have to declare it non-viable.”
Good point. Maybe they should just call this thing a Mazda. Then the intended buyers might actually consider it.
On a related note, am I the only one who thinks Ford keeps missing a huge opportunity to market themselves as a good, honest car for the working man? That’s their heritage, not chasing the same yuppie buyers as everyone else.
Cowbell: The grass on the other side of the pond is greener. Because the grass on this side is dead.
Martin Schwoerer: Nice writeup, thanks. I like the look of the vehicle. The US market may, as noted, have “size issues” with it but $3/gallon gas might help the US market be more accepting. I can’t see Ford taking the chance, though, and it certainly seems doubtful they could make money on it unless they built it here.
I’m not put off by 10 secs 0-60. When I was a kid, 10 secs was Hot Stuff and I still consider it to be good. Good enough, anyway.
durailer: People will pay a premium for class-leading style, economy and performance -they may not pay a premium for a Ford, but a revamped/reinvigourated Mercury (with proper marketing) may capture the hearts and minds of American buyers.
This effort was already attempted and failed. Earlier editions of the Mondeo were Americanized and badged as the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique, and flopped. The current Fusion is FoMoCo’s attempt to fix the mistakes made with the US Mondeo.
The problem with the prior-generation Mondeo is that it lacked what many mid-sized American sedan buyers want — interior space. The most common complaint was about the back seats, which were too small for American tastes.
I drove the Contour and was quite impressed by it, but it was fairly obvious from driving it that it was destined to fail as a mass-market US product. As a niche product, it might, but Ford is too large to reposition itself in the US as a niche marketer, at least through this badge.
Americans who like nimble cars at moderate prices can choose from VW and Mazda, the latter of which is already a Ford company. Both marques have relatively low sales volumes, precisely because Americans largely like interior space and low-end torque, and do not prioritize nimble handling. The cars that dominate that class, such as the Camry and Accord, have bigger cabins and engines large enough to run fairly well with automatic transmissions.
Turning Mercury into another Mazda would be an exercise in redundancy. At best, it would cannibalize sales from Mazda; at worst, it would give it a brand identity that doesn’t complement either Ford or Lincoln. Euro Fords are fine for Europe, where parking is tight, fuel is costly, and stick shifts are the norm, but in the land of large highways, WalMart, $2.50 fuel and the automatic transmission, they won’t be finding a home on the range anytime soon.
I rather liked the Mazda5 and it seems to be quite similar to the S-Max. Since it was a 2-day loaner from Mazda while the Tribute/Escape was being worked on, fuel economy was never measured. The rest of the vehicle was quite good however. I suppose that is the closest that we will get to the S-Max here in the US. Can’t remember the engine options.
-Biggly
Is it just me or does the rear end hew alarmingly close to the yawning chasm of Tribeca-tude?
Wow, there’s the Mercury Sable crossover to its Taurus X counterpart! Nice review, I enjoy hearing about metal I’ll never have a chance to see in person.
NoneMoreBlack:
I hope not! The Tribeca has set the bar unusually high for ugly. Subaru made a huge mistake there in my opinion; should never have built it. Don’t know the sales numbers, but they aren’t exactly rosy as I recall.
I tested out a 1.9tdi Galaxy for over 1,000 miles last summer, and it was never an issue driving with a full load, even over some relatively hilly, steep grades in the Chilterns and Costwolds of England. And that’s the 100bhp version, IIRC. The torque is all that mattered in most situations. And the effective use of interior space on that size of van (and this, and the Mazda5) is optimal…not wasted airspace, as is the case with most SUVs and many minivans.
I don’t want to rehash what’s already been said in these forums a million times, but Ford’s gunshyness(?) about the previous Mondeo’s failure in the US needs to be viewed as an isolated, poorly-thought-out incident.
I always wonder what Americans need all the horsepower for. I’m from Germany and half of the cars I see doing 110+ mph on the left lane of the Autobahn are 2 liter Diesel Passats, Golfs, Tourans, Focus (Foci?), Astras, Mondeos etc.
To get their nose in front and cut you off, from a standing start or in stop and go traffic, other then that they just sleep in the fast lane.
Well, 95% of them.
Same reason they drive nothing but auto gearboxes, or huge monsters.
It probably gets deleted, but it’s the truth.
Is the S-Max, Euro Focus, etc. available in Canada – Road trip???
Wonderful review, Martin. Thanks for writing it.
Whether or not there is a business case for the S-Max in the United States, the fact remains that I want one. That’s because like most of the other people here, I have the car disease.