The MPV or people carrier as we Brits prefer to call them has often been looked upon with derision by motoring writers. Whilst MPV’s are widely used by taxi firms for ferrying people and their luggage to and from airports their image has become somewhat tarnished over time. More often than not they are packed with hoards of screaming dirty faced children, hurling sweet wrappers from the windows and are driven by mums hopelessly distracted by the antics occurring in the back. Anyone who requires seven seats to accommodate their family could frankly do with some advice on contraception.
The main problem however is they are just plain dull, mere boxes on wheels with all the design aesthetics of a house brick with similar handling qualities. Some of the names aren’t terribly well conceived either, the Lucida and Estima immediately spring to mind which both sound a bit like the sort of names that C-list celebrities burden their kids with.
I read somewhere that the Vauxhall Sintra was deemed by Euro NCAP the European car safety agency to pose a serious threat to passenger occupants during a collision and so vanished rather hastily never to appear again. All of this seems to have led to the major manufacturers sitting their design teams down and saying “right lets get this sorted once and for all.”
The last couple of years have witnessed the emergence of a new breed of MPV which is stylish and versatile and packed with the latest safety features. We have also seen a lot of compact MPV’s to counter the “family bus” image of previous models.
This brings me nicely on to a car which caught my eye when I first saw it and made me realise that the age of driving a sporty car hasn’t completely passed me by.
The Ford S-Max is claimed by Ford to be unique mainly as it doesn’t fit into traditional MPV classification. In spite of another slightly dubious choice of name the main cause for excitement is that the S-Max was designed to be sporty. At last we finally have an MPV that is cool to be seen in. In fact there is even an S-Max owners club in the UK!
The S-Max can still carry seven if required but thanks to its sporty stance it doesn’t appear that huge. The roof slopes down at the rear whilst the slightly aggressive front end styling and side vents set it apart from its rivals. There is an air of quality about the car both inside and out thanks to well fitted trim and use of high quality cabin materials.
The driving position is excellent and more car-like than other MPV’s as it uses the same platform as the new Mondeo which has a large floor pan and gives good interior space. The back row of seats folds on to the floor of the boot rather than into it which gives more room for luggage and the space created when you fold all the seats down is truly enormous and also creates a totally flat load area.
As for driving the steering is impressive and turn-in is positive and sharp. Body movement is limited and the suspension is fairly stiff compared to the usual wallowing ride you get from larger vehicles. The damping is good and the S-Max feels composed and relaxing to drive.
The controls are well positioned and there is a six-speed gearbox which provides a slick gear change. General levels of equipment are good on all models with the base level “Edge” model coming in at the lower end and the top of the range being the “Titanium.”
The optional extras do start to get a bit expensive, cruise control etc which come as standard on a few competitors’ models but with the looks and the drive qualities of the S-Max you’ll be prepared to sacrifice these luxuries and look forward to enjoying yourself behind the wheel again!
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