Titanium 2.0 TDCi 163 5dr People Carrier

Brilliant do it all family 7 seat hot hatch.

I traded in a 2008 mk4 Mondeo 2.2 Tdci Titanium X for the 2011 S max 2.0 Tdci Titanium, I was looking for something a little more upright to make it easier to get my 2 year old son in and out of. We go to the Isle of Skye 5 or 6 times a year and the car swallows all the stuff we can possibly need for a weeks break. There is so much room it's fantastic to go away in, I'm 6'4" and find it very spacious.

The ride and handling are fantastic, very compliant over bumpy roads but not wallowy at all if you want to press on. The car can be driven very quickly indeed on country roads it handles so well. Steering is brilliant, great feel with perfect weight. Clutch and gearbox are very good although 1st and 2nd can be a little notchy when cold. The seats are very good and I found them very comfortable almost immediately. Seats 6&7 are really only for occasional use and there is still a decent boot size with them up, put them down and the boot is enormous. With all the back seats folded flat I can fit in a double air bed and the car becomes an improvised camper!

Power is rated at 163 bhp so is as much as you need most of the time although I do miss the little extra power of the Mondeo sometimes as it's 60-90 acceleration was addictive.

The tail gate is a real bonus when it's raining as you can stand under it when loading the shopping. It's a wonderfully versatile car that can do pretty much everything you will need, I carried a washing machine upright in the boot with room to spare. The Mondeo is a better high speed cruiser as it's a little quieter at 80+ speeds, the S max being a little taller isn't quite as good at these speeds. Having said that it's wonderfully refined below 80, my wife loves being in and driving it.

Downsides? Not many, the rain sensitive wipers in auto mode drive me mad, wiping away at full speed when not raining and stubbornly refusing to budge when needed. Switching them off and on again seems to reset them and has them working properly for a while. The black centre consul is irritatingly easy to scratch and is noticeably marked even at 20k miles, other wise the finish in the car is very high quality. The DAB radio seems to struggle to maintain a station, FM is much more reliable.

There are cars that do some things better but as an all rounder I think it's the best car I've owned, absolutely brilliant.

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