We bought our S-Max to replace our much loved Audi A3 Sportback, which our expanding family had simply grown out of.

We had set out to buy a VW Touran, but found it so dull that at the last minute we changed our mind and spotted this car at a local Ford dealer. It was a low mileage (20k) ex motability car, in mint condition, which was a great find as many cars of this ilk are used hard and bear the scars to prove it!

Over the last 6 months it has delighted us and frustrated us in equal measure. . .

First, the good bits - The S-Max is great to drive for such a big car, with fluid handling and a well balaned ride that is firm without being too crashy. It handles long journeys with young kids in tow exceptionally well, with low noise levels, and settles to a refined motorway cruise. The 1.8 diesel is no ball of fire, but once off the mark it delivers reasonable performance and is quite flexible (But go for the 2.0 if you can!) The boot is huge with seats 6 and 7 folded down, and there is plenty of space for all passengers. It looks smart, inside and out and genuinely feels a cut above the Zafira / Touran rivals.

The bad bits - Fit and finish is not wonderful. Perhaps I had become used to the feel of my old Audi, but to be honest the S-Max is acceptable at best, and cheap feeling at worst. The materials used further down the dash and doors are paticularly nasty and prone to scratching. Even the exterior fit and finish isn't great - there is some truly dreadful paint finishing on the rear hatch - and that's not the result of a repair!

Worse than that, though is the reliability. In the 6 months we have owned it the following has occurred:

Airbag warning light - 2 trips to garage to fix
Remote key failure
Heated windscreen failure
Failure to start - AA callout to fix faulty alarm
Boot latch failed on Christmas eve - mysteriously started working a week later
Bonnet jammed shut - managed to fix myself
Air intake pipe split - fixed with duct tape!

Not really very impressive, and such a shame because this is a truly great car. We would consider buying another one in 2 years because I don't think there's anything to beat it - just watch that reliability . . .