MAXIMUM PRACTICALITY

Ford’s old-stager proves that there’s still a place for people carriers, writes Matt Allan

People carriers are not cool. There’s no nice way to say it but, apart from that time Renualt bolted an F1 engine into an Espace, noone has looked at an MPV and thought “sweet ride”.

But that doesn’t matter. Not every car needs to be a status symbol or some desperate expression of its owners selfimage.somejustneedtobeable todoajobwell,especiallywhen it comes to family cars.

The S-max has been doing that job for 16 years now and, despite the MPV segment vanishing almost completely, continues to do so - offering practicality and usability that are hard to rival.

Oncetherewereloadsofmpvs frommainstreambrands,now Ford and Citroen are about the only ones still going. Peugoet and Vauxhall offer the e-rifter and e-combo Life but with only EV drivetrains they won’t suit every family’s needs.

Car makers will tell you an Suvisasuitablealternativebut yearsoftryingtosqueezeafamilyoffiveintoaparadeofkugas, Qashqais and Grandlands has taught me that they’re wrong. Even a seven-seat SUV, like the Seat Tarraco, Kia Sorento or Skoda Kodiaq, while spacious, doesn’t have the flexibility or family friendliness of something like the S-max.

For starters, the S-max has seven individual seats that can each be manoeuvred independently. The rear two are smaller and harder to access than the rest but still better in both regards than most seven-seat SUVS. Fold them flat into the floor, and you’ve got 700 litres ofbootspace.passengersinthe middle row each enjoy their own sliding, reclining pew and legroom, shoulder and headroom that mean even three adults can get comfortable.

While the seating position isn’t as high as an SUV, the S-max is taller than a traditionalhatchorestate,makingiteasiertogetinandout,especiallyif you’re trying to wrangle small children into car seats. Aiding that further are rear doors that open to nearly 90 degrees.

Thes-maxalsofeaturesother practicaltouchesthatshowreal thoughthasgoneintotheneeds of families - from the fold-up picnic tables in the seat backs and three Isofix points in row two, to the generous storage bins and 230V three-pin socket in the rear console.

It’s just a shame that age is catching up with the interior, which looks and feels a little dated compared with newer models. Even the fancy leather dashtop and upholstery of the Vignalemodelcan’tdisguisethe ageing design.

That Vignale trim is the top of tree in Ford’s range and brings some blingy exterior trim, big alloys and quilted leather upholstery. It also brings heaps of kit, from adaptive LED headlights and a powered tailgate to heated massage seats and active noise cancelling. Of course, that means an asking price of more than £41,000 and even then, the assistance pack with adaptive cruise control, blind spot warning, front camera and active park assist is still an extra £1,000.

That’s about the same as a Kuga Vignale with the same engine, and the S-max is substantially more practical than its SUV stablemate.

On the road, the S-max has always been a slight outlier in the MPV market as, despite appearances, it is half-decent to drive. Ford’s chassis geniusessomehowmakethissensible load-lugger fairly responsive and agile. Compared with the tall, cumbersome seven-seat SUVS that claim to be an alternative, the S-max handles like a hatchback.

It’s by no means a sporty car, an impression reinforced by its hybriddrivetrainandcvtgearbox. Ford has ditched diesel, so the only choice for cars like the

S-max and Kuga are a plug-in hybrid or the full hybrid tested here. With 187bhp and 148lb ft it has sufficient oomph to lug a family and returns mid-40s economy - once the sort of efficiency you would expect from a diesel version. However, it’s hardly a powerhouse, especially if you’re filling all seven seats onaregularbasis,soyou’rebetter off just accepting a slower pace of life. That will also offer the smoothest performance from the self-managing hybrid drivetrain.

That spirit is in keeping with the S-max’s overall feel. It isn’t a car you’ll buy with your heart but it is a sensible choice. It’s boring to look at, good to drive only in the context of the alternatives and hardly cheap. But for larger families there is still nomatchforitsmixtureofpracticality and usability.