S-MAX and Galaxy extended test drive

[LittleDonkeyCarriemumsnet]

Hi all

By now you should all have received your new Ford car - hope you are enjoying it. Below are some of the questions we'd like you to cover in your feedback. Don't feel you have to answer them straight away - some of them will make more sense once you've had the car for a week or so. We'd like you to give us your initial thoughts, first impressions - both from you and the rest of the family - and then add feedback at least twice a week for the next three weeks until the car is collected - though please feel free to give more regular updates if you'd like to, and don't feel you have to stick to the questions too rigidly - they are just a guide.

Thanks for volunteering. Safe driving and Happy Christmas!

Here are the questions:

What were you/your partner's first impressions of the car?

What do the children think of it?

Do the children fit comfortably in it?

How easy is it to fit car seats/ adjust seats etc

What's it like to drive?

Is it a comfortable ride?

What's the boot space like?

Does it have any useful extras - cup holders etc?

If it has in car entertainment, what is that like?

So far is it economical to run?

How does it cope with different road conditions eg town, country, motorway

How did it cope with the snow (if you had any)

What do your friends/ family think of it?

Has testing this car made you more or less likely to buy a Ford?

Has testing this car changed your perception of Ford cars at all?

What one thing do you like best about it?

What one thing would you change about it ?

Please add any other comments and don't forget your video diaries!

Any queries please email [email protected]

Thanks again,

MNHQ

[nobodysfool]

Well i braved it in the ice for my first drive of the s max today.
Took DH for morral support in case i didnt know what to do
I'm pleased to say i managed to drive it in the ice and snow and i must admit it felt REALLY good.
We fitted both car seats in the car and off we went.
I drove to the supermarket and got our christmas food shop and my mums and there was still space in the boot to put a baby elephant!!!
I'm used to a decent sized boot with my Scenic but this was a different league.
It felt safe and well grounded and very responsive to the steering wheel movements
unlike my scenic.
I'm so in love with the car....please Mr. Ford can we keep it?Please pretty please .
Still to do the video as i didnt think it would be good to see me swearing like a trooper on the ice .

[ruddynorah]

well we've had our first trip out in ours, and done our first bit of filming. spent last night reading the manual so was kind of ok with what was what, but my god there are a blimmin lot of buttons! managed to sort it all out though. demisted windows, got heaters on, radio on for us, dvd on for dd, back seats down ready for big shop going in the boot and off we went!

so first impressions..well it is HUGE!! that took some getting used to, compared with my little clio. also took a while to get to grips with the screens and all those buttons. screens for everything, dash board, radio and climate control. no dials like i'm used to. apparently it seems to have voice control..can just see dd having fun with that! anyway, i bumbled my way through and got to tesco. quite pleased with my little self!

[thatsnotmymonster]

Well our Galaxy arrived today and it is GORGEOUS however we have not driven it anywhere yet.

I was planning to drive it this afternoon to do my Christmas shopping but we tried to turn it in our driveway and it took me and dh an hour to dig it out of the snow- it wasn't going nowhere fast!! Anyway I started to panic about taking it out on my own in the snow as I have never driven automatic before and I don't think going solo in ice and snow is a good place to start!! Hopefully tomorrow we will have a better go- can't wait

[Nevergoogle]

Yay, My Ford S-Max 2.2L Titanium super duper fun wagon arrived today. Delivered by the very lovely Trevor who drove all the way from Cambridge to South-west Scotland, only to be pointed in the direction of the bus stop once he'd handed over the keys. Sorry Trevor.

The car is lovely and the sort of thing other people have. Loads of room. It was fairly easy to drive straight off as we already have a ford focus estate and I was able to find things like the wipers and lights exactly where I would expect them.

There are loads and loads of features that I don't understand yet, but will figure them out in due course.

The kids loved the DVD player and wireless headphones. Our 5 year old thought it was 'wicked' and our 2 year old thought it was like a spaceship with all those buttons with lights on.

Not sure about this video diary malarky. It's a very strange feeling talking to the camera and I'm not all that comfortable yet. Holly Willoughby I am not.

[Mamazontopofsantabeingrude]

well i never got one so i think all fords are a pile of shite and ill never ever buy one.

[Nevergoogle]

here it is, let me get that for you

[Mamazontopofsantabeingrude]

nah i need one with folded arms and a sticky out tongue and fat bottom lip.

i never win nuffin

[thatsnotmymonster]

Well was hoping to go out and take a photo of the family with the fabulous new car BUT it has snowed continuously overnight and all morning, another 5-6 inches on top of the foot we already had and there is not one part of the car that is visible. DH is just off out to shovel snow, again [sigh]

[ruddynorah]

went out in our 1.8 S Max titanium ON MY OWN today! yesterday i drove but had dh with me. all went well, did the M&S food shop.

i'm still a bit nervous about parking it, due to the size compared to my clio. however luckily there were plenty of spaces with lots of room so i was ok. i will probably be fine after a few more trips. plus it does have parking sensors so i really shouldn't worry about dunching!

one thing i'm not liking is that when the boot's open and i reach to close it i have to actually jump to get hold of it..slightly embarassing! combination of it being a big car, and me being no more than 5ft2. i think i read somewhere that some models have auto close on the boot. don't think ours does though.

what i really love is just all the space. i like being able to strap the kids in without bending and contorting and yanking about. also love all the boot space. i don't have to jigsaw everything in. it all just fits in easy peasy. even with the 2 extra back seats up there's still enough space for the pushchair.

i also like how easily adjustable everything is, and all the little personal comfort features..like the wing mirror has a light that illuminates your door so you can get in easily.

[nobodysfool]

I took the s max out again today -dh was shocked as i dont really drive many places but im desparately trying to think of places to drive to.
After finally deciding which dvd ds1 was going to watch i couldnt find where to put the disc in....looked at the handbook.....nothing!
Asked DH to have a look with me and he had no luck either so i called out local Ford dealership and spoke to a lovely man called Kevin Williams and i explained the situation and without laughing at me explained where it was.He was so helpful and polite and he wasn't even getting a sale from it .
DS1 loved the dvd and i really appreciated the wireless headphones (listening to Alvin and the chipmonks is NOT my idea of chilled out driving).
The only problem i found was that when DS1 had the headphones on his head didn't fit between the headrest of his car seat.The seat is quite a common one and i wondered how many people buy the car with the added option of the dvd players only to find out the kids cant put their head back fully-so falling asleep in the car would be impossible with them on.
But apart from that i was impressed by the car again i found the button to make my seat higher which is fantastic when your only 5ft like me and was 'wowed' with how well it drove even over the thick sheets of ice near our home.

[Swagger]

Finally found time to report back about my lovely S-Max. It arrived late on Monday evening, so only had time to have a quick glance. Was more relieved that the lovely Sue who had driven it to us was safe and in one piece having been on the road for hours trying to get to us in the appalling weather conditions.

Didn't drive it the next morning as for some ridiculous reason I have taken on Christmas work in a shop and leave at 5.30am. Decided I would be too out of it at that time to find lights, heating etc, so waited until I got home. By then the kids were ready to explode so I just shoved them in the car and off we went to deliver Christmas cards. First thing that struck me (apart from that wonderful new car smell of course) is how spacious it is. Was much easier helping kids with seat belts and didn't smother them with my norks as I leant over (can I say norks Ford?). I glided into my seat, literally glided, none of the normal grunts and groans as I squeeze and lower myself into the car. I am waiting for a knee op and am a bit delecate at the moment . Its really roomy in the front, loads of leg space for me (I am 5'9") and still lots of room for kids legs in the back.

Everything was really easy to find, although the controls look a bit overwhelming at first I found most of the basics straight away. Looked at the manual later and have had much more of a fiddle today. Kids love the DVD, although that was the only thing I had trouble working. Couldn't even find it to begin with which caused much hilarity amongst the friends I was dropping cards off with. Finally found it under the passenger seat and got it working for a short while but had to wait until today to get it going properly.

Decided to use the car first thing this morning, so crept out at 5.30am with various window scraping tools and a can of de-icer. But did I need any of them nooooooooo, no, no. Both front and rear windows are heated and with the amazing heating system both of them were clear in minutes, completely clear that is, every corner of the front and back window. What a treat, no frozen fingers or broken credit cards for me any more. Its the little things that count and I smiled all the way to work with my wonderful clear, warm windows.

God I could go on about it for ever but must put kids to bed. Did motorway driving today, it was fab, glided along, such fantastic front window visibility, the road seems to have opened up to me. Radio wonderful, DH fiddled with my phone and has got that linked so had to make a few superficial phone calls to friends, all by pressing a few buttons on the steering wheel. Technology eh? Kid in sweetie shop.... moi.... never

[ruddynorah]

yes the heated front and rear windows are a dream. no scraping or spraying in this cold weather! also liked the 'max' blower button to quickly get things warmed up, AND that you can set a temperature for the blowers, not just turn the dial like in my clio. not only that but you can set a different temperature for you and your passenger! features like that are just marvellous in this weather. love it

nobodys- how are you finding reaching up to close the boot? are you jumping up like me or am i missing a trick?!

[Goober]

Agree wiv Mamazon.

Bagofshite indeedy.

[Wallace]

Bah Humbug

[nobodysfool]

RuddyNorah-jumping like a blinkin kangeroo!!

[Nevergoogle]

DH took the boys out shopping today while I was at work. Through the gritted teeth of a militant cyclist he said, 'It's really really nice' .

Our ford focus is looking very miserable next to it and no longer gets the best space on the drive. I just know it's going to throw a tantrum when we want to use it again.

Having a few problems with the headphones being temperamental and know I really should get round to reading that manual. Groan.

[CantSleepWontSleep]

nobodysfool - are they wireless headphones? We had the same problem with dd (not in a ford, but with an Evolva 2-3 seat), so got her some little plug in ones instead, which do fit ok. Not sure you could use this if you had more than 1 child in headphones at the same time, but fine with 1.

Do any of you testing already have a big car to compare the Ford to?

[Nevergoogle]

My focus estate is roomy, but doesn't have the height of the s-max. Although with a roof box on the estate they are about the same height.

[Iwishitwouldsnow]

Oh they sound fab!

MN - please can I be front of the queue for the next test drive - I've heard dreamt that Mercedes would like us to review some of their lovely cars!

[nobodysfool]

@ Cantsleep- I have a Renault Scenic so i'm use to a bit of space but it doesn't compare to the space in the S Max.

[ruddynorah]

not sure i'll get out in mine today, quite a lot of snow has fallen in the night. might see if dh wants to see how it handles the snow. was going to do our photo today, must get that sent in..

dd's favourite word at the moment is S Max..except she says X Max

[Swagger]

Been busy in the S-Max today! Did the normal 5.30 spin to work. One feature that it doesn't have that I was disappointed about is an electronic switch to pull the wing mirrors in. The car park I use for work has really tiny spaces so I always pull the mirrors in. I searched everywhere but ended up doing my usual window down, mirror in, then I would normally trot round and pull in the other one, but the car park isn't lit that early in the morning, so I locked up and ran . Other thing I was hoping for was heated front seats, but suppose you can't have everything.

Used all the seats today also. Took my friend for a spin as they are interested in buying one. Had the 6yr & 13yr in the rear, 4yr, 10yr and 3yr in the back. Loads of room for the bigger children and still a reasonable amount of boot space, certainly enough for shopping bags etc. Had to take the dog guard down and found that it was a fairly permanent fixture, so had to get the spanner out to remove the bit that fitted to the floor. Probably won't bother putting it back in. Our dog won't jump over the seats, but if we had a younger dog would probably use a collapsable cage as really wouldn't want to bother faffing about taking the dog guard in and out all the time. Really easy to put all the seats up and down. Seats on the middle level slide forward so plenty of room for even the teenager to get into the back.

Went out again later with another set of children to see local Christmas lights. My friend who came with us has a Honda, the one with 3 seats in the front and 3 in the back. She was impressed with the amount of space in the S-Max. I usually drive an Astra Estate so obviously the S-Max seems really spacious to us so it was interesting to hear her point of view. Going to pick up my Mum tomorrow so will be interesting to see how much room she has inbetween the 2 children.

[Nevergoogle]

Ooooh, am loving that the car beeps to tell me when i'm too close to my sister's gate posts.

Also loving that our neighbours must think we are doing well in the recession.

[thatsnotmymonster]

Ok we had a proper family day out today in the Galaxy!

After shovelling snow for over an hour we finally left at 10.10am!! It is not doing too well on our slippy, snowy driveway but then again nothing is except a 4x4.
Our 3 car seats fit easily across the middle row and there is plenty of leg room (in our VW Touran their legs touch the backs of the fron seats leaving filthy marks and they kick them). We got the DVD working no problem, a massive hit with everyone (kids are enthralled and peace and quiet for mummy and daddy!) however, as others have said, the wireless headphones are proving somewhat temperamental- fab idea but slightly too big for little heads and little fingers keep turning them off by mistake when touching them and one set kept not working but that may just be the batteries running out so I will change them and report back.

DH and I both love the little extra mirror that you can pull down to enable you to get a clear view of all 3 children in the back- a nice touch!

I also drove the car today, first time ever in an automatic, and it was a piece of cake! I loved it- all I can say is it is an absolute pleasure to drive!

The boot is cavernous! Today we had in it 4 bags of presents, 2 massive bags containing snowsuits, jackets, hats, gloves, spare clothes etc for us all, 2 sledges and a turkey- the boot was about 1/3 full!

Oh yes, we used the Hill Assist feature to help negotiate our steep, icy driveway and it did seem to help.

The only slightly annoying thing that we have noticed is that the overhead storage compartments (of which there are many!!) have a tendency to open whilst you are driving- though I could live with it

Happy Chistmas x

[ruddynorah]

merry christmas test drivers! took our s max out to see some family today, our first motorway journey. dd has been begging to ride 'in the boot' so we put the back row seats up, took out the parcel shelf bar and moved her car seat into the back. all very easy. at first it seemed like there was no leg room at all for her, even at the age of 3.5. however, we figured out that the middle row of seats can be pulled forward, just like front seats. marvellous. she could even see the dvd from the back!

dh drove this time. he tried out the different suspension settings, normal, comfort and sporty. said he liked sporty best, felt more in control, where as comfort felt a bit too floaty and bouncy. need to read up on what road conditions are best for which settings really. he also took the car up to 6th gear, something neither of us have in our current cars. that gave us a nice smooth drive up the motorway.

tomorrow we're off to my grandma's, 2 hours up the motorway. it'll be great to have the dvd for the journey! AND we'll be able to pack the car with as much stuff and nonsense as we want and not have bags on people's knees or filling up the footwells. joy!