► We drive the all-wheel drive Ford S-Max
► Blue Oval’s push to offer AWD on all models
► Torque-vectoring system boosts driver confidence
Previously if you wanted seven seats and four-wheel drive your options were limited to a pastoral off-roader like a Land Rover Discovery. But what if you’d rather watch a Ken Block gymkhana than the version with horses in it? The only ‘choice’ was a Ssangyong Rodius – a prospect marginally less appealing than being stuck in a lift with Katie Hopkins.
Thank goodness then for the new Ford S-Max – the Galaxy’s better-looking, better-handling cousin – now with an all-wheel-drive system that automatically shuffles power between the axles. The blue oval is ramping up the number of models it offers with power to all four wheels, led by its chief attention-seeking missile, the Focus RS (see p90).
Unlike that car the S-Max has no drift mode, but you do get a torque-vectoring system. Working in combination with the all-wheel-drive system, this tightens up the handling and builds driver confidence on slippery roads. You don’t feel it interfering. It beavers away under the chassis, braking a wheel here, sending more power there, leaving you to contemplate whether you should really be cornering this hard on the way home from little Jemima’s birthday party.
Sure, you’re never going to see one fording (Fording?) a river but the AWD system makes the S-Max’s already adept road-holding just a little bit better. It should have the more expensive Discovery Sport suitably worried.
Ford S-Max Titanium Sport 2.0 TDCi 180PS AWD Powershift
Price: £32,945
Engine: 1997cc 16v turbodiesel 4-cyl, 178bhp @ 3500rpm, 295lb ft @ 2000-2500rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto, all-wheel drive
Performance: 10.5sec 0-62mph, 128mph, 48.7mpg, 149g/km CO2
Weight: 1857kg
On Sale: Now
Rating: ****
Verdict: Less capable than Discovery Sport but a better drive