Ford S-Max: Diesel or Petrol

zizou_

Looking for a bit of help choosing between a petrol and diesel S-Max. The car will be used mainly for short trips. Have heard modern diesels can give a lot of trouble so have been looking at petrols but they're very hard to come by.

What's the reliability on the diesels like? Do they suffer with DMF/DPF issues?
Have considered the Toyota Verso but worried they'll be a bit small.

166man

zizou_ wrote: »

Looking for a bit of help choosing between a petrol and diesel S-Max. The car will be used mainly for short trips. Have heard modern diesels can give a lot of trouble so have been looking at petrols but they're very hard to come by.

What's the reliability on the diesels like? Do they suffer with DMF/DPF issues?
Have considered the Toyota Verso but worried they'll be a bit small.

The diesel engine would be better in terms of pulling power will all 7 people on board and would return better fuel consumption however doing short trips a petrol might be better but fuel consumption would be pathetic. Taking into account that every Irish person wants diesel these days, you might be able to get a good deal on a petrol one whivh would offset the measly fuel economy.

An auto diesel would be the right shot, a long spin every now and then would keep the dpf happy out.

bazz26

The 1.8 TDCi engine doesn't have a DPF.

Nissan doctor

Constant short drives in traffic will be very bad for the DMF too.

IMO if you'll only be doing small mileage then the petrol makes more sence, you'll likely pay much less for it these days and the fuel consumption/tax costs versus future maintenance costs will make the petrol the better choice.

If you were doing bigger mileage or mostly motorway commuting then the diesel would make better financial sence.

colm_mcm

Are you using new or used?

zizou_

Thanks for all the replies. Ideally i would prefer a petrol for all the reasons you've all mentioned but have been looking for a couple of months and haven't come across much. That's the only reason i'm considering diesel.

Looking for a second hand one - on a tight budget so not too bothered about the year.

There are only 3 petrol ones on carzone and this is the only reasonably priced one.

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Ford/S-Max/LX-2.0-p/201113201834781/advert?channel=CARS

Still think it's overpriced as it's a lx with fairly high miles.

Anyone got any views on the alternatives e.g. versos or picassos?

bazz26

Mazda 5:
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=131616008763971

Citroen C4 Grand Picasso:
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=213222106646670

zizou_

bazz26 wrote: »

Mazda 5:
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=131616008763971

Citroen C4 Grand Picasso:
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=213222106646670

We need to get 3 car seats across the backseat - had a look at the mazda 5 and they don't fit. The C4 is big enough but have had bad experiences with French cars in the past (Renault Megane) so a bit wary. Anyone know anything about their reliability?

R.O.R

zizou_ wrote: »

We need to get 3 car seats across the backseat - had a look at the mazda 5 and they don't fit. The C4 is big enough but have had bad experiences with French cars in the past (Renault Megane) so a bit wary. Anyone know anything about their reliability?

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Volkswagen/Touran/1.6-102B/413223135570130/advert?channel=CARS

Not a great looking one, but will fit 3 full size child seats in the second row. Each seat slides seperatley so you can slide the middle forwards and the 2 outer ones all the way back.

Not sure if any of the other small MPV's have this function, but I've tested the Touran (with a customer) and it works perfectly.

Only had a quick search for Touran's around €10,000, so a more thorough search might turn up something better for you. Avoid the 1.4T 170ps as they give trouble.

BostonB

Lot more choice in the UK for MPV's.

zizou_

R.O.R wrote: »

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Volkswagen/Touran/1.6-102B/413223135570130/advert?channel=CARS

Not a great looking one, but will fit 3 full size child seats in the second row. Each seat slides seperatley so you can slide the middle forwards and the 2 outer ones all the way back.

Not sure if any of the other small MPV's have this function, but I've tested the Touran (with a customer) and it works perfectly.

Only had a quick search for Touran's around €10,000, so a more thorough search might turn up something better for you. Avoid the 1.4T 170ps as they give trouble.

@R.O.R Thanks for that. Wasn't sure the Touran would be big enough - will check it out. Is the 122bhp 1.4T any better reliability wise? - seems to be a good mix between performace and economy

R.O.R

Have a few 122bhp 1.4t models on fleet in various cars and haven't had any issues I'm aware of. No Tourans though but can't see why it would cause an issue in that and nothing else.

davof

zizou_ wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies. Ideally i would prefer a petrol for all the reasons you've all mentioned but have been looking for a couple of months and haven't come across much. That's the only reason i'm considering diesel.

Looking for a second hand one - on a tight budget so not too bothered about the year.

There are only 3 petrol ones on carzone and this is the only reasonably priced one.

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Ford/S-Max/LX-2.0-p/201113201834781/advert?channel=CARS

Still think it's overpriced as it's a lx with fairly high miles.

Anyone got any views on the alternatives e.g. versos or picassos?

Hi There, my wife drives a petrol S-max, not too bad on petrol,used mostly for school runs etc, while the Diesal's have a bit more pep the petrol version seems lighter and easier to drive, just make sure it has 7 seats as our previous S-Max only had five and was pointless

zizou_

davof wrote: »

Hi There, my wife drives a petrol S-max, not too bad on petrol,used mostly for school runs etc, while the Diesal's have a bit more pep the petrol version seems lighter and easier to drive, just make sure it has 7 seats as our previous S-Max only had five and was pointless

Was starting to think nobody had one of these. Have you had any trouble with either of the two you've owned?

shamwari

zizou_ wrote: »

Was starting to think nobody had one of these. Have you had any trouble with either of the two you've owned?

Some 1.8TDCi S-max's do have a DPF and this is to comply with Euro5 emissions.

Also the diesels have a very low air intake, and as two of my neighbours found out in recent floods, this can lead to water ingestion and a badly damaged engine. Persoanlly I would avoid the autobox used in Ford CMax / SMax's as they can be problematic.

On balance though, the 1.8TDCi SMax is not a bad car.

davof

zizou_ wrote: »

Was starting to think nobody had one of these. Have you had any trouble with either of the two you've owned?

Hi, no trouble with either or them, very reliable as far as we are concerned, if you are to buy go for at least the Zetec model, LX is far to basic, My wife tried both the Petrol/Diesal versions and went for the petrol option, loves the car, hope this helps