S-max or Verso?

Subotai

We have two kids at the moment, aged 6 and 2. We've another one on the way, so we'll need to get a bigger car. Currently driving a 2012 Honda Civic, and hoping to trade this in for a 2014 reg car.

We've considering either a Ford S-Max or Toyota Verso. I want the diesel version of either, as I do frequent long trips. What do people think of these cars? Any opinions are welcome.

_Brian

Does frequent long trips mean high mileage overall.

18k miles plus for diesel.

dingdong1234567

S Max all day. We were in a similar situation about 2 years ago. Test drove the verso, boring and dull. Did not.likenit at all. Test drove the smax, basically like driving a hatch back car. Handles really well and loads of room and storage for.ling trips and really comfortable. We went with a 2litre Titanium smax 163hp. Averaging 44.5mpg. happy out and reliable Inthe 2.5 years we have had it.

Subotai

We'd been doing about 20k miles a year. It would be a mix of short school run trips around Dublin, and also longer trips to Cork/Wexford.

Joeseph Balls

Aunt has a Verso, it's a small 7 seater, the back seats are tiny and if you have them up, forget about a boot

Jimbob1977

We have a Ford S-Max.

It has pros and cons.

It's a very fuel efficient diesel car. A fill of €75 to €80 will give you about 1,000km of driving.

The sixth gear turbo gives superb acceleration on the motorway. The reverse and forward parking sensors are very useful in carparks.

The pop-up seats in the boot are fantastic for when friends come to visit. The width allows three car seats across the middle just about.

Things that I don't like:

Our edition came with no spare wheel (and no recess to put a spare wheel). We had 'run flat' tyres which wore quite badly and are expensive to replace..... however they will get you to the nearest garage even if there's a flat tyre. They run on the rubber for a few kilometres. A can of the 'green slime' is the fall back. When we got rid of the run flats, we had to improvise.

In a car park or city street, its length can make it awkward to park.... but that's life. It's a big car.

We also had breakdown issues, but that was our own fault for not getting regular services.

Get timing belt serviced when supposed to

Overall: 8/10

colm_mcm

_Brian wrote: »

Does frequent long trips mean high mileage overall.

18k miles plus for diesel.

How did you arrive at that figure?

useless

Another vote for the S-Max here. More car like to drive than most MPVs I've driven. Very comfortable and practical. Ford parts & services are reasonable in my experience (compared to my experience with Volvo & VW).
The new model has a spare wheel, the old one can take one in the boot if you're willing to live with 6 seats rather than 7.

photosmart

Hi there

We have verso and friends up road have smax. They are in two different price ranges so its unfair to compare like for like

Smax is bigger and better to drive. Reliability - it depends. Our friends Smax diesel is 2009 and has had a couple of visits to garage to fix injectors but to be fair that could be any 8yr old diesel (happened to a avensis I used to have)

Our verso is 2009 and we have it three years. Zero problems in that time and I've found it a great car (we have three kids) however it was low mileage to start with and some of the 2.0 drd diesels can give problems around 120kmiles (see avensis previous).

If you are on a budget I think the verso is probably better value especially with three kids however if you can stretch to an smax pricewise for a fairly young model then go for it.

Joeseph Balls

Just to add, if you do opt for the smax, I'd be going for the 2.0 litre

ShamoBuc

Ive 3 kids and had a 09 verso for about 5 years. It does what it says on the tin. Front and back parking sensors are great and there is plenty of room for the 3 kids in the second row. Boot seats are for small kids on small journeys and you will have barely room for a small shopping bag when they are up. It doesn't feel as big as what it is when driving but it's certainly not a driver's car. It also feels a bit tinny.

Smax is by far a nicer drive, no doubt. But it really is hard to compare when you look at the cost difference as an Smax is much more expensive, if money is no problem, there is no choice.

I recently changed to a 171 Kia Carens and I must admit it's a lot nicer than the Verso with reversing camera, sat nav etc as standard, with a very long warranty and the second row has 3 nice individual seats, the kids really like the 2 trays.
Smax still a better option but it really is a cost issue.

AMKC

S-Max. They are a big car but also really nice to drive and be driven in. Lots of room and very comfortable. I agree the 2.0 litre engine is the one to go for.

Subotai

Thanks everyone, so the consensus seems to be to go for the S-Max. It seems to be the MPV version of a mondeo, while the Verso seems to be more like a Corolla. Are there different versions of the 2L engine in the S-Max?

Shefwedfan

Subotai wrote: »

Thanks everyone, so the consensus seems to be to go for the S-Max. It seems to be the MPV version of a mondeo, while the Verso seems to be more like a Corolla. Are there different versions of the 2L engine in the S-Max?

SMAX is the job but you didn't mention what your budget is. Are you going new? do you need automatic?

I would not compare either to a car really apart from interior. I had a mondeo and although the SMAX looks similar inside the drive is very different.

I cannot speak for the Verso as I took one look inside it, didn't like and walked away. The Misses didn't like the interior either.

You should also think about how long you plan to keep it. If going new then probably a long duration. Are you planning more than 3 kids?

I have SMAX, does the job but wife wants something newer(its 08). I was going to replace with newer SMAX but now thinking should I maybe go up to something a little bigger(Alhmanbra/Sharan/Galaxy).

It does depend on questions above...