Fun is far from the foremost factor in the mind of any designer fashioning a seven-seater people carrier.
Creating a big, bulky and massively practical load-shifter – with its ability to pack in an entire family and the dog – is clearly a serious business.
And piloting one of these beasts can wipe the smile off anyone’s face.
So what was Ford thinking of when it launched the sleek and sporty S-Max, combining a car with space for seven to travel with the agility and driving pleasure of a smaller car?
It reckoned that even a driver laden with clearly heavy responsibilities deserves a little fun at the wheel.
Slip behind the S-Max steering wheel, peppered with its 22 buttons, and you genuinely feel you are driving a much smaller, more nimble car.
A glance over the shoulder reveals the acres of space stretching back to the easy-fold second and third row seats that serve up no fewer than 32 seating and load-space combinations.
With its lower roofline, slim-line lights and muscular haunches around the wheel arches, the new model appears wider, with an even more distinctive presence, but the real advance comes in the sportier feel.
Part of that responsiveness is down to Ford’s new adaptive front steering that continually changes the ratio between the steering and road wheels according to vehicle speed. At lower speeds, say when pulling into a parking space or manoeuvring in tight spots, the new system makes the vehicle more agile and easier to turn. At higher speeds, it allows the car to react more smoothly and precisely.
Priced from about £25,000, with a range of powerful diesel or EcoBoost petrol engines, the new model raises the bar not only in ride, handling and comfort, but in the level of technology available to make life on the move easier and more relaxed.
Not least among the highlights are a pair of super-bright LED headlights that not only follow the road, but use a computer-controlled programme to keep full beam on without blinding other road users – the first Ford in the world to be fitted with them.
The technology not only continuously adjusts the headlight beam angle, but also detects vehicles ahead, both oncoming and travelling in the same direction, and fades out light that could dazzle, while retaining maximum illumination for other areas.
They come as part of an optional £2,225 pack, whose other features include leather heated seats and a ten-way adjustable driver’s seat with three memory settings.
The S-Max uses a combination of camera, radar, and ultrasonic devices to deliver everything from pre-collision assist, that applies braking if a collision with another vehicle ahead is imminent, to cross-traffic alert that warns you when reversing out of a parking space of vehicles that may soon be crossing behind.
Add in blind spot information, traffic sign recognition, lane keeping alert, lane keeping aid and driver alert and there is more than a little help at hand.
Intelligent speed assist technology works with the existing adaptive speed limiter system, that allows drivers to set a maximum speed, and adjust the vehicle’s speed according to information received from the traffic sign recognition and onboard navigation systems.
And around town, a press of a button not only parallel parks the car hands-free, but will also reverse the car automatically into a space.
If all that is not luxurious enough, you can opt for a pair of seats that are not only heated and cooled, but also have in-built massage cushions.
So lighten up, let the S-Max take the strain and treat yourself to a little grin.

Auto facts

  • Model: Ford S-Max Titanium
  • Price: £28,095
  • Insurance group: 20E (1-50)
  • Fuel consumption (Combined): 56.4mpg
  • Top speed: 123mph
  • Length: 479.6cm/188.8in
  • Width: 165.5cm/65.2in
  • Luggage capacity: 10 cu ft (with seven seats in place)
  • Fuel tank capacity: 15.4 gallons/70 litres
  • CO2 emissions: 129g/km
  • Warranty: Three years/60,000 miles