We are new to caravanning, and have a Ford S Max 2.0 tdci. I have been assured that it will pull our new caravan fine (A Swift Celeste 19/6) but we are still waiting to pick up the van. Does anybody else tow with an S Max?
Does anyone tow with an S Max?
- Thread starter BrodieBonce
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Hi BrodieBonce
We have a sterling eccles with a MTPLM of 1467kg and i have been lokking to change our car & realy like the s max, i have been on to what towcar web site and the s max is an excellent match for our van. just wondered what your thoughts of the s max were ?
cheers paul
We have a sterling eccles with a MTPLM of 1467kg and i have been lokking to change our car & realy like the s max, i have been on to what towcar web site and the s max is an excellent match for our van. just wondered what your thoughts of the s max were ?
cheers paul
I bought an S-Max about 3 weeks ago - and I've taken it (and the Bailey Pageant) to the Vendee and back. My previous tow car was an E-Class merc estate and I have to say that while the merc was a good tow car - the S-Max is even better. It's very solid and I managed to cruise at 60 in 6th gear for all but the steepest hills. Where as in the merc, I occasionally got a little bit of snaking on steep down-hill stretches, the S-Max was solid for the whole journey.
I reckon we got around 26mpg towing and that was with 4 bikes on the roof rack too.
Mine is the 2.0L diesel.
I reckon we got around 26mpg towing and that was with 4 bikes on the roof rack too.
Mine is the 2.0L diesel.
Hi mam
iam getting rid of the company car Audi A6 Avant which pulls the sterling ok which is roughly the same as your previous E-class so it'sgood to know i am looking at the right car !
iam getting rid of the company car Audi A6 Avant which pulls the sterling ok which is roughly the same as your previous E-class so it'sgood to know i am looking at the right car !
The S Max as a car is brilliant, we've just come back from the Dordogne (solo but packed up) and it was faultless...sat at 85 the whole time and still gave me 45mpg...I was really pleased with it. Still waiting to get the van though...we've got to sell our other car first to fund the purchase...hopefully it will be a good match though!
Hi we tow a 1600kg twin axle with an S-max 2.0tdci, very stable and barely flinches when passing HGV's, a smaller single axle van may be ok but we leave it in 5th for towing, 6th is a solo overdrive gear not meant for towing, we have managed to get the van off some very wet fields without resorting to the snowchains. 40 - 50 mpg solo, 25 - 30 mpg towing a large caravan
I've got to disagree about the use of 6th gear. I sat at 60 (60 on the Satnav - 63 on the speedo) for long stretches on the French toll roads in 6th gear and at just under 2,000 revs, the car felt comfortable.
Hi
We tow a series 5 Pageant Bretangue with an S Max 2 l tdci. S Max tows like a dream on motorways and country roads.
Annette
We tow a series 5 Pageant Bretangue with an S Max 2 l tdci. S Max tows like a dream on motorways and country roads.
Annette
We have a 2.0TDCI S-Max that pulls our Avondale 650-6 twin axle with no problems. Great car and very stable when towing.
There are quite a few other threads on the merits of the S max as a tow car if you do a quick search you should find all the info you need including quite a few reports from myself.
In brief our S max is the 2.0 tdci 6 speed manual and we tow a coachman vip 530/4 which weighs in at 1670 kgs fully laden, the car tows the van with absolute ease and total confidence, we get very little instability even when passing lorries and coaches.
We have discussed fuel economy to great lengths on this forum and as ive allways stated economy depends entirely on how you are as a driver, i get very good economy out of my cars, i dont drive slow i just drive with economy in mind. on motorways with the van on tow i allways travel (if traffic allows)at 60 mph in 6th gear and the car returns an average of 36 mpg, i would be seriousley unhappy with only 26 mpg as mam did but his driving style is probably completely different from mine (and the bikes dont help). as for driving in 5th gear all the time personally and from experiance of driving in excess of over 100 thousand miles per year when i was a service engineer i think this is nonsense, every manufacturer fits 6 speed boxes to diesel cars these days and they all claim it is a 6th gear not a 5th gear overdrive, sure if your only doing 50 mph then the car is happier in 5th but at 60 mph the revs are at 1800 rpm which is right on the boil in the S max.
Try to get a detachable tow bar as the lines of the car are really nice and it looks a bit daft with a big fixed towbar on the back, i know they are a bit more expensive but when not towing the car looks so much better from the rear, we allso had the 13 pin socket fitted and i converted the van to suite which up to now has proved 100 % more reliable than 12 n and 12 s.
To cap off the s max is proving to be every bit as good and in lots of respects considerably better as a tow car than my previous and superb seat alhambra.
In brief our S max is the 2.0 tdci 6 speed manual and we tow a coachman vip 530/4 which weighs in at 1670 kgs fully laden, the car tows the van with absolute ease and total confidence, we get very little instability even when passing lorries and coaches.
We have discussed fuel economy to great lengths on this forum and as ive allways stated economy depends entirely on how you are as a driver, i get very good economy out of my cars, i dont drive slow i just drive with economy in mind. on motorways with the van on tow i allways travel (if traffic allows)at 60 mph in 6th gear and the car returns an average of 36 mpg, i would be seriousley unhappy with only 26 mpg as mam did but his driving style is probably completely different from mine (and the bikes dont help). as for driving in 5th gear all the time personally and from experiance of driving in excess of over 100 thousand miles per year when i was a service engineer i think this is nonsense, every manufacturer fits 6 speed boxes to diesel cars these days and they all claim it is a 6th gear not a 5th gear overdrive, sure if your only doing 50 mph then the car is happier in 5th but at 60 mph the revs are at 1800 rpm which is right on the boil in the S max.
Try to get a detachable tow bar as the lines of the car are really nice and it looks a bit daft with a big fixed towbar on the back, i know they are a bit more expensive but when not towing the car looks so much better from the rear, we allso had the 13 pin socket fitted and i converted the van to suite which up to now has proved 100 % more reliable than 12 n and 12 s.
To cap off the s max is proving to be every bit as good and in lots of respects considerably better as a tow car than my previous and superb seat alhambra.
We have an S-Max (2.0 TDCi) and are considering a 6 berth van so things are looking good. I am interested in what the posters think about towbars. Iceman, you mention a detachable bar and 13 pin electrics. I have been quoted
Hi moncman, i had my detachable bar fitted by ouyr local mobile fitter, he is based in macclesfield in cheshire and fitted my bar for me at home in stockport.
I had a westfalia detachable bar fitted as this is the one ford would have fitted, ford quoted me round about
I had a westfalia detachable bar fitted as this is the one ford would have fitted, ford quoted me round about
We had no software changes for the towbar no, the wiring for the lights had to have a box of tricks fitted due to the bulb fail system but that was the only mod as far as i can see, the towbar electrics if i remember correctly where just plugged straight in to the S max via a socket allready fitted to the car.
We did however have a re-map done on the car during its first service, i complained of the jerky throttle response and stalling problems that quite a few owners have suffered from plus quite a lot of black smoke from the exhaust when towing, apparently all the problems i complained about are known issues and the re map which the ford main dealer did solved all the problems for me, the car now has a much better throttle response it no longer stalls when its idling during cold starts and most if not all signs of smoke have disapeared.
I allso had the seat belt warning alarm disabled as it annoyed the life out of me when reversing the van, again the main dealer did this for me.
We did however have a re-map done on the car during its first service, i complained of the jerky throttle response and stalling problems that quite a few owners have suffered from plus quite a lot of black smoke from the exhaust when towing, apparently all the problems i complained about are known issues and the re map which the ford main dealer did solved all the problems for me, the car now has a much better throttle response it no longer stalls when its idling during cold starts and most if not all signs of smoke have disapeared.
I allso had the seat belt warning alarm disabled as it annoyed the life out of me when reversing the van, again the main dealer did this for me.
Sorry i forgot to add on the post above that after the cars first service the fuel economy improved by allmost 5 mile to the gallon which pleased me no end.
Thats interesting. We had an early 2007 Zetec (same engine) that used to stall all the time when reversing out of the drive when cold. We never quite got round to its first service as I changed it for a Titanium model this year (too good a deal to miss). Wish i had specified the towbar at time of ordering as I could have got the factory fitted Ford option for
Thats pretty good to hear, my round trip to work is allmost identical to yours at 24 miles mostly on A roads but 2 miles of motorway, if i drive carefully i too can get 56 to 58 mpg driving at a normal pace the car will return about 52 to 54 mpg.
driving round town on short runs the mpg drops to about 48 in traffic and when towing my van (a coachman vip 530/4)the average is 38 mpg towing at 60 in 6th gear on motorways, on A roads in traffic the mpg towing has dropped as low as 32 mpg.
We really cant complain about the car its a superb and economical towcar that allso very very good as an every day run about.
driving round town on short runs the mpg drops to about 48 in traffic and when towing my van (a coachman vip 530/4)the average is 38 mpg towing at 60 in 6th gear on motorways, on A roads in traffic the mpg towing has dropped as low as 32 mpg.
We really cant complain about the car its a superb and economical towcar that allso very very good as an every day run about.
Iceman, if you're towing your Coachman at 1670kgs then its seriously over weight. The current 2008 VIP 530/4 MTPLM is 1580kgs and I don't see an older model being heavier. My 2005 Amara 530/4 is 1500kgs as is the current model. I suggest you take something out!
My van was re plated to a higher level at manufacture by coachman apparently. We bought our van new but it was a canceled order and the person who originally ordered it had the plating increased to the maximum that alko would allow, don't ask me why because i don't know but it is nice to know that i have some spare grace when touring for extended periods.
I do appologise but having been on the forum for so long i some times assume people know things from past posting.
I do appologise but having been on the forum for so long i some times assume people know things from past posting.
In which case I apologise! However, you must be close to 100% unless the S-Max handbook, like my Touran, quotes a weight that is nowhere near the actual kerbweight.
Yes i know what you mean about manufacturers and quoted limits !, i am towing at around 95% of the kerbweight if i load the van to its limit which isnt often but im no where near the cars maximum towing limit which is quoted as 2000 kgs. in the past ive often stated that i would never exceed a cars kerbweight but to be honest the S max is so stable i think i would be fine if i did, then again im so happy with the vip that i cant see us getting a van any heavier in the near future.
My Amara's MTPLM is 91% of my kerbweight but I don't think the van is actually at that maximum. Interestingly, I checked my noseweight and found that it was well over what it should be (75kg) for the car as I'd put heavy stuff to the front, as is normally recommended. When I looked at the van's handbook its unladen noseweight was 65kg so not a lot to play with. I've now got everything under the fixed bed which has only slightly affected stability but means my mudflaps don't get shorter with each bump! How is yours loaded?
ForbesMy Amara's MTPLM is 91% of my kerbweight but I don't think the van is actually at that maximum. Interestingly, I checked my noseweight and found that it was well over what it should be (75kg) for the car as I'd put heavy stuff to the front, as is normally recommended. When I looked at the van's handbook its unladen noseweight was 65kg so not a lot to play with. I've now got everything under the fixed bed which has only slightly affected stability but means my mudflaps don't get shorter with each bump! How is yours loaded?
If you have a look at the Ford website you will find that the nose weight for all models is 90kg
Last time we went away i checked the nose weight and it was 85 kgs, we removed some of the clutter that had collected in the front and with the items under the fixed be the nose weight came down to 75 kgs.
I have to admit that the van towed better at 85 kgs but with the s max being only 75 kgs max its a choice i have to make, overload the nose by 10 kgs and have a very stable tow or load it to its limit of 75 and have a slightly twitchy tow in windy conditions. personally i think i might try 80 kgs when i go to the isle of white next week, if i do get pulled for a check i cant see vospa being too concerned about 5 kgs.
I have to admit that the van towed better at 85 kgs but with the s max being only 75 kgs max its a choice i have to make, overload the nose by 10 kgs and have a very stable tow or load it to its limit of 75 and have a slightly twitchy tow in windy conditions. personally i think i might try 80 kgs when i go to the isle of white next week, if i do get pulled for a check i cant see vospa being too concerned about 5 kgs.
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