Ford S-Max 1.8 TDCi 5 speed or 6 speed

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Wed 1 Aug 2018 00:08
Ford S-Max 1.8 TDCi 5 speed or 6 speed - Avant

So tempting to say 'one'....

Seriously though, it depnds on how much of your driving is on long motorway trips, where the 6-speed will be more relaxed and more economical. It won't make such a difference in town or on country B-roads.

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Wed 1 Aug 2018 22:06
Ford S-Max 1.8 TDCi 5 speed or 6 speed - SLO76
You’re buying a used car around a decade old so focus on condition and history over all else. The difference between a 6sp and 5 will be marginal at best. Forget spec, it’s not important here.
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Wed 1 Aug 2018 23:11
Ford S-Max 1.8 TDCi 5 speed or 6 speed - SLO76
No offence Trilogy but if you’re going to prioritise outright performance (a 2s difference will feel tiny on the road, and that was when both cars were new) then you’ll come a cropper when buying an older car. If you were buying new or nearly new I’d understand your thinking but I’d advise a rethink. To bypass a well looked after 5sp for a tatty 6sp to save a couple of seconds (it won’t be that on the road on older examples anyway) is madness.

Performance is a minor concern when buying a used car, especially a turbo diesel MPV which could go spectacularly and expensively wrong. Buy on condition and history rather than performance figures or spec.

Edited by SLO76 on 01/08/2018 at 23:12

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Wed 1 Aug 2018 23:26
Ford S-Max 1.8 TDCi 5 speed or 6 speed - FiestaOwner
No offence Trilogy but if you’re going to prioritise outright performance (a 2s difference will feel tiny on the road, and that was when both cars were new) then you’ll come a cropper when buying an older car.

I've just looked up the S-Max 1.8TDCI 123BHP (2006 to 2010) 0-60 times on Parkers.

5 speed is 11.1 sec. Top speed 116 mph

6 speed is 10.9 sec. Top speed 118 mph

Only 0.2 sec difference.

My last couple of works Transits have had the 6 speed box, where the previous ones have had 5 speed. I find that the 5th and 6th gear ratios are very close together and I doubt it make much difference to the fuel economy, but they can advertise it has having a 6 speed box (as more is always better!).

If I'm honest, I prefered the 5 speed as you weren't changing gear so often! In the real world, the 6 speed isn't any quicker off the mark.

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Wed 1 Aug 2018 23:51
Ford S-Max 1.8 TDCi 5 speed or 6 speed - FiestaOwner

Same 0-60 times on HJ website too.

www.honestjohn.co.uk/road-tests/ford/ford-s-max-20...e

Think the 30-60 times will be about the same to. Think the figures you refer to with the 2 sec difference are in gear figures (without changing gear). If you change gear at the appropriate time, I'm sure you'll find the acceleration will be identical for both gearboxes.

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Thu 2 Aug 2018 15:06
Ford S-Max 1.8 TDCi 5 speed or 6 speed - skidpan

We considered the 1.8 S-Max in 2010 over the 2.0 for one simple reason, it had no DPF. We test drove a 6 speed and a 5 speed and they were both fine (compared to a 1.6 C-Max) other than it seemed very easy to stall when pulling away, probably would go away with familiarity but not a problem I have had since I learned in the 70's.

From memory other than the extra gear there was sod all difference in 0-60 and mpg but the extra gear in the 6 speed did appear to improve flexibilty a bit in town. 3rd in the 5 speed was a bit high in some areas wheras 3rd in the 6 speed appeared to cover town use better.

Again from memory the 6 speed was only about £300 more so a no brainer buying new.

Only problem I would have buying an old one is the abuse they generally get. They are a family barge and very few are looked after. Finding a good one will be difficult.

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Fri 3 Aug 2018 10:06
Ford S-Max 1.8 TDCi 5 speed or 6 speed - gordonbennet

Skidpan's comment about easy stalling triggered memories of the Mondeo pool cars of the time at work which were the easiest Diesels to stall i have come across, yes the engine went well but the useful power band seemed rather short, so i wonder if the 6 speed was brought in to help aleviate that.

New Ford Diesels of that time i delivered i also found too easy to stall, now that might be me trying to be as gently as possible whilst loading up (or can't drive for toffee which is probably more like the truth), of course Ford were not alone in this.

Trilogy did you test drive those cars you rejected and did you find this easy stall condition to be a problem, i wonder for example if the 6 speed has a slightly lower first gear to help pulling away?

Edited by gordonbennet on 03/08/2018 at 10:07

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Fri 3 Aug 2018 13:40
Ford S-Max 1.8 TDCi 5 speed or 6 speed - TheGentlemanThug

Am I right in thinking that the 2.0 is a PSA engine whereas the 1.8 is a Ford engine?

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Sat 4 Aug 2018 17:04
Ford S-Max 1.8 TDCi 5 speed or 6 speed - Terry W

Best strategy when buying 6-8+ years old is to drive a 3 year newer version in excellent order. Then test drive any in your price range as you will know what a good model feels and drives like.

Minor differences in trim and power unit/gearbox are utterly irrelevant.

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Sat 4 Aug 2018 22:04
Ford S-Max 1.8 TDCi 5 speed or 6 speed - SLO76
“Thanks for your opinion. I'll decide what's relevant or irrelevant as it's my hard earned money I'm spending.”

Chill Trilogy... You ask for views and opinions don’t be offended if they don’t match your own. Best of luck with the search. I’m still considering one of these myself despite a recent thread criticising Ford for the poor availability of certain parts. It doesn’t bother me a jot if it’s a 5 or 6sp but we’re all different. Be interesting to compare in the future if we both end up with one. I’m going to view a 1.6 Ecoboost that’s up not far from me if it’s still there when I’m back from me hols.
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Sun 5 Aug 2018 00:02
Ford S-Max 1.8 TDCi 5 speed or 6 speed - Sparky Mark
More importantly the Ford 1.8 tdci was never fitted with a DPF because the block and head design were too old derived from the earlier tddi engine. They did suffer from injector problems though. Only a 100 or 115 bhp though so no ball of fire.
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Sun 26 Aug 2018 13:38
Ford S-Max 1.8 TDCi 5 speed or 6 speed - gordonbennet

Hmm, i think i'd want to speak to the last owner personally to find out what sort of service regime the car has seen.

Only thing i can find in the pics is wear to the top edge of presumably the indicator lever (the one with 'voice' written on it), but that could just as easily be the result of a finger ring or other decoration rubbing the switch when used.

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Sun 26 Aug 2018 14:44
Ford S-Max 1.8 TDCi 5 speed or 6 speed - gordonbennet

gb, you have eagle eyes! Lack of history makes me uncomfortable, never bought a car without.

Got used to looking for such tiny things in my previous work.

Yes the missing history worries me too, my biggest fear would be an undeclared private hire (ideal vehicle) in its first three years clocked professionally before its first MOT then sold on...please don't think i suspect this vehicle has been so treated but this lack of any history at all is a little troublesome, hence why i'd like to speak face to face with the last owner to judge him and what he has to say about the vehicle.

The budget tyres don't worry me as such, i'd be looking past them at the state of the discs and calipers, are they rusty showing signs of not being touched.

Remarkable MOT history, too good to be true or was the previous owner a really good home mechanic who like many of us failed to keep good enough records of our constant servicing? 5 minutes chat would reveal the true mechanicallty minded or the wide boy.

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Sun 26 Aug 2018 15:52
Ford S-Max 1.8 TDCi 5 speed or 6 speed - Happy Blue!

Lets put this car in some perspective.

In early 2015 I sold my 2009 (09) 55,000 mile S-Max TDCi with every possible extra on it and the auto box for £8,000 to a dealer. It had decent tyres, full service history but needed a few hundred pounds of external cosmetic work. It even came with the tonneau cover and was almost unmarked internally.

He advertised it about eight weeks later for £10,995. The car looked immaculate - which it was as I had looked after it as best I could. It has subsequently racked up another 58,000 miles according to the .Gov site.

Almost four years later a car with far more miles, lower spec, manual, no service history and a remarkabe MoT history is for sale at £5,500.

To me that is too good to be true. It does look reasonably tidy inside, but I would want to pay less than £5,000 for no history.

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Sun 26 Aug 2018 16:58
Ford S-Max 1.8 TDCi 5 speed or 6 speed - Happy Blue!

Yes - it is a rather dull colour. Lighter colours suit it better.

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Sun 26 Aug 2018 17:15
Ford S-Max 1.8 TDCi 5 speed or 6 speed - SLO76
I’m always amazed at the number of people I met during my years in the trade who simply don’t service their cars at all. My wife was one of them, with an immaculate little Peugeot 106 when I met her that looked great but ran like a bag of nails as it hadn’t seen fresh oil in 4 years. I’ve seen loads of cars, usually owned by younger females that are the same. I’d be wary if there’s no evidence of regular oil changes. Though it should be obvious enough when you lift the bonnet if it has been seeing regular maintenance. Certainly drops its value substantially with no history though.
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Sun 26 Aug 2018 18:53
Ford S-Max 1.8 TDCi 5 speed or 6 speed - Avant

Do Ford have any online system where service history can be checked even if the book can't be found?

If not, there must be plenty of S-Maxes out there within your budget, so as you say you aren't in a hurry, you have time to find one with FSH.

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