Ponder for a moment the Ford GT. Now ask yourself what this supercar needs to do to be successful. It has to look and sound great, do the whole go, stop and steer thing acceptably and? well that's about it. Believe it or not, the more prestigious a product, the less tricky compromises there are to handle. Now consider the Ford Focus S-MAX diesel MPV models. These not only have to handle the varying demands of a family, they need to be good to drive, well equipped, affordable, fuel efficient, spacious, supremely safe, attractively-styled, have impeccable environmental credentials and also have to face down a set of well-entrenched rivals. While the supercars grab the headlines, the really super cars Ford makes are cars like these.

There are two S-MAX diesel engines on offer. The first is a 1.8-litre Duratorq TDCi unit and you'd be excused for imagining that 1.8-litres just isn't enough to shift a vehicle of not inconsequential bulk. Excused but wrong. The 125bhp engine may not sound a whole lot to get excited about but it also features a healthy 320Nm of torque under normal driving conditions and as much as 340Nm under what Ford dubs 'transient overboost.' This means that when the car's electronics detect that you've really given the throttle pedal a proper prodding (such as when overtaking), it'll change the engine mapping to allow a little extra torque temporarily. This means that you'll have less downchanging through the Durashift manual gearbox to undertake, but keen drivers may want to throw in a downshift anyway to show off their throttle-blipping dexterity. The S-MAX is one of the few MPVs that positively encourages these sort of antics.

The 1.8-litre Duratorq models kick off at £17,572 for an LX model fitted with a five-speed gearbox. Pay another £200 and you can have a six-speeder instead, which seems like good business especially if you're set to clock up quite a few motorway miles. That £200 difference is maintained between the other two trim levels, both offered with five or six-speed boxes. The Zetec opens at £19,072 with the quintet of cogs and the Range-topping Titanium with the same transmission retails a £20,572.

Also available is a 2.0-litre Duratorq TDCi powerplant that headlines with 140bhp but, curiously, exactly the same torque figures as the smaller capacity unit. Fitted with the Durashift six-speed box as standard on all models, this retails at £18,272 in LX trim, £19,772 for the Zetec model and £21,272 for the Titanium. That makes it £500 more than the equivalent 125bhp 1.8-litre car which could also prove tempting. If you've come this far then it's probably best that you throw the S-MAX options list in the bin now. Things could get costly.

"The diesel engines have enough about them not to appear anomalies given the S-MAX's sporty suit"

The similar torque response from both engines means that there's not actually a whole lot in it when it comes to their comparative performance figures, the 1.8-litre unit making 60mph in 11.1s whereas the 2.0-litre shaves this time down to 9.9s. The 2.0-litre's extra power can really be felt at the upper end of the rev Range. Where the 1.8 gets a little breathy, the 2.0-litre is still generating some meaningful pull. Fuel economy of both powerplants is excellent given the size of vehicle they're tasked with punting up the road. Ford quotes a combined figure of 45.8mpg for the 1.8-litre model and 44.4 for the 2.0-litre. The only slight Achilles heel of these engines is refinement. While they could never be accused of being raucous, it's unlikely you'll forget which pump you need to be using when the time comes to refill.

The S-MAX is practical as well as economical. In addition to the clever Ford FoldFlat seating system, a number of lashing points are located across the floor and on the cabin sides, helping to prevent your belongings from destroying themselves if you do fail to resist the Ford's sporty character. The perennial complaint of seven-seat vehicles, namely that there's no room for luggage when all seven seats are occupied, is partly addressed by the S-MAX which offers 285 litres of space with all seats in place. This is up 18 per cent over the old Galaxy. The answer to this question is staring buyers right in the face. Buy a decently-sized roofbox for those rare occasions that you are going to be loaded to the gunwales by seven people and their tat. If you do wish to run the S-MAX in removal van mode, it'll heave around up to 2,000 litres of goods with all the rear seats folded flat. There are also no fewer than 26 different cubbies located around the cabin so you'll need to know where you left that key/credit card/wedding ring or it could be a lengthy search. In total, there's a full 90 litres of oddment stowage.

The fascia design of the S-MAX reflects the exterior lines in its calm maturity. The riot of bisecting lines, angles and arcs that used to typify Ford dashboards has been replaced by a quietly-styled approach with classy materials and no outrageous gimmicks or cheap attempts at creating showroom impact. Some of the silver plastic finishes may be prone to scratching over the longer term but overall, the cabin is a step removed from the 'mainstream' norm. The double windscreen pillar can make three quarter visibility a bit touch and go at roundabouts but aside from that, Ford have really committed to safety with this model. An ultra-rigid passenger cell is a good start point, but there's also a recently-developed Interactive Vehicle Dynamics Control (IVDC) system that controls all of the other safety systems in a cohesive manner. When those include Continuously Controlled Damping (CDDC), Electronic Stability Program (ESP), Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with Forward Alert (FA) and Collision Mitigation By Braking, that's quite some integration task. Factor in the anti lock braking system, Hill Launch Assist (HLA) and a Tyre Pressure Monitoring System and you have an almost unparalleled array of available safety functions.

The S-MAX isn't your average run of the mill people carrier and nor are these engines bog standard diesel droners. If you appreciate a car that does a lot of the difficult things whilst making it look easy, an S-MAX TDCi is well worth a look. As a package it's tough to beat.