Reviewing the Ford S-Max 2.0 TDCi Titanium

I've went for a weekend trip from Sheffield to the mountains of Snowdon with this new Ford S-max 7 seater.  This version is the 2000cc Turbodiesel version with the 6 speed manual shifter.

The specification is as below:
Engine: 2.0 Duratorq TDCi
Max power : 163Ps
Max Torque: 340Nm
MPG: 45
Kerb weight: 1690Kg

This van currently ranks first on my list of 7 seater vans i've driven. Its got the combination of both power and handling in a VAN!!!.



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Cabin

First of all when you climb aboard this vehicle,you will first notice the nice and cosy cabin. The materials used in its construction is solid and imparts a quality feel to it. The thick leather wrapped steering wheel feels nice to touch, the doors gives a solid thud when closed. When i think about it, there isn't any noticeable cheap plastics around the interior EXCEPT the control on the radio, but i've accustomed to the steering controls that I've don't need to lay my fingers on the radio.

This car also comes with a starter button which proves to be useful when stalling. I've stalled the vehicle  many times, and just by a dab of the clutch and pressing the starter the vehicle comes to life. But while doing that make sure you release the handbrake as the some might not be accustomed to the handbrake design which looks like an aircraft styled lever.

The built in Sony audio system sounds poor, perfect for classic and jazz, but anything else sounds tinny due to the lack of bass. This vehicle comes equip with the Ford Convers+ which is typically a premium color screen display on the dashboard, and its crappy. The colors are beautiful but the information it provides is a little lacking.

The front windscreen pillars also hinder visibility as they are quite thick and there 2 of them.

The 3rd row seats are so easy to deploy, and entry into it is not that much difficult as well. The seats offer good support and they are very comfortable even after 3 hours sitting in the car, furthermore they hold you firmly in place during spirited driving.

Ride and Handling

The S-max uses Independent McPherson struts in front and the popular Independent control blade suspension arrangement at the back which is the similar arrangement on a Ford focus. The result is great handling and comfort.

This 7 seater van corners so much better than most saloon does and it now ranks 1st in my list for its great handling, and its ride quality, until i've tested the Mercedes Benz R-class that is.

While driving on a twisty section of the road, the front end of the vehicle feels light and agile which is probably due to the electronic steering, while the rear feels very stable and planted. If all hell broke loose, the ESP will intervene and keep the car going on its desired direction. The car also rolls very little around corners and my passengers didn't felt sick when i drove it around the hills of Snowdon.


The ride quality is also very good, bumps are soaked up relatively well by the suspension, and it goes pretty well over Britain cobbled roads without rattling my passengers too much.


Engine

The engine is little gem, and this duratoq unit produces  a massive 340Nm of torque which means overtaking is effortless and this engine is also very smooth. There's no noticeable turbo lag, and the turbo kicks in at a relatively low (around 1800rpm), but it feels quite linear, no sudden turbo rush or whatsoever, and the only thing that's going to stop you from revving ever higher is when it reaches 5000rpm, it will start to rattle, and it sounds like the turbo is going to fly out from its housing.

During high speed run on highways, i could easily overtake cars at 6th gear, even with a boot full of luggage and 7 passengers on.

The fuel consumption is also relatively good, and returning around 45 miles for every gallon of fuel.

Conclusion

This S-max is definitely recommended for those who's shopping for a small 7 seater MPV, its quite easy to park, its comfortable, its powerful, its sporty and it looks great. Everything that a thinking family man needs!!!.

pros:
-Powerful engine
-Great handling and ride comfort
-quite spacious when the third row seats are not present
-looks great

Cons:
-Radio sucks
-Trip computer doesn't display enough information

Do you think you know music?

You may laugh at what i want to say in this post here. Let me ask you, how loud do you listen to your favorite track?. 20-40% volume?.

If that's the average volume that you're so used to listen to your favourite track, chances are you've never EXPERIENCED music!. Music is not only something that you listen while commuting on your way home, it' not something that you play just to keep you companied...No no no...it's not only that..

If you're listening to low volumes all this while, you may have missed out the details background effect that some songs had. First of all, you need something that is powerful enough to uncompress your MP3, then you need some kick ass listening device such as a speaker or earphone.

If you've got that checked, then it's time to pump it up!!!!. I've compiled some classical and trance music to start our tutorial with....lol!!!.


Biography of Yundi Li

Yundi Li was born in Chongquing in central China. As with many musicians, his penchant for music became apparent in early childhood.  One day, when he was three years old, he was so fascinated by a man playing an accordion in a shopping mall that he refused to leave the mall.
At the age of four,  he started learning to play the accordion. When he was seven, he asked his parents to let him have piano lessons. At the age of twelve, Li gave the best performance in a fiercely competitive selection process and thus earned himself a place at the top music school in Sichuan province.
About a year later, when Li's teacher decided to take up a post at the School of Arts in Shenzhen, southern China, Li's family moved in order to allow the young prodigy to continue his studies in Shenzhen. The tuition at this school was expensive, and Li's mother had already given up her job in order to supervise the boy's education. However, Li had  won numerous scholarships and awards which enabled him to afford the fees.
At thirteen, Li won the Stravinsky Competition in the United States.  He went on to take First Prize at the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition in the United States and Third Prize at the Franz Liszt Piano Competition in the Netherlands, as well as being a major winner in the Second China International Piano Competition in Beijing.
At just eighteen, Yundi Li won the first prize at the Frederic Chopin Competition held in Warsaw in October 2000.
He has recently announced that he will never compete again. He is currently on the roster of  Deutsche Grammophon (DG). His first recording for DG was an all-Chopin recital album, released in early 2002. Meanwhile, he continues his musical studies in Germany.

His music

Ohh dear..... tertiary education is stressing isn't it?, fret not as i have some of the best pieces to relieve off some stress. 

These pieces had been playing over and over in mind for years, and whenever i feel stressed, i just plonk my in-ear phones into my phone and crank up these tracks all the way up to 70% volume.


After all these years of listening, i believe my taste for music is quite UP THERE!!!. Personally i feel that in ear phones are best for classics and sentimental instruments, and 60%-70% volume is quite at the sweet spot of listening to these tracks. NEVER go too loud on classics as the high pitched notes made by the piano or Sax will give you headache as your eardrum vibrates violently. 


As for trance music, a closed up headphone is the best, and the sweet spot should be at 85-90% volume. Close your eyes, listen to the background music, immerse yourself into the music, and let your imaginations runs deep into whatever song you're listening to. When you're calm and relaxed you could feel your body starts to slow down, and starts to enter a subconscious realm where you're half asleep but still conscious. Might be what they called "A state of trance". Its a little bit difficult to describe what feeling or sensation, unless you experience it yourself. Try it by picking up a very nice track that you loved.


At 80% volume, i suggest you do not exceed an hour on listening as it may make you dizzy.


That's what I recommend you noobs out there, so if you already had a pair of sweet phones, you might want to pick it out and listen to some of your old forgotten track. 


I'd recommend these track if you're looking some relaxing music:

Diu loh Nahjip!!!

This is William Bourbon from France, He's a lawyer from France,he speaks french which means he's got no connection whatsoever with our Malaysian government, WHICH IS GREAT!!!.

This guy here had exposed the wrong doings of our current prime minister Najib on the scandalous Scorpene submarine deal and the connection to the Altantuya murder.

Kuala Lumpur: Just five months after induction, Malaysia's first submarine, a French made Scorpene has developed serious problems, raising question mark over India's acquisition of the same deepwater warfare machine.

The defects in the submarine KD Tunku Abdul Rahman, named after country's first Prime Minister, have delayed navy's tropical water trials which had to be stopped as the vessel was found unfit for diving, Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told reporters.

The submarine, the first of the two, was purchased for a staggering 3.4 billion ringgits (USD 961 million). The defects forced a three-month delay in the completion of the trials with the manufacturer DCNS (France) having to extend the warranty.  

Above source from : http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/malaysian-scorpene-submarine-develops-snags_603371.html

French police have obtained "quite crucial documents" in the Scorpene submarines probe on whether French arms giant DCN had paid kickbacks to Malaysian officials, including Prime Minister Najib Razak, to secure the deal.
The 58-year old Najib had been the Defense minister sanctioning the acquisition in 2002. Even then, there had been much public unhappiness over the price which was seen as too expensive, and furthernore, the high-tech submarines considered as unsuitable for patrolling the country's shallow coastline. Right now, both ships are docked in Sabah and hardly used. There have also been reports of system malfunctions due to the unsuitability of the territorial waters.
"It is likely that in September we should have access to the first police conclusions from all the investigations that have taken place over the last 18 months. We know that the police seem to have obtained quite crucial documents," Asia Sentinel reported Paris-based lawyer William Bourdon assaying.

Looks like unless the French government is willing to help him out and muzzle the case, Najib may have run out of hiding places. Whatever time that he can buy will not last long either.

And to pundits familar with all the ramifications both at the Malaysian and French ends, it is impossible for him to escape scot-free. One way or another, they say he will have to explain to his people the true extent of his involvement, not just in the kickbacks but also in the Altantuya murder.

In fact, not even his UMNO party can save him. With the Scorpenes trial expected to be heard in the French open court in August or September, many of the party warlords are already gearing up to push him out and slam the door on his administration, which has been scarred by non-achievement, gutter politics and extensive corruption.
It does not help that in recent months, Najib has felt the pressure and added to his own discomfort by making several disastrous decisions. The most recent was ordering a violent crackdown on a citizens rally for free and fair elections two weeks ago. His fast-fading popularity and plunging credibility makes him an easy target now.
Rightfully, the BN government should have immediately lodged a compliant with the French authorities when news reports about the huge Scorpene kickbacks first came to light. However due to Najib's influence, no one in the Malaysian government has dared to call for a public probe so far.

Even a suspicious 114 million euros (RM570 million) side-deal granted to Baginda's firm, Perimekar, has been whitewashed in Parliament as a "services" and "maintenance" contract, when it is obvious that the obscure firm has no experience or track-record in such a high-tech industry.

Numerous reports have also been lodged by Malaysian citizens, who are alarmed that the RM7 billion price tag is still climbing. It is now apparent Najib may have hidden the full cost to Parliament, opting to gradually seek additional budget allocations to maintain the ships rather than to reveal at one-go the full 'damage' to taxpayers. Yet till now, Malaysian police as well as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission have refused to initiate any investigation into the file at all.

Above sources from : http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=16141%3Abad-news-for-najib-french-police-have-obtained&Itemid=2

Yeap, you've read it, the big man up there is spending billions of our money in purchasing subs that can't dive and shoot. Maybe in the coming future when i am fortunate enough to buy a home, i'll built a underground bunker  or arm my garage chock full with M16 riffles.

My country is not secure, and the only thing securing us from threats are the peace loving Malaysian people themselves (Malays, Chinese, Indians, Sikhs). The government can only boast about how well they've armed their men and how good their tanks are, but really!, are they battle worthy?. The PDRM tok kok only pandai, but OMFG are they useless!!!, not to mention are how they acted like gangstas during the previous Bersih 2.0 rally. The court...well, there's no court!!!, Uncle Lingam can settle ma!!!.

Malaysians are generally a quarantined bunch, with government controlling the news that we read, the sugar that we consume, the petrol that we pump, the internet sites that we visit, and etc it will be very hard to get away from the clenched fist of the Government, unless you MIGRATE!!!. Malaysian had been exporting kids out of the country at an astounding rate, more and more parents are getting fed up with the government for being incompetent in raising our wages.

I do really hate the brain drain phenomena in Malaysia and it's been causing me to be SINGLE all this while because,  lovely and smart chics are all been exported overseas by their parents who themselves are feeling the crunch of raising food prices and low wages in Malaysia.

If one day, the big man Najib falls, and the demands of Bersih 2.0 is met, i could foresee that things could slowly turn better. I'm sorry but there's nothing much you could do now Mr. Najib. Your repute is kaput and you should retire ASAP before you end up like Mubarak's case.

Yeoh: Yes! I think there shouldn't be any subsidies at all.

I've always loved how businessman mix politics and business together. In Malaysia where the government always told us on how friendly they in building a competitive and good business environment for Malaysian and foreigners, but eventually it all turned out to be just an empty promise.

I am a businessman, and i knew how lengthy it is for the government to approve permits. Red tapes and corruption means that anything that has to do with the government will obviously drain much of your resource, every time i need to get a permit for a heavy vehicle  in JPJ, those blardy flers will surely kick me to putrajaya, and after that back to JPJ again to check if it is registered in their computers...? WTF.

Another example for those who wants to start a business!. To register a company is fast, but to get approval from the police and fire department is extremely slow, not to mention that you need signboard permit,banner permit, trading license.....there goes my cheap petrol for travelling round and round K.L. Why cant they have it all under a roof? WTF?

In this video, he said some of his business are not subsidised and yet, he managed to make profit out of it and priced it lower for the consumers. At first you might think that this rich man here has not taken us, the mid income earners into consideration, but after a long taught, i'll say that he's got a good point there. Subsidies are good for us!, who doesn't like cheap fuel and sugar? But, take a minute and think about it!.
Do you want cheap fuel when the car you buy is one of the most expensive in the world?. Malaysians are obese and unhealthy and do you still want more sugar?

Listen to what francis yeoh has got to say, and you'll notice that he keeps attacking the GUV!!!

I'm too pissed off with dramas of incompetent politicians. I want to vote for a change, any party will do as long as it's not the ageing BN.

Raja Petra Kamaruddin in conversation with Nicholas Farelly

Yup, its raja petra talking again, and this was recorded in ANU, and this was before admitted that he had been framing najib all along. I mean it's a little bit weird isn't it to be changing something that you've fought so hard for?. A couple of years ago, you've been barking very loudly on Najib, and now all of a sudden you come back and say that it's all a ploy?. Yea kiss me rear.....

The reason i post this video is because i really loved the way he talks. I've seen most of his video on youtube recently, and his speech will wow you into disbelieve. He's calm when he talks, and every time he's been bombarded with a question, he can joke it out from that situation. I don't know this guy, but i loved the way he delivers his speech, and it is millions of miles better than our prime minister does.

Am I the love doctor?.

I've not blogged for a long long time now. My last post was just a short and sloppy job of uploading several photos onto the server. The reason for this is because the time i had for blogging is just so limited that i rather not write anything here.

I've been in UK for a month now, and i'm starting to miss some of the guyz back in my country!. Sometimes i'd wonder why do you bother to think about the shyt that happens back in your country?. Right from where i am, i'd saw new of Malaysian rallying againts their government, racism,corruption and  lots more that i rather not talk about.

Since there is NO "The Star" paper here, most of the students here rely on the internet for news on their country, and boy oh boy, you've got to see it to believe it!. Now, if anybody asked me about my country of origin, i might give it a thought, and answer Hong Kong instead!.

Now, forget about politics, I'm too lazy to talk about the sloppy GUV back home, let's talk about something more interesting such as dating?. Here in U.K, i've had many followers, the reason for this is chiefly because i help settle many of their love problems. I gave the hopeless hope and the mindless ideas, and after all this they've gave me a tittle of Doc. Funny?....Taught so!!!!.

But seriously this shyt really happens. I've been so good at coaching them that i've failed to do so to myself. I've tried so hard to do something that i've never taught i could have done which is dating, and it failed on me miserably. I've tried to approach them, buy them a drink, asked them out, and all the thing that worked for the other patients, but it doesn't seem to work for me, and all of these failures pulled down my morality and repute. Honestly, i'd want to ask if any of you guyz ever ever been rejected for 4 times in a row for a date?, NO?.

Maybe i'm the only guy here to have failed to do so 4 times in a row, but what the hell? I don't blame my momma for giving birth to me. I've suspected the problem is because i don't know how to spot the "single" and "non-single" signs!.

Honestly,  i'd think that malaysian chinese student here are so friggin conservative man. They will never give a damn about you if you just walk in front of them and start a conversation, furthermore blind date never existed in their dictionary either.

There's also one thing which is definitely hate about these Malaysian chinese student here is thier habit of making defensive walls around their prized possessions.

These Chinese boys, goes to a club, drink, dance and build human walls around their female friends which is basically imprisoning them from the desperate guyz whose watching them from the outer wall. Cmon girls, you're here to have fun is it? why go to a club with your stewpet guy friends that keeps imprisoning you?.

You girls gotta get out of the circle, because the guyz that's been imprisoning you all along isn't going to give you happiness and the freedom you want, furthermore i dont even think he can afford to buy you a 12 carat diamond.

Those species of people will not go far in life, and if i were you, i would ditch those LOSER who's building the walls and go for the guy who's been watching on you across the dance floor all night.

You've only got 1 life, and my advice is don't give it to the LOSERS.

You may think i'm wrong, but i don't doubt my judgment. Hey, every doctor has his own prescription!!!!