Where each one leads
BMW 2 Series
- Against cars of the same age, the BMW 2 Series comes out better at its first MOT test (passes 4% more often than average) than the Ford S-Max (passes 4% less often than average).
- Fewer BMW 2 Series cars in the Netherlands carry an illogical odometer record (1.5% against 4.8%).
- New BMW 2 Series cars registered in Europe in 2022 average 122 g/km of CO₂ on the WLTP test, against 158 for the Ford S-Max in 2022.
- Measured by the cars' own fuel meters, the diesel BMW 2 Series uses 5.9 l/100 km on the road, the Ford S-Max 7.4.
Ford S-Max
Ahead on none of the like-for-like measures.
Too close to call: real-world fuel use in Europe, petrol hybrid (l/100 km).
Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare
At a glance
| BMW 2 Series | Ford S-Max | |
|---|---|---|
| New cars registered in Europe | 652,511 (2010–2022) | 339,085 (2010–2022) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | 144,756 | 65,235 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | 29,629 | 7,670 |
| In traffic in Finland | 5,282 | 3,776 |
EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).
Reliability and problems
| BMW 2 Series | Ford S-Max | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | 85% | 65% |
| … against cars of the same age | +4% | −4% |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | 1.5% | 4.8% |
Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).
Fuel, emissions and price
| BMW 2 Series | Ford S-Max | |
|---|---|---|
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol | 7.7 l/100 km | — |
| Real-world use in Europe, diesel | 5.9 l/100 km | 7.4 l/100 km |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol hybrid | 7.0 l/100 km | 7.1 l/100 km |
| Real-world use in Europe, diesel hybrid | 6.1 l/100 km | — |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | 122 g/km | 158 g/km |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | 115 kW (154 hp) | 119 kW (160 hp) |
| Average mass in running order | 1,609 kg | 1,907 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | €47,167 | €44,568 |
| Average odometer in Finland | 114,000 km | 272,000 km |
Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).