Where each one leads
Ford S-Max
Ahead on none of the like-for-like measures.
Polestar Polestar 2
- Fewer Polestar Polestar 2 cars in the Netherlands carry an illogical odometer record (1.4% against 4.8%).
- New Polestar Polestar 2 cars registered in Europe in 2022 average 0 g/km of CO₂ on the WLTP test, against 158 for the Ford S-Max in 2022.
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
| Ford S-Max | Polestar Polestar 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | — | 2020–2025 |
| New cars registered in Europe | 339,085 (2010–2022) | 46,106 (2020–2022) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | 65,235 | 34,687 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | 7,670 | 14,873 |
| In traffic in Finland | 3,776 | 9,930 |
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
| Ford S-Max | Polestar Polestar 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | 65% | — |
| … against cars of the same age | −4% | — |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | 4.8% | 1.4% |
| US owner complaints | — | 594 |
| Most complaints about | — | Back over prevention |
| Model year with most complaints | — | 2022 (305) |
| US recall campaigns | — | 7 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | — | 401 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | — | 7 |
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).
Safety
| Ford S-Max | Polestar Polestar 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| NHTSA overall rating | — | 5★ (2025) |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).
Fuel, emissions and price
| Ford S-Max | Polestar Polestar 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol hybrid | 7.1 l/100 km | — |
| Real-world use in Europe, diesel | 7.4 l/100 km | — |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | 158 g/km | 0 g/km |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | 119 kW (160 hp) | 170 kW (228 hp) |
| Average mass in running order | 1,907 kg | 2,095 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | €44,568 | €53,900 |
| Average odometer in Finland | 272,000 km | 68,000 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).