Now, we give all our test cars a thorough workout to get the lowdown for readers but this week’s motor faced a particularly daunting challenge.

I was lucky enough to be offered a long weekend break to try out a newly-refurbished seaside hotel with ‘Her Indoors’... but the drawback was the hotel in question is in St Mawes, Cornwall, meaning a round trip of well over 650 miles.

The challenge was not so much the distance as the six hours or so each way as ‘you know who’ gets bored in a car before we reach the end of the driveway!

The vehicle selected, courtesy of those nice people at Ford, was the revised for 2016 S-MAX in Titanium AWD 2.0-litre diesel form with the six speed manual gearbox and a few key extras - the most useful for this marathon journey being adaptive cruise control with collision avoidance and intelligent speed assistance (£900).

Also very handy was upgraded SONY navigation (£450) and active park assist with front and rear cameras as well as the standard air conditioning (yes they do get sunshine in Cornwall), keyless entry and start, DAB radio and supportive sports-style front seats.

The fact this S-MAX was the, new for 2016 four-wheel-drive version, meant sure-footed grip in all conditions, especially on those tight and twisty south west country roads.

The Ford AWD system is adaptive – meaning it sends more power to the front or rear wheels, depending on which requires more traction. It makes the car feel planted, even on slippery surfaces like a wave-lashed seafront or dealing with our famously unpredictable weather.

The trade off is that the AWD version is around £1,500 more than FWD versions, is slightly slower and fuel consumption is, as you would expect, slightly worse. None of these were apparent, however, on our marathon journey as the car returned an overall MPG figure of over 50, which is not too far behind Ford’s claimed extra urban consumption of 57.

Also, the MPV cruised effortlessly at the legal limit with surprisingly little wind noise given that its interior space-led design means a somewhat van-like profile.

Around 12 per cent of cars sold in the UK have four-wheel drive and Ford wants to cash in on that by offering family models like the Mondeo, Galaxy and S-MAX with its intelligent all-wheel-drive system.

On the outside, the 2016 S-MAX has smart 17” alloy wheels, LED daytime running lights, auto lights and wipers and smart chrome detailing on bumpers and bodywork.

And speaking of space, this car has lots of it. The S-MAX is a true seven seater which could transport a full complement of adults over long distances in comfort. There’s loads of head and legroom and a decent 285-litre boot with all seven seats in place. Fold the third row of seats and you free up 965 litres; drop the middle row too and there’s up to 2,020 litres.

The S-MAX is, as the name suggests, all about maximising the interior space which was just as well as my VIP passenger indulged in a little retail therapy during our otherwise relaxing break meaning we returned with half a garden centre, some chunky door furniture and several large vintage serving plates!

The S-MAX range starts at £25,145 for the base Zetec 1.5 EcoBoost petrol through £26,995 in Titanium trim and £30,695 for a Titanium Sport.

Top of the range price-wise is the 2.0-litre diesel 180 Titanium Sport at £35,695, but the £32,995 2WD diesel Duratorq auto 210, with over 200bhp, is the fastest, hitting 62 in just 8.8 seconds and going on to a top speed of 135. Also, a premium AWD Vignale version was unveiled earlier this year.