A MIXTURE of good old fashioned and all brand new is coming together as Ford launches one of the most technologically sophisticated cars in the world.

The new S-MAX is bristling with advanced features including a device which can stop drivers getting a speeding ticket.

The third generation of Ford's ground-breaking sports activity vehicle is the first car ever to be fitted with a system that knows the speed limit wherever it is and can stop the vehicle exceeding it.

It works from an array of cameras, radars, lasers and satellite signals all designed to make the S-MAX one of the safest cars on the road.

Since 2007 - when it was voted Car of the Year on its debut - the S-MAX has been a vehicle which caters for everything a family needs in a car.

It looks sleek, drives in a sporty fashion, carries plenty and if needs be can transport seven.

Transforming the seating configuration can now be done at the push of a button whereby each of the five rear seats folds down automatically creating van like cargo proportions of more than 2,000 litres.

In regular use as a five-seater there's 700 litres of boot space which is enough for everyone's belongings, even at holiday time.

The new S-MAX will be arriving in the summer priced from £24,545 - an increase of some £1,400 over the current entry-level model.

The base version is now fitted with a 1.5-litre EcoBoost petrol engine which produces 160ps thanks to turbocharging.

Diesels costs from £25,245 for a 2.0-litre 120ps version and top out at £32,260 for the range topping model which comes fitted with Ford's new biturbo engine developing 210ps.

All versions of the new S-MAX come with an eight-inch touchscreen, an electric parking brake and Ford's SYNC connectivity system but, in a return to convention out goes a tyre repair kit and instead the car comes with a proper spare wheel.

It is a welcome return and does away with a set up that has landed many an owner with a hefty bill to replace a flat tyre which could have been repaired had it not been filled with gunge.

Sat nav is standard on all but the basic Zetec models and so is the new speed limiter while top grade Titanium Sport versions come with uprated suspension, extra body kit and sit on 18-inch alloys.

Ford is also breaking new ground with the latest S-MAX by offering it with all wheel drive which can be had either with a 150ps diesel in Titanium specification or a more powerful 180ps automatic on the Sport model.

The 4x4 set up adds £2,500 to the price but go the whole hog the and for another £2,000 the new S-MAX Sport can be fitted with leather upholstery and LED headlamps as part of an extras pack.

However, with such equipment the S-MAX is in the elite league and dressed to impress.

The coupe like looks of the original have been enhanced with a longer bonnet, sleeker headlamps clusters and Ford's new-look grille while the vent panels aft of the front wheel arches - an S-MAX trademark - are now triangular just as they are on the potent Focus RS.

With sculpted body lines at the side and across the rear it looks well planted on the road - and it is.

The 180ps Titanium Sport diesel we tried was not only slick through its six-speed box but also quick under acceleration.

Top speed is 131mph, 0 to 60 comes up in 9.7 seconds yet with the help of a stop/start system Ford is claiming an official fuel return of 56.5mpg with emissions of 129g/km - the lowest CO2 figure in the new S-MAX range and one which equates to £114 a month for business users paying 20 per cent tax.

Inside, the S-MAX remains supremely comfortable as a five seater. The rearmost seats are really only for youngsters and even then only for fairly short trips.

Additional comfort features compared to the previous versions include individual air conditioning controls for the middle row passengers and vent outlets in the ceiling above each row of seats.

From the driver's perspective the instrument cluster is a semi-virtual affair with conventional dials linked to a graphical display, the steering wheel can be power adjusted as well as heated and there is an extra storage area in between the centre console and the front bulkhead.

It's a feature similar to that found on Volvos - a brand owned by Ford in the not too distant past - and so is the band of warning lights which illuminates in front of the driver when the new forward collision alert is activated.

Other safety features include lane departure warning, blind spot monitors and another first for Ford with the introduction of a 180 degree forward facing camera system to help negotiate obscured junctions.

There is another camera at the back to help manoeuvring, automatic parking systems which now include a radar to warn of side approaching traffic when reversing and on the convenience front a powered tailgate is an option.

With its predecessors regarded as some of the most desirable and practical family vehicles around Ford is rightly bullish about the prospects for the new S-MAX.

Kitted out to the highest level it is the family Ford that's nudging £40,000 but in the people mover league it is in a class of its own - one of the few cars that really does everything that is needed.