Germany ’s largest car magazine AutoBild , along with its 23 sister publications in Europeand a jury of leading car specialists have given the prized “Auto 1 of Europe” award to the Ford S-MAX.

In addition to this overall victory, the dynamic crossover S-MAX with its unmistakable “kinetic design” styling also took the individual trophy for the minivan category in the Auto 1 awards.

These awards are the latest in a long list of accolades for the Ford S-MAX, already crowned 'Car of the Year 2007'. Ford S-MAX has now taken over fifteen national or individual magazine awards, including Autobild magazine's 'Design Award 2006'.

John Fleming, President and CEO of Ford of Europe and Bernhard Mattes, Chairman of the Management Board at Ford Werke GmbH accepted the Auto 1 awards from Dr. Andreas Wiele, Chairman of the magazine division at Axel Springer AG, during the Auto 1 Gala Event at Espace Sécheron in Geneva.

The run-up to the awards took the form of nationwide assessments within the various participating countries; more than 210,000 AutoBild readers took part in Germany alone. In total, around 40 million readers throughout Europe were invited to choose their favorite cars.

B efore the final decision was made the top models from each country underwent another round of demanding tests at the hands of a specialist jury.

These tests were undertaken at the test facility of the tyre manufacturer Bridgestone in Aprilia near Rome, Italy. The professional jury consisted of 24 managing editors, five technology specialists and racing drivers Walter Röhrl, Christina Surer, Mattias Ekström, Filipe Albuquerque and Paul Belmondo. In this final round the Ford S-MAX prevailed over well-known competitors like BMW X5, Mercedes CL, Opel Corsa, Volvo C30 and VW Eos.

Commenting on the result John Fleming said: “This is fantastic news and these awards fill us with pride. Together with the other awards that have been won by the Ford S-MAX this latest accolade shows that this car has touched a nerve with the public and the specialist media.

"For us, this is further proof that our renewed emphasis on dynamic new products that connect emotionally with customers is making a positive contribution to Ford of Europe's business success. We are confident that the all-new Ford Mondeo will continue this momentum and generate similar interest and enthusiasm when we launch this summer,” Fleming added.