Ford Galaxy TDCI Range Car Review

Facts At A Glance
Car: Ford Galaxy TDCi range
Prices: £19,800-£26,000 - on the road INSURANCE GROUPS: 10-12
Emissions: 125-172g/km
Performance: [TDCi 140] Max Speed 121mph / 0-60mph 9.7s
Fuel Consumption: [TDCi 140] (combined) 43mpg
Safety: Twin front, side & side curtain airbags / ABS / EBA
Dimensions: Length/Width/Height, 4820/1884/1691mm

TICKING ALL THE BOXES

Our Rating: 7.6 / 10

Ford’s original Galaxy was always a big seller but one suspected that if Ford was given a clean sheet of paper it would have been even better. This time round there have been no compromises. The diesel versions are the big sellers and Andy Enright gets behind the wheel…

Building a winning full-sized MPV appears easy. Make it drive like a car but feature enough space and clever versatility to wow people in the showrooms. Then just price it competitively. Answer these simple criteria and you’ll take the market by storm. Yet if you look at the people carriers out there, none fit the bill. They all either offer acres of space but drive like buses or handle sportily but cost a fortune to run and don’t give too much over a typical estate car. Here’s one that would seem to tick all of the boxes- the latest diesel Ford Galaxy.

Not so much a car as a range of different models powered by four distinct engines, the Galaxy diesel range has a lot going for it. Let’s take a look at the powerplant options first. The entry-level diesel is the 100bhp Duratorq TDCi 1.8 and there’s also a peppier 125bhp version of this unit on offer. Those looking for the sort of torque that makes short work of hauling seven people up a motorway incline will prefer the 140bhp 2.0-litre Duratorq TDCi, an engine that delivers a surge of 340Nm in overboost conditions. With a six-speed manual transmission as standard, this engine offers a decent compromise between power and economy. If you want more, there’s also a 175PS 2.2-litre TDCi variant on offer.

Prices have been kept reasonable too, with the entry-level diesel starting at £19,800. That’ll get you a 100bhp Edge model. Move up to a 125bhp version of the same trim level and you’ll be looking at £20,600. Independent figures supplied for Carcost by Emmox have shown that the Galaxy Zetec 1.8TDCi 125PS will cost £2,493 less to run over three years/60,000 miles than the Citroën C8 SX HDi 2.2DT 130. And the Galaxy Ghia 2.0TDCi 140PS will cost £2,533 less over three years/60,000 miles than Renault's Espace Expression 2.2dCi 150. That is a saving of more than £16 a week, every week, for three years. The Carcost comparison also shows that fuel costs and service, maintenance and repair costs are lower over three years/60,000 miles than those of comparable VW Sharan, Renault Espace, Citroen C8 and Toyota Previa models. Additionally, the CAP and Carcost figures both show the new seven-seat Galaxy to offer strong residual values – beating virtually all of the competition and bettering even the current Galaxy by up to seven per cent.

With the diesel line up starting at Edge, running through Zetec and topping out at Ghia level, the range-topping model is the 6-speed 2.2-litre TDCi Ghia, priced at £26,000. Bear in mind that this is a well-equipped full-sized MPV and that it’s easy to specify a compact MPV up to near these prices. The affordability side of things is well covered. What’s the Galaxy like to drive?

In a word, sharp. The suspension and steering are both reassuring and all three engines have enough torque to serve up a fun drive. Even the mid range engine will accelerate to 60mph in 11.4 seconds and run on to a 113mph top speed. At the same time this 1.8-litre 125bhp powerplant will return 45mpg on the combined cycle and emit just 125g/km of carbon dioxide. An interesting option available to Galaxy buyers is an active suspension system. Continuously Controlled Damping (CCD) provides damper valve control every two tenths of a second in order to guarantee the best balance between comfort and road contact. The heave, roll and pitch of the Galaxy are controlled by the system, improving body control and thus comfort. This gives the Galaxy additional agility and sure-footedness, especially when the vehicle is heavily loaded.

Safety is one area in which the Galaxy excels. An ultra-rigid passenger cell is a good start point, but there’s also a recently-developed Interactive Vehicle Dynamics Control (IVDC) system that controls all of the other safety systems in a cohesive manner. When those include that Continuously Controlled Damping (CDDC), Electronic Stability Program (ESP), Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with Forward Alert (FA) and Collision Mitigation By Braking, that’s quite some integration task. Factor in the anti-lock braking system, Hill Launch Assist (HLA) and a Tyre Pressure Monitoring System and you have a wide array of available safety functions that Ford predict will easily be enough to net the Galaxy a coveted five-star EuroNCAP safety score.

No MPV worth its salt will be with