Ford Galaxy 2.8 V6 Ghia | Spotted
What's your cheapest way into VW's legendary VR6? You're looking at it...
Guess how long Ford made its people-carrying Galaxy? I'll tell you: across three generations and a facelift for each of them, Ford was churning out the MPV for almost 30 years. Well, 27 years and 10 months to be precise, from June 1995 to April 2023. Yes, the last Galaxy was made just a couple of years ago; if someone had said it was gone before the 2020s, we’d have believed you. But seemingly the demand from Addison Lee, and a dedicated, heroic band of anti-SUV folk, kept the model going for a good while. No doubt you’ll spot half a dozen the next time you’re out.
While later versions were overshadowed a bit by the related S-Max and then the 4x4 boom, the first Galaxy was perfectly timed to take advantage of the MPV craze of the mid-'90s. Cars like the Renault Espace and Toyota Previa had shown what was possible, so Ford, VW and SEAT worked together on a rival. By the end of the 20th century, no mainstream range was complete without a people mover of some description, be it the Galaxy/Sharan/Alhambra trio, the Honda Shuttle, Vauxhall Sintra or Mazda, um, MPV. Maybe the shift to SUVs wasn’t such a bad idea after all…
Whatever, the Galaxy and its rangemates were always decent options: the engines were good, they drove well enough and looked smart enough given the very unsexy silhouette. Never as stylish as an Espace, nowhere near as boring as a Sintra would probably sum them up nicely. And being the good old days, there were engine choices aplenty. There were the regular four-cylinder petrol and diesel options, of course, but also a V6. And not just any V6, either, but the VR6 that’s so loved by VW fans across the world. In a seven-seat van. No wonder people still reminisce so fondly about the '90s.
Naturally, the Sharan and the Galaxy with the 2.8 are extremely hard to find these days. They sold in small numbers when new, because they weren’t very much faster than the humbler engines but cost a lot more to run; and nobody was ever using an MPV like this with future owners in mind. But here we have one, with the VR6 and fewer than 60,000 miles. It’s one of the later, facelifted models, and comes in Ghia spec, so you can show the kids what sat nav looked like before it was in your pocket. This 2.8 is an auto, which will make it even slower and thirstier - apparently official fuel consumption is 24 - though it’d be staggering to find any manuals were ever made, let alone survive to this day.
The MOT rap sheet is about as expected for a family-friendly fast(ish) Ford of the era - stuff has worn out, stuff has rusted - and it presents how a lot of 21-year-old cars do, which is to say pretty well. One side is better than the other, the pics would suggest. The dealer is promising new Pirellis and front brakes for sale, and there’s said to be some history with it. You’d have to hope for a 2.8-litre Galaxy to make it this far with so few miles that it’s enjoyed a reasonably gentle life by MPV standards.
And it’s £3,500, which must be the cheapest way into a VR6 in 2025. It could still serve as a retro family hauler, or perhaps even made into something to show - a Galaxy is probably rarer than an RS500 these days. Having soldiered into its third decade, this old Ford surely has some life left to live. What would you do with it?
SPECIFICATION | FORD GALAXY 2.8 GHIA
Engine: 2,792cc, V6
Transmission: 5-speed auto, front-wheel drive
Power (hp): 204@6,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 197@3,200rpm
MPG: 23.7
CO2: 286g/km
First registered: 2004
Recorded mileage: 58,220
Price new: N/A
Yours for: £3,500
Actually went and handled better than you'd expect, but no sports car mind
The S-Max was a big improvement which we also had I think iirc with the engine out of the Focus ST and again a manual g/box
This one's a bit of an oddball: not nice / desirable enough to be collectable, probably too good / expensive to be a shed.
Does this also sit a little higher than it should or is it just the alloy choice? Looks a bit strong at £3.5k with plenty of possibly family induced patina throughout.
I vividly remember the body-kitted VW and Seat variations though, I'm sure Max Power or similar had a supercharged version or something years back...
Actually went and handled better than you'd expect, but no sports car mind
The S-Max was a big improvement which we also had I think iirc with the engine out of the Focus ST and again a manual g/box
This one's a bit of an oddball: not nice / desirable enough to be collectable, probably too good / expensive to be a shed.
We had an Espace when the kids were little, the old boxy one, with the 2.0 petrol engine from the Renault 19, which I loved. My daughter now has a very cheap Touran for running around, so we're reliving the MPV days.
Those Alloys look suspiciously like Civic Type R ones, although they're likely not.
Cheapest way into a VR6? Maybe (although I reckon if you looked there are tatty mk3 Golf GTIs knocking around with the same engine for that money). Least desirable way into a VR6? Definitely.
Even in period it was an unusual choice, in 2002 we bought a brand new one, well a Sharan. We had a Merc ML but it was just hopeless on fuel, not that practical with three kids and a bit of a money pit, so got rid and bought a Sharan SL 1.9 diesel in Red, 115 bhp.
It did its job alright to be fair, good points were it was good on fuel, had plenty of space and could be converted basically into a small van, you had to lump five pretty heavy chairs out for the full effect but that did make it very useful. It wasnt much fun to drive, sort of stiff legged and devoid of much in the way of fun.
We upgraded to the then new shape Ford Galaxy, a 2007 model which was light years ahead, based on the Mondeo so was actually quite good to drive, didnt have to take the seats out to convert to van spec, was a posher version and had tellies in the back of the front seats so the kids could sit their chuckling away watching Edd, Ed and Eddie on DVD and ensure some peace. Had a bit more power being 138 bhp, felt like a proper car not an apology.
A diesel suited these kinds of cars as you want torque to get them moving but dont necessarily want outright power as you arent really wanting to go that fast in them, we rented a 2.3 version on holiday like the one here and that was alarmingly bad when fully laden and rather lacking in power. We had a "Dodge Caravan" in the US with like a 270 bhp V6, got home and drove the Galaxy and it felt better to drive, you dont want all that power at the top of the rev range, big slug of torque to 3000 rpm and change gear.
Not sure who the hell would want this old woofer, I can be charitable about most motors but three and a half grand for this ? Its rare for a reason as most are dead and nobody, even in 2004 wanted a V6 one, I mean its probably nicer than a VW PD but then it will only do half the MPG, on a good day.
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