Ford Grand Tourneo Connect

[TwistingMyMelon]

Since having another baby , along with a toddler and two teens needed a new car, wanted something rugged with a huge boot and two occasional seats . Wasn't keen on most MPVs for various reasons, was tempted by a Galaxy but it seemed quite an old design.

Following a stressful few months I wanted tough no nonsense motoring !

Looked into getting a mad Jap import like a stepwagon, but the supply of parts put me off

Then on to vans, Transporters are nice, but too pricey and most other vans didnt have the spec I wanted and the 60mph motorway limit put me off. Then there was the Caddy Maxi life, but the specs were quite basic and I could never find one for sale within a hundred miles of my house.

That left me with the Ford GTC, local Ford Dealer with a good rep had one, detailed inspection and test drive , then a bit of money knocked off and a thorough service: Job Jobbed. They even put new Goodyear tyres on it and fixed a couple of minors raised in the MOT.



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Overall I like it, no nonsense with a great spec and good value. I wish I tried the petrol Ecoboost auto as the 1.6 diesel is hard work at times, you always need to be in exactly the right gear , otherwise no power at all, I think I make about 40% more gear changes than my last petrol manual! Let alone being used to a big lazy diesel auto

Done over 2000 miles in a month and drives great on the motorway, even with 6 of us and lots of stuff it cruises at 85 nicely and has great visibility, cruise . In fact it drives better laden up than empty! Good CC, mirrors and stereo help. In fact I prefer using it for long journeys than the Volvo XC70 I used to use as I find the Ford more comfy!

I st you not...all this stuff for 2 nights away:




Overall like it, the engine is a bit hard work at times and with it being based on a van I thought it would feel a bit tougher...the build is a bit paperlike in places, but as I said I like it. Also the turning circle is a PITA!! I nearly got stuck in a small courtyard car park the other day!

Edited by TwistingMyMelon on Wednesday 4th April 17:45

[v8ben]

We to have a Grand Tourneo Connect, it's the ultimate Toddler and bike wagon. Huge space and surprisingly relaxing to drive. Combined with a TVR Chimaera for light relief when diesel & toddlers prove too much!

[GIYess]

Nice looking machine and looks like a lot of space. What is the suspension and rear seating comfort like? We may be in the position to need a new vehicle ourselves soon. Is there 7 seats?
Whats the main attraction of it over a galaxy or similar?
Sorry if you have already covered these.

Edited by GIYess on Thursday 5th April 09:11

[bungz]

Like that alot.

Fancied a newer swb but the cab seems to swallow up alot of room compared to the old ones, could be a illusion though.

The 1.6 is the PSA jobby isn't it? Boxes on those always tend to be long geared.

[TwistingMyMelon]

GIYess said:

Nice looking machine and looks like a lot of space. What is the suspension and rear seating comfort like? We may be in the position to need a new vehicle ourselves soon. Is there 7 seats?
Whats the main attraction of it over a galaxy or similar?
Sorry if you have already covered these.

Edited by GIYess on Thursday 5th April 09:11

Yeah there is a lot of space, fully loaded up and it still feels spacious, if you are tall it would be a godsend, my 5ft partner can stand up in the back!!

Yes it has 7 seats, 2 fold up from the boot, same system as Smax and Galaxy, you can also take the seats out the boot, but Ford advise the seats are "non removable". 7 seats are only available on the Grand Tourneo , the normal tourneo is 5 seat only.

The back 3rd row seats are ok for teenagers and slim adults , im 5ft 7" and can sit in them fine , you can slide the seats forwards and back to increase the boot . 6ft stocky blokes wont fit in the 3 rd row back seats but anyone else will be OK

Slight downside is that isofix is only available on the outer middle row seats, as we have 2 x isofix seats its harder to get to the final row seats when we use them. As we only need one of the seats, you can access it from the boot . The Galaxy has 3 isofix seats in middle row, so that would solve that issue as we could have an isofix in the middle seat of the middle row.

Suspension seems ok, over bad roads you start to notice its van roots. On the other side of the coin it excels when fully laden, with 6 passengers and a mini van load of stuff it was really stable and suspension wasnt too saggy, brakes and torque of engine good.

Galaxy seemed an old design to me, plus I wanted a large level bootspace to maximise space for carrying bikes and kids stuff which the Tourneo is better at. The Galaxy has a better range of engines and handles better, but the Tourneo is more no nonsense and rugged.

I could also get a 2014/5 Tourneo for the price of a 2012 Galaxy, they were cheaper to begin with though , I also wanted the sliding doors and large side doors , to make child seats easier, its a pain getting a toddler into a seat using a normal car door in a crowded car park

Yeah as above the engine is very long geared which helps with motorway use.

[TwistingMyMelon]

bungz said:

Like that alot.

Fancied a newer swb but the cab seems to swallow up alot of room compared to the old ones, could be a illusion though.

The 1.6 is the PSA jobby isn't it? Boxes on those always tend to be long geared.

Yeah the cabs are huge, I feel like a midget in the front, a plus for taller drivers, less so for shorter ones like me!

[GIYess]

Great. Thanks very much for the very informative reply.