Ford Tourneo Connect Review and Prices

The Ford Tourneo Connect is a boxy family car with a very spacious cabin and plenty of boot space. It doesn’t look quite as stylish as many mid-size SUVs such as the Skoda Kodiaq and SEAT Ateca, but it’s more affordable and significantly more practical.

Take the Ford Tourneo Connect’s cabin, for example. Even professional basketball players have enough headroom to stretch out in the front and you won’t have anything to complain about in the legroom department, either. Space in the back is just as plentiful, with enough head and legroom for six-foot-tall passengers to sit comfortably behind an equally tall driver.

The central rear seat is nice and wide (if not quite as spacious as that in a Peugeot Rifter) and there isn’t too much of a lump in the floor to get in the way of your middle passenger’s feet.

But the best part about the Ford Tourneo Connect’s rear seats, however, is just how easy they are to access. The rear doors slide rather than swing open, and the Tourneo’s tall roof and boxy body mean you can step inside without having to stoop down. If you’re looking for a roomy MPV with room for two extra passengers, the seven-seat Ford Grand Tourneo Connect is worth a look.

Boot space is another area where the Ford Tourneo Connect excels. You can cram in 520 litres of luggage in the boot with the back seats in place and an absolutely massive 2,410 litres with them folded away. That’s slightly less than the likes of the Vauxhall Combo Life can manage with the back seats up but almost 400 litres more space with them flipped down.

Unfortunately, the Ford Tourneo Connect’s interior doesn’t look quite as slick as the Vauxhall’s – there are a few too many buttons cluttering up its bulky centre console and the standard 4.2-inch infotainment screen is very small and hard to read. You can pay extra to get a slicker 6.0-inch touchscreen display, but this still isn’t a patch on the smartphone-compatible systems you can get in the Vauxhall Combo Life and Peugeot Rifter.

Thankfully, you don’t have to pay extra for the Ford Tourneo Connect’s standard safety kit – it comes with lane-keeping assist and automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection to help prevent avoidable collisions as standard. You can also rest easy knowing that the Tourneo Connect earned a five-star safety rating from testing body Euro NCAP when it was assessed in 2013.

White might be a colour to avoid when you’re speccing your ideal Ford Tourneo Connect – unless, of course, you want people to think you’re a plumber…

It’s not just safe, however – the Ford Tourneo Connect’s a doddle to drive, too. You get an excellent view out of its huge windows and the light steering means your arms won’t start to ache every time you manoeuvre into a tight parking space. Just make sure you leave enough space behind you to open the absolutely vast boot lid.

The Ford Tourneo Connect fidgets slightly over rough road surfaces – especially at slow speeds – and its tall body leans quite considerably on twisty country roads. This is fairly common among tall van-like MPVs, however.

It’s not all bad news, though – go for the most powerful 120hp diesel model and it’ll have no trouble cruising along with four friends on board and plenty of luggage in the boot. Ford claims it’ll return 61.4mpg, but you can expect to see a figure closer to 50mpg in normal driving conditions.

There’s also a 100hp version of this 1.5-litre diesel engine that’s worth a look if you’re on a stricter budget and a cheaper 100hp 1.0-litre petrol that’ll suit you best if you rarely venture out of town. Both feel pretty sluggish, however – especially if you regularly pack your car’s boot to the brim.

That said, if you’re looking for a very practical MPV and you value boot space and passenger room over style and speed, then the Ford Tourneo Connect is well worth considering.