The Galaxy boot: spacious and practical, it’s easy to fill up. There’s also an additional storage compartment in the boot floor
Business Car Manager: Editor’s Blog
USUALLY, when you see a Ford Galaxy, it has the signwriting of a private hire car firm on it – more often than not it will be that of Addison Lee, which has made it their vehicle of choice.
Little wonder in many ways. It’s perfect for private hire duties: comfortable, with a large boot for airport runs, and when required can take up to seven people.
Little wonder, too, that the Ford Galaxy walked away with the best MPV title in the recent Professional Driver awards for private hire and chauffeur cars. No surprise for me, as I was one of the judges.
I’ve now got a Galaxy for a test drive period. It’s the 2.0 TDCi and I can see why private hire firms love them: 50% are sold into this market. But what of the other 50%?
Well, it might come as little surprise to note that they make very good business cars for those business drivers that need something a little more spacious than the sportier looking S-MAX. The Galaxy led the fleet market in the MPV sector for August’s car sales, so the car is readily finding a home.
To make the point, the boot is vast with the final row of seats folded. With all seats fully down the interior is truly cavernous. So it was hardly a problem to load up and motor down for a long weekend to Centre Parcs at Longleat with a couple of other families. It’s an annual event, which is usually reserved for camping, but this year we rang the changes – and given the weather this summer, it was a smart thing to be housed under a roof rather than in a tent.
And what really impresses about the Galaxy is the ride quality. It’s super smooth. Passengers rarely feel anything other than a gentle wafting along. There’s no lurching round corners either, because the car stays amazingly flat. If there is a criticism it’s the engine and road noise that increases on the motorway – something quietly suppressed around town.
The revised styling also makes the car sharper, more engaging visually. Spot an older version and it almost looks like a completely different vehicle.
I was not alone at Centre Parcs with the Galaxy. Clearly it’s a favourite company car for drivers with families. And with 40mpg, the Galaxy won’t make refuelling the car painful too often.
Very soon, the range of Ford MPV type vehicles is going to expand further beyond the Galaxy and S-MAX. Later this year the all-new Ford C-MAX joins the line up in a standard (five-seater) and Grand C-MAX (seven-seater) range. It will make for an impressive Ford MPV armoury – practical, good-looking, and easy to maintain, business car drivers with families should find little problem in finding a model that provides all they need.
For more on the new C-MAX, read our news story All-new Ford C-MAX range focuses on value.
