Ford Galaxy Range : GALAXY QUEST

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Ford shared the development of the old Galaxy MPV with other manufacturers. This time round they're doing better on their own. Andy Enright reports

Pride, it is said, often comes before a fall. The big cheeses at Ford Europe certainly hope not because they're rather proud of their latest Galaxy model and can't afford any hiccups in its projected march to the top of the MPV sales charts. This version of the Galaxy marks a change in philosophy for Ford and it's one that they firmly believe has resulted in a markedly superior offering.

The old Galaxy was a joint design shared with Volkswagen and SEAT, but this latest generation car is all Ford's own work, sharing components only with its S-MAX stablemate, a car offering a sportier take on the 7-seater large MPV theme. Prices start at around £20,000, a couple of thousand more than the cheapest S-MAX - but then you are getting a more spacious vehicle. The Galaxy range has recently been enhanced to counter touch opposition from cars like Renault's Espace and Chrysler's Voyager, the main news being the addition of a 175PS 2.2-litre Duratorq TDCi diesel engine to the line-up, along with extra equipment features. Unlike its predecessor, this Galaxy is built entirely in-house by Ford at the company's Genk Assembly Plant in Belgium. This is a factory that is successfully benchmarking Ford's flagship Saarlouis facility in terms of quality - and that's important in view of the build quality issues suffered by some first generation Galaxy models. No sign of anything along those lines so far with the post-2006 generation models. Like the S-MAX, this Galaxy's design marks a departure from Ford's previous `New Edge' styling theme which, it appears, is now old hat. Instead, Ford's latest direction is called `kinetic design' and follows the lead of their iosis concept car. Whereas New Edge was all about sharp edges, rakish planes and boldly intersecting arcs, kinetic design is more organic in its look, and features more voluptuous, muscular curves and sporty, dynamic stances.

"The Galaxy looks set to extend its lease on the No. 1 spot in the MPV sales charts"

That said, you won't need to clock the badge on the back of the Galaxy to figure out what it is. The front end of the car is immediately recognisable as a Galaxy but put the old and new cars side by side and there is, in fact, very little commonality. The face of the Galaxy also looks broadly similar to that of the S-MAX, due to the fact that the head lights and bonnet are the only body parts the two cars share. The big change with the Galaxy's styling over its predecessor comes in the glasshouse. The old car featured a low, horizontal waistline whereas the latest car wears its belt a little higher and features a far more rakish wedge shape. You'd even go as far as to say this latest Galaxy is a bit of a looker. Move round to the rear end and the good news continues. Big tail lamp pods nuzzle up against the black surround of the rear window glass and the low rear valance gives the Galaxy a dynamic `sucked to the tarmac' sort of look. Were the S-MAX not to exist, it would be easy to imagine a seriously sporting version of the Galaxy. That the S-MAX is even better looking and more dynamic means that it gets the big horsepower and the sexy accessories. The Galaxy isn't without its appeal though. Let's get to the heart of any MPV style vehicle - the seats. Ford's designers appear to have become fed up with Vauxhall taking all the plaudits for clever seating solutions and have developed a system of their own. FFS (Ford FoldFlatSystem before you attribute a baser meaning to that acronym) allows 32 different seating permutations. The second and third rows of seats all fold flat to form a genuinely huge load floor which measures 2.0 by 1.15 metres - that's about as big as a double bed. Ford offer a 145PS 2.0-litre Duratec petrol engine and a quartet of diesels. The entry-level diesel is the 100PS Duratorq TDCi 1.8 and there's also a peppier 125PS version of this powerplant on offer. Those looking for the sort of torque that makes short work of hauling seven people up a motorway incline will prefer the 140PS 2.0-litre Duratorq TDCi unit, an engine that delivers a seamless surge of power - 340Nm to be exact. Not surprisingly, the 175PS 2.2-litre version of his unit has even more pulling power. Another 2.0-litre variant is a flexifuel version (FFV), capable of running on any mix of bioethanol and petrol in the same fuel tank. 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. 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. It may seem a little strange that Ford are hoping for business as usual from a car so radically improved but this is a market that has developed rapidly. Merely being good is now no longer good enough. Nothing short of excellent will cut it. It seems that with the latest Galaxy, Ford have a genuine reason to be proud.

Facts At A Glance
CAR: Ford Galaxy range
PRICES: £20,595-£26,945 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUPS: 10-12
CO2 EMISSIONS: 166-197g/km
PERFORMANCE: [TDCi 140] Max Speed 121mph / 0-60mph 9.7s
FUEL CONSUMPTION: [TDCi 140] (combined) 43mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front, side and side curtain airbags / ABS / EBA
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Height, 4820/1884/1691mm