I've been looking for a Galaxy for a while now but circumstances seem to have conspired to prevent the acquisition. Mainly having to spend large lumps of money on the Mondeo.
Now another has arisen. I discovered the Grand Tourneo Connect. Yes, it's based on a van. Yes, it's only 1.6. etc. etc.
Don't care. It's substantially cheaper than the Galaxy and has at least as much space.
The question is: which platform is it based on? If it's the EUCD (Mondeo, Galaxy, etc) then it has legs, for me. If it's the C1 (Focus, Kuga) then probably not. I ask because I can find information on the non-Grand Connect - it's the C1. But the Grand has three seats across the front in some configurations and I don't believe even normal sized people could fit in that easily if it was based on the Focus.
The Grand is rare enough that the nearest I can find is a substantial distance away and I'm not going to trail all the way there to find it's NBG. If anyone know, could they shout out, please?
If you have any experience with one, that would be interesting, too. If it is a real dog, I'm back to haunting the Galaxy ads.
To answer my own questions:
It's based on the C1, so the seats are narrower than Mondeo/Galaxy ones. Not comfortable, for me. However, it does seem to be a viable alternative for those looking for an MPV with a limited budget. The one I saw was over Ã,£5000 cheaper than an entirely comparable Sharan across the aisle. The older ones are remarkably cheap - maybe Ã,£5000 for one three years old with less than 20,000miles. Which possibly says something....
I'd gone to see a Ghia Galaxy that ticked all the boxes but was a real shed when I got there. Low mileage for the year but clearly not looked after at all. The excessively persistent salesperson eventually asked me to make an offer. I said I would take it if they paid me Ã,£1000. Probably a bad move.
Quote from: mike wilson on March 04, 2016, 09:51:21 AM
I've been looking for a Galaxy for a while now but circumstances seem to have conspired to prevent the acquisition. Mainly having to spend large lumps of money on the Mondeo.
Now another has arisen. I discovered the Grand Tourneo Connect. Yes, it's based on a van. Yes, it's only 1.6. etc. etc.
Don't care. It's substantially cheaper than the Galaxy and has at least as much space.
The question is: which platform is it based on? If it's the EUCD (Mondeo, Galaxy, etc) then it has legs, for me. If it's the C1 (Focus, Kuga) then probably not. I ask because I can find information on the non-Grand Connect - it's the C1. But the Grand has three seats across the front in some configurations and I don't believe even normal sized people could fit in that easily if it was based on the Focus.
The Grand is rare enough that the nearest I can find is a substantial distance away and I'm not going to trail all the way there to find it's NBG. If anyone know, could they shout out, please?
If you have any experience with one, that would be interesting, too. If it is a real dog, I'm back to haunting the Galaxy ads.
Can't really comment on a tourneo grand connect but I have a 14 plate 1.6tdi transit connect work van, it's only base model but has air con,leccy Windows,comfortable seats with lumba support and a dab radio. Got to say it's nice to drive and even with the tiny engine it gets down road well despite the back being full of heavy tools and train bits. A massive improvement on the old connect.
I rented a Galaxy for a week a fortnight ago.
What a disappointment. Very poor driving position, for me. I couldn't get the seat far enough back to be comfortable and it was much narrower than I was expecting. Maybe even as narrow as the Connect's seat. Because the seat was further forward than I wanted, it felt like I was having to reach back for the gear leaver. I couldn't rest my feet properly and, at first, my left foot kept catching the footrest. Got used to that after the first day but I had a couple of excitements coming to roundabouts and not being able to disconnect the drive. This was a base Zetec, so maybe one with more adjustable seats would be a better option but, at the moment, I'm having severe second thoughts about buying one.
In all other aspects, I was very favourably impressed.
Can't say I had any problems with the seat going back far enough, I'm quite tall but maybe there was a problem with that particular car.
Have a look in at a dealers and try some different specs