Ford Connect Grand Tourneo Active. It’s all in the dimensions.
The new people carrier on the street is from Ford. It’s the Connect that is built alongside Volkswagen’s new Caddy. Nothing wrong with this kind of platform sharing, though it does leave a new owner of such a vehicle with few choices. Citroën or Ford. In that, I mean Stelantis or VW Ford Commercial Group or VFCG. They don’t have a name for this joint venture yet. It will come but sadly I doubt it’ll be as snappy or memorable as VAG. The new Transit is to share the same platform as the new VW Transporter. I digress a bit because, despite the choice, it’s down to badging and brand loyalty.
Here we have a vehicle that is such good value for money. Prices start from around £27,000. Ford’s website still shows the previous model in the configurator. For your £31,880 as tested, you have a vehicle that can move 7. Will carry a lot more if you remove some seats and even more if you fold down the remaining 3.
This makes it ideal if you need just one vehicle. It won’t look out of place at the Ritz. The £600 optional metallic blue paint sees to that and it sits on allow wheels. I still class metallic hues as a top-spec extravagance.
The other thing the Connect will do is go by unnoticed. This genre of vehicle is ideal if you plan on becoming an assassin. You’ll go by more unnoticed than Edward Fox in his white-then-blue Lancia Giulietta Spider. Though you might want to lose the cravat. It’s a bit stand-out these days being worn by older men of a certain persuasion. That said, an assassin can come in any shape or size. It could be a ploy to disarm a prospective target. So best keep your wits about you if you ever see one in a darkened car park.
And by going by in such an unassuming style, you’ll also be spared the tutting from those who dislike the current crop of SUV’s. Vans with windows seem to be accepted as wholesome transport for all and everyone. Including that assassin.
I’m trying to avoid the obvious cliché of mentioning what the Connect is. Its silhouette doesn’t disguise it very well. However, most of the time, it doesn’t behave like one. It’s very car-like upfront. And with so much space and handily adjustable tables in the rear, your passengers won’t notice much else other than travelling with space around them. Everything falls to hand in the Connect. That will be VW’s influence.
In this spec, it has all that you need. An automatic gearbox that Ford calls an automatic. It is a VW DSG 7-speed box that works as you’d expect. Gear changes are quick and felt unless you are motoring hard.
And then you notice or that should be, you hear the noise filling the large void behind you. It could if I am honest benefit from a tad more sound deadening in the rear. That vast amount of space certainly needs something to help quieten it down. 5 empty seats in the back just can’t cut it.
It’s not all good news, however. The trouble for me starts in the back. The rear doors, while being wide in their opening, are awkward to close. This is made all the more difficult if you happen to have your belt on. The door open stay, while being a good idea, caused the door to be hard to close at the awkward angle you need to get to. Yoga fanciers will not find this a problem. However, I’m not built for yoga. If the door opened less by a few inches, this awkward twist of spine and wrist wouldn’t be such a problem.
Upfront, the overhead shelf causes another problem I have. It’s mounted about 3 inches too high and it’s too deep. Kept at the same useful depth, having it mounted lower would make it a little easier to access items from up there either from the driver’s seat or on the move. As it sits, its leading edge sits just too far back making it awkward to get into.
A few other items are missing on this test vehicle and having looked around the Ford website, I did see they specify a glass roof. An option worth going for. What I couldn’t find were opening windows in the rear doors or pop-outs in the rear. These missing items can make it a soulless place to be and on a hot day, a place like Hell.
I hope I’m wrong about these windows being fixed. With that in mind, I’m quite impressed with the new carry-all box from Ford. It certainly feels well-built and can do all that you want and more.
Car – Ford Connect Grand Tourneo Active
Price – £31,8880.80 (as tested)
MPG – 52.9 mpg (combined)
Power – 122 PS
0-62mph – N/A seconds
Top Speed – N/A mph
Co2 – 140 (g/km)