The Next Big Thing in Test Ford Tourneo Connect, Commitment To Flexibility

An extremely practical family car. The new Ford Tourneo Connect seems to be the ideal option for those who are strongly committed to interior space and flexibility of use. We submit it for video examination.

Vans are becoming the new minivans because they have evolved in such a way that they now offer the comfort of a passenger car along with a huge interior space. The last participant to reach the segment has been the Ford Tourneo Connect, which opens its third generation.

After two decades of life of the Tourneo Connect, the oval brand has managed to evolve the concept and its latest iteration is a good example of this. The Ford model is one of the most versatile in the segment because it has gasoline and diesel versions, in short, and long bodies, with five or seven seats, with manual or automatic transmission, with front or all-wheel drive,... Absolute versatility.

As for the design, it sure reminds you of another car, especially in the side and rear view. If you were thinking of the Volkswagen Caddy, you were right: the Tourneo Connect and the Caddy share development and many components, they are basically the same car.

Ford, yes, has given it a very different personality on the front. I think it suits him well, it seems to me one of the most attractive cars in this category in terms of design, even with a certain sporty touch taking into account the segment to which it belongs.

The range is made up of four finishes, each with its own style, called Trend, Titanium, Active, and Sport. The unit that I have tested has the Active finish which adds some crossover details with a black plastic profile on the underbody and bumper protectors.

As with the Caddy, there are two body options for the Ford Tourneo Connect. One is the short wheelbase of 4.50 m in length and the long wheelbase with a length of 4.85 m. Specifically, the test unit is the one with 35 cm more and is called Grand Tourneo Connect. With respect to the short version, it costs about 1,300 euros more. Either of the two bodies can have an interior configuration of five or seven seats.

DIMENSIONS	TOURNEO CONNECT	GRAND TOURNEO CONNECT
Length	4.501 mm	4.854 mm
Width	1.931 mm	1.931 mm
Height	1.833 mm	1.835 mm

The conquest of space

In vans, you usually sit in a high driving position with the steering wheel very horizontal, but this is not the case with the Tourneo Connect. The driving position is very similar to that of a car and I have to make a special mention of the seats because they are very comfortable. They have lumbar adjustment, and depending on the finish they can also be heated and the seat base can be extended.

Appearance-wise, it's not surprising to see that if on the outside it looks like a Caddy on the inside as well. The dashboard design is like that of a car except for small details that are reminiscent of a commercial vehicle, such as the abundant presence of hard materials that are designed to be more resistant and the numerous storage spaces such as the one in the upper part of the dashboard. or the shelves on the ceiling.

The Ford van can have led headlights, keyless access and start, electric parking brake, dual-zone climate control, front and rear parking sensors, a rear camera, a wireless charger for smartphones, a panoramic sunroof, or a heated steering wheel. Again, nothing to envy about tourism.

Of course, you should keep in mind that many of these things are only available in the highest finish, the Sport. Even at this level, several items are part of the option list so the final price of the car can be increased significantly. It's a shame that the equipment possibilities of other versions are limited, especially since the starting fee of the basic versions is not that low either. The price escalation of new cars has also been noted in this segment.

Like any modern car, it is possible to have a command post made up of two large screens, in this case, a fully digital instrument panel with a 10.25-inch screen and a multimedia system with a 10-inch touch screen.

The test unit did not have such a sophisticated configuration. The instrumentation is analog and has a fairly traditional layout. For its part, the infotainment system displays an 8.25-inch screen in a system that is easily operated and shows good image quality. The only drawback that can be put is that the air conditioning is also operated from the screen, there is no module with separate physical buttons, but otherwise, it is well resolved.

Speaking of equipment, I cannot forget the safety systems and driving assistants of the new Tourneo Connect. This vehicle can be equipped with intelligent adaptive cruise control with a lane centering function, a pre-collision assistant with vehicle, pedestrian, and cyclist detection, blind spot warning, and rear cross-traffic alert, among many other things. No wonder this van has achieved five stars in the Euro NCAP safety tests, the highest rating.

Let's move on to the second row of seats. Access to the rear seats is through sliding side doors that allow good access. It is especially generous in the version with a long body because the side doors are wider, specifically 13 cm larger.

This row has three seats and since there is a good width three adults will travel comfortably. It's not three separate seats in the sense that this bench is split 60/40. So, for example, we cannot lower the central square, just something that can sometimes come in handy to have more modularity. In addition, the central seat does not have Isofix anchorages either, the ones at the ends do.

It is wide, and there is also plenty of room for the head and the legs, it is not bad so occupants of up to 1.90 m tall will go without stress. It is a pity that the rear bench cannot be slid longitudinally to play with space, it would have been a good point. Users of the second row of seats can enjoy air vents, USB sockets, and airplane-style trays.

An important detail is that in these seats the side windows are fixed. Among the extras of this car, Ford gives us the option of folding the right side window - strangely it is not available for the left window - with a compass-type opening. It's not much, but it's less than a stone and it's an extra that costs little because it's only worth 50 euros.

The unit that I have driven is not equipped with a third row of seats, which is an optional feature that costs a little more than 1,000 euros. I was able to test it out in the Volkswagen Caddy and it adds two extra seats to give this van the ability to carry seven passengers. As I said before, this third row can be equipped in both the short and long body.

As part of the modularity of the Tourneo Connect, these two seats can be folded down and can be removed. There are really seven seats because these two additional seats fit adults of medium height without any problem. This is where one of the great advantages of a body of this type is taken out. It also takes advantage in terms of cargo space.

Indeed, another benefit of a van over a traditional minivan is the cargo area. In the Ford Tourneo Connect, the manhole is huge and the threshold is very low, which makes it easy to introduce any type of load, however large and heavy it may be.

The space available is extraordinary. With five operational seats, the trunk is 1,213 liters in the short-wheelbase Tourneo Connect. As for the Grand Tourneo Connect, the extended version of this model, the trunk benefits from the greater length of the body to reach 1,720 liters. In addition, the back of the right front seat can also be folded down so that objects up to 3 meters in length can be transported.

TRUNK	TOURNEO CONNECT	GRAND TOURNEO CONNECT
With 2 spaces in use	2.556 liters	3.105 liters
With 5 spaces in use	1.213 liters	1.720 liters
With 7 spaces in use	218 liters	650 liters

 

Dynamically it has little to envy an SUV

Taking a look under the hood, it is worth noting the mechanical options available. The blue oval brand proposes a 114 hp gasoline engine and a diesel block available with two power options, 102 and 122 hp. The gasoline engine bears the name EcoBoost and the diesel block bears the name of EcoBlue as usual in Ford but you will not be surprised to learn that these mechanics are not from Ford but from Volkswagen.

Most of these engines can be combined with a manual transmission or an automatic and also, and this is the most interesting, this is the first time that the Tourneo Connect can equip an all-wheel drive system. As there are many combinations I put a table below so you can see the engine, transmission, and traction options.

ENGINE	TRANSMISSION	TRACTION
1.5 Ecoboost 114 HP	Manual / Auto	Lead
2.0 EcoBlue 102 HP	Manual	Lead
2.0 EcoBlue 122 HP	Manual / Auto	Lead
2.0 EcoBlue 122 HP	Manual	Total

I mentioned before that the Ford van has a driving position very similar to that of a car and the good thing is that the driving itself is also similar to that of a car. It is true that the benefits are not very high and that the suspension is soft as usual in this type of vehicle but even so the driving pleasure is remarkable.

It is a comfortable and well-soundproofed car. The suspension has a soft setting, as is normal in a car designed to carry large loads, but it is not exaggerated either. Although the bodywork shows obvious oscillations in tight turns, it leans relatively little in wide corners so it's stable and agile for a car in this class.

I pointed out before that the benefits are not very outstanding but I do not mean that they are few but that they are normal for a van. To accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h it takes between 10 and 13 seconds depending on the chosen mechanical configuration, which is a normal value.

On this occasion, I tested the 1.5 Ecoboost gasoline variant with 114 CV and four cylinders. The actual consumption is around 7.5 l/100 km, which is not bad, among other things, because it has a cylinder disconnection system. With the gasoline engine, the Tourneo Connect is very smooth and quiet, but it may fall short if we usually make journeys with a lot of weight.

Diesel engines are more expensive and also have a rougher operation but in return, they provide more torque, up to 320 Nm, which is always good if we usually travel loaded. They will also spend much less, they should be around 5.5 or 6 l/100 km approximately. My recommendation is to choose a diesel version.

I said before that there are two types of change available: a manual transmission that has six gears or a dual-clutch automatic transmission with seven gears, the well-known Volkswagen DSG change. Honestly, both are doing very well. I have not tested the option with automatic transmission in the Tourneo Connect but I have in the Caddy, it is more expensive but provides greater driving comfort. The choice will depend on the tastes of each one and also on the available budget.

Definitely the new Ford Tourneo Connect is shown as a very comfortable family vehicle but it is also grateful to the driver, you can enjoy it on all kinds of tours. In summary, it seems to me that it is a very interesting model due to its enormous versatility that can make SUVs forget. It can serve as a work vehicle, as a car for people with an active lifestyle or, of course, as an excellent and spacious family car.

This is a van that leaves a good taste in my mouth, but what doesn't convince me so much is the price. The Ford Tourneo Connect is on sale from 31,408 euros, although Ford usually has generous discounts: at the moment, Ford's offer allows you to get this model for just over 26,000 euros.

EXPERT VIEWS

We liked it more

1. Exterior design
2. Driving pleasure
3. Possibilities of the configuration of the engine, transmission, traction, bodywork, and seats

We liked it less

1. Price
2. Part of the equipment is reserved exclusively for the Sport trim
3. Without motors with electrification