Ford Tourneo Custom review

This has long been the question with MPVs: because they’re usually passenger vehicles based on van platforms, they’ve tended to be pretty rubbish, undermined by lots of shaking, rattling and body roll.

The Transit van is now more car-like to drive than ever before, which works in the Tourneo’s favour here. It steers accurately and the ride is pleasingly compliant, though notably better when fully loaded with people (and all their gear), with independent rear suspension helping keep things settled.

That said it’s not perfect. It never quite manages to fully shake the feeling that it’s a van with a load of seats lobbed in the back – there’s still quite a bit of rattling throughout the cabin, and on our imperfect roads a fair amount of chassis shudder too. It’s just not quite as refined as a truly dedicated MPV or SUV.

Inevitably there’s also plenty of body roll if you corner too briskly, but let that be a lesson to you. Wouldn’t want any backseat passengers throwing up, would you?

REMIND ME OF MY POWERTRAIN OPTIONS…

Kicking things off are three EcoBlue turbodiesels with 134bhp/229lb ft, 148bhp/266lb ft or 168bhp/288lb ft power outputs, optionally available with AWD and combined with either an 8spd automatic or a 6spd manual gearbox.

We’ve tested the entry level option with the manual gearbox. It’s OK, noisy when idling but otherwise fine around town thanks to all that low down torque, though it undoubtedly feels slightly out of breath at higher speeds when fully loaded, where one of the more powerful variants is likely better suited. Sacrilege to say, we also found ourselves wishing for the ease of an auto gearbox given the barge-like size. To our eyes the sweet spot is probably the 168bhp variant minus the stick shift.

That said, if you’re mostly sticking to around town the plug-in hybrid could well be your best bet. It pairs a 2.5-litre petrol engine with an e-motor and 11.8kWh battery for a combined 230bhp/154lb ft and up to 32 miles of electric running. If you want to assuage your eco consciousness but want the safety net of being able to travel further without suffering from range anxiety then it’s an appealing option.

Of course, for any real eco warriors, there’s the e-Tourneo Custom. It mates a 215bhp/306lb ft motor and 64kWh (useable) battery for up to 202 miles of running. Given how fit for purpose it is in the e-Transit Custom, it’s likely a similar story here.

WHAT ABOUT EFFICIENCY?

Well, the diesels claim 25-42mpg, depending on what size you go for. We averaged 36.2mpg over 650 mainly motorway miles, which is really the diesel’s happy hunting ground. Expect considerably less if you’re just running around town.

The PHEV claims 97-208mpg WLTP in laboratory conditions, but as ever these figures should be taken with a pinch of salt, as it entirely depends on how much you rely on electric versus petrol running, and vice versa. But if you can’t keep the battery topped up then you’re going to be lugging it and the e-motor around needlessly. A 10-100 per cent charge takes just shy of four hours on a 3.6kW charger.

Meanwhile the e-Tourneo Custom claims 3.2 mi/kWh. A 10-80 per cent recharge takes 39mins on a public 125kW fast charger. But you’ll pay through the roof for it. You’re looking at just over 10 hours using a home wallbox.