Ford is in transition and gradually moving away from petrol and diesel to plug-in hybrid and full electric models. The famous company with Irish roots are phasing out much loved cars like the Mondeo, Focus and Fiesta. Excluding electric cars, the Kuga and Puma are now Ford’s only petrol and diesel cars.
The electric Mustang Mach-e has replaced the Mondeo and the company with the famous blue oval logo say that they are expecting big interest in their new Explorer which should be available in Ireland early in 2024.
Last week I drove the impressive eight-seater Tourneo and really liked it. It’s basically a posh Transit van which is best suited to carrying people and luggage, rather than tools for a builder or other type of tradesman.
There is so much to like about Ford cars, the radio controls are always user-friendly as is the air con and you also get a good old-fashioned handbrake.
Maybe it was the attractive Orange Glow colour of my test car, but I got a few people in supermarket car parks coming over to ask about the Tourneo last week. It’s a very long motor, but as the bonnet is very short which means vision is good and it’s very easy to handle.
My test model was 2.0-litre diesel six-speed manual with 130 horse power and it wasn’t noisy.
If you are thinking of getting into the taxi business or limousine trips to the Airport or indeed around the country then the eight-seater Tourneo could be the people carrier for you. The six people in the middle will have to sit opposite one another.
The seats are mounted on rails, which slide back and forth. So plenty of space for six people and there is still a huge amount of luggage space in the massive boot, officially it’s 1,300 litres. It’s also available in a nine-seater version and new versions of both the eight and nine-seater will be on sale in 2024.
There are sliding doors and a step for front and back seat passengers to climb on board. There is a plethora of very useful cubby holes to store mobile phones and drinks.
There is a great history of Ford in my family. In Kerry we had a durable second-hand Ford Pick-up truck. My daughter drives a Ford Focus and she loves it. The first car I bought was a second-hand Ford Escort and I also owned a new Focus for several years.
While I never owned a C-Max, S-Max or Galaxy, I used to love test driving them, thanks to a kind lady named Anne O’Leary, who worked for Ford Ireland in their Irish headquarters in Boreenmana Road, Cork.
But as the old saying goes ‘time and tide wait for no man,’ or indeed woman, and I suppose we will have to get used to Ford’s gradual switch to electric. However, I hope that between now and 2030 we will still see a few versions of the Tourneo, Focus, Fiesta and Mondeo on our roads.
The price is €77,100, but I think it’s worth it. As I said in a previous review, if two people in a GAA, soccer or rugby club owned a people carrier like a Tourneo they could save a lot of money on transport costs by transporting teams to away games every weekend. But the road tax of €1,250 is a bit mad.
