Ford Tourneo Connect Titanium 1.6 TDCi

The results are all in and once again 2014 was a good year for car sales. Rebounding after the credit crunch, UK sales were up 9.3 per cent on the previous year. Ford had much to celebrate, with the Fiesta and Focus taking first and second placings in the charts, but how did our long-termer do in the numbers race, and is our passion for the van-with-windows shared by the general public? The Tourneo Connect sits in a sector alongside the Citroën Berlingo Multispace, Fiat Doblò and Peugeot Partner Tepee and is the newest entrant into the marketplace. With sales of the five-seat Tourneo Connect and seven-seat Grand Tourneo Connect combined, 1,041 examples were shifted last year. This compares to 4,309 Berlingos, 3,848 Partners and just 459 Doblòs.

So how does our Titanium example relate to the models that were being chosen by buyers at dealers last year? 72 per cent of them opted for the five-seat edition like we did, while 91 per cent were diesel powered. Trim levels are relatively evenly split, with 50 per cent opting for the Titanium trim like ours, with Zetec taking 49 per cent of the mix and entry-level Style versions making up just one per cent of sales. So we’re pleased to report that our car is bang on trend and so will be good news
when it comes to resale time.

So Ford still has some work to do to dominate the sector, like it does in most of the categories that it sells cars in. Maybe it’s because so few people know about the charms of the Tourneo Connect. The Focus underpinnings mean it’s a delight to drive, and is just at home being hustled along a winding B-road as it is sitting on the motorway at 70mph. Despite its tall stance, it doesn’t feel top heavy, with decent body control through the bends. The super smooth six-speed manual gearbox is a delight to use, and there’s a decent amount of torque in the mid-range, thanks to a generous 199lb ft. Of course it’s not the quickest out of the traps, and this isn’t helped by the vehicle’s bluff shape, however, it is more than capable of keeping up with the traffic. One feature that I’ve come to adore is the reversing camera, with the image projected onto the rear view mirror. In normal motoring, you’ve got a full width mirror like any other car, but select reverse and you get an image of what is going on behind you. It makes reversing into tight spaces a piece of cake, and combined with the parking sensors front and rear, the Connect is really easy to manoeuvre.

It isn’t often that I spend time in the back of a car, but going out for my sister’s birthday celebrations involved the sampling of several pints of beer all in the interests of research you understand so that I could speak with authority about the rear seat ambience. Thanks to theatre-like chairs, where the row behind is mounted higher than the one in front, you get a good view out through the expansive front windscreen. And combined with the deep side windows and panoramic glass roof, the rear isn’t claustrophobic like some cars can be, especially when travelling at night.