Category: Large MPV 
Price Range: £16,800 to £22,700
Practical, easy-to-use rear-seating system: plenty of kit; good value for money.
Bouncy ride, unsupportive seats, noisy engine around town, poor handling.
It's not wonderful to drive but if you have a large family, the roomy cabin makes this MPV fit for purpose.
This is where the Journey plays its ace card. It's not just that there's plenty of kit there's just so many sensible, innovative little details that should make life easy for a large family that needs space.
There's storage cubbies under all front and rear seats, and a sizeable compartment inbetween the front seats. There's also storage space located behind the third-row seat. The glovebox has enough room for two cans of soft drink and it's chilled too.
Then there's the seats: the Journey's tilt'n'slide system feels like a revolution when you compare it with other more ungainly systems in the Ford S-MAX and Vauxhall Zafira. To get in the most rearward seats you simply pull at a lever on the middle row and they simply slide and tilt forward. It is ridiculously simple and with rear doors that open at 90 degrees, the whole getting-in-getting-out saga can be completed in a matter of seconds.
The middle bench is split 60-40 and the rear seats split 50/50 which makes the whole vehicle wonderfully flexible. You can also fold all the rear seats down to create a large loadbay. There's plenty of kit: SE spec offers 16" wheels, keyless entry, locking fuel cap, rake and reach adjustable steering, 3 zone climate control, six-speaker CD player with MP3 and power-folding heated wing mirrors. SXT trim adds 17" alloy wheels, lumbar support on the driver seat and R/T spec offers leather trimmed seats, leather steering wheel, and steering wheel-mounted audio controls.
Sat nav and infotainment system with a rear parking camera will cost an extra £1500 and if you want rear seat DVD you have to shell out a further £500. Metallic paint costs £400 and sunscreen glass £300.
