Category: Large MPV 
Price Range: £20,195 to £26,545
Roomy, comfortable, easy to drive, unpretentious image, good value for money, cheap to run.
A bit dull-looking, some doubts about quality, stingy basic equipment levels.
The Galaxy's a people-carrier that lives up to its label, but there are more inspiring and stylish propositions out there - not least Ford's own closely-related S-MAX.
Ford's large MPV, the Galaxy, has proved to be an immensely popular family purchase since its 1995 launch. A no-nonsense, functional and practical people-carrier, it has certainly met the brief of Multi-Purpose Vehicle.
This all-new second-generation model, maintains that tradition, yet is also better to drive, roomier inside and more comfortable than its predecessor. It may look similar on the outside, with just subtle updates to its styling, but it has been comprehensively re-engineered from its wheels upwards.
The first Ford model on underpinnings to be shared with the next-generation Mondeo, plus various Volvos, the Galaxy also has a very closely-related sister model, the S-MAX. Just as Land Rover offers the mainstream Range Rover and the lower-roofed, stiffer-sprung and more performance-oriented Range Rover Sport, Ford is hedging its bets in this sector by making two distinct and separately-focused models.
The S-MAX (reviewed separately) is, as its name suggests, the sportier one, with more in-your-face styling, lower ride height, different specification and more powerful engine options.
The Galaxy, meanwhile, will come with a choice of a 2.0-litre (145bhp) petrol engine or 1.8 TDCi (100bhp or 125bhp) and 2.0 TDCi (140bhp) diesels.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Ford Galaxy
wrote on 12 04 2007