June Top Gear Magazine

[jkspoff]

June 2006 Top Gear magazine has a review of the new Ford Galaxy, for anyone considering it. It gets quite a good write up.

[Guest MATT jr]

oooo thanks for the tip :P

 

MJR

[wjfe]

I Picked up the brochure from my local Fords, Looks very nice......But all the pictures were of ones with all the options, so it would look nice!!!!!

[Guest stevebrowne]

June 2006 Top Gear magazine has a review of the new Ford Galaxy, for anyone considering it. It gets quite a good write up.

 

We're still deciding between the Smax and the new Galaxy. My local Ford dealer will have an Smax in tomorrow, so I will be going along to check size. If the Smax is big enough, then we'll go for it I reckon - 2.5T Titanium trim with all the goodies! If it doesn't suit us size-wise, then we'll probably skip the Galaxy launch range - the 2.0 diesel is the biggest, but doesn't seem to be that powerful from reviews I've read.

 

We'll see...

[Guest 3.5bullet]

visited the dealer already and took a good long look at an S max, has so nice features that will carry over to the bigger galaxy! but! the fold flat seating is a big no no in my book, the very rear seats have no height to them in the seat bases, meaning that any one taller than 4 foot will have their knees around their ears! an adult can sit in these seats but i would not advise a journey longer than 30/45 mins for anyone sat back there!

when the seats fold flat they do increase the height of the floor! and the second row seat backs are carpeted to match the floor, meaning that any dirt from the load placed in the rear will stick/stain the seat backs unless you place a cover over the load area

as the seats are none removable any dirt or muck that slips past the cheap and flimsy fold up seat back/load area floor flaps will find it's way onto and around the seat bases and the floor which looks like a nice difficult place to keep clean!

considering that it's a car based at a family it doesn't appear to be a cabin are that be easy to clean especially around the seat bases

the lidded storage bins in the floor behind the front seats are ok larger than the existing galaxy ones, but the lids do not lock into place and could be kicked/caught/lifted very easily! one of them will house the optional tyre sealant kit as their is no spare wheel!

overall the quality of the plastics used on some of the interior trim is very cheap and nasty like that found in a Picasso or scenic :19: it will not stay shiny for long and will soon look grubby as it will pick up marks and scratches easily!

the glass panoramic glass roof if a nice touch allowing light into what is a cramped interior in comparison to the existing galaxy! this means the air vents for the rear are mounted in the B posts, meaning no vents for the very rear seats and no opening windows for the very seats! not a place to be if you not good in confined spaces!

overall i didn't like the seating as it was like sitting in the rear of a normal hatch back as you sit very close together rubbing shoulders, ok it's not a galaxy and my opinion of it is maybe marred by my love of the present galaxy, it's separate seating, large roomy, airy interior, the ability to remove the seats and run the upright dyson around in the back to clean the floor :) the high seating positions and superior veiw of the road and the out side world all of which isn't available in the Cmax and possibly not in the new galaxy? we will have to wait and see?

[NikpV]

review on the seats is disappointing - does anyone know if the new gal is going to get the same type of seats ?

[Guest 3.5bullet]

review on the seats is disappointing - does anyone know if the new gal is going to get the same type of seats ?

 

from the pictures available it appears the same seating is to used, it may be slightly better to the increase in in vehicle size?

[NikpV]

thats what I thought from the pictures - would be a shame since I like the solidness of the seating in the gal (even though its a bit heavy to shift about)

[Ivor_E_Tower]

The middle row seats are the same, but the Galaxy has different third-row seats. They are mounted higher up on different brackets and slide a little, forwards and back whereas the third-row seats in the S-Max are apparently fixed with no adjustment fore-aft or up-down.

HTH

 

Now, anyone know if the Galaxy gets a proper spare wheel and tyre, as the post on the S-Max states that it gets a can of sealant?

[Guest stevebrowne]

visited the dealer already and took a good long look at an S max, ...

 

Very interesting points. We actually liked it a lot, and have specced one up ready to order. The size was good 4 us (2 adults, 4 kids), and our eldest, 10 year old girl, was fine in the back row, with the middle moved positioned right. She said there was more room like that than in the back of the galaxy currently. Also, the boot space with rear seats up seemed bigger as well - not as high, but then we don't use the height really. You are right with the knees/ears though! But with 4 kids, we would never be shifting adults anyway as we'd only have room for one more anyway!

 

Kids of 10, 8, 5 and 2 means that we don't need huge legroom in the middle row, so they will be more forward than most people I guess, meaning that the back row is spacier.

 

I hadn't picked up the spare wheel point. My car has runflats, and I have to decide whether to move to non-RFTs and get a kit to get me home. With a kit we'll be OK, and saves carting an extra weight around.

 

The driving position felt good (not driven yet though) and much more car-like than the galaxy - it felt more snug, and thought the finish felt quite good. Panoramic roof was nice, and will be on our list.

 

We currenty have a Y reg 2.3 Ghia, which has been great, and has a decent pullt o it, but I've always wanted a little more power, and wish I'd gone for the 2.8 - so this time we are going for the 2.5. That has swung it to be honest. If the new Galaxy was also coming with the 2.5 we would have waited for that and not even looked at the Smax.

 

Looks like a 12 week order for a factory build the dealer said, so looking at an 01-Sep / 56 reg plate car. Have to try and sell our Galaxy around that time (low mileage - currently 41.5k, 1 owner! no pet-dogs!), so will go family, ebay, here, trade-in I guess.

 

In the new Top Gear mag, James May bigs up the Smax - he likes it. Don't know if that makes me like more or less :16:

[Guest 3.5bullet]

as soon as my pre release ford press pack arrives i'll post some details of what we can expect in the new galaxy :16: and the Smax

[Guest stevebrowne]

as soon as my pre release ford press pack arrives i'll post some details of what we can expect in the new galaxy :16: and the Smax

 

The engine range on the Galaxy makes it a current no go - the 2.0 diesel is the best, but one of the mags said it just doesn't pull enough. That means until they up the engines, the Galaxy is a no go for me. The Smax wins alos as it has less body-roll than the Gal, due to the lower centre of gravity.

[Ivor_E_Tower]

July's "What car" mag has a reasonable write-up on the new Galaxy and S-Max

[Masked Marauder]

Thing about the new "Galaxy" is that it is so far removed from the "old" Galaxy that the only thing they have in common is that they are 7 seaters. It is a real backward step putting it right into the Zafira arena.

 

Comparable with the current Galaxy/Alhambra/Sharan it is not.

[AJ55YOO]

I doesn't look like us lazy people will be getting an automatic option :lol:

 

Ford Galaxy Prices

 

Its one of my favourite features, as I use the M62 car park everyday!!!!

[NikpV]

If I could afford it I probably wouldn't care about the auto tbh :lol:

[mumof4]

if i was going to buy a galaxy and had 23k to spare, there is no way on this earth that i would buy the new one., it looks awful!!it no longer looks streamlined,it looks more like a bus,and it has no appeal to me at all..i dont care whats inside.....i just dont like the look of it.i would buy a gal like i have now.

[AJ55YOO]

June 2006 Top Gear magazine has a review of the new Ford Galaxy, for anyone considering it. It gets quite a good write up.

 

Topgear

 

So does the old one believe it or not.... :D

 

I'm not so sure on the looks of the new one, possibly too angular?

[NikpV]

if i was going to buy a galaxy and had 23k to spare, there is no way on this earth that i would buy the new one., it looks awful!!it no longer looks streamlined,it looks more like a bus,and it has no appeal to me at all..i dont care whats inside.....i just dont like the look of it.i would buy a gal like i have now.

 

 

not to mention the depreciation :D , although the 3 year warranty would be nice - I miss it :( I really would like a 2005 2.8 vr6 but can't afford the fuel and possible the insurance :D

[Ivor]

I won't be getting one, not even looked. Still love my Alhambra and I've finished paying for it now :angry:

 

Apart from a few minor repairs recently (Aux heater glow plug last May, drop links last July and Wipers seized just now it still drives and looks as new and there is no way I can justify swapping it for a new one along with

[tim-spam]

 

The engine range on the Galaxy makes it a current no go - the 2.0 diesel is the best, but one of the mags said it just doesn't pull enough. That means until they up the engines, the Galaxy is a no go for me.

 

It should still 'pull' considerably better than the current 2.3 Galaxy, so what's the real problem? That's assuming of course that the 2.0 Ford diesel is similar in performance to the 1.9 TDI.

 

One more thing - when I last had a tyre failure, there is no way on earth that one of those 'puncture repair outfits' would have plugged the damaged area. With a proper spare, I got home with only a little delay - with the other alternative, It would have been a long delay and a tow. So, no spare?.....no thanks!

[Ivor_E_Tower]

Auto transimssion will be available as an option, later on this year apparently. Not yet heard if it will be offered with the diesel engine

[tim-spam]

For those who chose the Galaxy because they considered it genuinely to be the best in class (rather than just because they 'always buy Ford'), and want to replace it with the updated version of their present car, they will have to wait for the new Sharan, as this is the true successor to the present Galaxy / Sharan / Alhambra.

[DaveJH]

wait for the new Sharan, as this is the true successor to the present Galaxy / Sharan / Alhambra.

 

I examined the new Galaxy at my local Ford Dealership yetserday and compared it with my current Mk1 2000 Galaxy. Lower seating position, five poor fold-flat seats, flimsy floor when all seats lowered and the fiddly bits of flaps and plastic studs have been played about with. No chance of creating a 4-seat rear cabin with corridor. No reversing front seats. Crucially, no ability to strip out the seats and turn it into a temporary removals van. In my current Galaxy, with seats removed, I can sit on the floor pan and raise my arm straight above my head (with fist clenched). In the new one, when I sit on the floor pan I can just squeeze my fist above my head. The first time anyone tried to put a decent laod in it the airplane-style overhead minilockers will be stripped straight off.

 

The new Galaxy is not a replacement for the old one, its a different vehicle for a different market.

 

When VM designed the Touran, they forgot the need to have a flat floor when the seats were folded 'flat'.

 

Tim Span, is there any evidence that the New Sharan will indeed be a replacement for the Galaxy ?

 

 

Regards

 

DavdJH

[r1ch4rd]

I went to my local dealer and I agree with DavdJH the new Galaxy is not a replacement for the old one, it is a different vehicle for a different market.

The interior is a bit plasticy, the silver centre console looks a bit cheap, the overhead storage in the one I looked at had self adhesive grip sheets inside which were already beginning to peel off, being tall I found that the trendy aircraft style handbrake got in the way (hit my wristwatch on it when putting it in 1st gear to pull away). All the seats tilt, slide and offer lots of space but on the downside, they are a bit flat low and unsupportive. With exposed metalwork on display and windows that don't lower all the way down, the layout does have a bit of a budget feel.

Not one for my new shopping list I'm afraid.

:blink: