Ford Galaxy Test Drive Reviews

[AnnMumsnet]

Dear Ford Galaxy Test Drivers

This thread is for the 10 or so lucky MNers who won tickets for the Galaxy summer cinema screenings across the county, a hamper and the chance for a test drive in a new Galaxy. They all had a test drive for 3 days.

Here are the questions Ford would like you to respond to - please do also add your own comments if you want to:

~ What were you and/ or your partner's first impressions of the car?
~ What did the children think of it?
~ Do the children fit comfortably in it?
~ How easy is it to fit car seats/ adjust seats etc?
~ What's it like to drive?
~ Do you think the testing has made you more or less likely to buy a Ford?
~ Do you think the testing has changed your perception of Ford cars at all? If so, how?
~ What one thing do you like best about the Galaxy?
~ What one thing would you change about the Galaxy?

Many thanks
MNHQ

Ooh - Mine was delivered this morning! (Not driven it yet though, as need DH to come home and fit the carseats ).

Will report back with my opinions in a couple of days .

First impressions though - Waaaaay more spacious than my Zafira, and I love the look of the aircraft landing gear style handbreak!

Ours went back yesterday . DH was going to claim squatters rights in it, he realy loved it.

So in answer to your questions:

What were you and/ or your partner's first impressions of the car?

Very impressed, loved the shape, extremely spacious inside and loved the fact the wing mirrors folded in automatically when the car was locked.

What did the children think of it?

They thought it was great. DS1 especially as with 7 seats we had enough room for his friends to come along with us as well.

Do the children fit comfortably in it?

I managed to get 1 car seat, two boosters and a fat aunt in the back. Very very roomy.

How easy is it to fit car seats/ adjust seats etc?

Easy enough, although the middle seatbelt sat high up on the neck of a child so only suitable really for an adult or high backed booster seat.

What's it like to drive?

Very easy, not as hard as anticipated despite the size of it. Parking is a dream because of the sensors all over it.

Do you think the testing has made you more or less likely to buy a Ford?

More. DH's first car was a Ford, and he had nothing but problems with it, including the steering wheel coming off in his hands as he pulled onto a dual carriageway. Driving the Galaxy has totally swayed him, and when we get a new car, he is seriously thinking of buying a Galaxy.

Do you think the testing has changed your perception of Ford cars at all? If so, how?

As above.

What one thing do you like best about the Galaxy?

Just one thing? The overall space, even with all 7 seats up. And a close second would be how comfortable and smooth it is to drive.

What one thing would you change about the Galaxy?

The Sat Nav system was quite low so distracting when driving. Something on the dashboard would be better.

~ What were you and/ or your partner's first impressions of the car?

It was OK. Interior looked a bit 'plasticky'. I prefer my older model if I'm honest.

~ What did the children think of it?
They all loved it, but that was mainly due to the pull down trays on the back of the seats.

~ Do the children fit comfortably in it?
Yep, all 4 - no problem. Although I missed the integral booster car seat which I have with mine (wish I'd known about that beforehand!)

~ How easy is it to fit car seats/ adjust seats etc?
Very easy now they all have boosters. But I really, really struggled getting the back seats up and down. Hurt my arm in fact. And as for getting the rear seatbelts out of the little storeage hole (the bit the buckle goes into to keep them out of the way when the seats are down), well, I had to phone the marketing company, phone Ford, take the rear panel off, shove my hand right up, push, grunt, pull, yell, and eventually they both came out. Made for a very unhappy parent at the school gates I can tell you!

~ What's it like to drive?
It was fine, smooth, comfortable.

~ Do you think the testing has made you more or less likely to buy a Ford?
I already have a Ford Galaxy and I'm really happy with it. I'd definately buy another.

~ Do you think the testing has changed your perception of Ford cars at all? If so, how?
No because my perception was positive anyway.

~ What one thing do you like best about the Galaxy? That it is straightforward. No frills. Feels 'safe'.

~ What one thing
would you change about the Galaxy?
The back seats were really tricky. And I'd keep the integrated booster, its so useful in a family car.

And where was the Sat Nav? I didn't get sat nav?

Did I????

SAt nav was built into the radio bit on mine.

~ What were you and/ or your partner's first impressions of the car?

Loved it. Very comfortable seats and spacious in front. Like the handbrake design but kept catching my fingers in it when releasing it. Lovely dark grey interior. Very shiny dash (showed every fingerprint though)!

~ What did the children think of it?
WOW - couldn't wait to sit right at the back!

~ Do the children fit comfortably in it?
Yes, they are 11 and 9 so don't use booster sseats. The seat belts did cut into DS's neck though - too high.

~ How easy is it to fit car seats/ adjust seats etc? Don't use car seats. Seats easy to adjust. Putting the back seats down when needed the boot space for shopping was nigh on impossible for weakling like me. All the shopping just rolled off and when I opened the boot it all fell out. It is raised with a gap at the back. DH had to put them back in position after (weakling that I am!) LOVED the fact you could recline the middle row of seats - imagine the kids snoozing on long journeys.

~ What's it like to drive?
Blimmin' lovely. Smooth, quiet. Nice driving position. Lower than our Scenic which I preferred.

~ Do you think the testing has made you more or less likely to buy a Ford?

More likely. Already have one Ford (a Fusion).

~ Do you think the testing has changed your perception of Ford cars at all? If so, how?
Always like Ford.

~ What one thing do you like best about the Galaxy? seven seats - loved being about to take my parents with us in one car on a day out.

~ What one thing would you change about the Galaxy?

The back seats/boot space. If seats sunk into the boot area it would be better. Having them raised means your shopping rolls around in the back.

All in all - if I had the money, I'd buy one tomorrow!

I'd like to say that the girls I spoke at the Demo Centre when arranging the car were really nice, friendly and helpful. They let me have it for five days instead of three because I was at work and couldn't be there on the day originally suggested.

~ What were you and/ or your partner's first impressions of the car?

that it was big, but once we had a tootle around town in it we were impressed with the smooth ride.

~ What did the children think of it? DS thought it was great...he couldn't wait to sit in the very back.

~ Do the children fit comfortably in it?
~ How easy is it to fit car seats/ adjust seats etc?
the seats were fine firm but comfortable, easy to install carseats.

~ What's it like to drive?
DH says it was very smooth, easy to steer and fun to drive.

~ Do you think the testing has made you more or less likely to buy a Ford?

more likely as
~ Do you think the testing has changed your perception of Ford cars at all? If so, how?

we had a Ford years ago and it was not the best car. DH swore off ford until we had the Galaxy to test drive which made us feel more postive about Ford.

~ What one thing do you like best about the Galaxy?
the space.

~ What one thing would you change about the Galaxy?

the stereo was very basic and refused to play some CDs I brought with us for a trip up, and the cupholders are poorly placed so that if you had drinks and needed to put the parking break on it isn't going to happen without mess or swearing.

~ What were you and/ or your partner's first impressions of the car?
We loved it! It looked and felt big though, it was longer than the width of our back garden which meant that we couldn't park it permanently outside our house (due to the position of our house this is our only parking space within 200 metres).

~ What did the children think of it?
They loved it too! Ds1 (5) was very impressed about seats in the boot and they really enjoyed sitting right at the back.

~ Do the children fit comfortably in it?
Yes! We had it over last weekend and we had visitors staying with us, on both Sat and Sunday we had 4 adults and 3 children all in appropriate car seats and with a 6 foot 3 man comfortable in the back seat (middle row.)

~ How easy is it to fit car seats/ adjust seats etc?
Mostly easy. We had 3 heavy high backed boosters and it was a bit tricky to get one into the opposite side of the rear row of seats. Otherwise we were impressed with how flat all the 5 back seats went, especially the back 2.

~ What's it like to drive?
Easy, smooth and with a surprising amount of oomph. We did have a 2.0 litre though. The length took a bit of getting used to.

~ Do you think the testing has made you more or less likely to buy a Ford?
We have a new Ford Focus through Motability and would definitely replace it with another Ford. We like the reliability and safety aspects.

~ Do you think the testing has changed your perception of Ford cars at all? If so, how?
See above really. It has made us think seriously about getting a Galaxy but due to the length we will look at the S-Max as well.

~ What one thing do you like best about the Galaxy?
The space around the seats. I like the way it swallowed 7 people and we all had a comfortable 3 hour round trip.

~ What one thing would you change about the Galaxy?
Boot space. We had a wheelchair and a pushchair, luckily both folded very small. There was not a lot of space left for out picnic and other associated bits.

Thank you very much for the opportunity to test drive it - we had a great time! The hamper was great too but due to cold weather and 3 out of 7 sick people we didn't make it to the screening.

~ What were you and/ or your partner's first impressions of the car?

Interesting colour, we couldn't decide if it was green or brown! but we did like it Nice size and shape, lots of room inside.

~ What did the children think of it?

The two girls immediately moved into the back row and would have slept in it given half a chance.

~ Do the children fit comfortably in it?

There's more than enough room for them.

~ How easy is it to fit car seats/ adjust seats etc?

Booster seats just slotted straight in, no problems on any of the seats.

~ What's it like to drive?

Lovely to drive, good acceleration, I'd been driving it for a day before I managed to onto a road that allowed me to use the 6th gear though! The power steering is lovely and light (especially compared to my citroen!)

~ Do you think the testing has made you more or less likely to buy a Ford?

More.

~ Do you think the testing has changed your perception of Ford cars at all? If so, how?

When I last purchased a car, they didn't have the middle range of mpv types that are available now (and the old Galaxy had a bad rep for breaking down)

~ What one thing do you like best about the Galaxy?

How it drives.

~ What one thing would you change about the Galaxy?

Get rid of the middle compartments, the drinks holders are too small and the compartments leave no space for my handbag!and it means I have to get out of the car to deal with internal incidents in the back! (which I don't in my Citroen or my dads Kia/I don't get wet when it rains) you need bigger and better drinks holders like your american models. (Look to the Kia Sedona for interior inspiration please)

~ What were you and/ or your partner's first impressions of the car?

Looked very nice, quite big/long but very nice interior - black seats looked very stylish and loved the look of the handbrake!

~ What did the children think of it?

Loved it! DS1 loved being allowed to sit in the 'boot'!

~ Do the children fit comfortably in it?

Yes, we all fitted although I did need to plan where to put each child so they were all accessible and they were all safe.

~ How easy is it to fit car seats/ adjust seats etc?

I found the seats a bit stiff to adjust but that could just be because it's new or I might just be weak! No problems fitting any of our car seats (stage 0, 1 and 2) other than planning the layout.

~ What's it like to drive?

Lovely!! It is very comfy and is so quick (2 litre) Quite shocked at how powerful it was considering the size and it was so quiet, it was great! Didn't like the handbrake though - it was very cool looking but I found it slightly too far back to be comfortable - perhaps designed for drivers with longer legs than me!

~ Do you think the testing has made you more or less likely to buy a Ford?

DH loves Ford and he has always wanted us to get a Ford and this has made him want one even more. I did like it and I would be more tempted now if we were looking as it really was nice but to be honest, price would have a bigger impact on me so I would be swayed by something cheaper.

~ Do you think the testing has changed your perception of Ford cars at all? If so, how?

No real change - DH still loves Ford, I still Ford is good if the price is right!

~ What one thing do you like best about the Galaxy?

The power and quietness of the engine.

~ What one thing would you change about the Galaxy?

make seats fold flatter and maybe add covers/use wipe clean fabric on the back of the back row seats - DS1 had to keep walking across the folded seat to get to his seat which could mean trailing a lot of mess.

All in all, I did like the car and I think DH shed a tear when it left but I wouldn't buy one. I feel that it was just too big for our family (2 adults, 3 kids) and no proper boot space.

Totally enjoyed the test drive though - the hamper was also lovely (still not finished everything in it!). Like Kbear, have to say the ladies I dealt with at the demo centre were lovely - as were the drivers! Great service! :)

I love this car and want to have its babies.

~ What were you and/ or your partner's first impressions of the car?

Shiny! A good size, loved that the wing mirrors wave good bye (or fold in to the dull people of the world ) Oh and that the handbrake was cool

~ What did the children think of it?

Absolutely loved being able to sit in separate rows :o Sulked about not being allowed food in it

~ Do the children fit comfortably in it?

Yes, very.

~ How easy is it to fit car seats/ adjust seats etc?

Very easy. The seat belt was long enough to put in the baby seat easily as well as the bigger car seats. Could sit all three on the same row or different ones with no problem.

~ What's it like to drive?

Amazing. So so smooth. Could have done with a lesson on how to start it (10 mins later I read the manual). :o

~ Do you think the testing has made you more or less likely to buy a Ford?

Yes more likely. My car now feels like a tank.

~ Do you think the testing has changed your perception of Ford cars at all? If so, how?

To be honest, I didn't have much perception to begin with, so nothing to change.

~ What one thing do you like best about the Galaxy?

All the random storage and just how smooth it was.

~ What one thing would you change about the Galaxy?

Bigger boot - my old pushchair would never have fitted. Oh, and I don't know if there was a volume control on the sat nav, but I couldn't find one and it was insanely quiet.

Galaxy, I think I Love You

~ What were you and/ or your partner's first impressions of the car?

Very spacious interior, and a little bit scarily big (as in OMG - how will I ever park this beast? But I got over that after a short drive, and the realisation that it had parking sensors!)

~ What did the children think of it?

Children aged 3 & 1, DS loved it "Ride in the silver car pleeeeeease Mummy?" and both loved the fact that I could sit in the back in between their carseats on a long and fractious journey.

~ Do the children fit comfortably in it?

Very. We had a rear facing and a forward facing carseat along the middle row. There was so much more space between the carseats and the driver/passenger seats than we are used to, so DS had lots more legroom. The carseats bth fitted very well, and DS looked much more comfortable than usual as he was much more upright.

~ How easy is it to fit car seats/ adjust seats etc?

Very easy - The additional space between the middle row & front seats make it simple.

Adjusting passenger / driver seats was easy too - I loved being able to raise the drivers seat at the touch of a button. (And DS was quite taken with that too)

I sat it the middle seat/back row for a journey (in between two car seats, and with a fairly substantial bottom - I was very impressed with the space ) but I did find the seatbelt quite high up, almost on my neck rather than across my chest, and wasn't sure how, or if I could adjust it. I'm 5ft 3" so I can't imagine a child would be very comfortable sitting there.

~ What's it like to drive?

Lovely. Very smooth, very quiet, and powerful. I was surprised actually.

~ Do you think the testing has made you more or less likely to buy a Ford?

Probably more. We were both really pleasantly surprised at what a lovely car this was.

~ Do you think the testing has changed your perception of Ford cars at all? If so, how?

We've already got a fairly good perception of Ford, but were pleased with how comfortable and easy to drive the Galaxy was.

~ What one thing do you like best about the Galaxy?

Smooth/quiet drive

~ What one thing would you change about the Galaxy?

DH kept going on about blacked out windows on the back (which we have on our zafira) as with the luggage cover on, you significantly reduce your boot space. (And I'm dreadful for carrying everything bar the kitchen sink in the boot, just in case we need it )

All in all, we really enjoyed the test drive - Thank you so much to MN & Ford. I'd like to reiterate previous posters comments on the demo centre staff - very nice & helpful, thanks.

If Ford would like to offer a free test drive for say oooh, 5-10 years (just to test the long term efficiency, you understand ) we are available .

~ What were you and/ or your partner's first impressions of the car?
Not as big outside as I thought it would be but lots of space inside.

~ What did the children think of it?
Liked being high up.

~ Do the children fit comfortably in it?
Only have one so there was a lot of space for her!

~ How easy is it to fit car seats/ adjust seats etc?
Car seat fitted easily. It was a bit of an effort getting the boot seats back up but nothing too tricky. Liked being able to move the middle seats backwards and forwards.

~ What's it like to drive?
Very easy to drive, surprisingly powerful, very light steering and has a small turning circle.

~ Do you think the testing has made you more or less likely to buy a Ford?
More likely to buy a Ford.

~ Do you think the testing has changed your perception of Ford cars at all? If so, how?
I would have discounted them very quickly before the test drive as expensive but not worth the money.

~ What one thing do you like best about the Galaxy?
Loved the driving position and the driver's seat. Really missed it when I was back in my own car.

~ What one thing would you change about the Galaxy?
Would have been good if the parking sensors had a visual indicator of distance as part of the car icon behind the steering wheel. It was difficult to tell which sensor was going off and how close it was to an object.

We loved the voice activation feature of the controls and the bluetooth phone feature. The mirror for keeping an eye on the back seats was a bit high up so you have to take your eyes away from the road to use it when driving but is a good idea.

We weren't lucky enough to have the full bells and whistles model with automatic folding mirrors & sat nav etc but it was still a really nice car to drive with lots of handy storage and features.

If Ford need any future test drives carried out I'm sure DP & I could find the time to help out

Thanks Mumsnet & Ford for the lovely hamper & the test drive (& apologies for the late feedback )