Ford Australia has entered the people mover market with a pair of models in the Tourneo range. The Active and Titanium X variants offer spacious accommodation for up to eight occupants and a comprehensive range of standard features including a flexible track-mounted rear seating and power side doors.
Both the Tourneo Active and Titanium X are fitted with a 2.0-litre turbocharged diesel engine that requires AdBlue and sounds like a rattly diesel engine in the cabin. It produces 125kW of power and 390Nm of torque delivered to the front wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission operated using a steering column mounted gear selector. The official combined fuel economy is 7.4L/100km and for my week with the Titanium X I used 9.2L/100km.
The independent rear suspension means that the Tourneo should have SUV-like comfort and refinement, but in reality, the cabin is rattly and the ride is bumpy on rough roads. Being based on the all-new Transit Custom short wheelbase platform, the Tourneo feels more like a commercial vehicle that has been transformed into a family van rather than something that has been developed from scratch for the purpose of being a people mover.
Setting Tourneo apart in this segment though is the innovative and unique flexible track-based seating system in the second and third rows. This allows families to completely customise the seating arrangement to best suit their own unique needs. Beyond traditional fore- and aft- movements that allow for owners to modulate legroom, one or all three of the second-row seats can be turned to face rearward for a conference layout. Owners can also entirely remove single seats or all six of the rear seats can be removed for when owners need as much cargo carrying space as possible. Payload of the cavernous space behind the front seats is 924kg and expanding the Tourneo’s cargo carrying capacity beyond the cabin, the vehicle can tow a braked trailer weight of up to 2,500 kg.
The Tourneo Active is very well equipped, while the Titanium X comes with additional standard features including unique 17” premium alloy wheels, a panoramic roof with fixed glass, premium Sensico artificial leather trim, power adjustable front driver and passenger seats, a 14-speaker premium B&O audio system and a 360-degree view camera reversing camera.
The Titanium X has keyless entry on all four doors and keyless start, so the key fob can remain in your handbag at all times. It is quite a step up into the Tourneo and my elderly mother struggled to get into the passenger seat without assistance. The cab-forward design provides excellent vision of the road, enhancing their sense of control and confidence behind the sporty square shaped steering wheel.
The driver’s seat has power adjustment for recline, forward/back, front/rear seat height/tilt adjustment, two-way lumbar support and a manual adjustable arm rest. The passenger seat is the same except it only has single seat height adjustment. Both front seats are heated, but neither have memory positions. My daughter was affronted by the fact that the passenger sun visor did not have a vanity mirror.
A 13-inch central touchscreen infotainment incorporates the dual climate controls and on a hot day the air conditioning struggled to cool the large cabin. Tourneo models sold in Australia have wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionality as standard and the latter worked well for me. Media sources include FM radio, DAB, Bluetooth and smartphone, but no AM radio. A wireless phone charger is located in the central cubby with one USB-C port, one USB-A port, and one 12V above it.
There are plenty of storage solutions in the front of the Tourneo cabin with an upper glove box containing a USB-C port in it and a lower glove box as well. There is a large drink bottle storage cubby in each front door with three levels of storage cubbies to choose from in them as well. There is a rigid cup holder in the front of the dash and below the infotainment screen another two cup holders with grippy sides and a removable base for easy cleaning. One storage feature the Tourneo does need though is a low plastic cubby between the front seats that you can place items such as your handbag in to stop them from slipping around on the floor.
The powered sliding doors can be open/closed using the door handle, key fob and buttons in the front of the cabin below the infotainment screen. The doors are slow to operate though and can be a bit finicky to use as well. A large step on either side of the Tourneo is there to help younger passengers step up. One omission though are mats to protect the carpet from wear and tear and to make vacuuming the Tourneo out easier.
The rear climate controls are mounted on the roof with digital adjustment for air speed, temperature and mode. Their location though is such that a child sitting in the second-row seats would not be able to reach them. Thankfully you can adjust the rear climate settings from the front of the vehicle as well and lock them also if necessary. There are roof vents above each side of the second row than can be moved and closed off, while the second-row windows only have a small push out opening and so the options are limited to get fresh air in for rear seat passengers.
Three adults could fit across the second row and the seats have excellent head and leg room and under thigh support. The second row has ISOFix and rear tether points on the two outer seats and a rear tether only restraint point on the centre seat. Additionally, the middle seat of the second row can be folded into a small table with cup holders. The two outer second row seats are heated with the button to turn this on and off located at the front of these seats. There are two drink bottle cubbies in each of the sliding doors and two USB-C ports located at the base of the front passenger seat.
To access the third row you manually slide the outer second row seats forward to create a large gap that is easy for an adult to step through. The third-row seats also have plenty of head and leg room and the seat base is at a nice height for adults, so your knees don’t feel like they are sitting up high. The third row has ISOFix/rear tether child seat restraint points on the two outboard seats only. Under the two of the third-row seats there are a slide out storage bins. Third row passengers get a roof vent on either side, but no opening windows. There’s a rigid bottle holder on each wheel and a cubby for a phone and two USB-C ports located on each C-pillar.
The 66:33 split rear seats can be slid forward and back using the strap of the back of the seats. This allows you to adjust the depth of the boot so that it could fit a pram and the weekly shop. The boot space has two substantial tie down points, one 12V socket and one light and there’s a full size spare tyre under the rear of the vehicle. But the huge fail for the Tourneo is the large manually operated tailgate that is heavy and needs space behind it to swing open.
There are numerous driver assist features offered as standard on both the Tourneo Active and Titanium X. these include Adaptive Cruise Control, Pre-Collision Assist with Autonomous Emergency Braking and Intersection Assist4, 6, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Blind Spot Assist, Lane Keeping System are all fitted as standard on both variants. The Titanium X has standard rear-view camera and 360-degree view with front and rear parking sensors and for convenience you get auto lights, auto high beam and auto wipers. One feature the Tourneo does nee though is a digital rear view mirror because when the third row is occupied your vision is obscured from the rear-view mirror.
All new Ford models come with a five years/unlimited kilometres warranty and Ford National Roadside Assistance and Auto Club Lifestyle Membership for up to seven years if an eligible General Service is undertaken at a participating Ford Dealer. The service interval for the Tourneo is one year or 30,000kms, whichever occurs first, and for Transit Custom models the service plan can be purchased up front for $2,000 and includes four services and brake fluid (Year 3).
Tourneo is a very adaptable people mover allowing families to choose a configuration that works for them and their gear, but lacks some refinement. The Ford Tourneo Titanium X is priced from $70,990 excluding on-road costs and as tested with the optional Blue Metallic paint ($700) this Tourneo was $71,690 plus on-roads. Your can configure your Ford Tourneo online or visit your preferred Ford dealer for more information.
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| Pros | Cons |
| The flexible track-based seating system | The ride is not comfortable |
| Adults can utilise all eight seats | The A/C struggled on a hot day |
| Many storage options in the cabin | The large manually operated tailgate |
Photographs by Driven Women Magazine.