Ford Tourneo Custom review

Cars are getting larger, but if your primary concern is finding a vehicle that can easily carry lots of people, then your options are shrinking.

That means if you need to carry up to nine passengers – and allow them to stretch out comfortably – then something based on a van may be the answer. And the Ford Tourneo Custom is in the thick of it.

You see, the Tourneo Custom is actually based on the Ford Transit Custom, much like how the Mercedes V-Class owes its existence to the Vito van and the Volkswagen Transporter begat the Caravelle. Indeed the Ford-Volkswagen connection is more than skin deep, because they’re mechanically identical.

The Tourneo Custom is available in two lengths, with eight or nine seats, four trims, three engines – including a plug-in hybrid – and the choice of manual or automatic, and two and four-wheel drive. Plus there’s the all-electric e-Tourneo Custom. Something for everyone, then.

A minibus, it is not. Rather, it’s better suited to large families, those who have an active lifestyle or, more likely, professional drivers who need to carry passengers and luggage in comfort.

So, is the Tourneo Custom the top choice when it comes to comfortable capacity, or would you be better served by a Mercedes V-Class, a Citroen ë-Spacetourer – if you’re ready to go electric – or a Volkswagen Multivan if you only need seven seats?

The Ford Tourneo Custom offers up a comprehensive range of engine options, including three diesel engines, plus a plug-in hybrid and a fully-electric model called e-Tourneo Custom.

Choose diesel, and you’ll need to select from 134bhp, 148bhp or 168bhp outputs. All are available with a six-speed manual gearbox and front wheel drive, although the low and high-powered models can also be had with four-wheel drive or an automatic gearbox.

So far, we’ve only driven the 134bhp engine in the Tourneo Custom, and found it to be perfectly adequate for light passenger duties, although if you’re regularly filling all eight or nine seats, the 148bhp might be better suited; on paper, at least, it should be the sweet spot in the Tourneo Custom range.

The 2.0-litre diesel engine is relatively smooth, although it’s quite loud at tickover and it’s more vocal than the seven-seat Volkswagen Multivan when accelerating hard. Indeed, it's here more than anywhere else where it belies its commercial vehicle roots. 

The six-speed manual gearshift is easy to operate, and although we’re yet to try it in the Tourneo, the eight-speed automatic is smooth in the mechanically-identical Transit Custom.

Similarly, we’ve experienced the plug-in hybrid and fully-electric Transit Customs. The Tourneo Custom PHEV blends a 2.5-litre petrol engine with a 11.8kWh (usable capacity) battery to good effect, with a smooth transition between petrol and electric. It’s surprisingly punchy and smooth, but the CVT automatic gearbox tends to see the rev soar when you accelerate hard.

The E-Tourneo Custom shares its battery and motors with the E-Transit Custom, which we named our best medium electric van for 2025. But unlike the Transit, the E-Tourneo is only available with 215bhp. Still, in that version, it’s plenty powerful enough and shrugged off heavy cargo well – suggesting it should be more than up to the job with a full load of passengers here.

The Ford Transit Custom is among the best to drive in the medium van class, and much of that translates well into the Tourneo Custom. Indeed with the weight of the rear seats, it’s actually more comfortable than the van version.

Of course, don’t go thinking that it offers the same silken ride comfort of a large SUV, but it’s certainly better than the rather more van-like Mercedes V-Class. The suspension does a good job of dealing with motorway expansion joints at speed and eases the worst of urban potholes at lower speeds. You wouldn’t call the Tourneo Custom agile, but it’s remarkably car-like to drive.

“I was impressed by how the Tourneo Custom drives. It proved manoeuvrable around town, and there wasn’t much wind noise at speed – despite its bluff shape.” – Stuart Milne, Digital Editor

The Tourneo Custom counts some upmarket models, such as the Mercedes V-Class, among its rivals. And while the Ford’s interior can’t quite match the Merc when it comes to a premium feel, it still feels contemporary and high quality. Of course, under the fancy trim, it’s still a van, so you need to set your expectations accordingly, much as you would with a Citroën ë-Spacetourer, Peugeot e-Traveller or Mercedes V-Class.

The infotainment system – SYNC4 in Ford-speak – has all you’d expect, such as sat-nav, a DAB digital radio and Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity.

It’s a shame, then, that it’s a bit fiddly to use. The 13.0in screen is bright and pretty responsive, but you have to delve through more menus than you might expect to perform fairly simple tasks, such as changing the radio station. Still, the voice control, while more limited in scope than the infotainment system fitted to the V-Class or VW Multivan, acts on instructions consistently well.

Voice control can also be used to set the temperature, which is good, because there are no physical controls – you have to use the touchscreen instead. At least there are chunky buttons on the steering wheel to adjust the volume and cruise control.

Those buttons can change the trip computer display, too. The 8.0in screen itself is clear and crisp and does a good job of displaying all the key information, even if it looks dated compared with the V-Class.

As with an increasing number of vans and van-derived models, the gearstick sprouts out of the dashboard, rather than the floor. That frees up space in the centre, which is particularly useful for nine-seat models, which have three seats up front. It’s a shame that the parking brake switch is in a fiddly position in the middle of the dashboard.

Still, with one of the highest driving positions around (assuming you’ve the energy and mobility to hoick yourself up the step into the driver’s seat), visibility is great all around, with vast expanses of glass and huge door mirrors with convex panels which virtually eliminate blind spots.

“The infotainment and driver’s display screen are clear, but I can’t help thinking they both look a little basic. A visual redesign wouldn’t go amiss.” – Stuart Milne, Digital Editor

The Tourneo Custom is not short of space. Even the short wheelbase model (dubbed L1) is more than five metres long, and the long wheelbase (L2) adds another 40cm to that. While the roof is low enough to just about squeeze into most height-restricted car parks, expect to be hanging out of the front or back of a parking space. Still, it’s easy to judge thanks to helpful sensors (high-spec models have a 360deg camera), and the front wheels are pushed into the front corners.

There’s plenty of storage, with two cubbies in each of the front doors, twin gloveboxes and a space on top of the dash. A cubby under the gearstick has wireless smartphone charging, and there are cupholders atop the dash on either side, plus a third flip-down one beside the gearstick.

You can choose from eight or nine seats in either bodystyle: the former has a large area between the front seats, but the lack of a centre storage module, such as that in the Volkswagen ID Buzz means it’s wasted space – unless you use it to walk from front to back.

Those back seats are accessed via twin sliding doors. Once inside, even the tallest passengers in the most outrageous hats have sufficient head room, even in versions equipped with a panoramic glass roof. Six adults can comfortably sit side-by-side in two rows of three seats. 

The seats slide easily on metal tracks by pulling a large handle on each. The third row splits in a 60:40 configuration, but each of the second-row seats move independently. The central second-row seat can fold to double as a table, complete with a pair of cupholders.

All of the seats can be removed, and the second row can face forwards or backwards. The seats are heavy, though, and require a fair bit of manhandling to remove and replace. And you’ll need somewhere dry and secure to store them when not in use.

There are Isofix child seat mounts in the four outer seats, but only two cupholders. There are drawers under the third row of seats, though, even if they’re tricky to open.

Even with the third row of seats slid right back, there’s a vast boot. Slide them forward, or drop the backs, and it is, to all intents and purposes, a van. Although the boot is at knee height, there’s no loading lip, and the huge top-hinged bootlid is well out of the way. It’s quite a reach to the strap to pull it closed, though, and it requires a good tug.

Its boot space is, as you might expect, beyond criticism. Even with all three rows of seats in place, there’s more than 1150 litres of room. That’s about three times more than you’ll find in a Volkswagen ID Buzz LWB with all three rows in place, and slap bang between the space you’ll find in a regular or long-wheelbase Mercedes V-Class.

“I like the drawers under the third-row seats, but they’re tough to open and it’s easy to skin your knuckles on them.” – Stuart Milne, Digital Editor

There’s no getting away from the fact that if you want a plush eight or nine seat vehicle, you’re going to have to dig deep. While the VW Transporter Shuttle is cheaper, that’s more minibus than comfy people carrier. The Tourneo’s closest rival is the Mercedes V-Class, against which, the Ford seems like a veritable bargain. But it’s worth noting that there’s not a massive jump in price from the entry-level diesel into a PHEV or from a top-spec diesel into the fully-electric e-Tourneo.

There’s no doubting the amount of standard equipment the Tourneo Custom ships with. Entry-level Zetec models include 16in alloy wheels, LED headlights, front and rear parking sensors, 13in touchscreen infotainment, adaptive cruise control and automatic wipers.

Titanium models add four-way adjustment for the driver’s seat, climate control in the rear, and heated seats, while Titanium X adds a 360deg parking camera, opening rear side windows and picnic lights in the boot. It’s about £3000 to step up from one trim to another; Titanium represents the sweet spot, but we wouldn’t blame you if some of the handy and practical features of the Titanium X left you digging a little deeper.

Active trim is priced close to Titanium X, but is trickier to recommend unless you crave the slightly rugged styling.

The most economical diesel will achieve 41.5mpg under official figures, which is less than the 47.1mpg achieved by the V-Class, however real-world economy is likely to be far closer, particularly when both vehicles are loaded with passengers and luggage.

There’s not a huge price premium to pay for the plug-in hybrid version, which is capable of travelling up to 32 miles on electricity alone. It’ll charge its 11.8kWh (usable capacity) battery from 10-100% in just over 3.5 hours, although its maximum charging rate of 3.6kW is slower than many other plug-in hybrids. Still, under official figures 201mpg could be possible, but in order to come close to that, you’ll have to charge regularly and mainly cover shorter distances.

The E-Tourneo Custom can travel up to 201.5 miles on a charge, under official figures, and its 62kWh (usable capacity) battery can charge from 10-80% in around 40 minutes at its maximum rate of 125kW. The Ford’s range is slightly less than you’d get from the Citroën ë-Spacetourer and identical Peugeot e-Traveller, although they take a little longer to charge.

Both the electric and plug-in hybrid models can be specified with optional tech which can provide up to 2.3kW to power electrical equipment via a three-pin plug socket in the boot.

The Tourneo and e-Tourneo are covered by a three year, 60,000-mile warranty. That matches that of the Mercedes V-Class in terms of length, but the Mercedes doesn't have a mileage limit. While we don’t have reliability information for the Tourneo specifically, Ford came joint 24th (alongside Volkswagen) out of 30 brands in our 2025 reliability survey.

“Fuel economy isn’t stellar, but with up to nine people on board, it’s still far better than taking two cars.” – Stuart Milne, Digital Editor

Buy it if…

- You want a van-based MPV that drives like a car

- A lengthy list of standard equipment is important to you

- You’re looking for a wide range of engine options

Don’t buy it if…

- A low retail price is a priority

- You want an MPV that’s easy to manoeuvre in tight spaces

- You like a solid-feeling interior

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