Item: Ford Tourneo Custom
Rating: 3
Author: What Car? Team

Citroen e-Spacetourer

Citroën Berlingo

Citroën Spacetourer

Citroën e-Berlingo

Ford Tourneo Connect

Ford Tourneo Courier

Ford Tourneo Custom

Mercedes EQV

Mercedes V-Class

Peugeot Rifter

Peugeot Traveller

Peugeot e-Rifter

Peugeot e-Traveller

Toyota Proace Verso

Vauxhall Combo Life

Vauxhall Combo-e Life

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Vauxhall Vivaro-e Life

Volkswagen Caddy MPV

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Introduction

Performance & drive

Interior

Passenger & boot space

Costs & verdict

The Ford Tourneo Custom costs less to buy than&nbsp;the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/mercedes-benz/v-class/estate/review/n17287">Mercedes V-Class</a>&nbsp;and <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/volkswagen/caravelle/mpv/review/n17332">VW Caravelle</a>&nbsp;but you can pick up a <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/citroen/space-tourer/mpv/review/n17326">Citroën Spacetourer</a>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/peugeot/traveller/mpv/review/n17329">Peugeot Traveller</a> for less. It’s also worth noting that the Tourneo Custom’s diesel engines aren’t quite as economical as their equivalents in the Traveller and Spacetourer, so it will cost more to fuel.&nbsp;

So why not just buy the Tourneo Custom plug-in hybrid, then? Well, the plug-in hybrid costs significantly more than an equivalent so you would need to do a serious number of miles to offset the initial cost. The plug-in hybrid is predicted to depreciate at a far quicker rate than a regular Tourneo, which is disappointing – the standard diesel has better predicted residuals than the Traveller and Spacetourer, but isn’t quite as <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/advice/buying/depreciation-what-is-it-and-how-do-i-avoid-it/n1122">depreciation</a> proof as the V-Class and Caravelle.

On a positive note, it is very well equipped. It comes with plenty of standard kit, including air conditioning, front and rear parking sensors, Bluetooth connectivity and a leather steering wheel. That said, we’d be tempted to upgrade to Titanium for a full infotainment system and the option of the range-topping engine.

Crash testing experts <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/the-safest-cars-on-sale-today/n22781">Euro NCAP</a> have yet to test the Tourneo Custom for safety, but you do at least get automatic emergency braking <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/what-is-aeb-and-how-does-it-work/n3283">(AEB)</a> and hill-start assist as standard, with features such as adaptive cruise control, blind-spot assist&nbsp;and lane-keep assist on the options list.&nbsp;

Ford&nbsp;came 18th out of 31 manufacturers in the 2020 What Car? <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/the-most-and-least-reliable-car-brands/n22701">Reliability Survey</a>, beating Mercedes, Peugeot&nbsp;and VW, but coming just below Citroën.

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As mentioned in the Introduction section, the Ford Tourneo Custom is available with Ford’s 2.0-litre diesel engine in three power outputs: 104bhp, 128bhp and 182bhp.

The&nbsp;182bhp version transforms the Tourneo Custom into something of a rocketship – in van terms, at least. Even when loaded up with people and luggage, it feels genuinely punchy around town and on a motorway. The 128bhp version, though,&nbsp;suffers from laboured acceleration above 50mph and, because you need to keep your foot down for longer when getting up to speed, you’re more aware of the grumbly diesel engine.&nbsp;

With that in mind, we’d avoid the entry-level 104bhp unit unless you’re sticking to urban environments. We have yet to sample the plug-in hybrid petrol, but we suspect this will be the Tourneo Custom to go for if the majority of your journeys are limited to the city.&nbsp;

If you select the 128bhp or 182bhp engine, you have the option of a six-speed automatic gearbox. Its shifts are not lightning quick, but they are smooth enough to avoid any jerky or uncomfortable changes and, at low speeds, you won’t have any complaints (the eight-speed auto in the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/citroen/space-tourer/mpv/review/n17326/on-the-road">Citroën Spacetourer</a> is even smoother).&nbsp;As standard, all engines come with a&nbsp;six-speed manual gearbox – we'll let you know what that's like once we've tried&nbsp;it.

Overall, the Tourneo Custom handles quite well for a van. The steering has decent weight and is nimble enough, but it does feel quite slow&nbsp;so a stretch of twisting country road will give your arms a good work-out. There’s a fair bit of body roll, too, but no more than you'd find in its rivals. Let’s be honest, though – you won’t be hot-footing this around country B-roads. Around town and on the motorway, the handling is stable and predictable. It also has a usefully tight turning circle.

The ride, meanwhile, is as compliant as you could hope for in this class. Over a silken stretch of road, it will carry you along nicely, but it can get quite crashy and bouncy over broken surfaces. It absorbs big road imperfections well, although there’s quite a bit of suspension noise when it does so. In that respect, it's&nbsp;better than the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/volkswagen/caravelle/mpv/review/n17332">VW Caravelle</a> and <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/mercedes-benz/v-class/estate/review/n17287">Mercedes V-Class</a>.

There are families, there are big families – and there are&nbsp;families so big they need to consider buying&nbsp;a nine-seat MPV like the Ford Tourneo Custom.

The Tourneo is a people-carrying variant&nbsp;of the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/ford/transit-custom/van/review/n18288">Ford Transit Custom</a> van and is&nbsp;fitted&nbsp;with the Sync 3 infotainment system on most versions, so it promises more than just lots of space (especially if it's as good to drive as many Ford cars).

It's available in two lengths and you get eight seats as standard, with the ninth one available as an optional extra. As with most van-based MPVs, the exterior styling is almost identical to the vehicle it's based on, with just a few visual tweaks here and there.

It probably won't surprise you to learn that&nbsp;you can choose from a range of grunty 2.0-litre diesel engines, with power outputs from 104bhp to 182bhp on offer. What you might not expect, though, is that you can also get it as a <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/class/electric-cars">plug-in hybrid</a>.

The Tourneo PHEV combines an electric motor with a small 1.0-litre petrol engine. That should, in theory, give you zero-emissions running for short periods and a 300-mile combined driving range overall.

There are plenty of rival MPVs to consider, of course, including the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/mercedes-benz/v-class/estate/review/n17287">Mercedes V-Class</a>, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/volkswagen/caravelle/mpv/review/n17332">VW Caravelle</a>&nbsp;and four closely related options, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/citroen/space-tourer/mpv/review/n17326">Citroën Spacetourer</a>, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/peugeot/traveller/mpv/review/n17329">Peugeot Traveller</a>, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/toyota/proace-verso/estate/review/n17331">Toyota Proace Verso</a>&nbsp;and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/vauxhall/vivaro-life/mpv/review/n19645">Vauxhall Vivaro Life</a>.

If you're the adventurous type, the V-Class,&nbsp;Caravelle and the Tourneo all come in campervan variants – the Ford version is called the Nugget and sleeps up to four people with a kitchenette. We have a full separate review of the Nugget&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/ford/transit-nugget/mpv/review/n22681">here</a>.&nbsp;

So, is the Tourneo Custom the party or shopping trip bus of choice? Read on through this review to find out it ticks all your family's boxes, how it rates for driving pleasure and interior versatility, and which engine and trim level&nbsp;make the most sense.

Remember, if you're looking to buy a new vehicle of almost any make and model, it always pays to check for the best prices on the What Car? <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/new-car-deals">New Car Buying</a> pages, where you could save yourself thousands without any&nbsp;tedious haggling. You'll find some attractive <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/new-car-deals/make/ford">new Ford deals</a> there.

Slide on to (or jump up to) the driver’s seat and you’ll instantly feel like one of the tallest drivers on the road. The high driving position gives you a brilliant view out of the front and some handy features make visibility a real strong point for the Ford Tourneo Custom.

It has extra mirrors fitted to the bottom of the door mirrors to eliminate&nbsp;blind spots, and front and rear parking sensors are standard to help you&nbsp;avoid nasty scrapes when you're squeezing this huge car into parking spaces. A rear-view camera comes as standard on Titanium X trim.

The driver’s seat is usually eight-way manually adjustable but you get 10-way electrical adjustment in Sport and Titanium X trims, and it's available as&nbsp;an option with Titanium spec.

Entry-level Zetec models get a 4.2in TFT display with an AM/FM radio&nbsp;so it’s worth stepping up to Titanium trim, which gets an 8.0in touchscreen infotainment system using Ford’s latest Sync 3 software. It’s a crisp and clear display that’s easy to use and one of the better systems in the class. Just don’t expect it to look like the last word in sophistication.

In terms of build quality, there’s a pleasing amount of soft-touch plastic on the top of the doors and dashboard. The switches and controls work as well as they do in a Ford passenger car, although you don’t have to stray too far to find hard plastics that give away the Tourneo Custom’s van origins. Still, that's par for the course in the class.

Ford builds some of the most popular cars in the UK, including the Fiesta and Focus hatchbacks.

This success is partly down to longevity and the fact that there’s a Ford dealer around every corner. However, it’s also because Fords tend to offer good value and be among the best cars in their respective classes to drive.

The company’s huge range also helps; it offers everything from the small – but surprisingly practical – Ka+ to the large and lavishly equipped Edge SUV.

Meanwhile, other highlights of the range include the S-Max and Galaxy people carriers, the Mondeo executive car and the Ranger pick-up.

FORD

Tourneo Custom

Loads of room&nbsp;with useful seating flexibility and good to drive for a van-based vehicle, but too expensive to fully recommend.

One thing the Ford Tourneo Custom is not lacking is space. No matter where you're sitting, you'll have lots of it.

The car has an eight-seat layout as standard in the following formation: two up front, three in the middle row facing the back and three in the third row facing forwards. You can, for a reasonable cost, get an extra seat up front (making it three in the first row) to have nine seats in total, although top-spec Sport trim doesn’t have this nine-seat option.

Other seating layouts are possible, too. You can have four rows of two seats (available as an option in Zetec and Titanium) or three rows of two seats (available only with Zetec). All rear seats are foldable and detachable as standard.

The driver and front passenger have acres of head, shoulder and leg room so they can stretch out and get comfortable. In eight-seat configuration, the Tourneo Custom feels as airy and spacious as you’d wish a van-based car to be. There’s also a useful selection of cavernous cubbyholes that will easily swallow keys, mobile phones, big bottles of water and other travelling accessories.

As for the rear passengers, even tall adults will be comfortable in every seat, and even three in a row won’t feel cramped. Leg room is especially impressive in the back and, thanks to a high roof, you get masses of head room.

Another handy feature is that it's fitted with sliding rear doors. They make access to the back seats easy, even in cramped parking spaces, and the huge opening left by the opened doors helps load-lugging if you want to strip out the seats to turn the Tourneo Custom into a full van.

Even with all the seats in place, the boot is enormous, and the particularly&nbsp;high roof means it offers 1200 litres (or 1900 litres in the long-wheelbase version). For reference, the most compact <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/mercedes-benz/v-class/estate/review/n17287">Mercedes V-Class</a> can swallow 610 litres of luggage, with the long-wheelbase version taking up to 1030 litres. You can lower or remove the rear seats to make the car truly cavernous inside.

The Ford Tourneo Custom offers lots and lots of room, with useful seating flexibility and a modern-feeling dashboard. It’s also surprisingly sharp to drive for what is essentially a van, but we wish the diesel engines were a bit smoother and the plug-in hybrid variant is simply too expensive to recommend.

Need to load up several people and all of their luggage for a big road trip? A van-based MPV could be the answer to your prayers. Although these vehicles are heavily based on commercial vehicles, most will include higher quality materials than their working siblings, and creature comforts designed to keep everyone comfy. Most are spacious, too, with a boot large enough to accommodate multiple large suitcases – even if every seat is also filled.

Van-based MPV

<h2>What we're looking for:</h2><ul><li>Plenty of space for all the family and their paraphernalia</li> <li>Comfortable ride for everyone inside</li> <li>Seats with plenty of adjustment and versatility of layout</li> <li>Engine that can cope with a full load of people and luggage</li> <li>Excellent efficiency to avoid big fuel bills</li></ul>

Practicality is king in the MPV market, which has taken a hit as buyers have turned towards trendier SUVs. There are still plenty of decent offerings to suit most budgets, though, with Citroën fielding a particularly strong line-up. The French manufacturer’s Berlingo offers bags of space for not much money and you can easily haggle off thousands of extra pounds in discounts, too.

Citroën also scores with the larger Grand C4 Spacetourer, which offers seven seats, lots of oddment space and appealing running costs for something so large. A similarly priced and even better option is the Volkswagen Touran. Meanwhile, if you prefer a premium badge, there's always the BMW 2 Series Active and Gran Tourers or Mercedes B-Class and V-Class.

But for something sizeable that's still decent to drive, we’d recommend you check out the Ford Galaxy, which can offer three rows of seats and decent luggage space at the same time. It’s not that much pricier than the smaller S-Max.

Ford Tourneo Custom review

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Review of Ford Tourneo Custom interior by the expert What Car? team. Compare in car entertainment system, driving comfort and visibility with similar cars.

Slide on to (or jump up to) the driver’s seat and you’ll instantly feel like one of the tallest drivers on the road. The high driving position gives you a brilliant view out of the front and some handy features make visibility a real strong point for the Ford Tourneo Custom.,It has extra mirrors fitted to the bottom of the door mirrors to eliminate blind spots, and front and rear parking sensors are standard to help you avoid nasty scrapes when you're squeezing this huge car into parking spaces. A rear-view camera comes as standard on Titanium X trim.,The driver’s seat is usually eight-way manually adjustable but you get 10-way electrical adjustment in Sport and Titanium X trims, and it's available as an option with Titanium spec.Entry-level Zetec models get a 4.2in TFT display with an AM/FM radio so it’s worth stepping up to Titanium trim, which gets an 8.0in touchscreen infotainment system using Ford’s latest Sync 3 software. It’s a crisp and clear display that’s easy to use and one of the better systems in the class. Just don’t expect it to look like the last word in sophistication.,In terms of build quality, there’s a pleasing amount of soft-touch plastic on the top of the doors and dashboard. The switches and controls work as well as they do in a Ford passenger car, although you don’t have to stray too far to find hard plastics that give away the Tourneo Custom’s van origins. Still, that's par for the course in the class.,

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