New Ford Tourneo rises to the task of work and play

As much as vans have become more aspirational than traditional people movers in recent years, arguably thanks in part to the Mercedes-Benz V-Class, the Ford Tourneo Custom has stuck with the “traditional” principle rather than adding an element of show as well.

Announced for South Africa at Ford’s 100^th anniversary celebration last year, the Tourneo, now without the Custom suffix, joins its Transit Custom panel van sibling in completing a comparatively spare line-up compared to the V-Class/Vito, Volkswagen Transporter, Opel Zafira Life and Hyundai Staria.

Form over function

Shown to the public for the first time at the Nampo Agricultural Expo in Bothaville in the Free State in April, the Transit range has since been bolstered by the Sport variant, while the Tourneo comprises a single model in mid-range Trend specification.

While plans are underfoot to bring an entry-level variant to market, Europe’s flagship Titanium X has been wiped off of the table for now as the successor to the previous range-topping Tourneo Custom Limited.

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At the same time, the joint venture with Volkswagen, which involves the latest Transporter using the Transit/Tourneo as a base, won’t lead to the introduction of all-wheel-drive as a means of putting the Tourneo against the outgoing T6.1 Caravelle.

As such, the Tourneo remains all about functionality and as much as plushness has seemingly become the van norm, the weeklong test still proved surprising.

Looks in the eye of the beholder

While seldom the main reason for considering a van in the place, an aspect since made undone by the Staria, the Tourneo, on first glance, represents an evolution over its predecessor as the basic block silhouette has remained intact.

All about functionality as evident by the black door handles and 16-inch alloy wheels onlookers commented on appeared lost in the wheel arches and unable to withstand the Tourneo’s structure, the final design is neat and arguably a step-up on the previous model.

No longer appearing nose-heavy or with the “kicked-up” rear profile its predecessor, Ford has gone a step further by making the headlights slimmer and redesigning the rear facia with a smaller window, a more concave bootlid and smaller LED taillights.

Workhorse with tech

Assembled at Ford’s Kocaeli’s Plant in Turkey for all markets excluding China, the Tourneo’s biggest improvement shows itself when opening the door and clambering on-board instead of simply getting in.

Representative of a model of its own, the dated Fiesta-style smartphone dashboard that gained a somewhat aftermarket-looking infotainment system towards the end of its life, has made way for a more modern design housing 13-inch infotainment system and a 12-inch digital instrument cluster that actually measures eight-inches when solely factoring in the display.

Offset by a deep top-mounted glovebox as part of a dual set-up, the new display gets both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and proved relatively easy to fathom in spite of its layout having required alterations when compared to the portrait-style look of the Ranger and Everest.

As with the Transit, the minimalistic approach has seen the switches for the tri-zone climate control move to the base of the display in a touch-sensitive arrangement with only a few physical buttons, including a volume dial, being present above the air vents.

A design the Tourneo could have done without, the “digital” buttons proved annoying and as with the Transit, questionable for a vehicle supposed to be simple to get accustomed to.

The rest of the interior is, however, straight forward as the lower facia now accommodates a pair of cupholders that doubles up as a storage tray, while at its base hides a wireless smartphone charger and a pair of USB ports.

As a result of the former, the gear lever moves to the steering column and while awkward at the beginning, became to doddle to use in contrast to the electronic handbrake that sits between the air vents in the form of a toggle switch.

Being a van, fit-and-finish is more robust and hard-wearing than soft leathers and premium trim. That being said, the materials felt anything but brittle and plasticky and although the piano-key black trim looked out of place, it has been kept to a minimum as per the interior’s intended focus.

In addition to the steering wheel being rack and reach adjustable, both front seats get their own captain’s style armrest as well as heating element.

Let’s talk space

For now marketed solely in long wheelbase bodystyle, the 5 450 mm long Tourneo was never going to be found lacking for space, which still surprised during the seven days.

Apart from the pair of gloveboxes and cupholders-cum-storage area, two clipboard-style slots feature on top of dash, while the front doors cards have no less than three different compartments capable of accommodating a variety of items.

If still not enough, a series of drawers reside underneath the seats with separate pockets also providing storage within the doors.

Equally as unsurprising is the interior’s versatility. Laid-out in a 2+3+3 configuration – with the “walk-through” ability in getting from the front to the middle trio – the second row lacks the swivelling function of the Caravelle or V-Class, but can still be folded forward or taken out completely as the case with the third row also is.

According to Ford, removing all but the front seats results in a loading volume of 6.8 m³ and the ability to transport three Euro palettes.

Placed on runners, pulling the various tugs to drop the seats proved no troubles either, though their actual removal might take some muscle.

At the sometime, the dual manually sliding doors also require a bit more than usual force to close, the same being applicable to the tailgate which does, however, get a sturdy pull to help with the shutting process.

Besides the items already mentioned, standard spec is anything but brushing the poverty line as the Tourneo has been furnished with push-button start, a more than acceptable 10-speaker sound system, rain sense wipers, auto on/off headlights, keyless entry and seven USB ports.

Also not skimped on is safety where apart from adaptive cruise control, it gets front and rear parking sensors, a 180-degree camera system, Rear Cross Traffic Alert with Automatic Braking, Driver Attention Alert, Forward Collison Warning, Lane Keep Assist and Evasive Steering Assist.

Sit back and enjoy the ride

One the move, the Tourneo continued to surprise, although unlike the Transit, some of the eagerness has fallen away as a result of not only its added weight, but because of the snappy six-speed manual gearbox having been dropped for an eight-speed automatic.

A ‘box unique to the Tourneo as it isn’t derived from the General Motors co-developed 10-speed automatic used in the Ranger, Everest and Mustang, the unit is again matched to the single turbo 2.0-litre Panther diesel mill that develops an unchanged 100kW/360Nm.

Saddled with an initial bout of low-down lag not experienced on the Transit, the delivery is more linear and once up to speed, just enough to cart the Tourneo’s 1 978 kg mass without feeling underpowered or sluggish.

For its part, the ‘box shifts largely smoothly and although outfitted with a manual mode, will require an unconventional column shifting method of twisting the selector stalk in M mode instead of following a traditional manual-shift pattern.

Unlike its some of its rivals, the Tourneo lacks a Sport mode, but does offer an Eco setting or Normal as its default. A dedicated Tow/Haul is also provided with the claimed tow rating being 2 500 kg.

Where the Tourneo excelled was on the open road. During its stay, it had to ferry its minder and a few friends to the Zwartkops Raceway outside Pretoria for the final round of the National Extreme Festival.

Utilising the same suspension set-up as the Transit, the ride ironed-out less than ideal sections with ease and proved to so comfortable, that one friend was whizzed-off to la la land not long after the return run to Johannesburg had commenced.

Still set to require care for its size in tight sections, somewhat alleviated by the camera system and sensors, the Tourneo’s fuel consumption returned an indicated best of 9.5 L/100 km after the seven day and 453 km stay – well down on Ford’s optimistic 7.4 L/100 km claim, but still commendable given it spend the bulks of its stay doing the daily commute.

Conclusion

Sticking to its guns and debuting the Tourneo in a spec that balances workhorse practicality with a few luxuries has largely counted in Ford’s favour as the newcomer executes its intended task without making a scene.

At R1 070 000 though, it is on the pricey side for it what it offers and not as complete a package as a comparative Staria or even a Zafira Life.

However, it its still welcome a segment mainstay likely to build on the reputation of its predecessor as a solid people mover for those who a Ranger simply won’t work.

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