We must have done something right last year because, for the second July running, the Stewart clan was invited to stay with friends at their house near Ste Maxime in the South of France. Accepting their kind offer was not an issue, so all that remained was how to get there.With three kids, luggage for five, beach paraphernalia and the likelihood of shuttling others around while down there it would have to be something with plenty of seats, and space. And because yours truly was paying for fuel, it had to be diesel. That left a few SUVs and a raft of big MPVs to choose from, or a Mercedes-Benz R-Class for example, but having driven a juicy V6 petrol Grand Voyager down to the Cote d'Azur several years ago, I reckoned that a diesel version would do the job nicely and so I plumped for the new-for-2007, top-of-the-range 2.8-litre CRD Executive XS Auto.Most noticeable change from that last Grand Voyager I drove, apart from the petrol/diesel matter, is Stow 'n' Go seating. The old second-row captain's chairs were larger, and they swiveled round to face rearward if required, but to remove them took substantial muscle and storage space, as it also did for the third-row bench seat, despite its castor wheels.With Stow 'n' Go the two second-row seats and the 66/33-split rear bench all fold easily away into deep storage spaces beneath the floor. Not just clever, but handy too, especially when seating and loadspace needs vary while away.But Stow 'n' Go isn't so new. What is new are the Executive and XS tags which mean leather upholstery, power sliding doors, heated front seats (personally, I can’t abide them, even in winter), roof rails and rear park assist on the Executive model, while the Executive XS also features a rear passenger DVD system with 6-disc changer and a pair of cordless headphones, a power tailgate, satellite navigation, tinted sunscreen glass, load-levelling suspension and more as standard.Also useful was the standard-fitment cruise control, trip computer and, not least, the dual-zone climate control air-conditioning. The icing on the electronics cake would have been a mini-jack input for an iPod - give me that over heated seats any day, especially on the continent, where all radio shows are abysmal.This year we rose an hour earlier in London and didn't hit traffic, so our intended 0925 P&O Dover-Calais ferry thankfully set sail with us on board. A hearty Langan's brekky made us feel human again, and once on the autoroute south we covered a further 300 miles (around 400 in total) before the first fuel stop - 74.18 litres for €90.50 (about £60, or around £12 cheaper than a tankful in the UK).And so the journey continued, with teenager almost permanently asleep, the two younger children glued to the rear, flip-down DVD screen and my dear wife fully occupied by texts, seemingly to and from everyone else in the world with a mobile phone. Isn't technology a wonderful thing?Having been stopped and fined for piffling speeding offences on three of my last four trans-France drives, this time I reduced our cruising speed to around 85-90mph. This would cut fuel consumption, and help save the planet, but despite this and lengthy 50mph spells for roadworks, the best the trip computer showed was 29.1mpg. I suppose that for a big-bodied 2.8-litre auto hauling five plus baggage that's not excessive, but it falls short of the car's official combined 33.2mpg.Most contemporary three-litre motors contain more than four cylinders, but not this 150bhp CRD. And being mated to a four-speed auto it's a bit of a plodder. Despite a respectable 265lb/ft of torque at 2100rpm it sometimes feels short of puff on autoroute inclines, while acceleration (0-62mph in 12 seconds) isn't exactly brisk.The engine also sounds agricultural at tickover, especially in the tight confines of a péage toll area with a front window lowered. I'd hope that the next-generation Voyagers (on sale next spring) will boast smoother, quieter, punchier five- or six-cylinder CRDs with five- or six-speed transmissions.Ten and a half hours after leaving Calais we reach our destination. The pool beckons, the rosé is chilled and there are smiles all round. We stopped to refuel twice, the second time shortly before arrival so that fill-up would see us through ten days of local runs to the beach/shops/restaurants, plus a chunk of the return journey. We also had no aches, pains or complaints, but it was while down there on holiday proper that the Grand Voyager really shone.With temperatures hitting 99 degrees Fahrenheit the dark glass and aircon worked well in unison, the leather seats dealt with damp swimwear and, though no rocketship, it climbed steep, twisting hill roads with seven aboard with ease, or with five plus an inflated dingy, an alligator and other essentials - the Grand Voyager's interior is truly cavernous.And then, seemingly just as I'd collected my obligatory dose of sunburn and mozzy bites, our time was up and we were packed and back in the car, barreling northward trying to make the 1945 P&O from Calais. We missed that boat, but traffic, roadworks and torrential rain were to blame, not the car, or the zealots in blue.Over the entire 12-day period the engine ran for 35 hours, 22 minutes and 38 seconds, covering 1775.2 miles while consuming about 4.5 tankfuls at an average of 26.2mpg. Something of a busman's holiday in my case, but we’d happily set off in the same car tomorrow and do it all again. Engine 2776 cc, 4 cylinders Power 150 bhp @3800 rpm Torque 265 ib/ft @2100 rpm Transmission 4 speed auto Fuel/CO2 33.2 mpg / 225 g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 12sec Top speed 112 mph Price From £31756.00 approx Release date 01/04/2007
Our Rating
