The recent festivities - and in particular the disinclination of anyone to waste time with anything so boring as car swaps - meant that I had custody of the Galaxy for three full weeks. In the offbeat world of motoring journalism, where a test report has to be constructed after as little as twenty minutes behind the wheel, this practically amounts to a lifetime. It was almost as if I owned the thing.And I wouldn't have minded much if I had. I don't have a lifestyle which requires an MPV, so the Galaxy and its identical twins, the Volkswagen Sharan and the SEAT Alhambra, are not vehicles I covet to any great extent. Even so, during my three-week stint I never found myself wishing I was driving anything else. I may have no ambitions to own a Galaxy, but if the occasion arose I could certainly do so quite happily.For a start, it is one of the very few cars I know (and I believe all the others are, like this one, turbo diesels) which makes sensible use of a six-speed gearbox. The ratios are widely spaced, and fourth gear is about the same as top in many petrol-fuelled machines. Fifth is a lot higher, and once you're in sixth the car is burbling along at 35mph per 1000rpm.That's all very well if the engine has the low-speed torque to cope. In the case of the Galaxy, it does. You can cruise for ages at little more than tickover, but at the same time there is enough urge for you to be able to accelerate without first hauling the lever down through the gears.High revs are fun in the right circumstances; low revs are relaxing over long periods. I hardly ever exceeded 3000rpm, but I never felt the need to drive the car hard in order to make decent progress. The fuel economy was pleasing, too - despite its bulk (and there's a lot of frontal area involved here, even if the shape is relatively streamlined) the Galaxy easily gave over 500 miles per tankful.A side benefit of the engine's low-speed ability is that it makes driving in packed snow a lot easier. On one trip it was difficult to stop the wheels spinning even on level roads, never mind on gradients, but I was able to keep going simply by ignoring the accelerator and letting the engine do the work on its own.I've yet to find an MPV that I am completely comfortable driving, but I managed high mileages without too many aches and pains. A bit more side support in the seats would make a big difference, though.Space, of course, is there in abundance. The Galaxy takes up to seven passengers, and I can confirm that it's possible to carry two bikes - for a friend's sons - without removing any of the seats. The darkened side windows also proved useful when we inadvertently drove past one of said sons, who remained unaware that his Christmas present was passing before his eyes.Even after its year 2000 makeover, though, there remains no answer to the Galaxy's problem about removing its contents from the gaze of inquisitive onlookers without actually taking them out of the car. There is no luggage cover of any description, so it would be an act of madness to leave anything of the slightest value inside after parking in a built-up area.Unlike some colleagues, I'm less inclined to complain about the fact that if you use the Galaxy to transport seven people there is very little room left over for their belongings. Any vehicle that could do that would have to be about twenty-five feet long, which isn't what you might call practical. But I do wish someone would come up with a way of hiding luggage from sight. I mean, if we can send people to the moon, etc. (Update: A reader informs us that a luggage cover is one of the options included in the Versatility Pack. Point taken. But it should be fitted as standard.)Another car is parked outside the house now. It's much, much smaller than the Galaxy, but I'm sure the feeling of claustrophobia will pass in a day or two. It has five gears, and after my time with the big Ford I have the surprising - make that unprecedented - feeling that that just isn't enough. Well, well. I never thought I'd see the day.
Our Rating
