New Car Honours 2006

02nd July 2006

	No longer do you need to haul the heavy chairs in and out. In the second-generation Galaxy, they simply fold into the floor.

If you want your car to carry seven people, you're spoiled for choice – especially now that off-roaders are getting in on the act. But that's not to say the traditional MPV is fading from the scene. For sheer cost-effectiveness and versatility, they cannot be beaten – particularly now that some manufacturers are coming up with more creative seating layouts. It's this new-found flexibility which has enabled the latest Ford Galaxy to knock the Renault Espace off the top spot.

No longer do you need to haul the heavy chairs in and out. In the second-generation Galaxy, they simply fold into the floor. Okay, so compact MPVs have had this facility for a while, but the fact that the Ford seats have lost little of their versatility in the process of switching to the full-size people carrier is cause for celebration. Each chair slides and reclines, too, while new features such as the standard roof stowage and unique handbrake prove the blue oval's engineers concentrated on more than the seating alone.

No other MPV is as car-like to drive or easier to get on with. The hard-wearing materials, spacious cabin and air of quality ensure the Ford feels up to coping with family life. Excellent TDCi diesels make for low running costs and the Galaxy is even attractively priced, starting at less than £20,000.

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