SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Most, but not all, the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

My most recent drive is on the home page. Archived reviews and opinion pieces are in the active menu down the left side. Hover your cursor over a heading or manufacturer's name and follow the drop-down.


We bond with Ford's 2015 Grand Tourneo Connect 1.6 EcoBoost a/t

Beautiful where it counts

Posted: 16 July 2015

The cheat sheet
Price: R359 900 basic, R366 330 as tested
Engine: 1596 cc, four-cylinder, DOHC, direct injection turbopetrol
Power: 110 kW at 5700 rpm
Torque: 240 Nm between 1400 and 4000 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: About 11.1 seconds
Maximum: 176 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 10.1 l/100 km
Tank: 61 litres
Luggage: 1287 – 2620 litres, loaded to roof
Warranty: 4 years/120 000 km; with 3 years roadside assistance
Service plan: 3 years/60 000 km; at 20 000 km intervals

Some people say that the best pickup is a van. That’s because it keeps your cargo dry, hides it from prying eyes and is easier to load and unload than a pickup. Taking that thinking one step further, it follows that the most versatile MPVs probably begin life as vans - because they’re taller, already have two sliding doors and were built for carrying “stuff” in the first place. And if that original van is the Transit Connect, International Van of the Year for 2014, you know you potentially have a “SuperMPV”. 

Background: Transit Connect is a Ford Europe compact panel van derived from the Ford Focus. Its first generation, designed by Peter Horbury, was introduced in 2002 to replace the old Escort and Fiesta-based Courier van ranges that ceased production that year. Tourneo Connect is a Transit Connect with side windows and removable rear seats.

But Life is never quite that simple: You also get fully sized Transits and Tourneos that are quite a bit larger. And Tourneo busses are something else entirely, but we won’t bother with those in this article.
 
It’s enough that Tourneo Connect comes in four models; with three different engines, a pair of gearboxes and two body lengths. Short wheelbase versions, 1.0-litre EcoBoost Ambiente or Trend, are fitted with six-speed manual transmissions. Long wheelbase Grand Tourneo Connect offers a choice of 1.6 TDCi engine with six-speed manual ‘box or 1.6 (petrol) EcoBoost motor with six-speed automatic. That’s it: If you want automatic you buy the bigger petrol motor and if you must have diesel, you choose the bigger body.

You may, if you wish, add an optional two seats to the original five-chair configuration – but only if you buy the LWB (+400 mm) version with either of the pair of bigger engines. These extra seats adjust fore- and aft over about 10 centimetres to make the “boot” area bigger or knee room slightly more generous. They can, like those in the second row, be folded flat.

Our test car was a LWB Grand Tourneo Connect with 1.6 EcoBoost engine and automatic gearbox. Options fitted to it included the third row of chairs at R1820 and a Titanium Pack (front parking sensors and backup camera) for R4610.

Its commercial vehicle roots showed in the tailgate, with pull-down strap, that opens down to just above knee level; spare tyre stowed under the body; those sliding side doors (easier for loading carry cots); removable second- and third row seats – you could get at least one bike in there with front wheel on - and its high roof. We usually rack the driver’s chair all the way down but with this one we could raise it halfway and still have a fist-width of air between scalp and hood lining.

Then there’s the full-width shelf above the windscreen, where driver and crew would store delivery notes and such, but you could dump mail, parking tickets or a handbag; cloth seats with mechanical adjusters; two-part wing mirrors with extra-wide coverage in the lower halves and the very van-like gear lever atop a small tower. It even looks more formed for function than sculpted for city slicker appeal.

But before you dismiss it as too workmanlike, there are more than sufficient car-centric features to make it thoroughly liveable.

Comfortable, civilian suspension is the most obvious. Then there’s well-spaced gearing via the smooth automatic ‘box, a perky little turbocharged engine, four airbags, all the electronic braking and handling aids you could reasonably expect, disc brakes at both ends, a big panoramic sky roof to flood the interior with sunlight, fog lamps front and rear, cruise control, onboard computer, a six-speaker sound system with input plugs and Bluetooth, SYNC with 3.5-inch dot matrix display, satellite controls on the steering wheel, dual channel air conditioning, a wide-angle mirror for checking on the kids and, quite honestly, more cup holders and 12-volt sockets than you’ll ever need.

There is more than enough storage to satisfy your inner pack rat. Apart from dropboxes right at the back alongside seats number six and seven, there are door bins, two seatback pockets, a small tray in the rear armrest and a stash with loose lid in the second-row footwell. It’s about right for a slender novel or a tablet. You also get an open tray in the central console, a decent cubby, a holder for sunglasses and a sneaky little cache, with power socket, under the instrument cowling. That’s for dad’s cellphone.

There are a couple of things to watch out for: While the back gate practically opens itself, with gas struts doing most of the work, you need to close it firmly. The tail lights go off when you have it right. Second, when lifting folded seats back up, be sure to click them firmly into place or the seatbacks won’t flip upright again.

Finally we reckon this car is like the boy or girl your mother wanted you to marry; admittedly plain to look at but practical, kind and helpful on the inside – where it counts.

Test unit from Ford SA press fleet


What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material. If I ever place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with that vehicle at least once already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. As quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so they can see I do actually exist.

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