With 98 percent of sales expected to go the way of the diesel engines, Ford Galaxy performance is nevertheless sufficient for the task of hauling the seven-seater around. If outright speed is your prerequisite then you best go for 240hp twin-turbo diesel.

Wide diesel line-up

All diesel-powered Ford Galaxy derivatives feature the same basic 2.0-litre EcoBlue motor, albeit with a range of power and torque figures.

Starting point is the 150hp engine, complemented with 350Nm of torque. This means a 123mph top speed and 0-62mph sprint of 10.9 seconds for both the manual and automatic. The all-wheel drive version takes 12.2 seconds and has a top speed of 122mph, despite a higher torque figure of 370Nm.

Opt for the 190hp version and its 400Nm of torque, and you’ll sprint from 0-62mph in 9.8 seconds with the manual gearbox, reaching 131mph. The auto is slightly quicker at reaching 62mph, with a 9.6-second time but has a lower top speed of 129mph. The all-wheel drive version is the slowest out of these, taking 10.6 seconds to reach 62mph, with a top speed of 128mph.

Engines no longer available

Although Ford expected petrol-engined Galaxy sales to be low volume, it’s nevertheless offered the 1.5-litre EcoBoost for a brief period of time. With 165hp and 242Nm of torque on offer, there’s a 124mph top speed and a 0-62mph time of 10 seconds.

Deeper pockets are required for the 240hp 2.0-litre EcoBoost, churning out a diesel-like 345Nm of torque. Fitted solely with a six-speed automatic, it’s unsurprisingly brisk, with a 140mph top speed and needing just 8.6 seconds to squirt from 0-62mph. The downside is its efficiency, posting the worst figures of the Galaxy range, with a claimed average of 43.5mpg and emissions of 180g/km of CO2 on the older NEDC testing regime.

A lower-powered 120hp diesel, generating 340Nm of torque, made for the slowest Galaxy in the range, with a top speed of 114mph and a 0-62mph acceleration time of a leisurely 13.6 seconds. The only transmission on offer was a six-speed manual.

Topping the diesel range used to be a 240hp twin-turbo version of the 2.0-litre EcoBlue, producing 500Nm of torque. The eight-speed automatic is the only available transmission, resulting in a 135mph top speed and an 8.9 second time for the sprint to 62mph.

Handling

Unlike the slightly smaller S-Max which majors on driver enjoyment, the Ford Galaxy’s focus is comfort and refinement for up-to-seven occupants.

That’s not to suggest that Galaxy road holding is below par – quite the opposite, as the Galaxy grips and changes direction much like the Mondeo on which it’s based. While it’s not your typical driver’s car, there’s still a positive amount of ‘feel’ through the steering wheel communicating what the front wheels are up to. The only difference is that it’s got more of a tendency to roll in corners more than the S-Max as a consequence, although this is still better controlled than with other large MPVs.

Steering aside the pedals feel appropriately weighted, with enough resistance to easily modulate their application but not so heavy as to give your legs a workout while driving. It’s a similar story with the six-speed manual transmissions, which snick precisely between ratios in the high set (for a people carrier) centre console. That said, the smoothness of the automatic transmission suits the relaxed character of the car better.

European markets get the option of adaptive suspension to vary the firmness of the ride quality, but this isn’t available in Britain – instead the suspension arrangement defers to a standard setting akin to the ‘normal’ mode of the switchable system, offering a well-judged compromise in most conditions.

While the Galaxy deals admirably with sharper, deeper ruts in the road, going over a series of barely visible ripples and undulations can unsettle it a little. Your passengers aren’t likely to complain but you’ll feel it as the driver.