How is the quality and layout?

Climb into the Tourneo Connect and you’re greeted with an abrupt reminder of its utilitarian genetics. The entire cabin is awash with hard scratchy plastics. In fact, there’s hardly another surface texture to break them up at all – not even one measly strip of faux Alcantara across the dash. It feels as though it was built with hard-wearing sturdiness as top priority, and unashamedly so. Want a plush cushy interior? Go and buy a normal car. This van has work to do. 

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The near buttonless dashboard layout is all very conventional of modern times. Most of the controls can be found on the 10.0-inch infotainment display, or just beneath it if you include the climate control sliders, but mercifully a few functions like the de-mister still require you to press some plastic. As previously mentioned the seating position is high when compared to that of a regular car, but for a van there’s plenty of adjustability on offer. It doesn’t feel as though you’re floating around on a barstool, bolt upright, as is the van norm. If anything, it’s closer to the driving position of an SUV. 

Infotainment and tech

The Tourneo Connect comes with a 10-inch infotainment display as standard, the same you’ll find in the latest VW Caddy. It’s compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, both of which can be connected wirelessly, but the car’s own software is simple enough to use on the road. The large menu buttons are clear and crisp to facilitate easy navigation through the pages. 

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We wish the bank of climate control sliders beneath the display were more accurate and responsive. On several occasions we found ourselves really smearing the sliders with our thumbs to get the cabin temperature to adjust. Couldn’t a button have sufficed? Suppose Ford would tell us to blame Volkswagen. 

Comfort

• Seats aren’t plush 
• Still reasonably comfortable
• Little fatigue after long drive

Like the plastic interior decor around them, the seats in the Tourneo Connect have no time for ornate design. They’re trimmed in a wear-resistant fabric, and built using the kind of sponge you’d use to stop your Fairline yacht from crashing into the Monaco harbour. The seats look cheap and frankly feel it too, but they aren’t uncomfortable. After several hours at the wheel we felt only vaguely fatigued. At about the time when we’d anticipated our skeletons would be in pieces, we still felt settled, supported and up for covering more ground. Not bad for a van?