Car review: Ford Tourneo Shuttle Bus

They’re a common sight in The Apprentice, as young, would-be business stars are ferried around the capital not in taxis or minicabs... but swish, invariably black, minibus-style people carriers.

They can look smart, imposing and businesslike. But how practical are they, really? And would they make sense for those with growing families, for whom the usual MPV (Land Rover Discovery Sport, Citroen Space Tourer, Volvo XC90) just isn’t big enough?

We put it to the test. Over the past 18 years our twins have helped us test a huge range of vehicles in a variety of ways, from trying out baby seats, to testing family estates on weekend walks, motor caravans on holidays and people carriers for the nitty gritty of day-to-day life.

Now - in one fell swoop - they were both off to the same university, on the same day. But how could we fit them and all their luggage (guitars, ukuleles, crockery, bedding, sports gear, kettles, bean bags, toasters, sandwich makers, rugs and so on) in one vehicle?

We decided to try out Ford’s Tourneo Custom, to find what it was like to drive and of course park, in London - and how its rather large dimensions coped with the capital’s notoriously dense, swirling traffic.

A minibus is not an obvious choice for a family, measuring in at 4973mm in length, and 1986mm in width, and boasting no fewer than nine seats.

The first lesson was that it was easier to park than expected, with a tight turning circle, ‘square’ lines that made judging its extremities relatively easy, and better vision out than in most modern cars, with acres of big, wide windows. Parking in central London might have been trickier.

The second thing to become apparent was that this is nothing like the van-derived people-carriers of old. The steering was light and accurate, ditto the clutch and the manual gearbox (you can specify an auto), as sweet as those in many family SUVs.

Despite being powered by a strong 2-litre diesel, it wasn’t noisy, either. In fact it was surprisingly civilised to drive. The ride is nicely cushioned and supple whether empty or full, and thanks to its long wheelbase and high profile tyres, it glided over south London’s very many road humps with aplomb.

Its masterstroke, of course, is the big, generous, sliding doors; one on each side, making getting in and out very easy indeed. The rear seats are not as supportive as those in a standard car, but they are miles more advanced than the shiny, hard, bench-like seats I had expected, informed largely by memories of the school minibus.

‘Ours’ was a basic model, the Shuttle Bus, but order the right spec, and you can travel in true luxury, with plusher, more supportive seats and a variety of seating layouts. The one we drove had a ‘solid’ rear bench right at the back, rather defeating the purpose of that large, useful, barn-door of a tailgate (wonderful for standing underneath, in the rain that accompanied our drive to university).

You can even - Apprentice participants take note - order ‘Conference’ seating for meetings on the move, enabling passengers to sit face-to-face. Remove that ‘fixed’ rear seat, choosing instead a loading area, and you’ll have more than enough room for a camping holiday with space enough for tent, bicycles, blow-up beds and your stove too.

There are other benefits. You don’t just get a cup-holder in the cabin, up front. You get several of them... and a deep slot designed to carry an entire ‘family’ bottle of your favourite fizzy drink. You can specify Isofix child seat fitting points and 230 volt power converters for three-pin plugs.

Other goodies available on the Custom Tourneo include running boards, privacy glass, and rear window blinds. Order FordSync3 and you get a car-style info screen that integrates with your smartphone, too. Great for linking to your iPhone with Apple CarPlay. On the safety front, you can even have Adaptive Cruise Control and Speed Assist, to keep you within the limits as well as Cross-Traffic Alert to warn you not, as it sounds, of angry drivers (plenty of those in London) but vehicles that might be crossing your path when you reverse out of a tricky spot. All very premium car-like.

Depending on spec, the 2-litre engine will produce 105 PS (164g/km CO2), 130PS (also 164 g/km CO2) or 170PS (168 g/km). Families might also like to order the integrated bicycle carrier, or Thule roof box, to make it even more practical.

And its luggage-carrying ability? Second to none, bar a Transit van. Without even having to fold a seat down (we crammed boxes and bags on the floor, and then wedged them on the spare, upright seats) we could have accommodated another family’s university luggage too, had we wanted to. There would even have been room for the dog, and his basket, and blanket.....

No amount of planning, foresight and parental experience truly prepares you for the wrench of delivering your children - both at the same time - to university, and then driving back to an ‘empty’ house.

But that ‘empty’ Tourneo sitting outside in the street remains a highly tempting proposition for when - if - they come home at weekends or join us (we hope) for another family holiday. I enjoyed lording it over other traffic with the high-up driving position, the wide berth some drivers automatically afford the ‘van’ driver and the contrary pleasure one derives from driving a ‘large’ vehicle.

And how will we get them home again at Christmas, with all those guitars, ukuleles, the crockery, bedding, sports gear, kettles, bean bags, toasters, sandwich makers, rugs and so on?

Details: Ford Tourneo Shuttle Bus

Price: £37,276

More at ford.co.uk/