The Tourneo Courier’s not-a-van vibe is shattered somewhat when you actually step inside, because hard, scratchy plastic abound. The Puma and Ford Fiesta (RIP) are hardly leather-lined cocoons of luxury in isolation, but they are in comparison to the Courier.
It’s also missing the wanton versatility of classic MPVs. Sure, the cubbies and trays are great in number, but most are quite shallow and oddly shaped. Case in point is the overhead tray: it has all sorts of mouldings that presumably add strength but that also decrease its usable volume. Plus, it has holes in the bottom for some reason.
There are some good features. There’s a hinge-out bin in the boot that can be taken out. That makes it an ideal spot for odds and ends that would otherwise roam about the floor or for things like dirty shoes, since you can take it in the house to clean it out. Another one is the weird hole next to the centre screen: it’s so you can clip in a phone holder.
The rear seats are set high to create ‘stadium seating’ and reduce the chance of carsickness. However, they don’t slide, fold in a standard 60:40 split and offer just two Isofix points. At 570 litres up to the luggage cover, the boot is pretty vast for a car with this footprint, and if you fold and flip the rear seats forwards, that’s expanded to 2162 litres. If you need a third row, you have to upgrade to the larger, Volkswagen-based Ford Tourneo Connect.
The panel van version, called the Transit Courier, can fit two Euro pallets in the back and has a maximum payload of 680 kg (845kg in optional high-load spec). It also has a load-through bulkhead to allow it to carry very long things.
Usability-wise, the Tourneo Courier is a mix of the very good and the very bad. The lane-keeping assistance and the speed-limit warning can be disabled by respectively double pressing and holding down the relevant button.
Climate control is in a sub-menu on the touchscreen, however, and neither the physical shortcut button nor the voice control is an adequate substitute. On versions without automatic climate control, the latter unhelpfully tells you to use the screen.
What’s slightly grating is that the upcoming electric version will have a larger centre screen with permanent climate controls, but that won’t be offered on the ICE versions. There’s no technical reason; it’s just a question of keeping costs down and simplifying production. We hope Ford reconsiders, because the current set-up is pretty poor.
Multimedia
Ford’s Sync4 multimedia system is otherwise quite excellent, with big buttons on the responsive screen, a permanent shortcut bar and logical menus. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto both work wirelessly and are integrated well.
Sat-nav is part of a £960 option pack that also includes adaptive cruise control, blindspot monitoring, front parking sensors, a synthetic-leather steering wheel and power-folding door mirrors.
