MOTORING

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, include it on your shopping list, especially after a refresh this summer

As well as sub-100g/km emissions on the e-HDI models, the Grand Picasso features a good range of engines, plus all five rear seats and the front passenger seat can all fold flat for superb practicality. Floor mounted storage compartments for row two, help to keep the car clean (well, relatively, this is family motoring we’re talking about) and there’s up to 700 litres of boot space even with all five seats still up. Family life is all about expecting the unexpected, but the Grand Picasso means you’ll always be prepared, no matter what. Having won our best off-roader title in our coveted Motoring Oscars at the end of 2015, we’re under no illusions

l - i l of the controls, plus there’s a good amount of space inside too. Company car drivers will especially like the latest T8 plug-in hybrid version too with its 59g/km emissions and ultra low company car tax bills. Since it first arrived into showrooms in 1994, Ford has sold more than 735,000 Galaxys in Europe, but this fourthgeneration version has landed into a very different market. The fact is that the traditional people-carrier market has all but died, with buyers instead flocking to seven-seater 4x4s.

While even Ford expects this Galaxy to be outsold by its sportier S-Max stablemate (see our family cars feature), there’s lots to recommend it with plenty of practicality on offer. A £375 family pack gets you electric fold down seats, rear blinds, tray tables, a reversible boot mat and a three-pin plug socket for those in the middle row. The three turbo-diesel engines on offer are the ones to go for, with the 2.0-litre, 180bhp version being the most popular with its 52.3mpg fuel economy and 139g/km emissions.