Ford Galaxy 3

Fact 1: In marketing, one of the most important phenomena to avoid is cannibalization. Offering too similar products tends to divide the current buyers between them, instead of attracting new ones. The company, therefore, ends selling roughly the same, but with increased production costs. Fact 2: after sailing through twenty years as the “cars of the future”, minivans are losing many buyers to crossovers, leading most companies to reduce their offering as much as possible. Twist: Ford keeps a full range of minivans in Europe, including not one, but two full-size siblings. Now, both in all-new generations.

Of course, there are some distinctions to be explained. Galaxy was Ford’s very first minivan in Europe, co-created by Volkswagen in a joint-venture in 1995. However, the companies started to disagree, and after ten years the vans reached the second generation separately. Even though Ford took some years to enter this category (it first appeared in the 1980s), it turned out to be one of its best representatives. Over the years, the lineup grew towards the midsize and compact segments, and now features B-Max, two versions of C-Max, and S-Max – the latter, by the way, is the other large van. Given that this company also offers crossovers and SUVs, the fact that it still sells all those models with satisfactory performance is impressive, at least.

Now, understanding the difference between Galaxy and S-Max begins with a simple look. Galaxy is the traditional people-hauler, with boxier silhouette in order to maximize the cabin. Its all-new generation uses a front fascia with the same design seen on lots of other Fords, but combines it to sides and rear whose differences to the previous van are hard to notice: basically, the creases are stronger, and the tail lights are more elegant. Since S-Max is prepared to take more adventurous buyers, with its sportier design and fancier trim, Ford preferred to keep Galaxy as a much more rational counterpart. And for that, it was crucial to stick with the core elements which have been responsible for this van’s success for exactly two decades.

When it comes to the interior, Ford surely thought investing in differentiation would be too expensive for the results it could possibly bring. Therefore, if you’ve seen the new S-Max, there are no dashboard news. Going back to this article’s van, there are seven seats once again, but the second and third rows became easier to reconfigure. There’s a control panel at the trunk, with buttons dedicated to remotely fold some seats. Having all of them down creates a flat surface, under which lies a 20-liter storage area – one of all the others you’ll find. All rear seats now slide and recline, and got more space from the lowered floor, while those of the second row also tilts. Besides that, the rear doors now swing, instead of sliding, so as to make more room for elbows and shoulders.

The new Galaxy is underpinned by the same platform used by the current Fusion, Mondeo and – surprise! – S-Max. This means several improvements were made to its handling, such as multi-link rear suspension with self-levelling, and electronic dampers with three modes. When it comes to engines, the EcoBoost range has a 158-hp 1.5 liter and a 248-hp 2.0-liter. Switching to diesel, the only unit is a TDCi 2.0-liter, which uses one turbo to reach 118 hp, 148 hp or 177 hp, and another one for 217 hp and 332 lb-ft. But if you think it’s too much power, Ford’s safety concern was even higher: the equipment list includes many airbags, LED headlights with anti-dazzling technology, and all the latest electronic systems. This car goes on sale in the next few months.