The best way to assess a family car is to give it a thorough test, and 4,000km in two weeks should point out any weaknesses in Ford’s Galaxy TDCi.
Camping is very popular with Irish families as the accommodation and facilities are tailored to this hectic time of life. Parents and kids can unwind in relative safety without the dangers that high-rise accommodation poses little ones.
After a quick look on the web we picked out a nice campsite with Keycamp. Camping Bon Anse Plage is located in Palmyre, south of La Rochelle on the Atlantic coast of France.
With a young family of nine, seven and three, I find the best way to travel is by car.
I spend enough time in airports around the world to know that the additional stress of managing kids, their luggage and other needs can be a huge hassle. Since the introduction of baggage taxes, sorry 'charges', the idea of being screwed out of extra cash by an airline for bringing home a few kgs of holiday tat is hard to take.
Fly-Drive makes a lot of sense especially the further abroad you go, but who wants to go to France and not support the wine industry!
We could just take a car on the ferry to France. We've done that before and it is a great adventure, but that's too easy, so land bridge would be the way to go.
We would travel from Dublin to Holyhead with Irish Ferries on the Jonathan Swift (1 hour 50 minutes), across Wales, and down through England to Folkstone in Kent (six solid hours) where we'd take the superb Channel Tunnel (35 minutes!) to Calais.
There we'd overnight with Keycamp at a site about 100km south of the terminal before heading on to Palmyre the following day (another solid six hours) for 14 nights. Returning the same way.
The Galaxy Ghia on test features the near perfect 140bhp turbodiesel plus a few toys like Ford's new adaptive cruise control (ACC) and forward alert (FA).
With the flick of a steering wheel mounted button one can set the speed and distance you wish to travel in relation to traffic directly in front of the vehicle. The car will even alert you to slower moving obstacles should you find yourself distracted and apply the brakes.
On the UK motorway network and along France’s superb Autoroutes, the system worked well. In Ireland however where the slightest gap is seen as an invitation to cut-in, the experience can be a little bit frustrating. You can override the system by pressing the throttle to keep the pace up.
Galaxy’s 'Fold Flat System' of seating is easy to use and very handy (see motors archive). We used the seven-seater in five-seat mode. The massive boot swallowed our luggage with enough room left over for a couple of cases of wine on the return leg.
For safety, always pack the heaviest luggage as close to the centre of the car as possible and make sure you pack no higher than the top of the seat backs. An electric cooler box is one of the most useful gadgets to have as every couple of hours or so we'd pull in to have a break and picnic our way through the journey.
Motorway 'Services' are notoriously expensive. Years ago I bought an in car DVD for trips like these and I cannot stress enough how terrific it is on long journeys, especially as our kids are old enough to use headphones.
JDM Products in Bray sorted me out with a Garmin 'Nuvi' Sat Nav for the duration of the trip so there were no arguments between driver and navigator (belt and braces - print off the route from the on line route planner as back up).
JDM also provided me with the latest gadget to ease us through the four solid days of driving and the various excursions planned, namely a Dension iPod dock that seamlessly integrated with the superb Ford Stereo. The Dension iPod dock can be installed to any car that has a stereo with an 'Aux' setting.
The unit was fitted and later removed in less than an hour. With the stereos fader set to the front speakers the adults had their tunes and the kids their DVDs, brilliant.
High visibility vests are a must these days so I carried five in the car. Remember the most dangerous place to breakdown is on a motorway as the hard shoulder is often strayed into by inattentive drivers. Stats say a stationary vehicle can expect to be hit in just 15 minutes.
If you break down, turn your front wheels to the near side apply the handbrake and leave the car in gear. Get out of the car via the nearside and climb behind the barrier leaving any pets in the car and phone for help.
It is advisable to have breakdown cover for the duration of the holiday (I had Ford Assist) and don't forget to put the number in your mobile phone.
My Gamin Nuvi was pinging every five minutes in the UK (and a lot less in France) warning me of various 'safety' cameras on my route. Fines are on the spot but as yet points do not apply to foreign licences.
Always carry your licence, insurance and proof you own the car (if the car isn't yours, get a letter stating you have permission to drive it abroad).
Carry a set of spare bulbs, first aid kit and if you wear glasses a second pair is mandatory in certain countries. Remember to adjust you headlights for driving on the other side of the road and to also adjust the beam setting downwards as your lights will point higher with a full boot potentially dazzling oncoming drivers.
The big Galaxy averaged 7.2 litres per 100km, which is damn impressive for fully loaded motorway driving.
The 2-litre Galaxy TDCi Ghia is an ideal family car.
It has poke yet delivers great fuel economy while providing great driving dynamics thanks to its Mondeo underpinnings. I was pretty sad dropping it back.
Michael Sheridan
