MiniAutoHobby: Ford Galaxy

Saturday 24 October 2009
The first Galaxy was designed as a joint venture product between Ford and the Volkswagen Group (VWAG), in order to catch up with the original MPV Renault Espace. Produced at the joint-venture AutoEuropa plant in Palmela, Portugal, the vehicle was badge-engineered to create three vehicles: the Ford Galaxy; by Volkswagen Passenger Cars as the Volkswagen Sharan; and by SEAT as the Alhambra. The Galaxy used predominantly Volkswagen Group mechanicals, most notably the 2.8 litre VR6 petrol engine from the top versions of the Volkswagen Golf, as well as VWAG's 1.9 litre Turbocharged Direct Injection (TDI) turbodiesel unit. Initially only the 2.0 litre inline-four petrol version used a Ford powerplant - this derived from the Ford I4 DOHC engine. In later years this unit was supplemented by a 2.3 litre 16-valve version first seen in the facelifted Ford Scorpio. This engine was transversially mounted (as with the MKV Escort RS2000) as opposed to longitudinal mounting like in the Ford Scorpio. All of the VWAG-sourced engines were supplied with "Ford" badges on the rocker covers, despite being of Volkswagen Group designs. All automatic transmissions were VWAG AG4 boxes, but manual gearboxes on all engines were VXT75 five-speed (modified versions of the trusted Ford MT75 five-speed set-up to suit the transverse engine layout).
A major redesign in 2000 saw the Galaxy distance itself from its Volkswagen Group platform-mates. The car adopted the Ford corporate front end, while the interior benefited from an all-new dash, utilising high-quality materials and a design akin to the third-generation Ford Mondeo, introduced at a similar time as the new Galaxy.
Also new engines were available across the range, the newer 24v VR6, along with VWAG's Pumpe-Düse (PD) TDI engines available in 90 bhp (67 kW; 91 PS) (only on LX models), 115 bhp (86 kW; 117 PS), 130 bhp (97 kW; 132 PS) and 150 bhp (112 kW; 152 PS) forms, these were matched to a six-speed manual transmission, a four-speed automatic transmission with manual sequential shift operation, and a five-speed automatic transmission (auto boxes were only available on 115 PS (85 kW; 113 hp) variant). This version is still available in Latin America, with 2.0, 2.3 and 2.8 petrol engines. However, the VWAG-sourced 1.9 TDI engine is no longer offered.