When it comes to travelling in space, Ford's Galaxy is out of this world and is now in a new orbit, says motoring editor Andy Russell.

Ford's Galaxy lives up to its name – a seven-seat star space traveller.

Seen by many as the benchmark people-carrier, the Galaxy is the flagship of Ford's multi-purpose vehicle line-up and with the latest model it has no intention of taking a back seat… or a middle one.

Under the bonnet

Few owners will opt for 160PS 1.5-litre or 240PS 2.0-litre EcoBoost turbo petrol, so now it's all 2.0-litre turbo diesels with 120, 150, 180 and 210PS, the latter the new bi-turbo model replacing the old 2.2 and cutting emissions by 24%.

Mated to six-speed PowerShift automatic transmission, if you need to move seven people quickly and want to make the most of the Galaxy's roadholding prowess it certainly delivers.

It really shifts, with instant turbo response and, even with some exhuberant driving, economy in the high 30s is pretty good with mid 40s on a run.

How it drives

The Galaxy is still the most entertaining large people-carrier, making surprisingly good progress on tricky, twisty cross-country routes but there is some body sway at speed travelling light.

The ride is first-class, with new integral rear link suspension to improve comfort, and it's more a case of hearing the tyres tackling bumps and lumps rather than feeling any discomfort.

Space and comfort

Improved interior packaging makes the Galaxy even more spacious so it can carry seven adults with three individual, reclining middle row seats that slide forward to give those in the back more legroom – they also tilt and slide forward for decent access.

With all seven up there's a supermini-rivalling 300-litre boot while in five-seat mode it's a match for large estate cars. Drop all seats and you've got a van-like 2,339 litres to the roof.

The seats drop flat one-handed but you can have the option of folding the five rear seats electrically via controls in the boot and raising the two rearmost ones again – very handy.

At the wheel

You get the commanding visibility of the high driving position in a large people-carrier that's car-like to drive.

Ford has nailed the art of quality interiors with a classy look and feel to the fascia with top-notch materials and user-friendly displays and controls.

Final say

Ford's Galaxy is still the people-carrier by which others are judged, and it's not difficult to see why.