New Ford Endeavour review, road test

Step inside and you’ll be happy to note that the vast exterior dimensions have liberated good interior room, and with it has also come a much plusher feel. The dashboard top is covered in double-stitched leather and feels nice to touch, although lower down in the cabin, you’ll find some bits that seem low-rent for the price. The Titanium variants get a nice 8-inch touchscreen with Ford’s latest infotainment system, called Sync 2. In addition to providing Bluetooth connectivity and streaming music, it also uniquely allows for voice commands, and a valet mode that can shut off the display when you are handing over the car to someone else, protecting any personal data you might have stored in the system.

The touchscreen system is flanked by two large air-con vents and on top of the glovebox is a nice, chunky, satin-finished plastic strip. The steering wheel feels great to hold and is well designed, but has a few too many buttons on it. There are two hi-res information screens in the instrument panel that sit on either side of a central speedometer. The one on the right is the car-and-driver interface, while the one on the left is a display for the audio functions. The centre console looks nice and simple, with not too many buttons except the AC and audio controls. Below this there are multiple power sockets followed by a nice cavity to store odds and ends. Just ahead of the gearknob, there are buttons to control the park assist, traction control system and a dial for the off-road controls. This rotary dial operates Ford’s Terrain Management system. There’s space behind the gearlever with two rubberised cup holders and all the doors get bottle holders too.

Sink into the large, powered driving seat and finding a good driving position is quite easy. You immediately realise the new car is much wider on the inside than the earlier one and there’s an abundance of legroom in the second row too – the seats, though a touch too low, are quite comfortable with good cushioning. Headroom is not too great on variants equipped with the panoramic sunroof though. The third row, however, isn’t quite spacious enough for adults – you are sat low, it’s cramped for kneeroom and headroom, and access is quite a chore. The ability to slide the second row forward does at least afford some relief, making it possible to use the last row occasionally over short distances. Impressively, the third row is powered, and can be folded away at the touch of a button, but even with them in place, luggage room is not too bad. Fold them away though, and space is properly impressive. Unlike the previous Endeavour, the boot opens via a hatch, not a door, and it’s powered. This also means the spare wheel has had to be moved to beneath the car.

You’re well catered to on the safety front too, with all Endeavours getting ABS, EBD, ESP, Traction Control, two airbags and Ford’s clever Emergency Assist system as standard. Higher variants get more airbags, the 2.2 Titanium with a total of six and the 3.2 Titanium a total of seven. Also, Ford has used ample noise deadening material and there’s the noise reduction technology. This system plays back low frequency sounds from the speakers to cancel out the noise from outside.