The MPV with a very big heart

Families these days demand space and were you designing a family car from a clean sheet of paper, it would no longer be family hatchback size.

Smart packaging, seats that slide and collapse and other tricks of the trade only buy a certain amount of leeway. In the final reckoning, there’s no substitute for size and the Grand Voyager aces most of its rivals in this regard. It’s not just a big crew bus either. The latest model is extremely well finished.

MPVs stand or fall on their practicality. Take a look at the sales charts for this sort of car and it’s clear that size sells and on that basis, the Grand Voyager is off to a very promising start. It is seriously big, seating seven with ease and featuring the Stow ‘n Go seating system which means that the vehicle can be transformed from a seven seater to a two seater in less than 30 seconds.

This generation Grand Voyager is bluffer and squarer looking than its predecessor but looks a little more distinguished for it, distancing itself from the midsized sports-orientated vehicles like the Ford S-MAX and the Mitsubishi Grandis.

The cabin has stepped upmarket on the latest models with upgraded trim accents but it’s still the amount of equipment that impresses more than the quality of the ambience.

Three trim levels are available if you plump for the 2.8-litre CRD diesel engine. The range kicks off with the LX before extending up to the Touring and tops out with the Limited. Even the standard models get the Stow ‘n’ Go seating system in the front two rows, powered sliding side doors, a powered tailgate, electric sliding windows in the third row, a removable torch in the boot, LED reading lamps and automatic three-zone climate control for all passengers. The Limited models has Stow ‘n’ Go in all three rows, a reversing camera and rain sensing wipers.

With the latest Grand Voyager, the exterior is ultra conservative but where the company has blown the budget is in dreaming up ways of making the Grand Voyager so much more liveable inside.

The Grand Voyager gets the basics right but adds a whole host of comfort and convenience features that make it the consummate vehicle for the big family. Add in excellent safety provision and here’s one that you can’t afford to overlook.