Fifteen years ago a big Ford meant a Granada. And if you needed to shift more than five adults, a Transit minibus was the only option. But then the MPV was born, and now Ford has a market-leading people carrier with the Ford/VW-developed Galaxy. As demand for big exec saloons has fragmented and contracted, Galaxy has picked up market share for Ford in the price sector vacated by the Scorpio.

The original Galaxy was the people carrier of choice for the affluent but value-conscious family. But then Seat joined the MPV party with the close-cousin Alhambra offering more generous equipment at prices that undermined the Galaxy. The current second generation Galaxy has been repositioned as a premium product - though not quite rivalling VW's Sharan - and remains the UK's best-selling people carrier.