Ford Galaxy

The Ford Galaxy is a large multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) produced by Ford Europe. It was first introduced in 1995, and since then has spanned over three generations. From 2006, the Galaxy has been developed alongside the closely related Ford S-Max using the Ford Mondeo's platform.

First generation (1995−2006)

The first Galaxy was designed as a joint venture product between Ford and the Volkswagen Group. 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 Volkswagen Group'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 transversely mounted (as with the MKV Escort RS2000) as opposed to longitudinal mounting like in the Ford Scorpio.