Order status
Ordered at Bandon Motors · registering on a 2026 plate to keep every discount
~16
weeks to collection (est.)
⏳ Estimated window — Richard at Bandon confirms the exact build/reg date. Irish registration must land in 2026 (Oct target) to hold the agreed pricing.
The deal you locked in
€52,795
Grand Tourneo Connect Active PHEV · 1.5 EcoBoost 150 PS · 6-spd auto · 7-seat LWB · Ink Black
What's in the number
The context that makes it sweet
🏁 Lowest of 6 dealer replies after emailing the whole Cork Ford network and playing the quotes off each other. The mats/mudflaps/boot-mat were thrown in free — exactly the kind of extras you push for once the headline price is agreed.
The fun part
🧠 Your road to expert — June → October
Four months to turn "I bought a van" into "ask me anything about this van." One focus per month — by collection day you'll know it better than the salesperson.
July — Master the PHEV mindset
Learn how a plug-in actually drives: charge every night, glide the daily commute on pure electric, let the petrol engine wake only for motorway runs. Read the powertrain section below until the four EV modes are second nature.
August — Nail the charging + solar plan
Work out the home-charging routine around your Huawei solar: schedule charging for cheap/solar hours, learn the FordPass remote-charge controls, and confirm the Type 2 cable you'll want on day one. Charging section ↓
September — Dial in the dog + family setup
Decide Blu's exact boot arrangement (ramp + liner + guard vs full crate), measure twice, and pre-order so it's fitted week one. Sort the baby side: ISOFIX points, pram-in-boot test plan. Dog & family ↓
October — Collection like a pro
Walk in with the handover checklist, know every switch before they demo it, set up FordPass on the forecourt, and drive off already fluent. Expert status: unlocked.
Module 1
🔧 Know your powertrain
The numbers
*Ford's headline figure. Independent tests land ~115 km — still comfortably more than a normal day's driving, so most of your week is electric.
How to drive it for near-free running
- 🌙 Charge every night. Wake up to ~115 km of electric — your daily Cork driving is basically free and silent.
- 🛣️ Save engine for the motorway. Long runs are where petrol is efficient; town is where EV shines. The car blends them automatically, but you can force it.
- 🔋 "Hold" the battery for town. Heading to Dublin? Tell it to run on petrol on the motorway and save the electric for the city at the far end — that's the PHEV power move.
- 🦶 Lift-off regen. Easing off the throttle and braking gently feeds charge back into the battery. Smooth driving literally tops you up.
- ❄️ Pre-condition while plugged in. Warm/cool the cabin off mains power before you unplug, so you don't spend battery on climate.
🎛️ The four EV modes — what each one is for
Ford gives this plug-in four named EV modes (confirmed on Ford Ireland's spec page) so you choose when to spend electric vs petrol. Learn them by job:
⚡ EV Now
Force electric-only. Your default around town and for the school/crèche run — silent, zero tailpipe, cheapest. Made for low-emission zones.
🤖 EV Auto
The car blends electric + petrol moment-to-moment, waking the engine only when needed. The "set and forget" everyday mode.
🔒 EV Later
Conserve the battery and run on petrol/hybrid now — so you keep that electric for later, where it matters most (city at the far end of a motorway run).
🎚️ EV Reserve
Set a floor — a user-defined level of charge the car protects for later. Tell it "always keep 40% for the city" and it won't dip below that en route.
The power move: run the motorway to Dublin in EV Later / Reserve so petrol does the easy high-speed miles, then arrive with a full battery for silent, near-free city crawling.
Module 2
⚡ Charging, the smart way
Your home advantage
- ☀️ You already have solar (Huawei SUN2000). Daytime charging on sunny days is close to free motoring — the holy grail of PHEV ownership.
- 🏡 A 7-pin home wallbox refills the ~19.7 kWh usable battery overnight with ease (a full charge is a few hours on AC).
- 🔌 3-pin "granny" cable works in a pinch (slow, ~overnight) — fine as a backup, but a proper wallbox is the daily driver.
- 📅 Schedule it. Set charging for solar hours or your cheapest electricity window (you already run dynamic-tariff thinking — same logic).
Range maths that'll make you smile
The trick with a PHEV: treat it like an EV and keep it plugged in. Do that and you'll fill the petrol tank a handful of times a year. Forget to charge and it's just a heavyish petrol van — so the habit is the whole game.
📱 FordPass is your remote control. The Ford app pairs to the van's built-in modem so you can start/stop charging, see charge % from the couch, schedule charging for solar/cheap hours, and pre-heat or pre-cool the cabin while it's still plugged in. Set it up on collection day — it's half of what makes living with a PHEV effortless. Confirm the exact PHEV features in-app on handover; remote charge control + scheduling + preconditioning are the ones to look for.
Module 3 · the whole reason for this van
🐕 The boot, Blu & the family
Real review photos — not brochure renders. Tap any image to enlarge.
5-seat mode · 1,720 L. 3rd row folds flat into the floor.
Cabin. 10.25″ cluster + 10″ touchscreen, sliding doors both sides.
Boot with 5 seats up — vs your old Kia XCeed (291 L)
That's 5.9× your old boot with all 5 seats still up. And it's tall — 1,245 mm floor-to-roof — the bit no SUV gives you.
🐾 Will Blu's crate actually fit? The maths.
- • Between wheel arches: 1,193 mm. The real constraint. One XXL (48″) crate fits easily; two side-by-side don't — load them in-line instead (the Grand's extra length makes that realistic).
- • Floor-to-roof: 1,245 mm. Loads of head height — an 84 cm crate clears with room to spare.
- • Removable rear seats + van-DNA floor → dog-hair cleanup is a hose-and-wipe, not a valet.
Verdict: ramp + liner + guard for everyday; a single in-line XXL crate (or a crash-tested Variocage) when you want max security. The height means soft crates stack the tall way a wagon can't.
👶 Don't forget the Paula side
- • Sliding doors both sides — gold for clipping a baby seat in a tight Cork car park without dinging the next car.
- • ISOFIX in the second row — confirm the exact anchor points on handover and which seat suits the pram-system base.
- • Pram-in-boot test — with 1,720 L you'll swallow the travel system and the dog, but do a real-world load test on collection day so you know the layout.
- • Sit-up-high MPV position + huge glass — easy to see kids/dog, easy to load from a standing position.
Module 3 · shopping list
🦴 Kit to buy before October
🦮 Ramp · ~€95 · buy first
Boot liner · ~€110
Dog guard · ~€175
Divider · ~€180
Variocage XL · ~€700
Harness · ~€65
Bespoke cage · ~€398
Fitment ref · 2022+ body
✅ Sensible starter kit for Blu — ~€335
Ramp (~€95) + raised-lip rubber liner (~€110) + Travall guard (~€175) + harness (~€65). Bandon's throwing in the basic mats, mudflaps & boot mat free, so you only top up with the ramp, raised-lip liner, guard and harness. Go full Variocage XL later (~€700) if you want crash-tested security — it replaces the guard + cage.
⚠️ Fitment hack — memorise this. Most off-the-shelf "Tourneo Connect" dog guards are cut for the old 2014–22 shape. Yours is the new VW Caddy Maxi-based gen (2022+). If a brand hasn't listed the Grand Tourneo Connect yet, their VW Caddy Maxi 2021+ part fits the same shell. This one trick saves you buying the wrong guard.
Reference
📋 Full spec sheet
Body & space
Drive & energy
Tech & ownership
Hauling & capability — PHEV-specific figures
*The PHEV's payload is 761 kg — Ford's headline "804 kg" is the lighter diesel; the battery costs you ~40 kg of carrying capacity. The party trick: fold the front passenger seat flat and you get a 3.0 m straight load-through from tailgate to dashboard — flat-pack furniture, timber, a kayak. With 1,500 kg braked towing it'll pull a small caravan or a plant trailer too.
You also paid for two factory packs — here's exactly what Ford bundles into each (from the 26.5MY Irish price list):
🛡️ Driver Assistance Pack · €592
Adds Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control with Lane Centring + Driver State Assist (fatigue monitoring) on top of the Active's already-standard kit — pre-collision assist, lane-keeping aid, blind-spot with cross-traffic alert, front/rear parking sensors and the rear-view camera. Needs the auto gearbox (you have it). This is the pack that lets the van hold its lane and the car ahead on the motorway — proper one-pedal-ish cruising for the Dublin runs.
🪑 Tourneo Comfort Pack · €790
Driver + passenger AGR-certified heated seats (AGR = the German "healthy back" orthopaedic standard) with extendable leg support and dual power lumbar, plus a heated steering wheel. The leg extension is the unsung hero on long drives — and AGR seats are a genuinely premium thing to find in a van.
⚠️ One thing to confirm with Richard if you ever want a factory tow bar: Ford's price list flags that the Comfort Pack can clash with a fixed trailer coupling + electrics specifically on the LWB Active PHEV 7-seat (your exact spec) when the trailer interface module is fitted. It doesn't affect the car as ordered — but if towing's on your radar, ask him to check tow-bar compatibility against the Comfort Pack before the build locks, or plan a detachable aftermarket bar instead. (Braked towing on the PHEV is 1,500 kg — plenty for a small trailer or caravan.)
Still get Richard to print the full build sheet on collection so you can tick off every fitted feature against these.
Eye candy
📸 Gallery
Grand · front
Grand · rear
Active · side
Cabin
Boot · 1,720 L
Active · detail
Stock press/review images — exact Irish-spec colour (yours is Ink Black) & trim will match the Active. Real photos of your van go here once it lands. 📷
Make it yours
🛠️ Build & customise — inspiration
Real owner builds & tours — tap any to watch. The unlock: under the badge your van is a VW Caddy Maxi, so the much bigger Caddy camper scene is your goldmine — most bed-boards, blackout kits, boot setups and seat-out flat-floor mods bolt straight in. Not after a full camper? The dog & family mods at the bottom are the practical bits for Blu and Paula. 🐕👶
🚐 Your exact van — Grand Tourneo Connect
Grand Tourneo Connect micro-camper — full tour
Grand Tourneo camper — window-storage build
Ford Grand Tourneo Connect 2023 — review
Tourneo Connect — in-depth ‘best MPV?’ review🔧 VW Caddy Maxi builds — same van underneath
Caddy Maxi dream build — full cost breakdown
Caddy Maxi conversion — micro-camper tour
Caddy Maxi — full budget stealth build
Inside an £8,000 Caddy Maxi camper
Caddy Maxi — loves, hates & regrets
VW Caddy Maxi campervan conversion🐕 Dog, family & practical mods
Rock-’n’-roll bed for any micro-camper
DIY pull-out bed for the Caddy Maxi
Ply-line the boot for £100
Insulate the van for under £100
Fit blackout curtains (Caddy Maxi)
Pull-out / extendable bed DIYWhere the community lives
Forums & owner communities
- 🟢 Briskoda — same MQB platform; superb DIY/retrofit photo guides that apply 1:1.
- 🟢 VWT4Forum — active Caddy + camper-conversion build threads (lots of pics).
- 🟢 VWVortex — huge global VW community; Caddy & retrofit threads.
- 🟢 TDIClub — strong on interior / utility mods.
- 🔵 Transit/Tourneo Connect Forum — Gallery (1,200+ member pics; skews to the older US van, mindset transfers).
- 🔵 HonestJohn forum — real-world UK ownership Q&A.
Visual feeds — pictures & full walkthroughs
- 📷 Instagram — #caddymaxicamper · #caddycamper · #tourneoconnect
- 📌 Pinterest — Caddy Maxi camper boards (bed-board & dog-area layouts).
- ▶️ YouTube — “caddy maxi camper conversion” · “tourneo connect camper”
Dog + family search terms that actually hit the practical stuff (not micro-campers): caddy maxi dog boot setup · caddy maxi boot bed board · caddy maxi seat removal flat floor · tourneo connect dog guard.
Party tricks
🎓 Sound like you've owned it for years
🇵🇱 It's secretly a VW
Under the Ford badge it's a VW Caddy Maxi, built by VW in Poznań, Poland. Same shell, Ford suspension tune & front-end design. That's why Caddy Maxi parts fit — and why it drives more car-like than a typical van.
🪑 The 7-seat PHEV is rare
The plug-in only comes as a 7-seat Grand — the short body PHEV is 5-seat only. You bought the one configuration that does PHEV + 7 seats + a massive boot at this price. Genuinely the cheapest way to get all three in Ireland.
📐 Taller than an SUV inside
1,245 mm floor-to-roof in the boot beats almost every 7-seat SUV. The MPV box shape is the whole point: crates, prams and flat-pack furniture go in standing up.
💶 €140 a year to tax
Sub-120 g/km CO₂ drops it into the lowest PHEV motor-tax band. A 7-seat family hauler that taxes like a city car — because on paper it emits like one.
Bookmarks
📚 Owner resources & manuals
🔎 Search the owner's manual
The real Ford manuals, hosted here — every page searchable, even offline. Tap a result to jump straight to that page in the PDF.
Source: official Ford owner's manual (Tourneo/Transit Connect, 2025.07) + 2025.11 supplement, mirrored to jelito.cloud.
Set up before / on collection
- 📱 FordPass app — iOS · Android. Pair it on the forecourt; it's your remote charge + preconditioning control.
- 📖 Owner's manual — search it right here ↑, or ford.ie/support for how-to videos & SYNC guides.
- 🛠️ Genuine accessories — ford.ie shop / ask Bandon for the accessory price list with the car.
- 🔋 Type 2 charge cable — confirm one's included; if not, a 5-7m Type 2 (Mode 3) cable is the day-one buy.
The Caddy cross-shopping cheat
When Ford hasn't catalogued a part, buy the VW Caddy Maxi (2020+) equivalent — same body:
- • Roof bars / cross bars → Caddy Maxi roof-rail bars
- • Boot liner / dog guard → Caddy Maxi 2021+ part
- • Wind deflectors, mats, towbar → Caddy Maxi fitment
Always cross-check the year (2020+ / 5th-gen Caddy) and that it's the Maxi (long) body to match the Grand.
October
🚗 Collection-day checklist
Tick these off on the forecourt so you drive away an expert, not a learner. (Stored locally in your browser.)
Deal record & data provenance
- • Deal: Bandon Motors (Richard Williams) €52,795 all-in incl. delivery + free rubber mats/mudflaps/boot mat. Deposit €5,000 paid 18 Jun 2026 (Revolut). Ordered ~19 Jun; register 2026 (~Oct) to hold pricing. Lowest of 6 dealer replies (vs Cork City Ford/Hegarty ~€55k); benchmark was your €56,149 ford.ie config.
- • Powertrain / range / CO₂: Ford Ireland PHEV data (148 km WLTP claim, from 11 g/km), independent road tests (~115 km real), ~25.7 kWh battery.
- • Boot / load dims: automobile-dimension, Parkers, Ford IE feature data (1,720/650 L; 1,193 mm arches, 1,245 mm floor-to-roof, 1,533 mm floor width).
- • Platform: VW Caddy Maxi (MQB), assembled VW Poznań, Poland.
- • Soft spots flagged: the two option-pack contents are now itemised from Ford's 26.5MY IRL price list; confirm the final build sheet at collection. Compiled Jun 2026.
- • Features & capability: Ford Ireland feature page (ford.ie/cars/tourneo-connect/features) — four EV modes (Now/Auto/Later/Reserve), 3.0 m load-through, 2.9 m³ load volume. PHEV payload 761 kg (vs 804 kg diesel) per Ford's Transit/Tourneo Connect PHEV microsite; braked tow 1,500 kg.