Hi,
If I had the Ulysse Paul had, I think I would even be tempted by a Lada Estate
Andy (alias Poggy)
If I had the Ulysse Paul had, I think I would even be tempted by a Lada Estate
Andy (alias Poggy)
General Ulysee or Galaxy?
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General Ulysee or Galaxy?
John_K
Member
In my opinion, if there were some reason for me to get another vehicle to replace my Ulysse in the near future, I would not replace it with a Galaxy. I had one for 6 months in 2000, and I was less than impressed with its handling and design. The Galaxy is long overdue for a major refresh.
I'm not sure however if I'd replace it with another Ulysse however - not so much over concerns about reliability (mine's done nearly 12000 miles since September last year and has been pretty good so far - more than I could say for my last 2 Espaces), but I have concerns over the speed of response when Fiat need to get involved. The dealers I've had contact with seem good, but I suspect that's to compensate for poor response from Fiat!
I totally agree with tboneman's comments about seats - that's why I also have an Eleganza rather than the Prestigio.
Having driven 3 generations of Espace, a recent Galaxy for 6 months, and having had the new Espace on an extended test drive, I still like the Ulysse as a car, but have concerns over their servicability because of Fiat's poor/slow response in the UK!
John
I'm not sure however if I'd replace it with another Ulysse however - not so much over concerns about reliability (mine's done nearly 12000 miles since September last year and has been pretty good so far - more than I could say for my last 2 Espaces), but I have concerns over the speed of response when Fiat need to get involved. The dealers I've had contact with seem good, but I suspect that's to compensate for poor response from Fiat!
I totally agree with tboneman's comments about seats - that's why I also have an Eleganza rather than the Prestigio.
Having driven 3 generations of Espace, a recent Galaxy for 6 months, and having had the new Espace on an extended test drive, I still like the Ulysse as a car, but have concerns over their servicability because of Fiat's poor/slow response in the UK!
John
tboneman
New member
Thanks for all the comments. In the end it may come down to space and legroom.
We went into both the Ford and Fiat garages yesterday and moved the front/middle/rear seats into the positions they would be in for everyones comfort.
The results of this test - we found the Galaxy had far more leg and space around each passenger than the Ulysse, which was somewhat surprising as the Ulysse appears a bigger car. My son also found that when sitting in the cheap seats at the backof the Ulysse, his feet could not be placed in their natural position due to the floor mountings for the seat in front.
Another thing you can do with the Galaxy is to take the middle row, middle seat out and move the two outer ones in by 6 inches or so to give the passengers even more room.
I asked the dealer about the range being phased out and he (as expected) said he didn't know of this, however he did point out that the Galaxy has very recently had a facelift and revisions which usually means that there's another 3 or 4 years left in it at least, by which time some of my kids will have cars of their own and we will not need the MPV any more.
Yet to actually test drive it yet, so can't comment on that score, so don't know if the Galaxy has improved handling wise since Joh K drove one.
We went into both the Ford and Fiat garages yesterday and moved the front/middle/rear seats into the positions they would be in for everyones comfort.
The results of this test - we found the Galaxy had far more leg and space around each passenger than the Ulysse, which was somewhat surprising as the Ulysse appears a bigger car. My son also found that when sitting in the cheap seats at the backof the Ulysse, his feet could not be placed in their natural position due to the floor mountings for the seat in front.
Another thing you can do with the Galaxy is to take the middle row, middle seat out and move the two outer ones in by 6 inches or so to give the passengers even more room.
I asked the dealer about the range being phased out and he (as expected) said he didn't know of this, however he did point out that the Galaxy has very recently had a facelift and revisions which usually means that there's another 3 or 4 years left in it at least, by which time some of my kids will have cars of their own and we will not need the MPV any more.
Yet to actually test drive it yet, so can't comment on that score, so don't know if the Galaxy has improved handling wise since Joh K drove one.
It seems tboneman has been turned by the "dark side" and is being drawn to the Galaxy.
Poggy
Poggy
tboneman
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why do I keep making funny rasping noises when I breathe??......
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tboneman,
you mentioned cheap seats at the back of the Ulysse? Apart from the centre seat, the other 4 seats are all inter-changeable.
You sure it wasn't a bench seat?
Stu
you mentioned cheap seats at the back of the Ulysse? Apart from the centre seat, the other 4 seats are all inter-changeable.
You sure it wasn't a bench seat?
Stu
jamesant
New member
If i was you i would also consider test driving the new espace i had a go in one and i would say that it had more space in it than the ford or the fiat the only thing that put me of was the price for the auto one.
tboneman
New member
When I said 'cheap seats' I was just using an old expression meaning the seats at the back with no room, came from the theatre probably meaning the seats where there is pillar in front of you obscuring all but the far left and right of the stage! Didn't mean that the seats were actually 'cheap'......
Looked at the Renault, works out too expensive for me.....
Looked at the Renault, works out too expensive for me.....
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Oh, OK - coz I thought all the seats were cheap, not just the back!
Renault worked out for too dear for us as well, especially if you wanted the same level of specification.
Plus Renaults reliability isn't that great!!?!? 'Coz Fiats are?' I hear you shout....
Stuart
Renault worked out for too dear for us as well, especially if you wanted the same level of specification.
Plus Renaults reliability isn't that great!!?!? 'Coz Fiats are?' I hear you shout....
Stuart
felix
New member
I think Renaults are fine for reliability, I had a Scenic for three years and only opened the bonnet once (and yes, I am male).
It was a great car, and I only just don't miss it now having the Ulysse.
It had leather seats too, great for wiping sick off.
felix
It was a great car, and I only just don't miss it now having the Ulysse.
It had leather seats too, great for wiping sick off.
felix
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Wonder if tboneman bought a Galaxy???
OR is he waiting for his new Ulysse, in which case he will become an active member with all his 'gripes'! Give it another 10 weeks or so.
I wonder!
OR is he waiting for his new Ulysse, in which case he will become an active member with all his 'gripes'! Give it another 10 weeks or so.
I wonder!
tboneman
New member
Actually, I haven't bought either - yet! Long bit of text coming up , sorry if it get's a bit boring! I had actually just about plumped for the Galaxy, then a work colleague had his exact same one delivered, 1.9TDi 130PS Ghia. Looked good, but noticed that in the very back, there was a dirty great bulge in the headlining which severely impacted the headroom for the back seat pasengers. I've now worked out this must be something to do with the dual air con the Ghias now have (vents for each passenger in the roof). I also noticed that there were no cup holders at all for the back seaters, only a cubby hole for the passenger on the drivers side. The other side had no cubby holes at all! If you've got kids with all their bottles of water and other oddments you'll know how this is a major drawback.
Other things I didn't like:
Analogue clock - not linked to RDS so not reliable.
Trip computer - seem to have removed the ability to display the range left in the fuel tank.
No Sat nav.
No auto lights or wipers.
No sliding doors.
No folding door mirrors.
No blinds, only permanently dark glass in the back.
No steering wheel controls for audio.
Good things - 130PS diesel engine and 6 speed gearbox = far superior mpg compared to the 2.0HDi (incidentally - what are people getting out of theirs, I've heard it's as low as 32mpg overall, I'm reliably informed that the Galaxy gives 40mpg plus overall)
Parking sensors FRONT and rear.
6 cd autochanger as standard.
Slightly more legroom than the Fiat all round.
So, I was back to square one. I then decided I could live with the slightly less legroom in the Fiat, so that took that point away.
So it seem to have come down to two things:
The overall MPG and sheer 'grunt' of the engine. Seems as though the Galaxy wins this one.
I'm still very concerned over the problems the Ulysse has been having. More particularly as I'm driving down through France in August, so whatever I get has to be reliable almost right off the bat. (My colleague has done 2K miles already, not a hint of anything wrong so far...)
I have to decide over the next two days or I risk it not coming before I go away on hols, especialy the Ford which seems to be taking 16 weeks to come.
Obviously I'd be interested in any comments on the above, especially the two things it's come down to.
Oh, and by the way, just noticed some comments about not being able to use the CD whilst driving with SatNav going, how does that work? do I need to add the CD multichanger?
Other things I didn't like:
Analogue clock - not linked to RDS so not reliable.
Trip computer - seem to have removed the ability to display the range left in the fuel tank.
No Sat nav.
No auto lights or wipers.
No sliding doors.
No folding door mirrors.
No blinds, only permanently dark glass in the back.
No steering wheel controls for audio.
Good things - 130PS diesel engine and 6 speed gearbox = far superior mpg compared to the 2.0HDi (incidentally - what are people getting out of theirs, I've heard it's as low as 32mpg overall, I'm reliably informed that the Galaxy gives 40mpg plus overall)
Parking sensors FRONT and rear.
6 cd autochanger as standard.
Slightly more legroom than the Fiat all round.
So, I was back to square one. I then decided I could live with the slightly less legroom in the Fiat, so that took that point away.
So it seem to have come down to two things:
The overall MPG and sheer 'grunt' of the engine. Seems as though the Galaxy wins this one.
I'm still very concerned over the problems the Ulysse has been having. More particularly as I'm driving down through France in August, so whatever I get has to be reliable almost right off the bat. (My colleague has done 2K miles already, not a hint of anything wrong so far...)
I have to decide over the next two days or I risk it not coming before I go away on hols, especialy the Ford which seems to be taking 16 weeks to come.
Obviously I'd be interested in any comments on the above, especially the two things it's come down to.
Oh, and by the way, just noticed some comments about not being able to use the CD whilst driving with SatNav going, how does that work? do I need to add the CD multichanger?
Hi,
Mine is all fixed now, but none of the problems actually stopped the car driving. I just wanted everything to work 100%.
The Fiat is now coming with a 6 speed gearbox on the 2.2 diesels, not sure if it is an option on the 2.0. I have the petrol auto and for the type of car it seems fine.
I think the big problem with the Fiat (Citroen & Peugeot as well) was that it was an entirely new car with only the engine being used elsewhere. Pretty much everything else was new design, which means teething troubles on the earlier cars. Also according to our dealer the information coming through for support was not very good, but he said in 6 months it will be much better and they will have more experience.
Andy
Mine is all fixed now, but none of the problems actually stopped the car driving. I just wanted everything to work 100%.
The Fiat is now coming with a 6 speed gearbox on the 2.2 diesels, not sure if it is an option on the 2.0. I have the petrol auto and for the type of car it seems fine.
I think the big problem with the Fiat (Citroen & Peugeot as well) was that it was an entirely new car with only the engine being used elsewhere. Pretty much everything else was new design, which means teething troubles on the earlier cars. Also according to our dealer the information coming through for support was not very good, but he said in 6 months it will be much better and they will have more experience.
Andy
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Hi tboneman,
The Galaxy you mentioned was something I was interested in originally, but by the time I specced one up on the Ford website, with Sat Nav, etc, became very costly!!!!
You are right about the CD - you need to have a changer; this means Sat disk can be kept in the main player all the time, with music disks in changer. The Connect + option of £1100, which believe me is worth having, used to include the CD multidisk, but now I think it is an extra £260 on top of this. Maybe something worth negotiating on.
We have the 2.2JTD manual - I feel it is very pokey, and great for cruising on motorways. However, I am also considering getting the chip remapped; one of the guys on this site specialises in it. It is not that costly, considering the benefits, and should increase the bhp and driveability a lot.
MPG is OK ish, all depends on what is being done. Our car used for school run a lot, usually gets 500 to tank. Sometimes, on long trips, if I add up current tank mileage from trip plus range left, I can get over 700, but this is in theory only - it obviously goes down once into town traffic.
I am still very happy with the car - the best choice overall, considering the new Espace out of our price range, and the Galaxy is everywhere!
Stu
The Galaxy you mentioned was something I was interested in originally, but by the time I specced one up on the Ford website, with Sat Nav, etc, became very costly!!!!
You are right about the CD - you need to have a changer; this means Sat disk can be kept in the main player all the time, with music disks in changer. The Connect + option of £1100, which believe me is worth having, used to include the CD multidisk, but now I think it is an extra £260 on top of this. Maybe something worth negotiating on.
We have the 2.2JTD manual - I feel it is very pokey, and great for cruising on motorways. However, I am also considering getting the chip remapped; one of the guys on this site specialises in it. It is not that costly, considering the benefits, and should increase the bhp and driveability a lot.
MPG is OK ish, all depends on what is being done. Our car used for school run a lot, usually gets 500 to tank. Sometimes, on long trips, if I add up current tank mileage from trip plus range left, I can get over 700, but this is in theory only - it obviously goes down once into town traffic.
I am still very happy with the car - the best choice overall, considering the new Espace out of our price range, and the Galaxy is everywhere!
Stu
tboneman
New member
500 to a tank, what does that equate to in mpg terms?
Interesting about 6 speed gearbox but I haven't seen that anywhere and there's nothing on the website. Any more info on that?
Also anyone have an idea on lead times for the Ulysse?
Interesting about 6 speed gearbox but I haven't seen that anywhere and there's nothing on the website. Any more info on that?
Also anyone have an idea on lead times for the Ulysse?
John_K
Member
I've had very few issues with my Ulysse - only real issue was that it was mis-built and I wanted it to be perfect! I only have the 2.0JTD (needed to watch the CO2 emissions for the taxman) so don't have the most powerful of engines, but it'll still pull 7 adults at 90 down the M40, so suits me just fine. Also, as it's a company car (and the fuel is paid for by the company!), I don't watch the MPG, but if not driven like a madman, I can get around 600 miles from a tank.
Some people have had electrical issues with their Ulysses, but then you can find similar stories for a lot of different cars out there (including some where you need to spend some serious money to get in the first place). Hearing some of the stories from other company car drivers where I work (on BMWs and Mercs), I don't think what you're seeing here is any different to what you'll see elsewhere.
The main things that drew me to the Ulysse were.....
1) value for money (at list price - all that matters in the company car leasing world - I could get more things to play with for the same money)
2) Safety - the EV2 (C8/807/Ulysse) and the Espace are the only full size MPVs with a Euro ENCAP 5 star rating, and as the photos in a link in another thread on the forum show, this is well deserved.
3) Space - while not the biggest MPV, it's one of the bigger non-Grande versions, and has a bit more space in the back than most (you need to use the space somehow - you either get legroom or space in the back, and I think the EV2 has the balance right).
4) Gadgets! Sort of links in with 1, but you can still get the WOW factor by turning up to collect your teenage kids and opening the sliding doors remotely for them! My kids love it, and they didn't want to see my last Espace go when its lease came up! Auto lights, auto wipers, satnav, full climate controll with separate zones, blinds, tinted windows, etc etc - it all makes the car that bit more fun! Mind you, having all the automatic stuff makes you stop and think when you get in and drive a 'normal' car!
5) Design, I won't go into Galaxy vs Espace vs various EV2 variants, but the extra Fiat styling is Italian, and looks in my mind better than the others on the road right now - things like the sweep of the side windows into the rear light array make this car look cool (if an MPV can look cool). The internal design is beautifully uncluttered (unlike a lot of other cars), and almost everything can be done from fingertip controls around the steering wheel.
My only regret is choosing the 2.0 JTD rather then the 2.2, but I had to do as much as I could to keep the tax impact to a certain level, and that was one of the easiest ways to do that :-(
John
Some people have had electrical issues with their Ulysses, but then you can find similar stories for a lot of different cars out there (including some where you need to spend some serious money to get in the first place). Hearing some of the stories from other company car drivers where I work (on BMWs and Mercs), I don't think what you're seeing here is any different to what you'll see elsewhere.
The main things that drew me to the Ulysse were.....
1) value for money (at list price - all that matters in the company car leasing world - I could get more things to play with for the same money)
2) Safety - the EV2 (C8/807/Ulysse) and the Espace are the only full size MPVs with a Euro ENCAP 5 star rating, and as the photos in a link in another thread on the forum show, this is well deserved.
3) Space - while not the biggest MPV, it's one of the bigger non-Grande versions, and has a bit more space in the back than most (you need to use the space somehow - you either get legroom or space in the back, and I think the EV2 has the balance right).
4) Gadgets! Sort of links in with 1, but you can still get the WOW factor by turning up to collect your teenage kids and opening the sliding doors remotely for them! My kids love it, and they didn't want to see my last Espace go when its lease came up! Auto lights, auto wipers, satnav, full climate controll with separate zones, blinds, tinted windows, etc etc - it all makes the car that bit more fun! Mind you, having all the automatic stuff makes you stop and think when you get in and drive a 'normal' car!
5) Design, I won't go into Galaxy vs Espace vs various EV2 variants, but the extra Fiat styling is Italian, and looks in my mind better than the others on the road right now - things like the sweep of the side windows into the rear light array make this car look cool (if an MPV can look cool). The internal design is beautifully uncluttered (unlike a lot of other cars), and almost everything can be done from fingertip controls around the steering wheel.
My only regret is choosing the 2.0 JTD rather then the 2.2, but I had to do as much as I could to keep the tax impact to a certain level, and that was one of the easiest ways to do that :-(
John
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Lead time on ours was about 12 weeks, but did come in early at around 10 weeks.
500 to a tank is NOT very good coz being driven on short school runs [that is why I give it a good blat at weekends to look after the engine!] - if I recall, 80 litre tank capacity, divided by 4.545454545etc = 17.6 gallons; 500 / 17.6 = 28.4 ! Is that right? s**t. I blame the missus! Or can someone shoot me down in flames.
Stu
500 to a tank is NOT very good coz being driven on short school runs [that is why I give it a good blat at weekends to look after the engine!] - if I recall, 80 litre tank capacity, divided by 4.545454545etc = 17.6 gallons; 500 / 17.6 = 28.4 ! Is that right? s**t. I blame the missus! Or can someone shoot me down in flames.
Stu
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John K - you calling me a madman? [!]
I can blame the wife - her and the 6 kids she transports around everyday [not ALL mine]
!]I can blame the wife - her and the 6 kids she transports around everyday [not ALL mine]
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tboneman,
Just looked at Ulysse microsite on Fiat Uk site - definetely mentions 2.2JTD with Six speed gearbox! Looks like 5 speed is RIP. This may have an impact on economy, etc.....
Stu
Just looked at Ulysse microsite on Fiat Uk site - definetely mentions 2.2JTD with Six speed gearbox! Looks like 5 speed is RIP. This may have an impact on economy, etc.....
Stu