The R355 gravel road between Calvinia and the AfrikaBurn turnoff is catastrophically bad, and there was growing grumpiness in the car as we bounced over 140km of bumps and corrugations.
Not nearly as much as among the crews fixing punctures on the roadside, no doubt. The R355 is a notorious tyre eater, and fortunately the Ford’s 19-inch tyres passed that test intact. But my mechanical sympathy was with the vehicle itself as it was harshly shaken on those corrugations for several hours. Somewhere beneath that metal shell, I feared, a lasting rattle would surely emerge.
The trip to AfrikaBurn was one of two long-distance adventures undertaken in quick succession in a Ford Tourneo Custom Sport, an eight-seater bus priced at R1.23m that we have on long-term test. The other was the Sani2C mountain bike race.
Over the two trips we’ve put the Ford’s multiple seating configurations to the test, and it has proven its practicality.
For the AfrikaBurn trip we removed all the seats except the front two, creating a panel van-sized cargo bay for a mountain of camping gear. The annual event at Quaggafontein near the Tankwa Karoo National Park requires visitors to bring all their own food, water, shelter and power supplies, which adds up quickly even for two people.
Fortunately, it didn’t require advanced Tetris skills to pack, as the Tourneo Custom swallowed it all without obstructing rear visibility.
With two mountain bikes strapped to the rear, we embarked on the 1,300km journey from Johannesburg wondering how the extra weight would affect the Ford’s performance and fuel consumption.
Fully loaded, the Ford proved an accomplished long-distance cruiser. Its 125kW and 390Nm outputs provide effortless overtaking ability, while wind noise is impressively subdued for such a boxy vehicle, and the diesel engine avoids sounding agricultural.
The extended trip had us using the intelligent cruise control for long periods, leaving the vehicle to safely manage following distances and speed traps. It certainly causes less driver fatigue on such a long journey, which took more than 15 hours.
Ford’s bus also has a lane-keeping assist system that is less intrusive than in some vehicles, so I opted to keep it mostly activated. However, I eventually disabled it after repeated warnings to keep my hands on the steering wheel despite maintaining a steady grip.
The bus has a plush ride on most surfaces, but with a couple of hundred kilometres to go, the smooth tar ended, and we hit the dreaded R355 dirt road connecting Ceres and Calvinia to AfrikaBurn. There is no comfortable way to tackle its sharp shale and savage corrugations, though about 65 km/h proved the most bearable sweet spot.
At long last the destination was reached with the Ford seemingly none the worse for wear except for a thick coating of dust — there was thankfully little dust intrusion into the cabin. The Tourneo Custom has room for two stretchers, and sleeping inside the car was a backup plan in case it got too cold, but the weather gods were kind and our tent was warm.
After several days at AfrikaBurn, we headed home via the same punishing dirt road. Frankly, I was surprised when we got back onto smooth tar and there were no lingering rattles; the Ford seems well screwed together.
It also proved frugal. During its first few weeks, the turbodiesel bus had averaged 10l/100km in mostly urban driving while unladen.
Over the Afrikaburn road trip, the vehicle averaged 8.5l/100km, a figure it maintained when we headed out a few days later on another long-distance journey from Johannesburg to Himeville in the Drakensberg for the Sani2C three-day mountain bike stage race — and more gravel roads en route.
This time there was an extra person, so we configured the Ford into a three-seater. Once again all the luggage fitted easily, including two bicycles standing upright. There are multiple cupholders and storage nooks, and in terms of packing and passenger versatility the Tourneo Custom is a Swiss Army knife of options, with electric rear sliding doors to simplify loading.
To ensure comfort, all eight seats can be adjusted for legroom and backrest angle, and there are USB charging ports in the front and rear. Infotainment and many other functions are handled by a giant touchscreen, which is legible and relatively intuitive to use, with quick-access controls for the climate control and other oft-used features.
As an adventure vehicle, the Tourneo Custom Sport has so far proved highly capable, surviving punishing roads and heavy loads while delivering good fuel economy — and doing so in distinctive style with its racing stripes.
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