2027 Ford Tourneo PHEV Reported to Replace the Diesel in Australia, From $73,340 Before On-Roads, and the Towing Question Ford Australia Has Not Answered

Image credit: Ford Australia. The current diesel Tourneo Titanium X is shown. Ford Australia has not released images of the plug-in hybrid.

Ford's eight-seat people mover is reported to be losing its diesel. Ford Australia spokespeople have told Australian motoring outlets that the Tourneo will switch to a plug-in hybrid only line-up for the 2027.25 model year, keeping the same two grades, Active and Titanium X. The prices being reported are $73,340 and $76,840 before on-road costs.

Here is the catch, and the reason this story reads a little differently from a normal price-and-specs piece. As at 1 October 2026, Ford Australia's own website says nothing about a Tourneo PHEV. Its Tourneo model page, its price guide and its downloadable spec sheet all describe the 2026.50 model year diesel, and we could not find a Ford Australia media release on the change. Everything below about the plug-in hybrid comes from what Ford has told publishers, and we say so each time. Everything about the diesel it replaces comes from Ford's own spec sheet. That split matters, because the most important number for some buyers, the towing capacity, is exactly the one Ford Australia has not given.

Reported Pricing

Both figures below are as reported by Australian motoring outlets, not read from a Ford Australia page. They are quoted before on-road costs, so registration, CTP, stamp duty and dealer delivery come on top.

On those reported numbers, the plug costs $2,250 more than the MY27 diesel it replaces, in both grades. That is a small step for a change from a diesel and an eight-speed automatic to a petrol engine, a motor, a battery and an e-CVT, and it is the most interesting thing about the announcement.

Two cautions. First, Ford's current online price guide shows only the 2026.50MY diesel, and it quotes an estimated drive-away figure based on your postcode rather than a list price, so we could not check the reported MY27 diesel prices against a Ford page either. Second, those diesel figures are described as "slightly lower MY27 pricing", which means the diesel on a showroom floor today may not be priced the same way. If you are weighing a run-out diesel against a PHEV order, get both quotes on the same day and compare them drive-away.

What Ford Is Reported to Be Fitting

The drivetrain is reported to be the one already sold here in the Transit Custom PHEV van, which the Tourneo is based on. One outlet reports the petrol engine at 86kW and the motor at 111kW, with 171kW combined, and another describes three drive modes that let you choose between blending petrol and electric automatically, running on battery now, or saving the charge for later in the trip. The 51km WLTP electric range is reported to be slightly shorter than the van's, because the people mover is heavier.

Put 51km in context. It is short next to the plug-in people movers we list, as you will see below, and it is a WLTP number, so a fully loaded eight-seater on a hot day with the air-conditioning working hard will do less. But it comfortably covers a lot of what people movers actually do: school drop-off, sport, the supermarket, a short commute. If most of your weekday driving fits inside that and you can plug in at home each night, most of those kilometres can run on electricity. If you rarely plug in, you are carrying a battery around for nothing, and a conventional hybrid is the simpler buy.

Ford Australia is reported not to have announced any equipment changes with the switch, so the grades should look familiar. We have not listed equipment here because we could not read a PHEV specification from Ford itself. What we can say from Ford's 2026.50MY diesel sheet is what the current car offers: eight individual seats across three rows, with the second and third rows on removable, adjustable tracks, and six ISOFIX points. That flexibility is the Tourneo's real selling point against most rivals, and nothing reported so far suggests it changes.

The Towing Question

This is where the switch could genuinely hurt some buyers. Ford Australia's 2026.50MY spec sheet rates both diesel grades at 2,500kg braked, using a genuine Ford tow pack that is an extra-cost option. For a family people mover, that is a useful number: it covers a lot of camper trailers and small boats that a Carnival Hybrid cannot pull.

For the plug-in hybrid, Ford Australia has not confirmed a towing figure. One outlet reports that the same PHEV is rated at 1,850kg braked in the UK. That is not an Australian number and we are not treating it as one, but if something like it carries across, a buyer who tows close to 2,500kg today would lose about 650kg of capacity. For a family with a mid-size camper trailer, that could be the whole decision.

Also remember what towing does to a small battery. A 51km WLTP range says very little about a trip with a trailer behind you; the petrol engine will be doing most of the work, and fuel use on those days is what counts. Ford Australia has not yet published an Australian fuel figure for the PHEV. If you tow, the practical advice is simple: do not order until Ford prints the braked towing capacity, gross combination mass and towball download for the Australian car. When it does, run your own rig through our TowingSorted planner, which does the mass arithmetic properly.

One more mass point from the diesel sheet, because it is easy to miss. Ford lists the diesel's payload at 837kg for the Active and 821kg for the Titanium X, calculated from kerb weight to gross vehicle mass. Eight adults at a typical 75kg each is 600kg before luggage or a towball. A plug-in hybrid carries a battery and motor, and Ford has not yet published its kerb weight or GVM, so do not assume the PHEV carries the same.

Against the Hybrid and Plug-In People Movers We List

The Tourneo sits at the upper end of the mainstream people-mover market on price, and the PHEV move keeps it there. Here is how the reported prices line up against the electrified rivals we hold on sale.

Kia Carnival Hybrid. This is the car most Tourneo shoppers will also look at. Kia lists the Carnival S HEV at $56,310 before on-road costs and the Carnival GT-Line HEV at $76,840, which happens to be exactly the reported price of the Tourneo Titanium X PHEV. The Carnival Hybrid is not a plug-in, so it has no meaningful electric-only range, but it seats eight in its S and GT-Line HEV forms on our figures and it is a known quantity. Where the Tourneo diesel had a clear edge was towing: we list the Carnival HEV at 1,000kg braked. If the Tourneo PHEV ends up well under the diesel's 2,500kg, that edge narrows, although on the reported UK figure it would still tow a good deal more than the Carnival Hybrid.

Hyundai Staria Lounge Hybrid. Hyundai lists the Staria Lounge Hybrid at $73,740 before on-road costs, $400 more than the reported Tourneo Active PHEV. We list it as a seven-seater rated at 2,500kg braked. It is also a van-based people mover, so it is the closest like-for-like in shape, and on the figures we list it is the electrified option that keeps the diesel Tourneo's towing number.

BYD M9 and GAC M8. These are the plug-in hybrids the Tourneo PHEV will be measured against most directly. We list the BYD M9 Premium as a seven-seater with a 36.6kWh battery and 145km of electric range, and the GAC M8 PHEV Premium with a 25.5kWh battery and 106km. Both are figures we list rather than ones we have re-checked for this article, and we have not quoted their prices here because we have not yet verified them against the manufacturers. Even so, the gap is obvious: on the reported figures, the Tourneo's 11.8kWh battery is roughly a third of the M9's. What the Tourneo offers instead is eight seats, a van body with second and third-row seats on tracks you can move or remove, and a Ford dealer network.

Tax, Safety and the Fine Print

Luxury car tax. As general information for the 2026-27 financial year, the luxury car tax threshold is $80,809, or $91,661 for fuel-efficient vehicles using 3.5L/100km or less. Both reported Tourneo PHEV prices sit under the standard threshold before options. The Titanium X at a reported $76,840 has a little under $4,000 of headroom, so a big spend on factory options could bring it close. Ford has not yet published an Australian fuel figure, so we cannot say which threshold would apply.

Fringe benefits tax. Also as general information for 2026-27: plug-in hybrids lost the electric car FBT exemption for cars first held on or after 1 April 2025, so a Tourneo PHEV on a novated lease will not get it. If a novated lease is how you were planning to buy, run the numbers against a conventional hybrid as well. Check your own position with your lease provider or accountant.

ANCAP. We hold no ANCAP rating for the Tourneo, diesel or PHEV. A result for one powertrain does not automatically carry to another, so if a rating matters to you, check the ANCAP record for the exact variant before you sign.

Why Ford is doing it. Ford told publishers the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard was "one factor in the decision". That standard counts a manufacturer's fleet emissions, and a plug-in hybrid with a low official figure helps Ford's average more than a diesel that Ford's own sheet puts at 194g/km of CO2. Ford also said it is not forecasting a fundamentally different sales rate from the PHEV. In other words, this is at least partly a compliance move, and buyers should judge the car on whether it suits them, not on the fact that it has a plug.

What Ford Australia Has Not Published Yet

• The prices themselves, on a Ford Australia page or in a release.
• An arrival date. One outlet reports April to June 2027, another reports arrivals from March 2027.
• Braked towing, GCM and towball download for the Australian PHEV.
• Kerb weight, GVM and payload for the PHEV.
• Official Australian fuel use and CO2, and the charging rate.
• Battery warranty terms for the PHEV.
• A full equipment list for each PHEV grade.

Who It Suits, and Who It Does Not

It suits a family that needs eight real seats, does most of its weekday driving in short hops, and can charge at home. If that describes you and you were already going to spend Tourneo money, a reported $2,250 for the plug is a small premium, and the reported jump from 125kW to 171kW should make a loaded eight-seater feel less laboured.

It suits less well anyone who tows near the diesel's 2,500kg, at least until Ford Australia confirms a figure. It also suits less well the buyer who does long highway runs and cannot plug in often, because an 11.8kWh battery does little on a 400km trip. And if long electric range is the attraction, the BYD M9 and GAC M8 offer far more of it on the figures we list, although the versions we list seat seven rather than eight.

If you want a diesel Tourneo, the reports suggest the window is closing, so talk to a dealer about stock and price now. We will add both PHEV grades to the CarSorted directory once Ford Australia publishes them, and our fuel cost calculator will help you compare running costs once there is an official fuel figure to work from.