Flat introduction to the beginning of the first presentation of a commercial vehicle in the blog? Okay, how about this: The bumper is the beginning of all vice. Unconvincing. Back to the topic: Ford presents a real city delivery van, no cooperation with other automobile manufacturers, no a pure “One Ford” platform. In the case of the new Transit Connect, you take the successful Ford Focus and build a neat city delivery van on its basis.

Ford Transit Connect

We all have our vices

The first impression:

Can artisans with Kinetic Design and friendly eyes alone be happy? Probably not. And probably the focus of buyers of the new Transit Connect on completely different skills, but that the practical Cologne looks good, you will be allowed to mention. The target group of the Transit Connect gets up early, works a lot and is constantly on the move. It's no easy task here to put a car on the wheels, which is a bestseller in this target group. But FORD has a lot of experience in this area. And from one of the experiences one has probably decided not to construct the new Transit Connect together with another car / manufacturer. That this can really go in the pants, is currently experiencing Mercedes / Benz with their Renault Kangoo clone.

Reliability, low maintenance, inexpensive to buy and versatile in use. 

Emotions, driving pleasure and the wow effect in front of the ice cream parlor are generally left out - although the Transit Connect on the first exit in the Munich area could not deny that the transformation from a car to a commercial vehicle took place and not the other way around.

Everyday life in transit:

Building the Transit Connect on the Ford Focus has a number of advantages. This is how the "Van of the Year“Extremely handy for a van and the noise level in the interior can be compared more with a car than with a commercial vehicle. The Transit Connect, which is available as a panel van or station wagon, does not clatter, rattle or roar.

And the workplace in the cockpit is also more oriented towards the car, although there is room for improvement. Even if there is a large shelf above the head of the driver and front passenger, I personally miss a few practical details for everyday life. A well-integrated holder for the smartphone or tablet? A shelf for delivery notes? Note boxes? It looks very tidy and clean and the dashboard, cast from hard plastic, is really far removed from the bleak charm of a sober van - but I missed the practical solutions for storing all kinds of "small items".

Space, engines and variants

Panel van or station wagon, basic or trend, long or short wheelbase. Ford will offer the Transit Connect in dozens of versions at market launch. To the question of whether as a closed box van, or glazed and provided with rows of seats, there is the option to order the Transit in the basic version “Basic”, or to use the “trend”, which then receives painted bumpers, electric Has adjustable exterior mirrors and sports fog lights in the front bumper. In the interior, the trendy version is joined by a Bluetooth radio, air conditioning and seat height adjustment for the driver.

Short wheelbase - long wheelbase?

Already the Transit Connect with short wheelbase (Wheelbase: 2.66 meters, total length: 4.41 meters) accommodates two europallets in the cargo hold and a loading volume of 2.6 m³ (VDA measuring method). The long-wheelbase Transit van stretches out onto 4.82 meters (Wheelbase: 3.06 meters) and offers immense storage space. The sliding door of the “long transit” is wide enough to load Euro pallets. 3.4 meter long pipes? The long transit swallows this thanks to its completely flat retractable passenger seat and the hatch to the cockpit.

The excellent security level is common to all variants. Thanks to its construction based on the Ford Focus, the new Transit has received an impressive 5 out of 5 stars in the Euro-NCAP crash test and all Transit are delivered in series with ESP and disc brakes all around. This may not be a glamorous happening, but it is far from being standard in the commercial vehicle segment!

And Ford even delivers "Active City Stop”For the city delivery van, I think that's really useful. 

EcoBoost, Econetic?

With a payload of 553 kilograms (short wheelbase), theEngine of the Year”The well-known 100 HP three-cylinder EcoBoost engine marks the beginning. A six-speed gearbox has been added to its 100 hp and in order to be able to shine in city traffic with low consumption values, it has the start / stop function in series.

The second petrol engine version is the 1.6 liter EcoBoost petrol engine with 150 hp. This engine is only available with a 6-speed gearbox. The maximum payload here is 829 kilograms, in conjunction with the long wheelbase.

75, 95 and 115 PS make the diesel engines that are used in both wheelbase versions. Payload King is the 1.6 TDCi (115 PS 6 gear) with 899 kg in the long wheelbase box car.

The prices

14.884, - € is the entry into the Cologne truck business. If you want maximum transport capacity and want to combine it with a properly equipped trend model, you can choose the 1.6 TDCi with a payload of 899 kg, the long wheelbase and start at € 20.420.

Price List Ford Transit Connect (Download)

Technical data: