If you still cling to a Christmas tree these days, you should keep the ecological footprint as small as possible when you buy it. An organic Christmas tree, grown without fertilizers and pesticides near the Bavarian Ismaning, is said to be this year. For the sake of simplicity, transported in a small truck, but please be environmentally friendly with no emissions. The car manufacturer Ford, which now gently electrifies its transporters, ensures that this no longer has to remain wishful thinking. While other manufacturers are already relying on fully electric vehicles in this vehicle segment, the Cologne-based company will only announce this for the Ford Transit in 2021. In the meantime, the new Transit is now also available in a consumption-reducing 48-volt mild hybrid version and the smaller ones Transit Custom and Tourneo Custom for the first time as a plug-in hybrid.
Not the combustion engine, but the electric motor drives the front wheels
The closed box van responsible for transport and the glazed passenger car variant share the same drive, in which Ford does not - like most of the industry - choose the parallel hybrid, but rather the serial hybrid, with the combustion engine, generator and Electric motor are built in series. Unlike most plug-in hybrids, it is not the combustion engine that drives the front axle, but an electric motor. The electricity for this comes from a 13,6 kWh lithium-ion battery, which, when fully charged, has a range of around 56 kilometers according to the NEDC (at Tourneo Custom PHEV 53km) should enable. If it is empty, the 1,0-liter turbo gasoline engine supplies electricity via a generator. Ford notes the system performance as 126 hp, and a total range of 500 kilometers suitable for everyday use should be possible. At the latest then, the battery must be fully recharged in 4,3 hours via a connection in the front bumper at a household socket. With a standard type 2 plug, the charging time is reduced to 2,7 hours.
The direct route from Munich to Ismaning is just under 15 km. It starts in the Transit Custom near the Deutsches Museum after turning a classic key. Only the inner do-gooder slows you down to surprise the Golf GTI at the first set of traffic lights with the 2,6-ton transporter and a system torque of 355 Nm. That would be a point win for the electric drive, which immediately stands at its feet with its vigor, but which would severely reduce the charge level of the battery in the event of repetition. So it's better to put the selector lever in L (ow) mode. As soon as you take your foot off the "accelerator" pedal, the van decelerates so much that the brake lights are automatically used to warn the vehicles behind you. With the mode button on the right of the steering wheel, you can choose between four modes that decide how and when the available battery charge is used. The "EV Auto" mode automatically switches between purely electric driving and the petrol engine depending on the driving situation, in "EV now" the combustion engine is deactivated until the battery charge level is no longer sufficient for electric driving, in "EV later" driving is with activated combustion engine used to charge regeneratively, and in "EV charging" the combustion engine generates more electrical energy in addition to the driving current in order to increase the state of charge. This will pay off if environmental zones are set up for e-cars in the future. From spring 2020, Ford wants to introduce geofencing capability in the custom PHEV. If you drive into the electrical zone, it will open automatically EV switched.
The silent panel van can be easily guided through the city center of Munich like a car. An advantage because, of course, it is exactly the time when all the suppliers scurry through the parked streets. But you sit high like in a truck and have a better overview of what's going on. Optional parking, blind spot and lane keeping assist are also on board. In the urban stop and go, recuperation is diligent and the view of the remaining range is optimistic. But hardly anything is brisk and out on the country road, the combustion engine switches on unmistakably and surprisingly at high speed when power is called up. In combination with the pure electric drive and the support of the range extender, one can assume an average consumption of 2,7 liters. But if the battery is empty and the generator produces the electricity, consumption increases to over eight liters. So if you are mostly in the city, avoid the “EV charging” mode and the vehicle is connected to the power whenever possible, you can top the consumption of a diesel. However, if you want to go on a Christmas and emission-free shopping tour from the city to the surrounding area, you should wait until 2021 and for a purely electric variant. The Transit Custom Transporter with the power of two engines starts at a base price of 57.114 euros, the eight-seater Tourneo Custom Bus at a price of just as ambitious 71.900 euros. For the panel van in a comparable configuration, but with the basic diesel engine, Ford calls a list price of 33.855 euros.
