Connecting with the Ford Transit Connect

Ford dropped off a new Transit Connect at our Connecticut test track this week to let our engineers and editors try it out this week. Colleague Eric Evarts and I, both with admitted geekish gearhead tendencies and previous owners of various minivans, trekked out to the 327-acre Auto Test Center from our New York headquarters to get some seat time.

For those of you who haven't yet connected with the Transit Connect, it is a tall, commercial version derived of the Focus and built in Turkey. It is designed for local, urban deliveries and for relatively light payloads. Ford is hoping to find a ready market with small contactors and delivery service, who find a full size van or pickup too much truck for their needs. Plans for the Transit Connect in the U.S. don't include a diesel power plant, although European buyers do have that option.

The carmaker has displayed various incarnations of the Transit Connect at major car shows, decked out in everything from kayak outfitter gear to more traditional contractor getups and even a taxi cab. At the New York auto show, they displayed several examples, including a family friendly model.
https://onlocation.consumerreports.org/ny-auto-show/Default.asp

But the contractor-friendly van delivered to our track is pretty basic inside. There's lots of painted metal and plain plastic—none of which is a problem. But our loaner has a back seat, which, while not necessarily a bad idea, is not something normally expected in work vans. It eats into the cargo area, and it seems to send a mixed message about who the target buyer really is. The key message here is the vehicle's huge cargo volume and relatively high load capacity at 1600 lbs.

That said, the Transit Connect is relatively fun to drive. The 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine in our loaner provides adequate oomph, though no more. Without a load heavier than Eric and I, it handles reasonably well with a responsive steering system, making it more fun to drive than larger vans. We actually enjoyed driving it more than some new cars we have driven recently.

Time will tell how the Transit Connect does in the marketplace, but at least two of us think it's a good idea. It might even make a decent mini motor home replacement for those VW Campers in our past.

What do you think?

—Jim Travers