The Ford Transit is surprisingly well equipped for a commercial vehicle and it’s definitely an impressive vehicle in the category when you think about how it’s been kitted up.
The Car
It comes with an idle-stop function as standard as well as the hill-hold feature, cruise control and a speed limiter. There’s a big 3.5-inch digital multifunction display at the top of the centre stack, and you’ll be able to hook up almost any sort of audio input to the audio system. Ford’s SYNC voice command system is also installed and it’s easy enough to pair with your phone on Bluetooth.
The optional City Pack will get you front and rear parking sensors and the reversing camera. There are no current ratings for the car but the car is not short on safety. There are 6 airbags, a stability control program with load adaptive control, roll-over mitigation, trailer-sway control and a fair amount of other technology to ensure driver and passengers are safe.
The Drive
The Transit gives you pretty good all around vision via its large side mirrors and it’s easy enough to get in despite the lack of grab handles. You’ll be a bit irritated looking through to the rear because the mesh grille tends to blur out and complicate the view but the reverse camera add-on is available which should help with that.
We actually found the Transit quite lovely to drive. Lag and torque are to be expected but easy to get used to and the drive once you’ve gotten the hang of how you need to handle the gears and pedals is actually quite relaxed and even comfortable, bumps and bends were barely felt too. The clutch is also light and responsive so that’s another bonus. It’s enhanced by the fact that there is a pleasant lack of noise and feedback inside the cabin that you’ll definitely enjoy if you’re on a longer drive to your customers.
The Transit handled its test weight pretty well and the drive didn’t suffer too much even with the weight in the back. As expected, the bumps in the road were more evenly balanced out too now that there is more even distribution.
The Interior
You’ll be quite surprised at how it feels inside the cabin too and the dash and leather-wrapped steering wheel actually give you a more upmarket impression than you expect. The driver’s seat is pretty flexible with a wide range of adjustment options and even an adjustable armrest, and electric heating for both front seats.
There are lots of storage cubbies and cup and bottle holders. A 4-compartment overhead shelf and large glovebox can be used in addition to the space underneath the passenger seats. The Transit also comes with 4 internal load bay lights, 10 tie-down anchor points and a 12-volt socket at the rear. The towing capacity comes in at 2750kg but unfortunately the Transit has the lowest payload of the segment at 1267kg so it’d be wise to think about what your needs are before deciding on this commercial vehicle.
Overall
Our overall impression of the Transit is very good. With its mix of technology and comfort, it’s a really great vehicle for your company drivers but you might have issues with the relatively small payload limit if your business needs to haul around product around the city.
Original : Reviewing the Ford Transit
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