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Engine: 2 liters, 4 cylinders, 138 hp,132 torques. Transmission: 4-speed auto. Weight: 4,950 lbs GVW, 3,000 kerb weight (est). Payload: 1,605 lbs, 4+ feet by 6+ feet cargo area. Mileage: 19 city, 24 highway. Body styles: 2, Van (no second row, side and rear glass optional) or Wagon (second row, side and rear glass standard). MSRP remains the independent variable.
50 Comments on “Does The Ford Transit Connect Add Up?...”
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Just enough power to pull…the rear doors.
It’s not the power (are you really supposed to drag race mustangs in a work vehicle?) but the horrible mileage and huge weight that I find horrendous…
It will work. Those who used to buy larger vans would want to downsize to this one in a recession.
Uglier than the Ford Freestyle, which was a crossover wagon with better numbers and better style — and that still bombed.
Lose the Pontiac Grand Am plasti-treatment. Please. So eighties. Retro but not in a good way.
If this is Ford’s answer to an xB or Kia Cube or Honda Element, then they need to go back to school and keep studying…right alongside the kids they’re trying to appeal to cuz this doesn’t. Won’t.
5000 lbs???!
4,950 lbs. is the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating, not the actual weight of the vehicle. Subtracting the payload capacity, the vehicle weighs more like 3350 lbs. That’s reasonable.
I concur with David. That weight has to be wrong. My 4wd Tacoma doesn’t weight that much even with the camper shell on it.
My only guess is that 4950 might be the GVWR which would mean the vehicle is 3345, which makes more sense.
Domestic Hearse: If this is Ford’s answer to an xB or Kia Cube or Honda Element, then they need to go back to school and keep studying…right alongside the kids they’re trying to appeal to cuz this doesn’t. Won’t.
This is meant to be a commercial vehicle. It is not Ford’s answer to the Honda Element or Scion xB. The Transits are very popular in Europe as commercial vehicles.
Domestic Hearse:
As geeber said, this is supposed to appeal to small commercial users. Every European manufacturer has some version of this.
Since Ford isn’t targeting this at kids there is a good chance that it might actually appeal to them.
I have no idea whether anyone will want one, but it is better looking and more useable than a Chevy HHR Panel.
It’s built in Turkey, so it should be somewhat cheap to make.
It’s too bad Ford won’t fit this with the new 6-speed auto, at least as an option. Fuel economy is going to be one of the main selling points.
As many will point out, diesel would be the best fuel economy option (I doubt any of these sell in Europe with a petrol engine), but even the latest VWs literally stink, so I’m not a fan.
If it sells it will sell on fuel economy, driveability (if you have ever driven a full size van), ease of access (i.e. a very low step in height and sliding doors on both side), and FWD in snowy climates.
Yes, the weight number is GVW.
Dodge has done well with the Sprinter because it offers more space than a full size van and better mileage.
This one will be tricky, because it offers less space, and not much better mileage. It’s advantage is small size which, except in urban areas, isn’t as big an issue here as in Europe.
Now, as slushbox notes, let’s see what happens when the kids get hold of ’em and fill all that cargo space with amps and subwoofers…
I saw this at the auto show in Seattle. It’s a commercial vehicle and doesn’t compete in any way with the Cube, Element or XB. It’s got a lot more space than the HHR panel van as well. It’s more compact than full sized offerings and will be very useful in urban settings. Aside from the lack of a diesel engine, I can’t see a real downside to this thing.
As the release says…MSRP is key.
At the right price the Transit is well positioned to serve the small fleet vehicle market. Courier services, florists, other small business that operate a cheap car as part of their business.
Tradesmen who don’t need to tote a lot of stuff. The $4/gal gas of last Spring forced a reevaluation of using giant vans and pickups as runabout vehicles.
The Connect is a decent commercial vehicle. In Europe it’s sold with 75, 90 and 110 hp Diesel engines, and with about 1500kg (about 3300 pounds) kerb weight it’s actually pretty light and has reasonable acceleration (for a van.) It’s biggest drawbacks are poor reliability and slightly scary handling.
The Connect won the prize for best light utility vehicle in the early 2000’s, but VW Caddy has taken it’s place since then.
Connect is also available as the Tourneo, a passenger model. It’s a rudimentary minivan, used mainly as a commercial people-mover.
Commercial vehicle?
Baby blue with Shelby Racing Stripes and a windsheild mask?
Looks like they’re hedging their bet on this one.
Paint it delivery van white, lose the Grand Am Go-fast treatment, and lemme see it through new eyes.
But this just in…
Your tax advisor may be able to show you how to depreciate the entire cost of a full-size van, Mr Business Owner.
Yeah, the IRS full-size commercial vehicle sales incentive is still on the books. And it’s juicier than ever for small business owners.
But it’s only good on the big’uns. E-Vans, F-Series, Silverados, Tahoyukoburbalades.
So if this little van is for business, you’d have to have gas at $4 to come close to making it pay for itself (diminished capacity and endurance, notwithstanding). Depreciate the entire cost of a Ford E-van or Dodge Sprinter in the first year of operation, or get this little van instead.
This is not to be construed as tax advice as your tax situation may vary. See your tax professional, accountant, or irs.gov for details.
Based on what I see here I don’t think this has much on the Sprinter.
On it’s own I’m sure its a fine vehicle, but I might have more torque in my left quadricep, and I’m right-footed. Also, I think the Sprinter can come with either a six-speed or 5-speed auto and a 3.5 V6 in the higher trims. This thing is begging for an eco-boosted 4-cyl and so-called “Powershift” dual-clutch gearbox…when ever Ford is ready to roll that technology out.
Mmmm…Tahoyukoburbalade…Let’s all have a glass!
132 torques
I’ve seen this bizarre use of “torques” cropping up on the site at least three times in the last few weeks. It makes my brain hurt. We’re all smarter than Jeremy Clarkson here, people.
In my region (Montreal, Quece), a lot of companies uses Ford Focus Wagon as utility vehicle. Since Ford doesn’t offer the Wagon anymore, it should work for this utilization.
They should also bring over the Tourneo Connect, esp. since Chrysler now has the really nice Fiat Doblo at it’s disposal. The small minivan segment could get a whole lot more interesting….
Will be interesting, if the price is right this could pull in a good bit of commercial buyers that “get by” with a Caravan.
A big ugly rectangular cargo space that can swallow akward objects at a reasonable price with reasonable mileage could work.
The domestics have certainly tried dumber things.
A non-commercial cult following could happen but don’t count on it.
Bunter
It’s not the power (are you really supposed to drag race mustangs in a work vehicle?) but the horrible mileage and huge weight that I find horrendous…
Yeah, I thought these were supposed to get such great fuel economy. Looks like more of the same…..
John
Perfect vehicle for a plumber, electrician, etc. Good for govt work as well. IF they price it right. I think starting in the low 20’s will probably be about right for this thing. I also think they ought to somehow make a pickup variant of it like VW did with the original Bus. That would fit a lot more needs of tradesman, and people like me who lament the unavailability of a true small truck that gets decent mileage and is not 25yrs old (Ranger).
The size and power are fine. What will scare off U.S. tradespeople is the idea of using a front-wheel drive van (where out of warranty transmission failure = crusher) in commercial service.
Accordingly, Ford doesn’t say on web sites that it is FWD. I had to look at pictures to tell.
Again…
Why would a tradesman (business owner) buy this miniworkvan when you can get the full-size one complete with…
A) a $25,000 tax credit
B) full depreciation in the first years’ ownership
thanks to the IRS?
Gas would need to be a hundred bucks a gallon to make this non-IRS spiffed miniworkvan come out ahead.
And sorry, but if I’m a tradesman/biz owner, I want capacity, size, power, dependability, future resale ability, existing and available upfits…
Especially since Uncle Sugar’s giving me complete purchase write-off and credit.
Don’t think of this Ford as being able to “work over there.” Think of it as having to “make sense over here.”
It doesn’t. At least not now.
So let’s hope the kids buy it.
If you think the mileage is bad on the Transit, try driving a Ford E-series van. 12mpg if you are lucky.
This car was sitting there at SEMA and too bad there aren’t any interior pics posted here.
Wood rails for the cargo floor, built-in metal piping in the storage area. Very nice, very appealing.
This particular Transit had something to do with Piloti shoes, which I also recommend.
The huge tax-break for big vehicles (>6000lbs GVWL) have gone away IIRC.
Thus if the Connect does start at ~$20K, there is a huge incentive for contractors etc to actually BUY them for business use.
Because, at that price, what you can depreciate actually matches the cost of depreciation. You have a large cargo room, good mileage (compared with the other vans), and unlike the Sprinter, which STARTS at $37K, its actually affordable.
Ford better learn from Chrysler’s mistake and actually stock maintenance/service parts for these vehicles, otherwise its gonna fall flat on its ass like the Sprinter. Not to mention the Sprinter has some serious reliability problems, judging by the talk on its forum.
Damn shame the US-spec Transit doesn’t come with a small diesel.
Don’t be surprised if small, efficient commercial vehicles get a big dose of tax help in the near future…..
I agree it’s kind of dumb to show the “tuner” version in the photo. Others I’ve seen in silver look very business-like.
@Patrickj :
The transmission being used is actually the one from the Focus, a very reliable tranny by all accounts (you’ll notice that auto trans failures weren’t among the Focus recalls – just about everything else was, though). /@Patrickj
Overall, the vehicle has a good reliability rating in Europe – I don’t think it will be a problem.
I think Ford’s real problem is that they need a better engine in the thing (2.5L with a six speed) to get better mileage but can’t yet because they are basically just bringing over the Euro-spec’ed version with slightly modified crash standards. When they start producing them stateside, I suspect we will see slightly different powertrain combos.
I wouldn’t overstate the potential of diesel, though. Diesel sales are in the crapper. The Super Duty, which was once about 50-60% diesel is averaging about 25-30% right now (anyone want to guess why the Navistar dispute ended so quietly). Emissions controls, high diesel prices… the diesel is severely injured, and Ford’s ecoboost will come fairly close to diesels in efficiency for much less cost. That plus the hybrid and some new powertrains from GM and Toyota might just be the end in the U.S. for consumer and most commerical applications unless someone makes a massive breakthrough.
Wrong question, hence all the off-base answers.
It already works. The question is will the US market buy what works, or will they continue to buy 20th century guzzler vans that are so often overkill for the job at hand, just as Expeditions were to non-work transportation?
@RobertSD
Immigrant tradespeople might be the best market for this.
Regardless of actual quality or durability of the transmission, the native-born ones seem caught up in the view that only an RWD body-on-frame (preferably with a V8) is suited to commercial use.
Their perception of FWD vehicles comes from 80s and 90s Tauruses and Caravans that ate a $3500 transmission they couldn’t replace in their own driveways every 60K miles.
The other thing: if they price it anywhere like they do in europe, the Transit Connect will be CHEEEAP…
Ford UK base prices:
Fiesta: 8.5k GBP
Focus: 12.5k GBP
Transit Connect SWB: 11k GBP
Transit Connect LWB: 12.5k GBP
So you are talking about a vehicle that costs about the same as a Focus.
Now US prices will probably be relatively higher, but still only about $20K. Thats a game-changer, as a stripper “real” van like a POS Express is $25K, while base price on a Sprinter is $37K.
Also, the specs are pretty beefy really. 1600lb cargo capability and 140 cubic feet. Well, the Chevy Express, a much bigger van with 13/16 MGP is only rated for 2300 lbs and 217 cubic feet. The thing may be physically compact, but it can carry some real mass, and with that high roof and low floor, a suprising amount of volume.
For a comparison, the aluminum-bodied Grumman LLVs that the United States Postal Service uses have a curb wt. of 3400 lbs and a maximum gross weight of 4400 lbs, so Ford Transit would be slightly lighter significantly more powerful than the postal vans.
The LLV is powered by a GM “Iron Duke” 4 cylinder with all of 95 horsepower. Because of the weight, old technology and gearing, the postal vans only get 16 MPG.
Incidentally, LLV stands for Long Life Vehicle. The postal service was criticized for spending a billion dollars on 150,000 jeep substitutes, but the majority of the LLVs are still in service 22 years after the first ones entered service in 1987.
Perhaps it is time to spend another $4 billion for 150,000 electric postal vans to replace the Grumman fleet and give some work to an idled or underutilized auto plant that we’re probably going to end up subsidizing anyway. If not electric, then CNG.
In general? Oh, hell yes. For the light-duty tradesperson market, this is more efficient and much less crude than the E-Series and a lot cheaper than the Sprinter. There’s always the Caravan PV, but that vehicle has reliability problems, drinks more fuel, and is made by a company whose lifespan is measured in minutes. Chevy HHR Panel? Please, that’s a glorified hatchback with hardly any space, where this could outfit an electrician or carpenter easily.
Unless you need an E-Series (and most people do not), this the perfect vehicle for a lot of light trade work. Yes, 19/24 isn’t so hot, but have you seen what an E250 does in the hands of a typical buyer? 19/24 would be nothing short of a miracle.
What this also replaces is the Focus wagon, which did a lot of light-duty trade work in Canada. I know several Ford dealers that were spitting nails when they dropped the Focus ZXW because it meant that a whole bunch of customers were being handed directly for Chrysler and GM short-wheelbase vans.
Finally, where this also has a chance is as a family vehicle for people that find the Escape too small and the Flex too expensive. Equipped with three rows of seats, it’s an entirely viable family vehicle for the low/middle-income people (of which there’s going to be a lot more, shortly).
Anyone know if there are plans to make a passenger-oriented Transit?
I am shocked by the fuel economy but I think this car will do really well, selling mostly to commercial users.
Transit Connect H&R pics via Autoblog
If it’s priced between 18-22 it will be a huge hit.
Full size vans might be about the same price, but operating costs are MUCH higher on the Ford cargo vans. They eat brake rotors for breakfast and tanks of gas for lunch and dinner. There is a real need for a small, light workvan and this would fit the niche nicely for 20K.
Anyone running a fleet looks at operating costs first, that’s why they have so many sprinters on the road. But the reliablity has not been as good as expected, and the overall build quality is highly suspect. Lots of reports of rusted out doors, window frames, etc.
The sprinter only starts at 37K, once you configure it for the task at hand you have a 45-50K truck. You could buy 2 microvans for 1 sprinter and still have the lower operating costs.
There really aren’t any decent small pickups left for the tradesman. The F150 and Silverado have grown into show trucks and the colorado just sucks.
It would be even better with the small diesel engine as an option.
What I can’t understand is why they didn’t bring th full size Transit Van as an alternative to the E-150 and a competitor to the Sprint.
This is just the right vehicle for many small businesses and tradespeople. How many of them can afford a new vehicle soon is a big question.
Price is the other big question. At $15k it is a runaway best seller. At over $25k, bzzzt.
“Transit Connect SWB: 11k GBP”
The exchange rate is presently about US$1.37 per GBP. 11kx1.37= $15.07k. If they can hit that price it will do very well. Of course doing pricing by that sort of direct exchange rate math doesn’t really work.
Another class of commercial vehicle are those used by legions of copier service people, salespeople and the like. I used to see them driving around in Escort or Focus wagons. What are they to replace those with? Honda Elements?
John Horner:
Thats why I included the reference prices for the Focus and Fiesta, because that gives a vision of relative cost.
And yes, thats what the Element is for. Its why my uncle bought one for his business. The big problem with the Element is it has too high a floor and too low a roof…
@ Conslaw:
If I’m not mistaken, the LLV has a service life of 25 years. So it’s about that time for the USPS to start replacing these things. The Transit Connect looks like a perfect fit, plus some of them can hopefully be fitted to run off of CNG or be all-electric.
They are commercial vehicles so tax and the way it shows up in advertised prices is different than for cars for the general public. Wouldn’t for example be surprised if the Transit price is without VAT and the Focus price is with VAT
@brklynivn: IIRC the larger Transit van was designed with the US market in mind, but Ford NA decided to keep the Econoline.
Ford brought one of these to my dealership over the summer to show off, and pretty much everyone in the commercial department was excited about it, as were the fleet customers who happened to be milling around.
As said before, 19/24 is very good economy for a gas based commercial van, and if Ford can bring out a US emissions compliant 4 cylinder diesel or get even better economy out of a 4 cylinder ecoboost, then all the better.
19/24 is the same economy as the 4 cylinder Ranger, which does still sell well in the commercial marketplace. Just about every auto parts store, pool company, and lawn-care/pest-control/landscaping business has a few Rangers on hand for runabout and light duty jobs. I could see the Transit being the perfect fit for caterers, florists, general food deliveries, urban carrier routes, and just about anything else that needs to move stuff quick and cheap but doesn’t need 300 hp to do it.
If this car comes to Canada & if i can snap it under 18K CAD, i will place advance order for more than one unit for my company.
I just bought a Nissan Quest just for moving our shipments last week. I know its not ideal, but that should put in perspective the gaping hole that exists in the Small Commercial Vehicle market.
And if anyone thinks that 140~hp on 5000 lbs (loaded) isn’t enough has clearly never driven a loaded ford Windstar with 190 hp, which actually get dwindled to 160~ after 2 years of use.
2.0 I-4 + 5000 pounds = FAIL!
Plus, it is made in Turkey…so that will erase any sort of profit.
Bold Moves indeed.
The Sprinter is considered a success. They sold fewer than 20,000 units in the US in 2005 (somewhere around 170,000 worldwide). Ford sold 109,900 Transit Connects in 2007 in Europe alone.
Perhaps “fail” is not the right word?
My company provides EPA certified compressed natural gas (CNG) conversions of the Focus and Fusion with the Duratec engine. The Transit Connect has the same engine and we will begin offering CNG conversions in the fall of 2009. The first shipment just arrived from Turkey this week.
We are actually expecting the Transit Connect to do quite well, although it certainly doesn’t appeal to everyone. I have actually met several people that are already exciting about getting one.
Being able to run on CNG at about half the price of gasoline can be pretty appealing too, especially when you consider the incentives for alternative fuel vehicles.
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