Introduction
During the 12 months we have with the Transit, we aim to put 20-30,000 miles on the clock, with regular fuel runs around our Kent test route. We’ll also be assessing how well the vast array of optional extras help the driving experience.
What makes this low-roof Transit 280 significant is its front-wheel-drive, transversely mounted 2.0-litre charge-cooled turbo-diesel, complete with exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and computer-controlled fuel injection.
Product Profile
The 16-valve straight four produces 99hp at 4,000rpm with 200Nm of torque at 2,300rpm. Transmission is the five-speed manual gearbox.
Ford has developed its front and rear-wheel drive Transits with a huge overlap of components. The FWD’s obvious advantage is a weight saving of some 130kg and a loadbed that is 20mm lower than the RWD variant.
These might not be large figures but they can make a difference in getting an extra delivery on board and handballing loads. Load access is helped by a nearside sliding door and rear doors that open up to 270o (one of several optional extras).
Productivity
The 2.8-tone van market is ferociously competitive these days with the Renault Trafic/Vauxhall Vivaro and the well-established Mercedes-Benz Vito among the front-runners, not to mention the high-payload alternatives from a number of manufacturers.
The 280 SWB Transit is one step from the bottom of the range. It has a 2,640kg GVW and 953kg payload – very competitive. The Trafic/Vivaro is 940kg plus a sandwich box and the Vito is 5kg shy of a tonne.
As any other operator will testify, no vehicle can reach its maximum productivity until it is run in, but that didn’t stop CM putting our Transit through its first fuel run with barely 500 miles on the clock, just to see what happened. In the event our figures were pretty good.
Our first (laden) was completed at 32.6mpg at an average speed of 67.6km/h (42mph). Compare that with the 38.8mpg returned by a Vito with more than 30,000 miles on the clock.
A Renault Trafic 1.9dCi 80 achieved 36.2mpg while the more powerful Vauxhall Vivaro 1.9DTI 99hp version achieved 31.6mpg, both with relatively low mileage.
