Introduction
The engineering of the Transit is quite brilliant: almost all of the components are shared between the front and rear-wheel drive versions, even down to the engine ancillaries – although the FWD version has a transversely mounted 2.0-litre engine, while the RWD model has a longitudal 2.4-litre unit.
At the UK launch Ford even demonstrated that a RWD Transit could be turned into a FWD model in less than 20 minutes by a couple of practised mechanics. Try getting that sort of service at your local Ford dealer…
Product Profile
Front and rear-wheel-drive Transits are not offered at the same gross weight, so it is not easy to compare payloads, but we reckon that a RWD (and 2.4-litre) Transit weighs about 130kg more than a similar FWD van.
The Transits we have tested so far have been competent enough, with a superb chassis and excellent cab, but the design has failed to shine: its distributor-pump design, despite direct injection and four valves per cylinder, lacks the impressive urge (and fuel economy) of the latest common-rail units from Mercedes-Benz and Renault. Perhaps the change in displacement – and the different characteristics of front-wheel drive – will make a difference.
Productivity
Since the launch of the latest Transit, Ford has maintained that front-wheel drive would reduce fuel consumption, thanks to the more direct driveline, as well as reducing the kerb-weight of the van. Well it seems to have done the trick: the Transit 300’s fuel consumption is excellent; the laden figure just about matching the Volkswagen Transporter 1200 TDI despite 200kg more all-up weight and around 50% more load volume. The unladen figure is even better: 38.8mpg round our Kent test route, at a respectable average speed, is impressive for such a big van.
And yes, the Transit is a pretty big van: the loadspace is 3.40m long and 1.98m high internally – plenty tall enough for most people to stand upright – and the finicky VDA measurement of load volume is 9.7m3. The more generous SAE measure (quoted by less scrupulous manufacturers) is a whopping 11.3m3. However, the loadbed is around 660mm from the ground unladen; that’s nothing special for a front-wheel-drive van. The rubber mat on the load floor is useful, but it’s part of the “load area protection kit” – a £150 option. And the standard steel half-bulkhead is only the start of a range of bulkheads which allow varying amounts of loadspace length and seat adjustment. The rear doors only open to 180o as standard; 270o doors will cost you a stunning £250, but that includes body side-mouldings. The side loading door is not full-height, though the aperture is a decent 1.56m tall.
The Transit manages to combine its large loadspace with a very respectable payload – over a tonne, eve with a couple of big-boned people on board. In the UK there is little reason to stick to the 2.8-tonne GVW limit favoured in Germany, so the extra 200kg comes in handy – there is enough axle tolerance to make practical use of it, too.
