Introduction
It's Britain's biggest-selling commercial vehicle. Indeed, it's the most popular van ever built. The latest model's ad campaign - reviving Slade's ?Coz I Luv You? and making us all think it's actually quite a cool song - proclaimed that the Ford Transit has become so integral to British business that it is the backbone of industry.
And rather like Slade, pretty much everything good or bad that can be written about them has already been committed to paper. But while every generation of the mainstream Transit has been put through the mill, lesser-volume variants, such as the T350, are rarely in the limelight.
Ford took front-wheel-drive into the rwd-dominated 3.5-tonne marketplace last June, promoting towing, additional space and better payloads for the average CV user as its main benefits, while better load heights would suit the emergency services.
The manufacturer introduced two new engine ratings at the start of the year, based on the 2.4-litre DuraTorq turbo-diesel and improving its output to 125hp. The fwd van with a low floor goes into the 330 and 350 ranges, powertrain options starting with the 100hp Di TDI standard diesel engine or that common-rail 125hp TDCi.
Ford believes that the result is ideal for tradespeople who need the payload for equipment and internal space to rack tools and materials - and lends itself to standard multi-drop and high-street deliveries.
Fully laden, the fwd offers 440mm (530mm unladen) load height from the ground to the van's floor, which is 127mm lower than the rwd version. Internal loadspace height for the front-wheeler is 1.75m, a full 100mm higher than its rear-axle-driven equivalent. However, Ford didn't go overboard with the specs for the driver - a radio cassette is fitted, but that's about your lot.
And there's no air conditioning? And remember window winders? None of your fancy electrics here. A touch of the Old Skool all round.
Product Profile
Productivity
When we rolled in to the local BP garage after our trip around the Kent route that morning, there was nothing to suggest the Transit would knock up an impressive fuel figure fully freighted in the afternoon. So when only 13.05 litres were needed, giving us 31.2mpg, the van was no more than a red line and a gentle slope away from taking the gold medal off the Mercedes-Benz 311CDI (CM 10 April 2003).
Two rwd subjects, Vauxhall's Movano 2.5DTI (CM 10 October 2002) and the Iveco Daily 35S12 (CM 28 August 2003) are subsequently relegated in the fuel-consumption league. And regarding the fwd versus rwd debate, our results show they are as economic as each other based on our results.
For payload, the Transit just tops 1.5 tonnes which puts it behind the Sprinter and Movano, but strongly ahead of the Citro?n Relay 1800 2.2HDI. ?Fully freighted? here is 1,504kg for the medium wheelbase with the medium roof, which stands up well compared with other medium (sometimes listed as high in other manufacturer's brochures) roof equivalents.
The Sprinter 311 loses out by only 1kg in this category - the Movano claims 1,556kg. The Transit here is down by some 50kg, which might well persuade the customer to look elsewhere if loads are likely to be dictated by weight rather than size.
In terms of residuals, the Sprinter holds its value better than its three rivals here - industry analyst CAP Monitor gives it a ?1,000 advantage after three years.
With so many Transits on the market, prices are kept competitive. But if somebody is after a specific model, such as the low-floor version here, they may be prepared to pay a premium for it. And a bigger engine such as the 125hp unit will always prove popular with operators and drivers.
