Big on space, big on choice. It’s a bold claim from any manufacturer of small vans… can you guess whose it is? BINGO! It’s the tagline for the Ford Transit Connect.
Big on space big on choice now that sounds like a bold claim coming from any manufacturer operating in a small van sector right now can you guess who it is bingo this is the ford transit connect now the small band sector has seen a lot of new arrivals of late from citroen peugeot box’ll and toyota and while it may feel like this van is under siege do not believe
The hype this small van is a big force to be reckoned with right let’s start at the front now i think the ford transit connect looks absolutely superb now and that’s probably because they got rid of that big bar that used to run across the top here and replaced it with this wonderful open grill that you find on pretty much all the ford cars these days now this one
Looks especially good because it’s at the limited level of trim which means you get certain additions such as automatic headlights rain sensitive wipers 16-inch alloy wheels and body coloured wing mirrors and plenty of other goodies on the inside now you know let’s not waste any time let’s get in there and check them out first impressions are that this interior is
Incredibly car like the seat is really comfortable and like the passenger seat looks really comfortable as well the driver’s seat is eight ways adjustable so you can go backwards and forwards it can tilt backwards and forwards as well and you’ve even got lumbar support controlled by this little handle right here you can even adjust the steering wheel and just find
The catch and that goes backwards and forwards so you can get yourself really comfortable to the right of the steering wheel are the headlight controls but they’re automatic so i don’t need to show you those let’s have a look at the steering wheel there’s leather wrapping around the outside there’s some nice metal detailing around the controls and you can control
Quite a lot from here you’ve got your audio controls your cruise control settings and also voice control which doesn’t seem to work so fast but i’ll just cancel that so beyond the steering wheel are your speedometer a rev counter and a little screen that shows you all sorts of information but let’s move on to the other little screen in here this little four inch
Screen is what allows you to use your dab radio choose your music sources and you know even get your phone hooked up even better just underneath it is this nice little tray under here that you can put your phone in it’s rubberized on the bottom and your phone’s not going to go anywhere if you have to stop suddenly because there’s a nice lip right here let’s track
Down there’s audio controls for air conditioning you’ve got some buttons down here to turn off traction control and check out the gear stick now i said it was a car like interior and the gearstick is absolutely no difference it’s got lovely metal detailing and this lovely leather wrapping around here it’s also incredibly smooth it feels nice where it is you can
Kind of while you’re driving along hop from me to gearstick absolutely fine and the transition is really really nice below the gearstick is your 12 volt socket and a little bit more connectivity apart from the bluetooth you’ve got up here you’ve got a usb socket as well so you can charge your devices right down there next to these two excellent cupholders now i’m
A big snob when it comes to cupholders some of them these days have these kind of rubber protrusions that don’t really kind of hold on to your cups but these are sprung now if you stick anything in there it’s not going anywhere so let’s just try with my water bottle sturdy ass that’s not going anywhere it’s going to pop that back in the door behind the cupholders
Is a lovely deep cubby hole which could hold your sandwich and even probably a thermos flask by the looks of it and let’s talk about storage there’s not a lot of it in here but there’s some quite useful bits for instance if you’ve got a lion bar and you just do not know where to put it there’s a little dip right here that’s exactly the right size on the passenger
Side there’s a sort of a half a kitchen sinks worth of room i don’t really know what you put in there but i’m sure you’ll find something and of course obvious there’s the glovebox and in there so you add blue funnel a locking wheel nuts and you use a manual the perfect place to stash them this is a very tough and durable design but absolutely accentuated with lovely
Bits of comfort these seats look great all the leather detailing looks absolutely superb as well so it’s got a great while we’re sitting still i think the only thing we should do right now is get out onto the road and see what it’s like when it’s driving ford’s 1.5 litre ecoboost a six-speed gearbox and what that means is that you don’t suffer any lack of power
Between gear changes i’ve just gone from second to third and i still feel like i’ve got as much power as i would in first they connect small sighs kind of makes you feel like you’re driving something tiny until you put your foot down on the accelerator whether you’re a third fourth or sixth gear you are going to find that this vehicle has boodles of power waiting
To be pushed into whatever you need it to do you want to get speed at 4th street foot down it will go whether we’re driving on urban town even country roads the connect doesn’t mind what surface you’re driving on you could be on gravel you could be on tarmac could be on those roads that kind of having loose your chips on the top it just hugs it so if you’ve ever
Have gone down a straight country road in your car and put your foot down on the accelerator and just enjoy that little burst of speed you can do that with the connect to check it out you know i think i’ve realized what ford won they want you to enjoy driving their vans they don’t want you to feel like you’re at work they want you to feel like you’re sitting on
An armchair at home they want you to feel safe and warm and they want you to enjoy it so they make the seat super comfortable and they give you a 1.5 liter ecoboost its emissions standard and they just let you go they just say stick your foot down on the pedal and go where you need to go your vehicle will not let you down it’s a good ethos i mean i don’t know if
They actually said it but you know it sounds like the sort of thing they might say it’s easy to get excited about a vehicle like that connect for a tradesperson looking to carry smallish loads but enjoy themselves at the same time you’ve found your vehicle and it’s funny because when you’re looking at the road and you think i don’t really see any of those bands
Anymore the second i got into the ford transit connect every time i was driving down the road today i’ve been seeing hundreds of them they’re everywhere everyone’s got to connect which means well we’re gonna get some more people in to connect until everyone’s driving connects because not only do you have the car like speed the car like handling and this beautiful
Car like interior you can also carry loads of stuff in the bag well that was a very nice drive but as smooth as the drive wasn’t as comfortable as the interior is we need to check out the business end so these 1.2 meter high and 1.2 meter wide doors open up to 90 degrees but when you push the yellow button they open up to the full 180 degrees to allow you to get
A little bit of room and much easier access on the inside the l1 from here to here is 1.5 meters long and its widest point the load space is 1.5 metres wide and between the wheel arches is 1.2 meters which is as you can see absolutely perfect for putting a euro pallet in on its length now payload starts around 630 averaging at around 740 as you move up the range
And right at the top you’re looking at pay loads of just under a thousand kilograms which is pretty damn good let’s track round to the side door and as you can see it’s more than big enough to get yourself in and out there from here to about here is about 40 centimetres that’s perfect it’s not exactly class leading that gap but speaking of the small band class
Let’s have a look at some of the other small bands that are making waves in the sector right now let’s start with the mercedes-benz citan i mean some people say it’s not up to the usual merc levels of luxury but i’d still drive one next up the nissan nv200 it’s got an odd shape a bit of an odd size it’s neither a small van or a medium van but hey it still looks
Good it’s the renault kangoo it’s been around for a while and fleet users absolutely love them but hey it’s got to be time for an update surely the fiat doblo cargo payloads of 1000 kilograms and high roofs make this an all-round contender the vw caddy oh hey it looks awesome and payload is pretty high too and finally the voxel combo citroen blingo and peugeot
Partner these psa group vans are great and if you’ve driven one well you’ve driven the rest the blingo however is getting rave reviews and there you go small vans literally come in all shapes and sizes the kinect may have the others licked on running cost thanks to its 1.5 liter ecoboost of the pack is filled with plenty of variety in terms of user friendliness
And quirky features so how do we end this one well the ford transit connect has surely got one of the nicest interiors i have ever sat in and the load space is big and really flexible and there are loads of small bands on offer that’s true but in a crowded marketplace a van like the ford transit connect with its massive miles per gallon its low running costs and
These great looks well from where i’m sitting i’m gonna take it out again if you enjoyed this video don’t forget to like it and subscribe to the channel for more content just like this you
Transcribed from video
2019 Ford Transit Connect Review – In-Depth Roadtest | Vanarama.com By Vanarama
