FORD TRANSIT MkIV vs FORD TRANSIT MkI (2021) (1965)
Two vans, 56 years apart... but how does the current generation compare to the original?
THEY DON’T LOOK LIKE CARS…
You’re right. They’re not cars, they’re vans. Which are sort of like MPVs with practicality ramped up to a million. But please don’t mistake these two for any vans. They’re the definitive van, the Ford Transit – commercial royalty and one of the most important vehicles in the history of Britain.
REALLY? MORE IMPORTANT THAN MR BEAN’S MINI?
Yep. With over eight million sold, the Ford Transit is one of the biggest names in motoring and the UK’s bestselling commercial vehicle. It’s beloved of brickies, posties, chippies, roadies and everything in between. We’re certain at some point in your life a Transit has had a part to play; whether it’s delivering you to the hospital, helping build your house or deliver things to it. So, it’s no wonder these humble boxy heroes have been dubbed the ‘backbone of Britain’.
THE BACKBONE OF BRITAIN? SURELY THAT OLD ONE IS READY FOR AN OSTEOPATH?
You’re right, it is knocking on a bit. Finished in a wonderful GEC livery, this cheery yellow and black stalwart is what’s thought to be the oldest surviving roadworthy example of the original Transit. Launched in 1965, the first Transits were built in Berkshire in an old warplane factory, before production shifted to Southampton in the early Seventies. With its car-like layout and two-pallet payload, the Transit became the template for all vans that followed.
HAS MUCH CHANGED OVER THE YEARS?
Though there have only been four generations of Transit, they’ve sprouted out into every configuration and application possible. There are long wheelbases, short wheelbases, high roofs, low roofs, minibuses, pickup trucks, tipper trucks, flatbeds and bare chassis cabs. But they’re a hoot to hustle around. Unfortunately, regulation has slowly overtaken the original Transit’s convenience.
HOW COME?
Well, the Sixties sliding doors were a godsend for delivery drivers. As was the absence of any seatbelts; so you could hop out, frisbee a delivery somewhere near a door, hop back in and drive off without being pestered by any of the interlocks or warning lights. With an angry 63bhp pushrod V4, solid axles and cart springs front and rear, it’s a relic compared with the newer one’s effortlessly light steering, pleasant ride and a torquey, effortless silent getaway from the 125bhp electric motor that drives the front wheels of the latest Transit PHEV. But it’s not fully electric... yet. Ford’s peppy 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine comes in as a range extender, and we’ll see a proper EV later this year. And even though the Transit’s tech is changing, there’s something it’ll never lose: charm.