Ford vans flames of competition
ET’S START with the names. The Transit is the one-ton light commercial van and the Tourneo is the eight-seater people mover, and they signal the return of Ford to these two motoring segments in South Africa.
The sights are firmly set on competing with rivals such as VW’s Transporter and Merc’s Vito on the commercial side; and Chrysler’s Voyager and Hyundai’s H1 on the people-mover side.
South Africa gets just one engine derivative in either body guise, a 2.2litre Duratorq TDCi with three outputs: 74kW/310Nm, 92kW/ 350Nm and 114kW/385Nm (this most powerful version only available in the Transit van) mated to a six-speed manual gearbox. and front wheel drive. Ford is offering both body styles in short-wheelbase (4.97m) and long-wheelbase (5.34m) derivatives. In terms of loading highlights, the Transit van, with its
Lsingle sliding side door, is designed to carry three Euro pallets loaded to at least 1m high. There’s a loadthrough hatch in bulkhead that swallows cargo up to 3m long (such as pipes or ladders).
There’s a roof rack system for additional carrying; tie-down hooks and fixing points on the body sides (leaving the floor clear for easier loading); and a floor liner designed for easy cleaning.
Multiple GVM options are available to customers, offering payloads of up to 1 400kg, while a roof height of under 2m gives the Transit easier access to parkades.
Safety levels are impressive, with highlights including stability control with torque vectoring control (electronic limited slip-diff), and a five-star Euro NCap rating. Depending on spec level or options ticked, buyers of either range can access Ford’s Sync entertainment system, lane keeping alert, driver alert, auto high beam and hill launch assist.
Two options worth considering in the van include the passenger airbag at R1 370, and the fiveyear/90 000km service plan at around R10 000.
The Tourneo is a spacious MPV with a sliding door on each side, eight seats (all with their own seatbelts) offering 30 different passenger/cargo permutations (including removal of both rear rows), and running boards for easier access.
There’s a fair amount of spec across the three trim levels – including curtain airbags for front passengers – but aircon for rear passengers is an option. We sampled the 92kW long-wheelbase Tourneo at the media launch in Joburg earlier this week, and although a bit cumbersome with all that length to park, it was easy to drive and felt peppy.
There’s a bit of turbo lag low down but the Tourneo offers a lofty driving position, with a huge windscreen and double side-mirrors for blind spot alleviation. There’s a high-quality feel to the cabin, while ride and build quality should rival anything in the segment. Tourneo 2.2 TDCi Ambiente SWB – R385 200 Tourneo 2.2 TDCi Trend SWB – R407 800 Tourneo 2.2 TDCi Ambiente LWB – R392 200 Tourneo 2.2 TDCi Trend LWB – R414 700 Includes a five-year/90 000km service plan and four-year/120 000km warranty Transit 2.2 TDCi Ambiente Low SWB – R302 700 Transit 2.2 TDCi Ambiente Hi SWB – R306 400 Transit 2.2 TDCi Ambiente Low LWB – R309 700 Transit 2.2 TDCi Ambiente Hi LWB – R317 400 Transit 2.2 TDCi Sport SWB – R364 600 It includes a four-year/120 000km warranty. A five-year/90 000km service plan costs approximately R10 000 for the Ambiente range but is standard in the Sport.