Our ’vans, our month
Our time with the new Ford Nugget
The people at Ford have been very patient. Thanks to the seemingly never-ending lockdowns, we had to postpone our booking to test the new Ford Nugget van conversion no fewer than three times.
Still, such a long-drawn-out experience does rather mirror the arrival of the vehicle on these shores. The Nugget was originally unveiled by Westfalia at the Caravan Salon in Düsseldorf several years ago, but it took a couple of years, and many premature reports in the media, before Ford confirmed it would be coming to the UK.
The version we were kindly loaned in April, just a week after the end of lockdown, was the Nugget, not the longer Nugget Plus, which has a larger washroom and (most importantly) a toilet.
This created a bit of a quandary: lockdown may have been over, but most campsites still hadn’t opened their facilities blocks.
Fortunately, Delph Bank Touring Park – one of the finalists in our 2021 Top 100 Sites Guide – near Spalding in Lincolnshire, had at least managed to open its (spotless) toilets, if not its showers. A short Easter break in England’s flower capital sounded like just the ticket.
But what of the ’van itself? Well, our test model was blessed with a 185PS engine and the Transit Custom’s six-speed automatic gearbox. Not to mention a very capable rear-view camera and plenty of parking sensors.
It’s easy to see why so many campervanners like the Ford Transit Custom, because of its car-like drive. The ’van more or less glided down the A1, and although there was perhaps a little more billowing on breezier roads as we reached our destination, this was never an issue.
Drinks holders are nicely positioned near the steering wheel, while a pocket beneath it is ideal for sunglasses and mobiles. The control panel for the habitation services is in the centre of the cab ceiling, easy to reach when you need to.
Spacious kitchen
Once on-site, the Nugget’s roof lifts at the rear. Although perhaps less popular than front-rising roofs, on a ’van such as this it pays dividends. The Nugget comes with an L-shaped kitchen that is surprisingly roomy for a vehicle that is less than 5m long, especially with all that extra headroom.
I managed to cook two meals involving more than one pan on both nights I was touring. The ‘L’ shape means the cook isn’t cut off socially, either. Due to the continuing need to social distance, I was alone, but I could easily imagine chatting to any travelling companions seated in the swivelled cab seats without straining my neck.
A row of wooden cubbyholes just behind the sink and two-burner hob is an ideal spice rack, and there is space for crockery and pans below.
The comfortable 2m-long roof bed is easy to reach via a small ladder that can be kept in the rear corner wardrobe. You can adjust the two spotlights at the back to act as reading lights.
The second (downstairs) bed is bigger than you might think: it ingeniously makes use of the storage space under the sink. It requires a bit