Improvement in quality and cornering in Ford's smallest vans

It is far from just a facelift, Ford's smallest commercial vehicles, Transit Connect and Courier, has been.

from the Outside it can otherwise look out for the front are here the only one who has got a new look. It gets varebilerne to follow the design DNA from Ford's new passenger cars, but there are more news under the skin.

Models are among other things equipped with brand new petrol and diesel engines that meets the latest environmental standards, just like the booths has been a clear improvement in quality with new materials and lower noise level.

On the sikkerhedsfronten, vehicles are now also equipped with the so-called 'City Brake'-emergency braking system and the linesman, who keep an eye on, if you accidentally roll out of its lane.

- We have worked in up to four years on the new Connect and Courier models, now available with the latest førerassistentsystemer, said Chiang Huang, who is senior development manager for the Connect and Courier, and adds:

- in Addition to the new drifting, we have fine-tuned both the steering and the suspension, so the handling has been improved.
Ford Transit Connect. Photo: Ford
More comfortable
We test the new Connect and Courier models in the course of two days in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, and along the way, it can be seen that the operation is managed. We drive on motorways, country roads and in towns, and the cars occupy ujævnhederne fine – even on the notorious, belgian roads with brostensbelægning.

Both the Connect and the Courier control more accurately and handles the curves better than in the past. Even if they are loaded with approximately 300 pounds.

In the booths, you meet a instrumentation that is very similar to the one that was in the predecessors. However, here are a few improvements to see, among other things, in relation to the infotainment screen, which can be upgraded to a touch screen at six inches. Aflæggepladsen in the booths, however, could be better.

Transit Connect is offered in resemblance with its predecessor in both a short and long version, that provides a payload of either 2,9 or 3.6 cubic metres in the load area. The payload varies at the same time, from 410 to 850 pounds in the car.

In the smaller Courier is the payload between 500 and 530 pounds in the load area, which is of 2.3 cubic meters.

Both the Transit Connect and Courier is available with several variants of Ford's new EcoBlue-diesel engine of 1.5 liter: 75 hp, 100 hp and for Connect's case is 120 hp.

We try the latter in a Connect-testbil, where it is coupled with an automatic gearbox which is quite smooth. The shifts between gears felt almost not.

In the smaller Courier we try the diesel engine with 100 horsepower, and it fits awesome to the car. It is not available with automatic transmission, so we are running instead with a new manual gearbox with six steps, there is a very easy-to-move.

Both models are also available with the same trecylindrede petrol engines of 1.0 liters, which you will find in the Ford Fiesta and Focus. We when not to try them, but the journalists who do, find them both flexible and fast, albeit somewhat noisy.

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Ford promises that the new diesel engines are up to 12 percent more fuel efficient than the engines they replace.

The improved fuel economy, ensuring among other things the so-called ’Active Grille Shutter’technology, which is standard equipment on Transit Connect models with a diesel engine. It makes the car able to automatically close the vents in the grille, when there is no need for airflow.

It provides Connect a fuel economy at a maximum of 21,3 km/l on the paper in the models with 75 and 100 hp. Courier performs here 23,3 km/l with the same engines.

In the models with gasoline engine, Ford reduced consumption by five percent. It succeeds, among other things through the cylinderfrakobling, so the car only runs on two cylinders. It provides, on paper, a fuel efficiency of 17.9 km/l for the Courier and 15,6 km/l in Connect.

the Ford Transit Courier

83.512 excl. vat

Diesel, 75 hp, 190 Nm

4,2/ 1,8 / 2,1 meter

the 2.3 cubic meters

500-530 pounds

the Ford Transit Connect L1

128.345 excl. vat (short model)

Diesel, 75 hp

4,4 / 1,8 / 2,1 meter

2,9 cubic meters

410-850 kilos