I recently tried out the new body style Ford Transit van (8 seats), a special version called "journey" with all goodies Ford could ever think of.
These include a CD player stereo, aircon, SRS ( or STS ? ) airbags, central locking. Nothing more...
Body :
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The new body design ... Read review
Advantages: How do you spell that ? Disadvantages: It's a Ford !
...out the new body style Ford Transit van (8 seats), a special version called "journey" with all goodies Ford could ever think of.
These include a CD player stereo, aircon, SRS ( or STS ? ) airbags, central locking. Nothing more...
Body :
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The new body design looks a bit better than the old one. (The old body still sells at the name of T12) When it came to the knock-on-the-fender test, the ... ...not overstressed. (How thoughtful of Ford and how rude of the dealer guy... He thought I was an idiot to buy that excuse !!)
Gears shift roughly and awkwardly. The long shiftstick while it is loose, tends to mis-shift. That is dangerous for all, including the engine, drivetrain and traffic.
I had a real experience trying to shift into reverse. The gear kept slipping into 4th...
Handling :
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I recently tried out the new body style Ford Transit van (8 seats), a special version called "journey" with all goodies Ford could ever think of. These include a CD player stereo, aircon, SRS ( or STS ? ) airbags, central locking. Nothing more...
Body : --------------- The new body design looks a bit better than the old one. (The old body still sells at the name of T12) When it came to the knock-on-the-fender test, the "clang-clang" showed me that the quality of steel sheets did not change at all.
Panel and fender joints are neat and tidy. The uneven gaps do not show on this sound body style. However when I tried the half-on-the-curb test, the rear hatch door refused to close. So the body twists significantly. Not a good point.
The scene in the wheel wells spoke of poor rust proofing. I asked the dealer if the vehicle had a rust-proof warranty, he gabled and mumbled 3 years but even he was unceertain. I was too...
If you are a detailing enthusiast like I am, the several plastic parts which have serious gaps between them and the body will be annoying after each car wash, since no matter how hard you wipe and dry the car, water will still come running down from those gaps leaving ugly water marks.
Interior : ------------- The interior is "Ford as usual". The stereo is at a weird place. So far to reach that even I, with a height of 1.91 meters, had to slightly raise half of my "rump" to reach it... So you don't listen to music when you drive alone...
The heating / conditioning controls resemble those of the Escorts. (Maybe the surplus parts were used after the Escort was discontinued ?)
Seats are quite comfortable. Adjustment is fair.
The plastic trim quality is not fabulous but nowhere close to bad either. But could have been better than this.
Although I am a hulk of a man, I found the steering wheel too thick to grip. (Or in this case "grasp" ) One needs a claw of a bigfoot to hold it firmly.
Pedals are too close to each other for such a wide interior. Pads of the pedals are ludicrously small.
The shiftstick is shaky and rattly at idling. The vibration "ttrrrr" it emits when at high revs is annoying.
It sometimes missed correct gears. (It shifted into 2nd while I was trying to throw into 4th.)
Rear seats are simple bench style seats. If you get the 18 seater you get to have furgon (or pullman) style seat which are fixed (no recline) and an automatic retracting deploying sidestep which breaks down within a couple of days.
Squeeks and rattles are every minute road companions. You need half deaf ears or nerves of steel to cope with the sounds.
The flooring is the same lousy black plastic which we all know to stink after a few rainy days' ride and start cracking and flaking and chipping away to expose bare metal shortly.
Noise insulation is virtually non existent. But I was almost laughing hard when I heard the chap offering me "arctic insulation package" !! And what is that ? Grammy' s old blanket under the headliner ??
Engine and Mechanics : ----------------------- The engine is at 120 Hp as I was told. It is a turbodiesel (no intercooler) You are also offered a 90 Hp atmospheric diesel. But for a vehicle of this bulk and weight... Guess that is a joke...
The noise is unbearable. You can tell the sequence of injectors spraying as the engine idles. The "clickity-clackity" which is normal even for a Mercedes Benz when cold does not go away even when the engine reaches equillibrium.
When you accelerate, the only difference is that you lose count of which injector was spraying. The "clickity-clackity" just gets faster and faster. That is soon disguised by the tyre roll and transmission sounds. The whirrs of the differential and rumbles of the rock hard leaf springs mask any other sound (including the CD player)
The whack of the cardan joints scare you stiff that you may splinter the driveshaft or rip the cardan joint(s) apart. The dealer told me the driveshaft was designed with a deliberate slack so the engine and tranny were not overstressed. (How thoughtful of Ford and how rude of the dealer guy... He thought I was an idiot to buy that excuse !!)
Gears shift roughly and awkwardly. The long shiftstick while it is loose, tends to mis-shift. That is dangerous for all, including the engine, drivetrain and traffic.
I had a real experience trying to shift into reverse. The gear kept slipping into 4th...
Handling : ---------------- The steering wheel is reasonably dosed. Not too stiff not too soft.
Directional stability is somewhat erratic. If you push the vehicle too hard in curves, odds are that you will end up upon the barriers.
Sudden and abrupt control inputs are neglected by the vehicle. So do not imagine swerving out of a lane for a hasty overtake. She won't do that. Force her further, you end up in a veer and a subsequential spin or worse yet, a flip over.
Braking is reasonably safe. But the sheer bulk of the vehicle and the general non existence of compression (engine braking) of diesel engines, the brakes give the feeling that they will fade soon. So careful downhill cruising is a must.
Conclusion : --------------------- A Ford Transit is a relatively cheap vehicle, compared to VW, Mercedes Benz but much more expensive than Hyundai, Mitsubishi or Toyota.
I' d go for a cheaper one... You get a tad better quality and can save some for the oncoming repairs...
Advantages: 3 year 100,000 mile warranty Disadvantages: poor after sales
The new ford transit 2.4 duratorq they say is the backbone of britian, or is it? As an independant motor vehicle repairer looking after a fleet of 250 transits I see more of the good and bad points of the van than most, even seeing the after sales from the customers side and not just what Ford say.
Now the the good bits.
The new transit comes in a multitude of guises with different engine sizes, lengths, roof heights and front or rear wheel drive.This ... ...won't go into. Your local ford dealer will tell you this as he is planning his next holiday on your money. The best bits are the fact that when you load the van it seems just as quick as it is when its empty, and also that 100,000 mile or 3 year warranty.
And now here we go with the bad bits.
RELIABILITY!! Working on these vans day in day out I have seen some pretty poor what can only be described as build quality.
ie: engine failure at 1500 miles
...
01709andy14 04.12.2005
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: very helpful Review of Ford Transit
Advantages: Very reliable and spare parts are in abundance. Disadvantages: Keep an eye on the rust.
...was going to be. A Ford Transit of course! I shopped around and found a Ford Transit 150 with anew respray and M.O.T. for just £1100. What a bargain! I love my Transit , simply because they just keep going and going. If you need a really reliable workhorse, get a Transit. Just keep an eye on the rust, and a can of rust treatment and spray, and it'll give you many miles of hard work, and money earning. ...
ciderglider 05.07.2008
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Ford Transit
Advantages: Cheap Cheap Cheap Disadvantages: Unreliable, underpowered, noisy and basic
...drive quite regularly a 1997 Ford Transit purchased new as a company vehicle. It has just reached around 50,000 miles. We have experienced the following problems:
Cam belt snapped before due (£800 engine repairs)
Steering pinion completely worn, steering slipping!
Ignition lock failed.
Key regularly gets stuck in fuel cap, depsite regular squirts of oil!
Wheelarches rusty.
Engine burns oil (what? a Ford engine burn oil!!!)
Tyre life is poor.
... ...underpowered (70bhp), only for the fact the gearing is low does it get up hills at all. The suspension is crude, when empty the back end is unstable when loaded the ride is comparable to a boat. Steering is vague at speed (speed? - something a transit experiences when travelling down a steep hill!)
Engine noise is sometimes unbearable.
Brakes are good!
If you disagree with any of my comments then I suggest you test drive a Mercs or VW van and ...
Rigsby 08.04.2003 (25.04.2003)
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Ford Transit
Advantages: very comfortable to drive and a diesel engine that is truly quiet Disadvantages: problematic diesel pumps resulting in hefty repair bills
i bought a 53 plate Ford Transit diesel van with 15000 on the clock and 7 months warranty remaining. Having owned every model transit since there inception , and having no serious problems with any of them, other than cam belts starter motors etc, i decided the new shape transit seemed the best ever........ Oh.oh, not to be. 2 years on and at 32.000 miles my beloved transit shuddered to a halt. After calling out the A.A., the diagnosis was a burnt ... ...is very common with the Ford Transit diesel (2000 onwards) and that no recalls were ordered when the problem came to light, then again their sales of replacement diesel pumps going through the roof must be a give away. My conclusion to this story is that although in my opinion the transit remains an excellent van, its reliabilty is slightly suspect and expensive . ...
margate1976 08.11.2007 (07.11.2007)
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Ford Transit
Advantages: very easy to drive Disadvantages: bit to easy to drive
I drive a ford transit as a commercial vehical for a major british firm. it is a 52 plate van and i have had it for a year now. the van its self is just a standard van 2949 mm load length
From 884 kg to 1652 kg gross payload
From 8.55 / 7.34 cu.m to 10.31 / 8.85 cu.m loadspace
FWD low floor
Double Cab-in-Van available with three extra seats and up to 6.09 / 5.21 cu.m of loadspace
Turning circle (kerb to kerb) 11.9 m
Drivers airbags as standard
... ...but the incompitance of polar ford unable to find an intamitent fault. the van its self is like driving a car so easy but it can be to easy and some times you actually forget you are driving a van. i feel ford have raised the bar for commercial vehicals with this van it is a pleasure to drive comfortable and modern. i rate it highly. ...
trianglemab 15.11.2005
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Ford Transit
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