FORD 501 8D
Page 25
Page 26
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
ou'cl expect the Ford motor Company to turn out a decent small van; after all, Transit is man-in-the-street speak for panel van, and Ford does have the light CV market in something of a stranglehold, despite the best efforts of Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and others. The Courier 50 1 .8D is based on the Fiesta car and, in true high-cube style, it's designed around the box on the back of the bonnet principle. Ford's design team obviously understand that a CDV should be driveable by all. The Courier's cab offers a comfortable driving environment, with the curved dashboard and light fabric trim combining to provide a sense of roominess. Storage space is not in the Berlingo class—there are no can holders and the door bins are smaller—but keeping track of a day's paperwork should not prove too tricky. Dashboard controls are well laid out and nicely designed, and we applaud the decision to fit a non-standard sized radio.
Compared with the Berlingo, the Courier sits the driver far closer to the road. This could prove to be a problem for multi-drop work, as cab-accessibility is only fair. But once you are installed, Ford's contender offers a quiet and assured ride.
If all you want from a high cube van is a comfortable cab, the Courier is well worth a look. However, behind the seats things are less impressive.
A payload of 509kg, and a load volume of 2.8m3 (or 2.5m3 by the more pessimistic but more realistic VDA measure) puts the Courier up with the leaders in terms of useable space. So far so good, but Ford seems to have spent most of its budget on the front of the Courier. There are Drings in the loadspace, but too much enthusiasm with either a ratchet strap or a dolly knot would soon bend them out of shape. We wouldn't back the rubber floor covering in the durability stakes, either; it's softer and thinner than the Caddy's foadspace mat. After a couple of months' hard use, this vehicle could start to look pretty tally.
We could probably live with tattiness a few months down the line but the standard of paintwork on this example was really not good enough. Three years from the new millennium, there can be no excuse for turning out a vehicle with a fair proportion of the paint missing. Our test vehicle had primer spots showing through on the bonnet and the front of the load compartment, suggesting that body shell grease had not been removed.
If we had paid almost £9,000 for this vehicle, and the paint defects had got through the PDI unnoticed, we'd have spoken to the (dealer. To be fair though, the Courier we've had on long-term test was painted and put together flawlessly. It was also a smooth and pleasant vehicle to drive, with decent fuel economy from the tall
geared diesel. Performance is ade
rier 50 1.8D. quote rather than ura-D naturally inspiring, but ride corn
id-cooled turbofort is the best in the nd oxidation class.
Paintwork aside, the Courier is a competent vehicle which does its job, and if it goes wrong, you're never going to be too far away from a dealer.
But we have noticed a degree of complacency creeping into Ford's commercial vehicles of late.
The company would be foolish to let this continue; the hot breath of the competition is not for from the back of its neck.