FORD TRANSIT
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The departure oi our automatic long-term test Transit has galvanised a few left legs back into action. During its time with us the Transit covered 17,000 miles of mixed motoring: it helped us out on anything from the bio-diesel test (carrying the fuel) to the breakdown test. But what was it like to live with?
Automatics may not be everybody's transmission of choice but that may be due to bad experiences in the past. Auto boxes traditionally inflicted a penalty in fuel consumption, but with a converter lock-up in third and top Ford's predicts that the penalty will only be around 500.
At the time of our last report the Transit had just been through its 10,000-mile service. From that point on the engine loosened up, allowing the fuel economy to rise from 24.8 mpg (11.65 lit/100km) to 27.2mpg (10.38 lit/100km). This gives an average of 25.9mpg (10.91it/100km) for 17,000 miles of very mixed motoring. As the automatic doesn't transmit any engine braking to the wheels, driving the Transit fully laden was more akin to driving a loaded truck—take your foot off the accelerator and the vehicle rolled on for even This may be one reason why our best fuel consumption figures (29.2inpg/ 9.671it/100km) was from the laden test run, These figures were in spite of the potential impediment to fuel consumption which may be caused by the oxidation catalyst. In fact during its time with us we never saw a puff of smoke in the mirrors and the rear doors didn't get blackened.
Initially drivers all said that the lag in the engine accelerating combined with the delay for the torque converter left them stranded at road junctions. Regular drivers got used to the system and could predict the delay: the right technique allowed us to accelerate a split second earlier or break earlier to ensure that we were driving into a junction/roundabout.
• Benefits
There were other benefits with the automatic transmission: for a start it it saved us hitting the centre passenger's knee every time we changed gear. That said, drivers regularly had recourse to manual shifting as the transmission would not kick down from top above about 35mph. Our longterm test vehicle appears to have been peculiar in this respect—a Transit minibus we borrowed for use in our Euro-2 group test would still kick down above 50mph.
The paintwork on our pre-production Transit did not appear to be up to Ford's normal standard and it suffered from more than a few stone chips, some on the side of the van. The
loadbed, however, fared somewhat better. It was scratched down to the metal in some places, but given the varying loads it carried that was to be expected.
Load security was well catered for with five tiedown eyes set in the floor. In this model the sixth eye had been sacrificed to make room for the side door step; Ford might consider replacing it with an eye on the sidewall.
With its flat sides the Transit stays presentably clean most of the time, apart from the rear doors which did get caked with spray.
The predictable stain around the filler cap which swept back to the side door opening was unsightly, but no more so than with any other diesel van. Its uniform box-onwheels shape made cleaning easy, either with a pressure washer or, when we could find one tall enough, a roll-over wash.
Through the hottest summer on record, the ventilation system was called on to give its all. On full boost the fan seemed noisy but so was opening the windows. It's not that the fan or window motor had become noisier; simply that overall noise suppression had been improved in the latest model.
Our figures show only a 3dB(A) reduction in noise levels (to 78.7 dB(A) at 112km/h), but this masks the way Ford has removed the booming so noticeable on the previous model. Suffice to say that in this van, unlike previous generations Transits, we didn't need to resort to earplugs on long journeys.
As winter arrived our interest switched from the ventilation system to the heater. It had no problem keeping the cab warm (the full bulkhead insulated drivers from the unheated loadspace) but it did take a long time to warm up in slow urban traffic. However, thanks to the improvements to the heating and ventilation system, there were only a couple of occasions when we missed the quickclear windscreen fitted to its predecessor.
With its adjustable lumbar support and height adjustment, Ford's top-of-the-range driver's seat proved its worth time and time again. It was able to accommodate all our drivers with the same degree of comfort and a commanding driving position.
• Safest Ford's decision to fit all seats with a lap and diagonal belt makes the Transit not only one of the safest vans for centre-seat passengers but, also one of the most comfortable.
After 20,000 miles all the seats remained intact without rips, holes or stains and we have no doubt that they will stay the course. While the pop-out dashmounted cup holder suffered a terminal disengagement, the rest of the trim (and pedal rubbers) looked as good when the van went back as when it arrived. Rubber floor mats made for cleaning easy although the foreand-aft ribbing caused problems when we were sweeping the dust sideways to get it out the door.
Just before it departed our Transit had another service by Ford dealer Page of Epsom. It set us back 1112 (ex-VAT) and will see the van through to the 30,000mile mark.
However, despite being given a week's warning, Page failed for the second time to come up with a replacement mirror and arm for the nearside.
We also had the rare pleasure of refilling the well-hidden windscreen washer bottle: its capacity is such that, unless the weather is very bad, it is unlikely to need replenishment between services. Would that the fuel tank were equally well designed. While Ford puts its capacity at 68 litres most drivers work on the gauge and when it hit the red we could only get in between 45 and 53 litres. Trying very hard we man
aged to squeeze in 59 litres when the gauge was on the pin and we brimmed the tank for the roadtest. This reduced the range to around 300 miles—about three quarters of its potential.
Ford has refined the Transit over 30 years, learning from operator feedback and carbacked engineering. It is a competent workhorse, pleasant to drive and, despite stiffening competition, remains the most popular panel van on the market by a wide margin.
by Colin Sowman