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SPORTY FORDS
Page 54
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Ford may be the UK's largest manufacturer of business vehicles, but it hasn't forgotten to have fun. Colin Barnett has been driving the Transit and Fiesta SportVans: one is nicely understated; the other isn't...
Transit SportVan
With its bright Performance Blue paint and bold white bonnet stripes. the Transit SportVan has the potential to look ridiculous but somehow manages to get away with it. Even so, you won't find it very appealing if you are of a shy and retiring nature.
Supporting the high-profile colour scheme are 18in alloys with 235/45 tyres, twin exhaust pipes and an all-round body kit including wheel extensions. Based on a short-wheelbase, low-roof 260 model, the SportVan is powered by the 2.2-litre 130PS front-wheel-drive five-speed driveline.We weren't able to try it laden, but with 310Nm on tap and nothing in the boot it proved jolly lively.
Thankfully,ABS and ESP are standard to keep things under control if the driver gets carried away by the surroundings. Wide and low tyres fitted to something not designed for them always have the potential to screw up the dynamics, but even on the M23. which has ruts like the Appian Way, it behaved itself.
Being the smallest model of the Transit range, the 904kg net payload is understandably modest working out at around 16 bags of sand and a driver. Not that we expect to see many SportVans parked outside Jewson's, but a load area protection kit and full bulkhead are fitted just in case we'd hate to see magnolia emulsion splattered all over the lightgrey leather seats.
The driving seat is extremely comfortable and supportive, with a full range of adjustments and an inflatable lumbar support. The rest of the spec is equally generous, including air-con, auto lights and wipers, electric mirrors and windows, cruise control, trip computer and heated screen.
So who is theTransit SportVan for? At just under 20 grand ex-VAT that's a good question; we assume potential customers will be image-conscious businesses or owner-drivers in clean occupations who'd like 'something for the weekend'.