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OPERATIONS
Page 44
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International Van of the Year 2007
With so many new vans launched over the past 12 months the battle for the van of the year 2007 was always going to be a close scrap. Indeed, when the votes were counted by the independent adjudicator in Geneva, the margin between the top three contenders was the closest ever with just 10 votes separating them.
The Ford Transit emerged victorious with the Sevel combination —Fiat Ducat°, Citroen Relay. Peugeot Boxer—second and the Mercedes Sprinter third.
Ford's key strength with the Transit is the fact it has been able to take one of Europe's best vans and make it even better. Whether in city traffic or on motorways, the driveability of Transit is excellent, aided by the changes in its axle and wheel geometry.
The jury was also impressed by the fact Ford designers and engineers seem to maintain more contact with their customers than many other van builders, helping them develop a product finely tuned to meet their demands. For example, in the new Transit the cab interior bids to match car comfort levels, although there remains room for improvement in the cab trim and materials.
Other interesting innovations led by operator feedback include the dash-mounted gear lever, self-charging waterproof ignition key, low-roof/medium-wheelbase variant and heavy-duty front-axle option.
There are also four wheelbases and four load lengths from 2.60-4.00m in the Transit line-up.
Powered by a new range of Euro-4 common-rail engines the Transit is available in power options up to 140hp.
What has also been carried over from the previonsTransit is the excellent accessibility of the load, with large load doors and room for two pallets side-by-side in the front end of the load box. •