Last Updated: 09/07/2009
The ultimate Transit
An air of gloom has descended on the Van User office, now that the Transit SportVan has had to be returned to Ford. The black and silver van made a good initial impression on arrival and got better during its time with us. I was sad to see it go.Unlike our first experience with the sportiest Transit a couple of years ago, I never felt that the black van stood out as much in traffic as the Performance Blue model, which is a good thing. Of course through town those 18” alloy wheels and the bonnet stripes caused a bit of head turning, but somehow this colour combination is less in-your-face, more subtle.
At least that is the case in the UK, where the SportVan has become a reasonably common sight. I had to take boxes of magazines to a construction equipment show just north of Paris in April though and chose to go in the Transit, which is not available in SportVan guise on the Continent.
The reaction from other drivers on the autoroute was a bit worrying at times, as cars would come storming by only to slow up for another look at the wide-wheeled stripy Transit. It certainly made an impression, though I did have to put up with renditions of the A-Team theme and BA Baracus impressions from colleagues at the show, fools!
That continental run saw the worst fuel performance for the Ford too, hardly surprising as you can stretch its legs a bit more on French motorways. Sustained high speed cruising dropped the consumption to the high 20s, but at normal speeds in the UK it rarely came below an average of 33.4mpg. We had only put 3,000 miles on the clock too when it went back, so that figure should continue to improve as the engine beds in.
As a day to day proposition the SportVan filled many roles, from long distance cruiser to urban delivery vehicle, and excelled at them all. It also happily carried a couple of trials bikes and our riding gear at the weekend.
The well equipped interior was comfortable and easy to live with. It always comes as a surprise to find that the Transit doesn’t have an adjustable steering column, but there is so much adjustment available in the driver’s seat that this just isn’t a problem. Adjustable lumbar support and an arm rest make this a very comfortable place to spend the day too.
There are two large storage boxes on the top of the dash, one to either side of the central fold-out work tray. The one on the right has a 12V power point inside, which makes it ideal for storing and powering a sat-nav, with minimal cabling draped across the dash as you can leave most of the wiring under the cubby lid.
It also means that when you stop somewhere you can simply pull the sat-nav screen off the windscreen and pop it into the storage box, without having to disconnect.
The left hand cubby has an AUX input plug, for an iPod or other MP3 device. It would be nice to have another 12V plug in here too, so that you don’t have to run power from the dash or the cubby on the right for prolonged use. Our van came with a six-disc CD player in the dash as well, with controls on the steering column, making it easy to select and control the stereo on the move.
My only slight gripe with the dash concerns the air conditioning switch, which doubles as the fan speed control. Push the switch in to turn on the air-con and in again to turn it off, with a green light in the centre of the switch signalling when the system is running. The trouble is that it is the furthest switch for the driver and unless you push it straight in it often doesn’t activate. Also, on a sunny day the green light is almost impossible to see from the driver’s seat.
It’s a small thing, and let’s face it most van drivers would just be glad to have AC, but if you are going to fit it, at least make it easy to use.
Other than that, I couldn’t fault the interior, with its heated Quickclear windscreen, simple Bluetooth connectivity, steering wheel mounted cruise control and the chunky leather clad steering wheel itself.
Is it Sporty?
That’s not such a silly question, as many sporty vans are little more than a cosmetic exercise. In the case of the SportVan the wide, low profile tyres do give you improved cornering abilities, and that 140hp engine certainly has the power to push the van along at a fair pace.
There is no getting around physics though, and you still need to be prepared for corners. Though they always stopped the van in plenty of time, I would also have liked a bit more reassurance from the brakes at times. But this is a Transit van at the end of the day, a commercial vehicle bought to do a job of work. And in that respect it is just as capable as any other Transit van, though you might question how far across a building site to go with those delicate alloys.
For many fleets the Transit Sportvan is an irrelevance. But for owner drivers, small companies with a sporty image to promote and anyone who just wants the ultimate Transit, it’s a cracking van. As I say, we were sad to see it go.
