Last Updated: 20/10/2009
New look Connect
Ford’s Transit Connect has been one of our favourite high cube middleweights since it was launched. Though not the most powerful van on the market, the combination of entertaining handling, sturdy build and reasonable specification levels have made Connect a popular van with larger fleets and retail customers.There have been plenty of newcomers and upgrades in this sector of the market in the last year or so, with new Kangoos, Berlingos, Partners, Caddys and others all keen to grab a piece of the action. To combat their advances Ford has revised the Connect’s appearance, both inside and out, and improved its safety package while simplifying the model line-up.
There are no changes under the bonnet, with the Duratorq 1.8 litre TDCi still available in three levels of tune. Power ratings are 75hp, 90hp and 110hp, with torque outputs of 175Nm, 220Nm and 250Nm respectively. All three drive the front wheels through Ford’s five-speed manual gearbox.
We have got so used to manufacturers boosting performance every time they upgrade a van that it is perhaps a bit surprising that Ford has resisted this impulse with Transit Connect. Should the company have tweaked the ECU for an additional few hp to keep pace with the competition?
In truth no, the current van has plenty of performance unless you want to run at full weight all the time in the long wheelbase model, in which case you are probably better off moving up to a full Transit anyway. That said, a sixth gear ratio would be nice for those drivers who are covering the miles in a Connect, and it would boost fuel economy too, which starts to slide quite a bit as speeds rise.
Talking of which, the most powerful 110hp engine is also the most economical, thanks to its variable geometry turbo, offering a claimed 47mpg against the 44.8 and 44.1 of the two lower powered versions. It also produces the least CO2, at 159g/km, making it hard to recommend one of the lesser outputs on anything but price.
Our test van is equipped with the 110hp motor. We picked it up with barely more than delivery mileage on the clock, but now that it is fully run in the van is returning 43-44mpg regularly. As mentioned though, this does drop into the high 30s when on a motorway run.
There are now three trim levels available on Connect. Base models come with power windows and remote locking, while our Trend model also gets front fog lights, power mirrors, a heated windscreen, trip computer, voice control and Bluetooth, rain-sensing wipers and auto headlights. You also get aluminium steering wheel spoke trims, a silver finish to the gear knob and the stereo surround and a driver’s seat with lumbar and armrest.
You get body coloured bumpers too, but unlike the VW Transporter that we reported on last month, Ford has sensibly fitted a hard wearing black plastic cover on the upper surface of the rear bumper to prevent scratches. Talking of which, we perhaps should have mentioned that RG Mouldings can supply something very similar for the Transporter, which is apparently available through your VW dealer and must be money well spent.
The top of the range Limited spec adds air-conditioning, body coloured door handles, alloy wheels, side airbags, a chrome front grille and rear park-assist sensors. Being a demo model our test van has air-con and parking sensors fitted as options, at £550 and £170 respectively.
More importantly all Connects now get Ford’s Electronic Stability Program (ESP) as standard, along with ABS with hydraulic brake assist, Active Yaw Control (AYC), Roll Over Mitigation (ROM) and Roll Movement Intervention (RMI). All of that technology apparently applies the front brakes and reduces engine torque when necessary to induce understeer and reduce road speed to cut lateral acceleration and minimise the potential of a rollover.
I must confess, despite the odd spirited drive across country I have yet to notice any of this happening, which either means that it is very effective and subtle in its application, or that I am not quite as ham-fisted as some drivers into and out of corners.
A side benefit of all this electronic trickery is that you now get Hill Launch Assist as part of the package. This uses the van’s brakes to hold the vehicle as you pull away on a hill, preventing any rolling back for 2.5 seconds as you engage the clutch and get back onto the throttle. All Connects now have ventilated discs at the front and solid rear discs, to further improve stopping performance.
All of which is good news, and it keeps the Connect firmly at the top of our favourite driver’s van list. My only slight grumble with the van’s performance over the road has only become obvious with the nights closing in. While the redesigned headlights provide plenty of illumination on main beam, when dipped they drop to a spot about 10 foot in front of the bonnet. For a van that can handle as well as the Connect, this can be a worry on unlit country lanes.
Inside the van the dash has been updated, using Ford’s S-Max car as the main influence. The result is a clear fascia with well thought out controls and a real quality feel. You get an overhead tray even in the smaller version of the van and the deep door bins will hold a 500ml bottle of water, while there are two cup holders between the seats.
Talking of seats, make sure you grab the driver’s one, which is comfortable and supportive even on longer trips. The passenger seat is one of those thin ones that folds into the floor space to make way for longer loads. The standard mesh bulkhead folds around the driver’s seat to provide protection when the passenger seat is dropped.
Folding the bulkhead and dropping the seat does however raise load volume from 2.8cu m to 3.4cu m, as well as allowing for longer loads to be carried. Our test van is also the T220 model, which offers a useful payload of 833kg, up from 638kg on the basic T200 model.
A solid steel bulkhead with or without window is also available, and if you don’t need the extra load length I would recommend it for the drop in road noise at higher speeds. Tie down hooks are included in the package, and you even get captive nuts in the rear as standard, allowing the fitting of racking systems without any need to drill holes in the body structure.
Our van is equipped with a comprehensive trip computer, that reports average fuel consumption and miles to empty information. When the van is stationary you can also delve deeper, setting things like the number of blinks of the indicators for lane changes, whether ESP is on or off, whether to activate the hazard lights under heavy braking and my particular favourite, how long to turn the side lights on as you approach or depart the vehicle in the dark, which is surprisingly useful.
So things have certainly started well with our Connect, the revisions adding up to more than a simple cosmetic facelift. We’ll report back in a couple of months once we’ve got some real mileage under the wheels.
