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The What Van? Road Test: Ford E-Transit (2022)
Date: Monday, April 3, 2023
Interior and equipment
The big blue oval has developed a wide-ranging package of support services for its light commercials under the Ford Pro banner, and all E-Transits feature a FordPass Connect modem enabling always-on connectivity. Ford Power-Up enables over-the-air updates while a FordPass Pro app allows small fleets to manage charging schedules remotely; set a van cab’s temperature to a comfortable level prior to departure; and fires off an alert if an alarm has been triggered.
E-Transit comes with Ford’s SYNC-4 communications and information package controlled by a 12in touchscreen which dominates the centre of the three-seater cab’s dashboard. While Ford describes its operation as intuitive, make sure you understand what it does and how it does it before you drive anywhere.
The last thing you want is to be frantically pressing it to no avail when you are heading down a busy street because you need to operate something which in the past would have been controlled by a simple dashboard switch. The screen is in fact complemented by a row of conventional buttons which among other things turn the radio on and off, alter the volume, and demist the windscreen.
Trend trim includes a connected satellite navigation package that can, for example, update drivers on the availability of charging points. Such updates are covered by a complimentary one-year subscription, with payment required thereafter.
The same approach also embraces free-of-charge access to the BlueOval Charge Network of over 300,000 charging points across Europe for a year.
Our E-Transit boasted air-conditioning, heated front seats, cruise control with an adjustable speed limiter, front and rear parking sensors, a DAB radio, Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, front fog lights and a driver’s airbag.
Electric windows were fitted along with large, electrically-adjustable and heated, exterior mirrors with a separate wide-angle lower section.
Instrument panel dials tell you how much range you have got left, how much charge remains in the battery, and how much power you are using. Stay in the green section if you can, to minimise consumption, and in this context it is worth remembering that E-Transit’s onboard computer features an Eco coach to help you drive more frugally.
With big bins in each of the doors – the one on the driver’s side features a moulding to accommodate a large bottle of water - there is no lack of in-cab storage space.
The roomy glovebox is lockable, and three shelves and a trinket tray sit on top of the dashboard. More shelves are positioned above the windscreen while yet another shelf just above the instrument display plays host to a 12v socket and a USB port.
You will find a cup-holder plus a bottle holder at each extremity of the fascia.
The driver’s seat and the steering column are both height-adjustable, and the latter boasts remote controls for the radio. The seat offers lumbar adjustment.
Space beneath the seats provides you with somewhere to stow the 8m Mode 3 32amp charging cable, which comes as standard. Fold down the centre section of the middle seat’s back and you’ve got yourself a desk with a couple of cup-holders.
The rotary switch that controls the single-speed transmission sits on a moulding which projects from the centre of the dashboard. Both the moulding, which features yet another cup-holder, and the bin close to it steal legroom from the middle passenger.
Starting is keyless and the parking brake is electronic. You engage and release it using a button on the dashboard.
Aside from the usual devices such as Electronic Stability Control, safety systems include Lane Keeping Assist. Also installed is Pre-Collision Assist with Intelligent Emergency Brake Assist to help prevent you from mowing down pedestrians, or colliding with the vehicle in front.
The positioning and heft of the electric motor, which is located within the back axle, has prompted Ford to redesign the rear suspension, which is now independent with coil rather than leaf springs. Our demonstrator sat on 16in steel wheels graced by plastic trims and shod with Michelin Agilis 235/65 R16C tyres.
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