With the might of Ford’s ubiquitous UK sales and servicing network behind it, it is no surprise that the Transit Connect is the nation’s favourite light van.
Last year the brand shifted 15,477 Connects, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, ahead of its nearest challenger the Peugeot Partner on 14,605 registrations. It’s a competitive field that also includes the likes of the Citroen Berlingo, Vauxhall Combo, Volkswagen Caddy and Renault Kangoo, but the Connect deserves its position of prominence because it is the sector’s model that most successfully marries performance with practicality.
This is particularly true of the Sport variant that has, alas, now departed the What Van? fleet.
You could even say the Connect Sport has its own tribute act in the shape of MS-RT’s beefed-up Transit Connect. The South Wales-based converter, a member of Ford’s Qualified Vehicle Manufacturer programme, has given the Transit Connect a makeover, including restyled front and rear bumpers, new grilles, front and rear diffusers, side skirts and a spoiler.
It also gets a stainless steel sports exhaust system, 18in OZ Racing alloy wheels with an optional limited-edition bronze finish, a carbon inlay sports steering wheel, and a handmade nappa leather and suede interior.
MS-RT cannot touch the engine, however, for risk of invalidating the warranty, so the Connect’s impressive performance and handling remains the preserve of Ford Motor Company.
The original Ford interior is comfortable, stylish and functional too. Dual-zone electronic automatic temperature control improves the ambiance, and part-leather heated seats as well as a leather steering wheel add a touch of luxury. The DAB radio reception is pleasantly consistent, with no dead zones, something that’s still not always a given in new LCVs, and pairing one’s smartphone to enable hands-free calls is a simple procedure. My van also got a wireless charging pad as a £91 (ex-VAT) option.
The cabin is tidily designed and offers plenty of storage facilities for such a compact environment, including overhead stowage, dual cup holders, a lockable glovebox, and sufficient space for medium-sized water bottles in the door bins.
Other neat touches are Ford’s Easy Fuel capless refuelling system (OK, it’s not new but it’s still effective), which relieves you from touching a greasy fuel cap and stops you from misfuelling, the quick-clear heated windscreen that stops the glass from steaming up, and the fact the van comes with a proper spare wheel, although the double-cab-in-van just gets a tyre inflator kit.
VW’s Caddy probably still boasts the best build quality in the light van segment but the Connect runs it close. Everything is well put together and conveys a sense of solidity. Ford claims it slammed the doors and bonnet open and shut 250,000 times to ensure durability.
One gripe I do have with the Connect is that, even on the top-spec Limited and Sport models, Ford has placed too many of the driver-assistance features, such as active park assist, Sync 3 connectivity, pre-collision assist and side wind assist, on the paid-for options list, rather than including them as standard kit.
But overall the Connect range in general and the Sport in particular presents an attractive and accomplished package.
End-of-term report
Handling = 5/5
This van sets the benchmark in the light van sector when it comes to driveability.
Load carrying = 3/5
Decent enough but not so generous as some of its light van rivals.
Cabin = 4/5
Stylish and well put together with handily-placed burrons and ample storage space.
Overall score: 80%
Ford Transit Connect Sport SWB 1.5 TDCi
Mileage 5,025
Official combined consumption 56.5mpg
Our average consumption 54.3mpg
Price (ex VAT) £20,045
Warranty 3yrs/100,000mls
Service intervals 1yr/20,000mls
Load length 1,558mm
Load width (min/max) 1,249/1,543mm
Load bay height 1,269mm
Load volume 2.9m3
Gross payload 718kg
Engine size/power 1,498cc/120hp
CO2 130g/km
(See below for previous reports)
2nd Report
The Ford Transit Connect Sport may be one of the prettiest vans around but that doesn’t mean it’s afraid of putting a shift in and getting itself mucky.
A decent enough payload of 718kg is likely to be sufficient for the requirements of most light van operators, and it tops the 658kg provision of the Vauxhall Combo Cargo L1H1, for example. It is within the Combo model range, however, along with those of its fellow PSA Group vans the Citroen Berlingo and Peugeot Partner, as well as in the Fiat Professional Doblo Cargo line-up, where you will find the sector’s meatiest payloads of more than 1.0t.
Likely to be of more relevance to businesses running light vans, though, is load capacity, and our short-wheelbase (SWB) Connect Sport offers a 2.9m3 cube to play with. This falls short of the 3.2m3 you get with a Volkswagen Caddy and is also less than (although closer to) the 3.0m3 load box of the Renault Kangoo. Opt for a standard-length Peugeot Partner, Vauxhall Combo or Citroen Berlingo, however, and you get a generous 3.3m3 to fill, and if you need even more space then the 3.4m3 cargo capacity of the L1H1 Fiat Professional Doblo Cargo is the one to go for.
Nevertheless, for our requirements the Connect’s load capacity proved to be sufficient and it happily swallowed bags full of garden waste for recycling and piles of books and second-hand clothing for charity shops.
During a vehicle swap with a colleague it also managed to transport items of furniture from house to house and on one occasion carried an old-school bar table-football table (with legs removed) to a new home.
A ‘slimline’ full-size steel bulkhead protects the cabin’s occupants from items that may spring loose in the rear and threaten decapitation, but with the provision of half a dozen tie-down points this should not be an issue.
The wheel arches in our van’s load bed are protected by ply covers and the floor should remain scratch-free thanks to a rubber carpet, which also helps when rinsing out the likes of mud and sand.
Another advantage of the solid bulkhead is that it allows the cab to heat up quickly on cold days by not letting warm air escape into the back of the van.
Report Card: Load-carrying = 5/5
Decent but not so generous as some light van rivals
Ford Transit Connect Sport SWB 1.5 TDCi
Mileage 4,381
Official combined consumption 56.5mpg
Our average consumption 54.4mpg
Price (ex VAT) £20,045
Warranty 3yrs/100,000mls
Service intervals 1yr/20,000mls
Load length 1,558mm
Load width (min/max) 1,249/1,543mm
Load bay height 1,269mm
Load volume 2.9m3
Gross payload 718kg
Engine size/power 1,498cc/120hp
CO2 130g/km
(See below for previous reports)
1st Report
Ford’s Transit Connect Sport Van went on sale in the UK in the second quarter of this year just after the Commercial Vehicle Show, having made its global debut at the Hanover IAA in September 2018.
Sports vans can be incongruous – ugly ducklings masquerading as swans – but the neat and tidy Connect, particularly in the short-wheelbase mode driven here, carries the look off and, of course, coming from the Ford stable it has the performance chops to ensure it does not just flatter to deceive.
The Connect Sport’s power comes from a 1.5-litre TDCi that produces a punchy 120hp. While this is the only powertrain offered with the Limited and Sport trims, the entry-level Leader and mid-range Trend versions are also available with 75hp and 100hp derivatives of the 1.5 diesel as well as Ford’s 1.0-litre 100hp Ecoboost petrol engine.
Standard stop/start helps to keep combined-cycle fuel consumption to a respectable 56.5mpg on the Sport, according to Ford, and we have been averaging not far short of this on a diet of city driving, A-roads and longer motorway routes.
The Connect Sport is priced from £20,405, excluding VAT, and stands out from the rest of the line-up thanks to an exterior styling kit featuring black sports stripes with silver or, in our case, orange accents, and 16in, five-spoke, dark, stainless alloy wheels. The cabin gets partial-leather heated driver’s and single passenger seats.
Standard specification includes dual-aone electronic automatic temperature control and cruise control with adjustable speed-limiter.
The aircon system is a step up from the manual air-conditioning on Limited trim but most of the other changes could be filed under ‘cosmetic’. The cruise control is not adaptive, which restricts its usefulness on the UK’s busy roads, and adaptive cruise control is listed as an option on Limited and Sport models for £790.
The speed-limiter can be handy in keeping you on the right side of the law in towns and cities as well as stretches of open road restricted to 40mph or 50mph, particularly in a van that’s as fun to drive as the Connect.
Our van does not have the £550 active park assist option, which can find parking spaces and steer the van in and out of them, but standard rear parking sensors (included on Limited and Sport) do offer protection from the danger of dings in tight spaces.
Dipping into the extensive option list could easily bump up the price and Ford’s Sync 3 communications and entertainment system (£450 on Sport), which includes a rear-view camera, voice control and 6in touchscreen is another absentee on our van. For £750 Sync 3 can be bundled in with satnav as part of the Icepack.
We have got the blind spot information system (BLIS), which includes cross-traffic alert and is a £350 option on Sport, but Ford could really do with making more driver assistance features standard fits on the Connect.
The FordPass Connect embedded modem (£230) is also included as a downloadable smartphone app that can provide remote locking, location assistance, and fuel level and tyre pressure monitoring.
The Connect Sport comes into its own as a driver’s van – it is nimble and nippy, with the snappy six-speed manual gearbox making it easy to get the most out of the 120hp on tap, while a rake- and reach-adjustable steering wheel and eight-way adjustable driver’s seat facilitate finding the best driving position.
Report Card: Handling = 5/5
This van sets the benchmark when it comes to driveability.
Ford Transit Connect Sport SWB 1.5 TDCi
Mileage 4,178
Official combined consumption 56.5mpg
Our average consumption 54.2mpg
Price (ex VAT) £20,045
Warranty 3yrs/100,000mls
Service intervals 1yr/20,000mls
Load length 1,558mm
Load width (min/max) 1,249/1,543mm
Load bay height 1,269mm
Load volume 2.9m3
Gross payload 718kg
Engine size/power 1,498cc/120hp
CO2 130g/km
