The new Ford Transit Connect goes on sale later this year.

Ford has published details of the improved fuel efficiency and load-carrying abilities offered by the all-new Ford Transit Connect, which will be launched later this year.

Saving Fuel

The new Ford Transit Connect ECOnetic will be capable of 70.6mpg and 105g/km CO₂ emissions − a 34 per cent improvement over the current model, while the new Transit Connect will also be the first van offered with Ford’s award-winning and popular 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine, which is capable of a class-leading 50.4mpg and 129g/km CO₂ emissions.

The most popular engine options are likely to be the Dagenham-built 1.6-litre 75 PS and 95PS Duratorq TDCi diesels, which will be offered in the standard models, with the ECOnetic getting the 95PS model. The choice of the higher-power engine option for the ECOnetic is presumably a timely reminder to operators that high power can equal better efficiency, as drivers in higher-powered vehicles tend to need to change gear less and work the engine less hard than in lower-powered models.

All engines will also be available with Ford’s fuel economy package — featuring Auto-Start-Stop, Active Grille Shutter and Smart Regenerative Charging — which is aimed at cutting fuel consumption under typical van usage scenarios, especially urban use.

Load Capacity

The passenger seat folds down, allowing loads of up to 3.4m (long wheelbase) and 3m (short wheelbase).

The Transit Connect will be available in short- and long-wheelbase models, which will offer total load volumes of 2.9m³ and 3.6m³ respectively, with full bulkheads fitted. Maximum payload will be a healthy 1,000kg, but where these vans also excel is in expanding the loadspace (safely) into the passenger space.

A load-through hatch in the van’s bulkhead will enable the Transit Connect to carry loads up to 3.4m long in the long wheelbase model and 3m long in the short wheelbase, while the sliding side door on the long wheelbase model will be wide enough to allow a Europallet to be loaded through the side door.

Careful shaping of the bulkhead will also mean that uniquely for this size of van, the Transit Connect will be able to carry 8′ x 4′ sheets of plasterboard and the like in the long wheelbase model, which will also be offered with flat-folding seats in its Kombi (crew cab) form.

The front passenger seat in the Transit Connect will fold upwards to allow large boxes to stand on the floor or long loads to slide through from the load compartment. Like the current Citroen Berlingo, the Transit Connect will also offer a central seat for a second passenger, although this is unlikely to be a seat you’ll want to use for long journeys.

Deliveries of the new Transit Connect are expected to start from the end of 2013.