Tag Archives: Ford Transit Connect

Ford Vans Are Most Reliable Say Fleet Managers

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Ford Transit mk7

Ford Transit: the most reliable van in the UK

Ford commercial vehicles are the most reliable in Britain, according to the managers of the 50 largest fleets in the UK.

The Brentwood-based blue oval replaces Volkswagen as the most reliable manufacturer, according to the results of the FN50 survey, which surveys the 50 largest UK contract hire and leasing companies.

Commenting on the results, Stephen Briers, editor of Fleet News, said:

“Van reliability is arguably more important than car reliability. A van driver can’t work from home if he or she needs to deliver vital equipment or provide a necessary service. Ford’s commitment to ensuring the Transit and Transit Connect perform well in the key area of reliability should help strengthen its position as the biggest manufacturer in the UK van market.”

The Ford Transit came top of the van reliability survey with the Ford Transit Connect, retaining its second place from a year ago. In the manufacturer table, Ford moved up into the top spot ahead of Volkswagen, who also fell behind fellow German manufacturer Mercedes-Benz, in what must be a disappointing result for VW.

Ford Transit Connect

The Ford Transit Connect came second in the FN50 survey to find the most reliable van in the UK.

Here are this year’s top ten most reliable vans (last year’s position in brackets):

1 Ford Transit (4)
2 Ford Transit Connect (2)
3 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter (1)
4 Volkswagen Transporter (5)
5 Volkswagen Caddy (3)
6 Mercedes-Benz Vito
7 Vauxhall Vivaro
8 Renault Trafic
9 Vauxhall Movano
10 Citroen Berlingo

Top 10 most reliable van manufacturers (last year’s position in brackets*)

1 Ford (2)
2 Mercedes-Benz (3)
3 Volkswagen (1)
4 Vauxhall (-)
5 Citroen (-)
6 Renault (5)
7 Nissan
8 Peugeot
9 Fiat (4)
10 Toyota

(*2011 tables ranked only top five)

Those responding to the survey have a combined LCV fleet size of 160,000. The FN50 reliability survey is the largest study of its kind in the UK. For more information on the survey see www.fleetnews.com.

Nottingham Firm Chooses ‘Bricked Up’ Transit Connects

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Barnes and West Ford Transit Connect in brick liveryNottingham brickwork firm Barnes and West has taken delivery of three Ford Transit Connects in vibrant Mars Red, a standard colour from Ford’s palette.

However, with some creative thinking from the dealer’s decal designer, dark cream paint has been added to represent brick mortar. Once sign-written with the company’s name and contact details, the result is a finish that makes Barnes & West stand out from the competition.

The Transit Connect vehicles – supplied by Sandicliffe Ford dealership in Nottingham – are all top-of-the-range Limited models with alloy wheels, air-conditioning and Bluetooth connectivity as standard.

Inside, the load area has been fully ply-lined and specialist roof racks have been fitted to allow external large load carrying, and for added security, vehicle tracking devices have been installed.

David Haynes, sales manager, Sandicliffe Ford, said:

“It’s all part of the ‘one-stop shop’ service that we offer. For customers like that we can do everything, unlike some other retailers, and it means we can deliver vehicles that are ready for action right from the off.

“These vans look fantastic and demonstrate how the expanding range of Ford commercial vehicles can be tailored to work perfectly for small businesses, no matter what the requirement.”

Barnes & West owner, Colin Barnes, has operated more than 30 Ford vehicles during the three decades that the company has been in business and is a big fan of Ford vans:

“They’re reliable, spares are readily available and with all the extras, they do the job for us.”

Can’t say fairer than that.

Van Models Guide Part 3: Small Vans

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So far in this series we’ve looked at medium panel vans and luton vans – two of the most popular types of rental van. In this post, I’m going to take a look at a different type of van that has become increasingly popular in recent years – the small van.

Examples of small vans

Small vans, from l-r: Renault Kangoo, Ford Transit Connect & Volkswagen Caddy

Small vans like these are available from almost all van rental companies and are surprisingly flexible and useful. Despite being no bigger than a medium-sized car on the outside, on the inside, their lack of rear seats and square load compartments means that they are bigger than you might think.

Here’s a typical example:

  • Overall length: 4.4m
  • Overall height: 1.8m (ok for car parks with height barriers)
  • Loadspace length: 1.7m
  • Load height: 1.1m
  • Load width: 1.1m (between wheel arches) and 1.5m (outside wheel arches)
  • Payload (carrying capacity): 600kg-800kg, depending on model

Speed Limits for Small Vans

Given that these vans are no bigger than a family car, you might expect them to be subject to the same speed limits as cars.

They aren’t.

Standard van speed limits apply to small vans like the Volkswagen Caddy, Ford Transit Connect, Citroen Berlingo and almost all other small vans, even if they have a maximum weight of less than 2,000kg (2 tonnes)

I’ve discussed the law behind van speed limits before (see here), but all you need to know is that these are the speed limits and they are enforced:

  • Single carriageways: 50mph
  • Dual carriageways: 60mph
  • Motorways: 70mph

Introducing Car-Derived Vans

The only exceptions to these limits are for vans that are genuinely car-derived (i.e. they are based on a car and are the same as the car from the B pillars/seat belt pillars forwards) and have a maximum gross weight of under 2 tonnes.

In practice, this means that only the very smallest vans are exempt from van speed limts. Pretty much all of these are named after the cars they are based on, so they are easy to recognise. For example:

  • Ford Fiesta Van
  • Vauxhall Corsavan
  • Vauxhall Astravan (this is unusually big for a car-derived van and is unique in the UK market)

Car-derived vans are available from some van rental companies but not all – they are so small that most people just use their cars to transport this kind of load, and don’t bother renting a van.

New Van News – Ford & Kia Introduce New Models

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Ford Transit Connect Hits US Shores

Ford has been promising the Transit Connect van to the US market for some time. It looks like that time has now come.

The Transit Connect will go on sale in the US this summer with a starting price of around $21,000. It will have an optional second row of seats and extra windows, making it a viable people carrier as well as a useful small van. Needless to say, it will be powered by a petrol engine with an automatic gearbox, rather than the manual diesels favoured on this side of the Atlantic.

Ford has also confirmed that the Transit Connect will form the basis for Ford’s promised electric van, due to market in 2010. This seems likely to be based on Smith Electric Vehicles’ existing Transit Connect model, the Ampere.

For full details and photos, click here for the AutoblogGreen report.

Kia Introduces 4×4 Sorento Van Model

A rather more surprising vehicle introduction is the new van from Kia. Known for its good value cars and people carriers, the Sorento SUV has now been converted into a 4×4 van!

The Kia Sorento XE-C is still identifiably a 4WD passenger vehicle but has been modified to remove the rear seats and provide a reasonably large load area.

One downside is that it still retains passenger-style rear doors – which are not a patch on van-style sliding doors when it comes to accessibility. That said, it’s a niche vehicle for a niche market and should benefit from Kia’s usual competitive prices and reliable build quality.

You can read an early review of the Sorento XE-C here, in the Scotsman.

Americans Falling In Love With Great Euro Vans

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More evidence (as if evidence were needed) that the quality and flexibility of European vans is making its mark across the pond.

US car magazine Winding Road has just voted the Dodge Sprinter (a rebadged version of the Mercedes Sprinter) to be one of their ‘Dynamic Dozen’ – their reviewers’ 12 favourite vehicles of 2008.

The other eleven are a diverse mixture of cars but the Sprinter makes it into the top 12 too. Winding Road’s Steven J. Ewing says that “we’re hard pressed to think of things the Sprinter can’t do” and describes it as “easy to live with”, “quite fun to drive” and “versatile”.

Ford Transit Connect SWBFord is hoping to eclipse the success of the Sprinter when it introduces the Transit Connect to the US market later this year. To try and raise awareness of and desire for its capacious, car-sized van, Ford has given away five Connects to small business owners in the US.

The businesses selected include a CPR instructor, dog car company and a kayak company. It will be interesting to see if the Transit Connect takes off in the US – it is a great van, but it is small by American standards and unfortunately won’t benefit from the torquey, modern diesels we get in Europe (thanks to US emissions standards for diesels).

On a completely unrelated but still transatlantic note, it seems that in America, car companies get fined for not meeting fuel efficiency targets. Under CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency) rules, financial penalties result if you sell too many gas guzzlers.

2007 saw Mercedes receive a whopping $30m fine, while Volkswagen was fined $4.5m and Porsche $1.2m. Ouch. Although I suppose it isn’t a huge amount when offset against their profits (or motorsport budgets…).