Europeans are into some weird stuff: warm beer, curtainless showers, techno music, shrimp with the antennae still attached -- and lots more that's less fit to print. Europeans also use funky work vans with goofy tall roofs and tiny, fuel-efficient engines. They're quirky, to be sure, but unlike techno, they definitely hold some appeal for folks on our side of the Atlantic. Enter the new 2010 Ford Transit Connect, a European-style compact work van intended for small business owners who view a V8-powered cargo van as overkill.
In case you haven't glimpsed the Transit Connect, just imagine the unholy spawn of a Ford Fusion and a Dodge Sprinter crunched in a trash compactor and you'll get the idea. Indeed, there are many similarities to the Sprinter, which is also a European-sourced work van that features a fuel-efficient engine, relatively nimble around-town handling and cavernous interior space. Think of the Transit Connect as Sprinter lite -- a conceptually similar vehicle in a smaller and dramatically more affordable package.
Unlike other work vans, the 2010 Ford Transit Connect comes in only one body style and with one engine. It also features unibody construction rather than the typical body-on-frame, which yields a much lower load floor and consequently an enormous cargo hold relative to the Transit Connect's tidy footprint. With 135 cubic feet of space behind its front seats, the Transit Connect offers 100 fewer cubes than the full-size Ford Econoline, but the same as a Chevy Suburban. Moreover, the Transit Connect's ample interior height and low floor make accessing all your work-related items much easier than it would ever be in a Suburban. There is a passenger-van version available with a second-row seat, but we're guessing that it'll appeal more to work crews and perhaps cab companies than a family.
A downside of that unibody construction is that towing capacity suffers, but with only a 136-horsepower gasoline four-cylinder under its longish nose, the Transit Connect won't be towing much beyond a little red wagon anyway. That's even less power than you get in the Ford Focus, which employs essentially the same 2.0-liter engine. Although the Transit Connect's willing four-speed automatic and short final-drive ratio do their best, acceleration would still be best described as glacial. On the upside, fuel economy is outstanding for a work van with an EPA combined estimate of 23 mpg.
The Transit Connect also introduces a variety of new features designed specifically for small businesses. Shelving units are a thoughtful basic option, while the new Ford Work Solutions lineup is geared toward more high-tech operations. The centerpiece is an in-dash computer that features a Microsoft operating system, a touchscreen, a wireless mouse and keyboard, a Garmin navigation system and Internet access. Also on the Work Solutions menu are the Crew Chief, which tracks the vehicle's location, speed and idle time, making 3-hour lunches at Fuddruckers a thing of the past; and Tool Link by DeWalt, which keeps track of your tool inventory via radio frequency ID tags.
Built in Turkey, the Transit Connect has racked up more than 600,000 sales worldwide since its 2003 introduction. Given its impressive interior space, fuel economy and innovative business-oriented features, we think Ford's new van will attract business owners here in the United States as well -- especially in urban areas. The 2010 Ford Transit Connect enters a market with virtually no direct competitors (the Chevy HHR panel van is too small, the full-size domestic work vans are too big and thirsty and the Sprinter is pricier), so only time will tell how customers will take to this newfangled conveyance. No doubt Ford is hoping they find it more appealing than techno and warm beer.
