Topic: the ford transit

[bucky katt]

the wife and i are going to try buying a new car sometime this year and i'm really liking what i read about the transit. can any of our British or European members that have one tell me good/bad points about them? supposedly by the end of 2010 they'll be available here in the states.

[CaféElite]

supposedly by the end of 2010 they'll be available here in the states.

The dealership by my house has had these for a while. If I was going to race bikes or worked at a bike shop I would snag one. If I recall correctly they were not cheap though and I dont recall the MPG being all that great.

[Gordon]

 

[bucky katt]

ok, i'm in love with her now. guess i'm moving to europe now?     the mileage is 22/25 city/highway. better than a dodge caravan at 18/24.

[MötleyRöx]

She was sweating everywhere.  
Yes, thank you for that image.

I will only approve this purchase if there is a motorcycle in the bay at all times.
Mission impossible escape possible anywhere!

[bucky katt]

the motorcycle transport abilities iswhy i'm thinking about the transit. the fact that the mileage is decent is another, and it's not alot of money for what youre getting. theyre saying 19,000 - 21,000 dollars real world prices. i understand theyve sold a million of the things in the UK.

[dave400]

I think the version of the van you will get in the US will be the smaller Transit Connect Van, I think it's made in Turkey.

[Duke McDukiedook]

Do you think they will offer the diesel version in the US?

[dave400]

Do you think they will offer the diesel version in the US?

Electic will be available not sure about any of the other options.

http://green.autoblog.com/2009/02/09/ford-confirms-transit-connect-ev-with-smith-electric-for-2010/

[bucky katt]

the only one to be offered here will be the 2.0 litre, 136 bhp diesel with the 4 speed automatic in both the XL and XLT trim versions. and yes it is the ford transit connect

[dave400]

The smaller van uses the Transit name for sales tables, it's not the real Transit Van we all use in Europe, I'ts more a pizza van.

Dave

[grumburg]

the only one to be offered here will be the 2.0 litre, 136 bhp diesel with the 4 speed automatic in both the XL and XLT trim versions. and yes it is the ford transit connect

The only engine available is 136hp GAS engine. The local Ford dealer has 7 on the ground. I stopped and looked at it. The inside is REALLY small. Too small for much more than my S90. My 550 would not fit.

[bucky katt]

dunno why i was thinking diesel. the diesel will be coming one article said.

[mick750F]

   It's an interesting vehicle but I think Ford isn't doing itself any favors by not offering the larger version. The smaller one is more of a delivery van without a lot of interior space making it impractical for contractors or anyone else needing real space. Maybe they don't want to cut into sales of the "E" series vans? They should offer a diesel too...

Mike

[CaféElite]

The smaller one is more of a delivery van without a lot of interior space making it impractical for contractors or anyone else needing real space.

I thought the same thing when I saw it on the dealership lot. After about 5mins of looking at it I was like damn I could get scion xb van for under 7k at the moment and have more room to haul #$%*.

[bucky katt]

ahhhhhhhhhh see, i havent seen one in person yet. so they WONT fit a bike inside then. well that makes a big difference.

[UK Pete]

I have the Ford Transit Connect, it is the high roof long wheelbase version TDCI engine, i use it as a builders van and i can also fit any of my bikes in it, although it can be a squeeze, they have a folding bulk head which lets you use the passenger side as extra loading length, which makes it ideal for getting bikes in, the biggest bike i have had in it is my FZ1, It also fits my KLR650 which is quite tall.
Pete

[grumburg]

Best bike hauler I ever had was my Econoline panel. The only problem was everyone wanted to borrow it......correction......bring it... to move bikes, furniture, ex-wives, etc

[mcpuffett]

Heres my bike hauler 1995 Ford Transit 2.5 Diesel owned it 7 years now been all over England picking bikes up get 2 in the back no probs  cheers Mick

[Laminar]

I actually just saw one of these zipping around today with a company logo on the side.

[bucky katt]

see, i have a motorcycle trailer but my saturn has nearly half a million miles on the original trans and motor and i'm becoming kind of leery about stressing the car (i want to do a million miles on it) i've also looked at some of the small picups available today but theyre all so much larger than they were the last time i got a new pickup (i got an isuzu p/u new in november of 90) they also dont get the mileage of the old subcompact trucks of the 80's. i'm going to be able to afford to do this purchase because the wife has been named executor of a longtime clients will and in this state the executor gets 5% of the estate and she told me i get to get a new bike hauler for myself and she'll drive the saturn. i may end up buying an 80's toyota extra cab longbed like i had in high school and just doing all new mechanicals in it. i'll certainly go check out the transit when my local dealer gets them in next week, i wont make a decision till the end of this model year (save some money that way) i dont want anything fancy, reliability and longevity are the big one, decent mileage is the other important part. i tend to keep vehicles a long long time.

[MötleyRöx]

Bucky,
its a gift... do you want to bank on new technology and new materials, or do you want to rebuild an old Toyota?

Tell us about this this Toy you have planned!

[bucky katt]

just a stock rebuild with as many oem parts as i can find. the toyota 22r is, in my opinion the best automotive engine ever built. IF i go that route it will get either new or rebuilt mechanicals, preferably an auto trans too. i did the lowrider thing back in the late 80's and early 90's, i just want something solid and reliable with decent mileage. i had an 85 toyota longbed with the 22r and i got something like 28mpg with it. basically whatever i get, i want something i can fit my 750k and a toolbox into.

[Alan F.]

I actually just saw one of these zipping around today with a company logo on the side.

They're getting popular with copier companies in Boston too.

[CaféElite]

I say screw these little vans and go old school..