WinnipegFord5.com

Oshawa, Ontario – I’m a bit of an oddball when it comes to automobiles. While most writers prefer carving corners in low-slung sports cars, I’m happiest when I’m behind the wheels of work machines, the funkier the better. Right now, that’s the new Transit Connect, a Ford mainstay in Europe that’s now available in North America.

Companies use the term “whitespace” to describe segments void of any vehicles. In this case, the whitespace is small, purpose-built work vehicles, where the front-wheel drive Transit Connect stands alone. It’s smaller than the Dodge Sprinter (a vehicle now under the Mercedes badge), Chevrolet Express or Ford E-Series, making it easy to move around tight urban centres, and far more practical for those who don’t haul full-size loads. It’s also smaller than the cargo van version of the Dodge Grand Caravan, but larger than the Chevrolet HHR Panel, both of which are variations of passenger vehicles without rear seats or rear side windows.

The Ford is available in three versions: a two-seat cargo van with solid metal rear doors, at $26,799; the same but with windows in the two rear doors, at $27,299; and a five-seat wagon, with sliding and rear door windows, at $28,299. My tester, a cargo van with rear windows, came equipped with all of the options available: electronic stability control for $550, reverse parking sensors for $250, and a block heater for $80.

That’s pricier than the HHR Panel, which starts at $20,545 with a manual transmission and $21,805 with an automatic, and includes standard stability control, but the HHR’s hinged doors aren’t always as convenient as sliding side ones, and it’s not as tall. The Grand Caravan Cargo Van has sliders, but it’s more expensive, starting at $27,945. The Transit Connect is going to attract a specific audience for whom pricing is only one factor, but it’s still fairly reasonable for the segment.

There’s a diesel version in Europe, of course, and with any luck, Ford will eventually offer that over here. In the meantime, the Transit Connect comes strictly with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine, cranking out 138 horsepower and 132 lb-ft of torque, mated to a four-speed automatic transmission. It’s no power monster, but then, it really isn’t meant to be; instead, it’s intended for light-duty work on urban streets. Officially, it’s rated at 9.5 L/100 km in the city, and 7.9 on the highway; in a week with it unloaded, in combined driving, I averaged 8.3 L/100 km (34 mpg Imp).

Overall, this hip little hauler works quite well. Acceleration is brisk, smooth and fairly quiet; it gets wheezy when asked to spool up hard from about 70 km/h on the highway, but once it’s up there, it cruises along quite happily between about 90 and 110 km/h. The turning circle is snug – only less than half a metre wider than that of a Ford Fusion – and the steering is light, which should make it very popular for city use. Although it’s a box on wheels, it’s surprisingly quiet inside, thanks partially to a rear rubber floor, carpeted front floor, and standard cloth headliner. Even on rough roads, there were no rattles.

Everything about the Transit Connect is purpose-built. A shelf runs the width of the truck over the windshield, with a little net to keep light objects in place. The dash and doors are all textured hard plastic and easy to clean, and the vents and controls are easily operated while wearing gloves. The seats also stayed comfortable on a two-hour trip. I did note a couple of complaints, though: the small mirrors would be better replaced with the blind-spot variety similar to the ones Ford puts on its full-size pickup trucks, and with a fixed cover on the deep dash cubby, it was difficult to reach objects that slid in all the way. Most people’s hands are too big to fit inside.

Twin sliding doors are standard. The rear doors open to 90 degrees, but pressing the yellow button on each one releases the hinge, so they swing open to 180 degrees. They can’t be tucked right back against the body sides as the Sprinter’s can, but that’s mainly because the Transit Connect is too short, and they’d interfere with the sliding doors.

The van has a total of 3,830 litres (135.3 cubic feet) of cargo space. According to my tape measure, the cargo area is 180 cm long, with a maximum width of 133 cm, and a maximum height of 130 cm. Maximum payload is 728 kg (1,605 lbs).

It comes in a single XLT trim line, which includes air conditioning, six-way manual driver’s seat, four-way manual passenger seat, CD stereo with auxiliary input, power windows, cruise control, tilt and telescopic steering column, three 12-volt power points, seat side airbags, tire pressure monitoring system, and anti-lock brakes; models with rear door windows also have heated mirrors and rear wipers. Security is always an issue with work vehicles, and some thought has gone into the locks. Keyless entry is standard, and depending on what buttons you push and how many times, it will unlock the front and sliding doors, the rear doors, or all of them. If you only open the rear ones, there’s a button inside that pops the locks on everything.

The key is also necessary to open the fuel filler door (unfortunately, the Transit Connect doesn’t yet have Ford’s brilliant EasyFuel capless system waiting behind it) and, unusually, the hood. To access the engine, you flip up the grille badge, insert the key, turn to the left to pop it, and then to the right to release the safety catch.

The Transit Connect is made in Turkey, and on a vacation last year in Germany, I saw a considerable number of them, all effortlessly making their way through the typical European narrow city streets and tight corners. One of the key elements of efficient transportation is in using the right size of vehicle to do the job; it just doesn’t make sense to use a big-engine, big-footprint truck if you only ever carry a fraction of its capacity. The HHR Panel filled a void for companies that haul small, light but bulky loads, such as florists and caterers; the Transit Connect is now poised to fill the niche above it. Europe’s been way ahead of us for a long time with its little urban workhorses, and the Transit Connect is a fine way to finally start catching up.