Sacramento, California – Every now and then, I’m overcome with a desire to test drive something besides a 500-horsepower sports car or a six-figure luxury sedan.
The new-for-2010 Ford Transit Connect certainly filled the bill. Different to say the least.
How to describe it? Most call it a wagon, but I’m not sure I’m buying that. Nor would I call it a sport-utility vehicle. Some auto reviewers have weighed in by calling it a van. Uh, not really. A minivan? Not a chance in my book.
It’s more like a hybrid of those vehicle segments – a squat front end rising into a sharply raked windshield with a tall, long cargo area in the back. Sliding rear doors are part of the minivan DNA.
It looks a little like a U.S. Postal Service wagon, although no one in my neighborhood came running up to ask me if their swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated had arrived at the post office.
Ford says it targeted the Transit Connect for small businesses, and I believe that. I felt like I could deliver pizzas or dish up ice cream to local kids in my tester – the XLT, the more expensive of two trim levels, starting at $22,755.
Just to add to the vehicle’s unique qualities, the Transit Connect is built in Turkey. Yes, I’m serious.
For what it is, the Transit Connect works well. The vehicle has been offered since 2003 in Europe and other locales, where it has received favorable reviews from a diverse group of users.
Simply put, it’s built for hard work.
First off, the cargo area can be configured to carry objects of all sizes. For max toting purposes, it holds a whopping 135 cubic feet of whatever you have. The double doors in the back yawn wide open to receive cargo up to 52 inches in height and 47.8 inches in width. The Transit Connect has an impressive cargo payload capacity of 1,600 pounds, not bad for a vehicle that looks like a smallish crossover at first glance.
Inside the vehicle, the cargo area is nearly 60 inches high, and the load length tops out at 72.6 inches. Those dual sliding rear side doors enhance the ease of loading up.
Big cargo capacity seems like the best reason for seeking out this vehicle, although the 2-liter, four-cylinder power plant has its charms. The 136-horsepower engine won’t blow you away, but it has adequate oomph for most chores, including freeway merges. It’s a front-driver linked to a four-speed automatic.
Gas mileage is 22 miles per gallon in the city and 25 mpg on the highway, which won’t put you in the poorhouse.
Ford chats up the strong structural integrity of the Transit Connect, but you might not feel that when you open and shut the doors. The vehicle has a tinny feel. Shutting the doors gets you a “ca-whank” sound instead of the more solid-sounding “ca-whump.”
By the way, those sliding side doors can be had with windows, or without. Get the picture? … The Transit Connect can be had as a no-nonsense cargo/business van, or you can be more family/freewheeling in its use.
Interior comforts are fine. The dash is easy to understand … And here’s where the bonus comes in: An in-dash computer allows small business owners to run things from inside the vehicle. Applications include downloading customer information, product specs, accessing an office-based computer, texting and street mapping. You can program and interact with the in-dash computer via a separate keypad.
Finally, an assortment of bulkheads, racks and bins provides handy storage space for just about anything you need in the operation of a business.
So, if you have been contemplating a career change and want to go it on your own with an affordable, versatile motor vehicle that will likely handle most of what you have to dish out, give the 2010 Ford Transit Connect a look.
It’s a niche vehicle to be sure, but it fills that niche nicely. Pay your money and consider yourself in business.
The new-for-2010 Ford Transit Connect certainly filled the bill. Different to say the least.
How to describe it? Most call it a wagon, but I’m not sure I’m buying that. Nor would I call it a sport-utility vehicle. Some auto reviewers have weighed in by calling it a van. Uh, not really. A minivan? Not a chance in my book.
It’s more like a hybrid of those vehicle segments – a squat front end rising into a sharply raked windshield with a tall, long cargo area in the back. Sliding rear doors are part of the minivan DNA.
It looks a little like a U.S. Postal Service wagon, although no one in my neighborhood came running up to ask me if their swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated had arrived at the post office.
Ford says it targeted the Transit Connect for small businesses, and I believe that. I felt like I could deliver pizzas or dish up ice cream to local kids in my tester – the XLT, the more expensive of two trim levels, starting at $22,755.
Just to add to the vehicle’s unique qualities, the Transit Connect is built in Turkey. Yes, I’m serious.
For what it is, the Transit Connect works well. The vehicle has been offered since 2003 in Europe and other locales, where it has received favorable reviews from a diverse group of users.
Simply put, it’s built for hard work.
First off, the cargo area can be configured to carry objects of all sizes. For max toting purposes, it holds a whopping 135 cubic feet of whatever you have. The double doors in the back yawn wide open to receive cargo up to 52 inches in height and 47.8 inches in width. The Transit Connect has an impressive cargo payload capacity of 1,600 pounds, not bad for a vehicle that looks like a smallish crossover at first glance.
Inside the vehicle, the cargo area is nearly 60 inches high, and the load length tops out at 72.6 inches. Those dual sliding rear side doors enhance the ease of loading up.
Big cargo capacity seems like the best reason for seeking out this vehicle, although the 2-liter, four-cylinder power plant has its charms. The 136-horsepower engine won’t blow you away, but it has adequate oomph for most chores, including freeway merges. It’s a front-driver linked to a four-speed automatic.
Gas mileage is 22 miles per gallon in the city and 25 mpg on the highway, which won’t put you in the poorhouse.
Ford chats up the strong structural integrity of the Transit Connect, but you might not feel that when you open and shut the doors. The vehicle has a tinny feel. Shutting the doors gets you a “ca-whank” sound instead of the more solid-sounding “ca-whump.”
By the way, those sliding side doors can be had with windows, or without. Get the picture? … The Transit Connect can be had as a no-nonsense cargo/business van, or you can be more family/freewheeling in its use.
Interior comforts are fine. The dash is easy to understand … And here’s where the bonus comes in: An in-dash computer allows small business owners to run things from inside the vehicle. Applications include downloading customer information, product specs, accessing an office-based computer, texting and street mapping. You can program and interact with the in-dash computer via a separate keypad.
Finally, an assortment of bulkheads, racks and bins provides handy storage space for just about anything you need in the operation of a business.
So, if you have been contemplating a career change and want to go it on your own with an affordable, versatile motor vehicle that will likely handle most of what you have to dish out, give the 2010 Ford Transit Connect a look.
It’s a niche vehicle to be sure, but it fills that niche nicely. Pay your money and consider yourself in business.
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