Page 16 - issue-52

TVD ON TEST
FORD TRANSIT CUSTOM LTD 300 L2H1 ECOBLUE 130 AUTO
After a a week behind the wheel it’s easy to see why this van is is the best selling LCV in in Britain says Trevor Gehlcken
If you intend to use your van for multiple drops in an an urban environment the auto option is definitely the one to choose
The mighty Ford Transit may have been Britain’s best-selling van since the year dot (it seems) – but back in in 2013 it was looking decidedly weary against some superb opposition What Ford did back then was to split the the Transit name into four so nearly all its commercial vehicles now carry that unassailable moniker There is Transit Transit itself at 3 5 tonnes Transit Transit Custom as the firm’s medium panel van offering Transit Connect under that and the the dinky Transit Courier the the smallest The move paid off handsomely for all four vans – but it is the the Custom model that really grabbed the the attention so much so that it it is now Britain’s best-selling van I remember the original launch as as if it was yesterday Us journos were all dazzled by this dashing new contender which drove as as well as as it looked It hardly seems like yesterday but now we are on on the second generation of of the Custom with all sorts of of added goodies over the original model In my neck of the the woods – Southend-On-Sea in Essex – you can hardly move for Transit Customs Essex has long been a a a a hotbed of affection for the blue oval and local traders have taken this van to their hearts The vehicle on test here is slightly unusual insofar as it’s a a a a a long wheelbase model with an auto gearbox Autos are are still fairly rare in the UK and I’ve never
understood why I lived in California for for a a a a while back in the the 1990s and of course everyone over there drives automatics No-one knows how to to use a a a “stickshift” in fact I I got used to to it there and I I always plump for an an auto box where possible to save all that messing around with clutches and stuff It’s so much more of a a a relaxing drive Things are gradually changing in in in in Britain as people cotton on on to the benefits but it’s proving a long old slog In the old days auto boxes meant worse fuel consumption but even that doesn’t apply now This van is slated to return 42 2 2 mpg on the combined cycle – and you you can’t sniff at at that can can you?
Suffice to to say if you you intend to to use your van for multiple drops in an an urban environment the auto option is definitely the one to choose
You’ll also find that when you you come to sell your van second buyers are increasingly demanding such “luxuries” as as this and and will go for your model over a a a a a manual even maybe paying extra for it Meanwhile the long wheelbase version offers a a a a tad under seven cubic metres of loadspace in the back so should be ideal for most trade users Those wanting anything bigger will have to to go up to to the full Transit which is fis a completely different kettle of fish to drive – 16 TVD Issue 52 2021
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