Wednesday 22 February 2012

Road - New Transit

Further to this morning's story about the new Ford Transit Tourneo, which looked like a replacement for the Transit Connect, this in fact will be the new Transit van!

Billed as a 'concept' which is due to get its first public airing at the Geneva show next month, the next generation van will be based on this bodyshell. The vehicle in the pictures is apparently of similar size to the current short wheelbase Ford Transit van.

As yet, the interior furnishings have yet to be finalised, and although the concept shows an eight seater layout, the rear seats are not actually removable, they fold away into the floor much like the current S-Max. Whether that makes the final version remains to be seen.

The high waistline and the 18 inch alloy wheels disguise the true size of the vehicle, and while the concept interior shows two front seats there would appear to be room for three, and with two rows of three seater benches in the rear it would be ideal for airport and hotel shuttle duty as well as coping with big families.

As for the commercial van version, there is no news, but the current van was scheduled for replacement prior to the recession scuppering Ford's plans, hence the facelift last year and the adoption of Euro-5 engines. This will see the current van continue until this striking looking newcomer is introduced - possibly next year. More news to come!

4 comments:

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    1. In some ways I suppose it does, but it is a lot bigger than the NV200, and better looking. The trouble with vans is that they are being affected with the same disease as cars - similaritus. In order to build in the required safety protection 'passenger cell' and pedestrian-friendly front ends, mass produced vehicles are starting to look very similar with designers restricted in what they can do. Anyway, we'll have to wait till we see it in the flesh to make final judegment.

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  2. Really hope they keep all the handy pockets and things they have in the transit at the moment.

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    Replies
    1. Aye, and thereby hangs the big challenge. The current dashboard and storage provisions are just about the best in the business but the new dashboard looks far more fashionable than functional. Anyway, the CV Show is at the NEC next month so maybe we'll find out more there.

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