Ford Transit Connect Family One Concept

[coolmazda5]

• Looks like: Nearly identical to the commercial version of this boxy delivery van going on sale this summer
• Defining characteristics: Boxy shape, kid-friendly features
• Ridiculous features: Partition between front and rear seats
• Chance of being mass-produced: Slim, simply because families will want something with better mileage and/or more seating

When Ford said its first European product to hit the States would be the Transit Connect work van, we were not too enthused. We cover cars for the general consumer, not businesses. Therefore, we should be excited about this concept of the same Transit thats built especially for families. However, despite lots of nifty features like built-in hand sanitizer dispensers, the concept grossly misses the mark.

For one thing, the base Transit going on sale this summer costs $22,475, including a destination charge, and gets 22/25 mpg city/highway. Ford calls this a green family vehicle. If you bought a Toyota RAV4 for about the same $22,000, youd get a four-cylinder thats good for 22/28 mpg.

Ford says the Transit Connect is for the coolest mom and touts its looks. Yes, you read that right, its looks.

Before I finish bashing this concept, there are some useful features shown here. Namely, the under-floor storage thats large enough for a stroller is brilliant, however, it looks like a specific three-stage stroller is being used and larger, longer ones might not fit. The carpet-less floors are also a great idea because crumbs and spills could be wiped up easily.

Built-in dispensers for hand sanitizer and sunscreen in the rear cargo area; RFID tags that you can attach to bookbags, strollers and other items to track on the Transits onboard computer; a built-in changing table; and hooks for scooters all seem a bit less necessary.

Were also unsure of the practical use of a Plexiglas partition between front- and rear-passenger compartments, but one mom on staff said a full divider would be a godsend on long trips. So would the large-screen TVs.

Is there a market for a $22,000-plus vehicle like this? Doubtful. There are plenty of better looking compact SUVs for the price as well as a handful of affordable minivans that can do a similar job. Then there are vehicles like the Mazda5 and Kia Rondo for less money.

On the positive side, Ford has a terrific family van that could actually make you the coolest mom. Its called the S-Max and it is one of the top-rated vehicles in Europe. Perhaps the company could bring that to the U.S. instead of trying to make this concept a reality.

Source:
http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2009/04/ford-transit-connect-family-one-concept.html

 

[coolmazda5]

 

[coolmazda5]

 

[Stamperman]

It's like an uber-ughly pimped out Honda Element!!!!

Still, it would be great for driving kids around, especially with that big piece of plastic between the seats!

 

[offset_98]

They could separate themselves if they stuffed a nice powerful yet efficient diesel in there.

 

[coolmazda5]

Still, it would be great for driving kids around, especially with that big piece of plastic between the seats!

It just called my attention because the sliders and the MT (naughty), but yeah, as the article says, bring the S-MAX instead (and they have Diesels there )

 

[mothernature]

Extreme Kia Soul (confused)

 

[5phreak]

Must have!

 

[wmzda5]

Huh, uglier than a rondo

 

[mrbwa1]

I could dig this concept. The wife likes the idea of the Honda Element, until we found out it only seats a max of 4. I think more cars could stand to have hose-out rubber floormats like that.

 

[CorkSport]

I really liked the H&R hooked up model they had a SEMA last year in the Ford display. I would have bought on then if they had it for sale.

Derrick

 

[coolmazda5]

Euro-style Ford van wins fans

Maybe it was the bright Torch Red paint on the 2011 Ford Transit Connect van that attracted attention, more maybe it was how the very tall, yet small van moved nimbly into parking spaces labeled for compact cars.

Maybe it was because the Transit Connect - with room for five passengers and a large cargo - cost less than $65 to fill the fuel tank, even at today's prices.

Whatever the reasons, people stopped and checked out Ford's Euro-style people and cargo hauler. The curious and admirers included regular car buyers, not just the owners of small businesses targeted by Ford officials as purchasers of the Transit Connect.

Introduced to the States in 2009 after years of sale overseas, Ford's Turkish-built Transit Connect is growing its U.S. sales impressively. After a modest start of 8,834 sales in half a year in 2009, the Transit Connect's sales here last year grew to 27,405. And through the first four months of this year, sales are up again - some 46 percent over the same period last year.

For 2011, the unique-to-this-country Transit Connect is offered in a new trim package, the XLT Premium, that includes a full back seat, rear quarter windows that flip open and rear privacy glass.

Starting manufacturer's suggested retail prices, including destination charge, for the 2011 Transit Connect passenger van is $23,855 with 136-horsepower, four-cylinder engine and automatic transmission.

This compares with the $22,005 starting price for a Transit Connect cargo van with only two seats, both in the front.

While there are no direct, European-style, compact, tall van competitors in the United States, the 2011 Scion xB is a tallish, boxy vehicle with a 158-horsepower, four-cylinder engine and a starting retail price of $17,670 with automatic. And the 2012 Mazda5 is a small van with similar length as the Transit Connect. Starting retail price with automatic transmission and 157-horsepower, four-cylinder engine is $20,990.

The test Transit Connect was the new XLT Premium, and its large second-row windows, tall profile and red color immediately set it apart.

Road and wind noise were noticeable, and the Transit Connect is no sports car, but I liked driving it.

The floor inside the van was low to the ground, but passengers are set up from the pavement with legs extended downward in a kind of bus-ride fashion.

Views out and to the sides are good.

Headroom inside is massive - more than 50 inches for both front and back seat passengers.

There's even a plastic shelf, with netting at the front to keep items from sliding out, above the windshield.

All this head and storage space exists because the Transit Connect, riding on smallish 15-inch wheels, is more than 6 feet 6 inches tall - taller than a Cadillac Escalade with far larger tires. Driving the test Transit Connect in a downtown parking garage, I noticed the vehicle's roof hit the sign dangling down from the garage ceiling that warned the maximum height for vehicles is 6 feet 10 inches. And while I ducked my head at first, fearing that the Transit Connect's roof might not clear the garage ceiling, there were in fact four inches of clearance.

The Transit Connect also fit tidily in my garage at home.

This van is nearly 2 feet shorter than a 2011 Honda Odyssey, but it still provides an amazing 78.1 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats.

This compares with the 70 or so cubic feet found in many sport utility vehicles. But in the SUVs, the cargo floor is higher up from the pavement, so it can take more effort to hoist items inside than in the Transit Connect.

Rear seats, accessed through sliding side doors, split into one-third and two-thirds pieces and can be put out of the way to allow a full 118.7 cubic feet of cargo space behind the front seats.

There is no tailgate on this vehicle. Instead, two rear doors, each with a window, open clamshell-like - one hinged on the right, the other hinged on the left. This means tall people don't have to worry about hitting their heads on a raised cargo door.

But these rear doors impair a driver's views out the rearview mirror. I once didn't see a motorcyclist who had pulled up behind me at a traffic light. I also couldn't readily make out some cars behind me.

Thank goodness for the tester's optional rearview camera and rear parking sensors, which were a great help when I wanted to back up.

The two-liter, double overhead cam, Duratec four cylinder delivers a meager 136 horsepower. The Transit Connect's tall profile needs help pushing through the air on highways, so I heard a lot of engine buzzing when I floored the accelerator on the highway. Power came on ploddingly, and this was without a full load of passengers.

Torque from this engine peaks at 128 foot-pounds at 4,750 rpm, and getting to 60 miles per hour from a stop can take more than 11 seconds.

The automatic transmission is only a four speed.

Fuel mileage rating is 21 miles per gallon in the city and 26 mpg on the highway. The gas tank holds 15.4 gallons, for a single-tank range of 350 miles.



[Miami Herald]

[CarsTVCentral]

 

[coolmazda5]

So Ford is now offering the real wagon

[Ford USA Transit Connect XLT Wagon Premium]

 

[Heat]

It's a nice idea, but it's still a 5-passenger vehicle and I'd rather have a sedan or wagon if I were getting a 5-passenger vehicle.

 

[ljmattox]

Spent some time with one of these at the STL auto show. It has a unique set of capabilities, for sure, and might be a great alternative to heavier gas-guzzling trucks for certain businesses and trades. All that "tall" space is sorta wasted in passenger use, though; once seated, it's just more boxed "air" above the passengers. We bought our 5 in large part to help us with our dog training hobby and dog rescue work. One of these could work really well for that, easy to hose out even, and you could stack dog crates for transport in there. But for everything else: night out with friends, daily commuting, etc. the passenger accomodations and fun-to-drive of our 5MT would be hard to give up.

Still nice to see the start of some alternatives in the USA market for carrying "stuff" that are easier on fuel than we've had.