Ford Transit - First impression

Technically speaking, Ford Transit isn’t actually a brand-new van. It has been serving most of the world since 1965. And now, we have it here in the Philippines, too, as Ford has launched the Transit recently.

The Transit is Ford’s only van on sale in our country where such vehicles are quite popular. Perhaps, this makes it an important vehicle for the company. So here we are with our first impression of the Ford Transit.

Exterior

There is only so much a car company can do with a van’s design. And the new Ford Transit is not an exception; it is, after all, a van. And hey, we are not complaining. So, to make the Transit look different from the rest of the competition, Ford gave it a somewhat elegant design.

It has a pair of large headlamps and a prominent black front grille. They take up most of the space and thus, the hood looks relatively small. We also have the black bumper with fog lamps that complete the front look of the van; it looks a bit angry.

At the side, there are big front doors with large rearview mirrors. To keep the boredom at bay, Ford has added a single character line along the side of the van. We also have the noticeable wheel arches as well as body cladding all around.

Moving to the rear of the Transit, there are a couple of cargo doors that swing open 180-degrees to make loading and unloading easy. The doors can also be locked open at 90-degrees. We also get a pair of vertically stacked taillights along with a high-mount stop lamp.

What are the Ford Transit colour options?

Ans. It has three colours to choose from - Frozen White, Magnetic Metallic, and Moondust Silver.

Interior

Ford Transit is capable to accommodate 15 people that means it must have a large amount of space on the inside. Thanks to the aisle seating arrangement, passengers should be at a higher level of comfort as they would not be climbing over others to reach a seat at the back. For entertainment, the audio system has a built-in AM/FM radio with Bluetooth, AUX, and USB connectivity.

Are there any convenient features in the Ford Transit?

Ans. To make life easier, the Transit has a bunch of convenient features like front and rear AC controls that allow having different temperatures for people at the front and the passengers at the rear. There is also the power sidestep that makes ingress and egress that much easier. Also, with so many people onboard, Ford Transit has 12 cup holders and 21 storage bins.

We also liked the dashboard of the Transit. It is undeniably a Ford and is ergonomically designed. The gear lever is an integral part of the dashboard which frees up space at the front. Also, the large windows and front windshield provide a good view outside.

Engine

Powering the new Transit is a 2.2-litre Duratorq diesel engine that churns out 135 PS of max power and 385 Nm of torque. It is a Euro 5 compliant engine. For the transmission, there is only a 6-speed manual gearbox available. This engine and transmission combination seems to be the right choice for such kind of a vehicle.

Safety features

We could only find a handful of safety features in the Ford Transit specs sheet. They include-

• Driver and front passenger airbag
• Rearview camera
• Rear roof escape hatch in case of emergencies
• ISOFIX mounts
• ABS with EBD
• Electronic stability control
• Hill-start assist

As far as the Ford Transit price is concerned, it retails at Php 2.3 million and is available in a single variant.

Overall, the Ford Transit looks quite promising. It is a new face in the van segment and should appeal to many people. Its main rivals would be the Toyota Hiace and Hyundai Grand Starex that start at PHP 1.6 million and PHP 1.4 million respectively.

At present, Ford is offering a 5-year scheduled service plan with the Ford Transit for free. It is for a limited period only and will end on Dec 31st 2019.

Also Read: Ford Ranger XLS sells for under Php 1-million, XLT gets huge discounts