New Transit

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V8 Animal

Original Poster:

5,914 posts

209 months

Wednesday 29th October 2014
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LouD86 said:
To answer your question OP, its rare, but I have seen a few FWD with failed driveshafts, yet only one RWD with a damaged diff.

The RWD isn't know just for longtivity as the main course, it gives you better axle weights when loaded, and also better stability at speed. You tend to get a bit of a shorter final drive, and slightly less MPG as the downsides though.

If your looking at a Transit Van, the RWD will increase loading height by about 5", so be careful if its bulky object your trying to get up.

Feel free to e-mail me through PM, tell me what you require from your van, and ill point you what I think would be best for you direction wise.
Thanks i will.

DrDeAtH

3,586 posts

231 months

Wednesday 29th October 2014
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SV8Predator said:
DrDeAtH said:
Buy a sprinter. Looks much nicer. Probably better built too.
Probably. It's German innit? The transit must be st being British an' that.
All transits are built in Turkey. Nowt British about them.
Southampton shut years ago.

Dr Interceptor

7,743 posts

195 months

Wednesday 29th October 2014
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DrDeAtH said:
Southampton shut years ago.
A year ago... July 2013.

hairyben

8,516 posts

182 months

Wednesday 29th October 2014
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V8 Animal said:
Having a history of failed driveshafts on FWD I now am in favour of RWD the 2 VWs that I'm replacing are.
Am I wrong in still thinking RWD is best for longtivity.
The high output transpoters had a rep for destroying driveshafts in '07 when I bought the vito.

They making SWB auto transits this time? Not that I've got the $$ to hand right now.

boroandy87

168 posts

121 months

Wednesday 29th October 2014
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LouD86 said:
Another Ford Commercial Chap then!
Sort of...

4941cc

25,867 posts

205 months

Wednesday 29th October 2014
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hairyben said:
They making SWB auto transits this time?
No auto option on Courier/Connect/Custom or Transit.

The only Ford CV with an auto option is the Ranger.

Tourneo Connect is available with a 1.6 EcoBoost (petrol) auto option, but whilst van derived, it is classified as an M1 passenger car (as is Tourneo Custom).


boroandy87

168 posts

121 months

Wednesday 29th October 2014
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4941cc said:
As well as drive axles, All bar the Transit are FWD, Transit is available in FWD (which has a lower chassis and therefore internal floor, so greater internal height for a given body height - H2/H3, no step up when you open the side door), RWD or AWD and single or double rear axles are available.

Transit is the basis also for any coach built versions, either through Ford's One Stop shop (1-way and 3-way Tipper, Dropside, Luton Van, Curtainside) or just supplied as a single or double chassis cab to do with as you please.

The "pignose" as it has affectionately become known isn't a great looker admittedly, but it's as versatile as a Transit ever has been and from people I've sold them to, coming from VWs and Mercs, of a noticeably better quality of build than their old Transits and other makes and present competitors, country of build notwithstanding.

Having spent a fair bit of time now in the old Transit and new ones and Customs, they're all the better for no longer being British built, if anything.
I'd have to agree. It's rare anything we sell now has any major issues within warranty periods (at least).

The only trouble we have is supply. We have a few things we manage to tuck away from prying eyes though.

Rangers are a fantastic product to sell. Like the connect too, not sold on the courier though not sure why they left a need to close the gap between connect and fiestavan

V8 Animal

Original Poster:

5,914 posts

209 months

Thursday 30th October 2014
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No blue vans in stock in either make.
Jan at the earliest.

deeen

6,079 posts

244 months

Thursday 30th October 2014
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Interesting.

I drive a 2012 transit on 86,000 miles and a VW crafter on 152,000. The VW still drives like new, taut suspension, decent brakes, firm seat, etc. The transit feels shagged already and has already eaten 1 oil pump.

Now I realise that was the previous model transit (did they carry the engines over?) but after my experience, if I was putting my money in, it would never be a transit, unless I was going to move it on in less than 50,000 miles and the low initial price / decent resale made it impossible to ignore.

The company that leases the VWs rates them over Mercedes, also.

morrisk1

630 posts

242 months

Thursday 30th October 2014
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We went for a 64 plt Transit Custom Trend LWB (125ps 290). Very happy with it so far, pleasant to sit on the motorway. Has Bluetooth, parking sensors, integrated roof rack and LED lights in the back.

Trust Ford in Barnsley supplied and delivered to us with a good part ex value on our 08 Transit.

New Transit is ugly, has to be said. Custom looks much better.

Little Lofty

3,275 posts

150 months

Thursday 30th October 2014
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I've deliberated over a Transit Custom Sport or a new Renault Trafic Sport for the last month or so. I finally decided to go for the Trafic as I'm pleased with the one I've had for the last couple of years. I liked the Custom but wanted the Sport and just couldn't justify the cost for what is essentially a builders van to me.The lesser Limited model was maybe a contender, but they are thin on the ground at the moment, so I decided to wait until December for the first of the Trafic Sport models to come through. For £14500 + vat (£7k less than the Custom Sport) it's got a lot of kit and the new twin turbo 120bhp engine is Ferrari like compared to my present 2.0 115bhp. I've ordered it but haven't decided how to pay for it yet, contract hire is looking good as it's less than £190 month for two years.

skip_1

3,459 posts

189 months

Thursday 30th October 2014
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mgtony said:
Can't work out why they've designed two front ends, one large ugly snout type grill and one better looking with the grill divided into a narrow one across the lights and the larger one lower down.

Also why have they gone to town and put indicators on the outside of the wing mirrors? Mirrors are regularly clipped or scraped in every day use on a van, even when parked. So now most likely a couple of hundred quid to replace.
The indicators can be replaced separately to the mirror body (£17 and the other guy paid smile ), unlike the Sprinter/Crafter (£100's!).

I have been driving a new full size transit since July. It is a really good van that pulls well (125 LWB). The load space is bigger as the van has a more upright bulkhead to the old Transit and is taller. There is no longer a storage locker above the drivers can in MR/HR due to overhead storage in the cab instead.

The cab itself is nice, decent storage and now features under seat storage like the Sprinter. The van drives even better than the previous gen and is more comfy (I never could get comfy in the last model, but no complaints in this one). The standard stereo is also much much better than previous. I would have liked to have seen the quick clear windscreen as standard though.

bigvanfan

378 posts

131 months

Thursday 30th October 2014
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Anyone with a custom having fuel consumption issues?,I was really considering a custom to replace my 12 plate transporter, I spoke to a customer who had a really nice custom but said he was getting 20mpg(it's a 125 hp version) after a dealer visit he's up to 29mpg he's not happy, also said the van centre were changing 3 oil pumps a week on the new engines. Back to vw for me

Dr Interceptor

7,743 posts

195 months

Friday 31st October 2014
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bigvanfan said:
Anyone with a custom having fuel consumption issues?,I was really considering a custom to replace my 12 plate transporter, I spoke to a customer who had a really nice custom but said he was getting 20mpg(it's a 125 hp version) after a dealer visit he's up to 29mpg he's not happy, also said the van centre were changing 3 oil pumps a week on the new engines. Back to vw for me
I've just driven my Custom Sport (155ps) to the Algarve and back, putting 1850 miles on it in just over a week, the van is now up to 5000 miles since late August.

It averaged 31mpg for the journey, which considering it was fully laden both ways, and was sat on the motorway at 90mph+, and had to get over the Pyrenees twice isn't too bad.

When it's carrying less kit and being driven sensibly mid to late 30's mpg is what I'd expect to see.

s2sol

1,223 posts

170 months

Friday 31st October 2014
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We had one on trial for a week. It was an L3H3. It was great to drive, but the armrest fell off a couple of times a day, and the whole of the interior looked good, but not durable. I don't think the hinges and locks on the rear doors would last long, either. We do long distance multidrop - between 1000 and 2000 miles a week, and 14 to 30 drops a day.

We're sticking with sprinters.

BMWBen

4,899 posts

200 months

Friday 31st October 2014
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bobbo89 said:
skyrover said:
Last time I checked, that's exactly what the standard transit did... why buy a "custom"?
To compete with the Transporter.

More and more people are buying vans as 'lifestyle' vehicles as they're now a lot more refined and easier to live with. Wont be too long until a camper variant of the custom is brought out.
This. I was transporter owner. The only options for a "lifestyle" van were the transporter (really expensive and not actually very good) and the vito (horrendous reputation for falling apart). The transit was too big (doesn't fit in a parking space) and too ugly.

I now own a Custom Sportvan and I love it. Small enough, still very practical, lots of toys, very quiet in the cab, very comfortable, ford prices.

Edited by BMWBen on Friday 31st October 08:38

BMWBen

4,899 posts

200 months

Friday 31st October 2014
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bigvanfan said:
Anyone with a custom having fuel consumption issues?,I was really considering a custom to replace my 12 plate transporter, I spoke to a customer who had a really nice custom but said he was getting 20mpg(it's a 125 hp version) after a dealer visit he's up to 29mpg he's not happy, also said the van centre were changing 3 oil pumps a week on the new engines. Back to vw for me
Mine went to croatia and back towing 2 boats on a trailer and got 36-38 mpg (can't really cruise at 90 with a trailer!).

When I'm driving it around in the uk, I'm getting 32-34mpg and I don't hold back. Goes down to 30 if I drive around with my foot stuck completely to the floor.

Sportvan 155ps.

Little Lofty

3,275 posts

150 months

Friday 31st October 2014
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From what I picked up on the transit forum when I was looking at customs, the 155 seems to be more economical than the 125

flatso

1,240 posts

128 months

Friday 31st October 2014
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BMWBen said:
This. I was transporter owner. The only options for a "lifestyle" van were the transporter (really expensive and not actually very good) and the vito (horrendous reputation for falling apart). The transit was too big (doesn't fit in a parking space) and too ugly.

I now own a Custom Sportvan and I love it. Small enough, still very practical, lots of toys, very quiet in the cab, very comfortable, ford prices.

Edited by BMWBen on Friday 31st October 08:38
Vans offer a lot of bang for the buck, especially if you have kids and want to travel a lot with them. With speed cameras now more or less ubiqutous in almost all european countries (Germany still offers a bit of freedom, Gott sei Dank), the name of the game ist now space (which translates into a form of comfort) and versatility. I am also looking into vans, prefferably some light camper style; the ultimate would be a fullsize van with off-road capability and sleeping for 2 adults + 2 kids, a small galley and shower.

By the way, the Crafter is basically a Sprinter with a VW badge. They roll off the same plant in Düsseldorf as far as I know.

V8 Animal

Original Poster:

5,914 posts

209 months

Friday 31st October 2014
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I'm getting more interaction with Ford but very little help with VW but saying that I reckon I'm going with VW
Once bought I would never see the sales people again it's the vans Im interested in.