Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/378850
26 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 L ater this year, Ford's new Transit will hit dealership lots and usher in a new era for the com- pany's commercial vans. Ford plans to replace its E-Series, the most popular commercial van in the United States for more than 30 years, with the Transit, the most popular commercial van in Europe for nearly 50 years. I recently had the chance to put several new Transit 350 vans on the roads of Kansas City, Mo., in the shadows of the Ford Assembly Plant where they are made. The van is available in three roof heights: low (83.6-inch vehicle height, 56.9-inch interior cargo height), medium (100.8-inch vehicle height, 72-inch inte- rior cargo height) and high (110.1-inch vehicle height, 81.5-inch interior cargo height). It features three engine options (3.7-liter V6, 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 and 3.2-liter inline-five PowerStroke diesel) and two wheelbases (148 inches and 148 inches extended). Each engine is matched with a six-speed SelectShift automatic transmission. Engine configurations The standard 3.7-liter V6 gets 19 percent better EPA-estimated highway fuel economy than E-Series' standard gas engine. Each test unit was loaded with a little more than a ton of rubber mats strapped to the cargo floor, but all pushed the load around the city with ease. When equipped with the 310-horse- power EcoBoost engine, Transit low- and medium-roof regular wheelbase wagons get a 14 mpg city/19 mpg highway EPA-estimated rating. That reflects an improvement of as much as 46 percent compared with the 10 mpg city/13 mpg highway EPA-estimated rating for the Ford E-Series 6.8-liter V10 gas engine. The twin-turbo EcoBoost provided ample power in my drive around Kansas City, darting in and out of traffic under normal highway and merging condi- tions. It will be a formidable replacement for the V10 with even Ford's most devout E-Series customers. The PowerStroke effortlessly pushed the 148-inch wheelbase high-roof van through both highway and city traf- fic. The PowerStroke puts out about 185 horsepower in this van, which is more than enough considering the van's load capacity of 4,650 pounds and a tow capacity of 7,500 pounds. The PowerStroke provides 90 percent of its peak torque from 1,500 to 2,750 rpm. Quick-start glow plugs offer fast startups at temperatures as low as mi- nus10 degrees Fahrenheit, and a variable geometry turbocharger helps deliver quick power. It may seem to some that the Power- Stroke and EcoBoost engines are over- powered somewhat in these vans, but I think that's a good problem to have. The vans offer a lot more cargo space over the E-Series, and the uptick in horsepower means you've got more juice to help move more freight in fewer trips. Cargo space The high-roof Transit is the tallest Ford makes, and there's headroom to spare. You can be 6-foot-4 and still stand up while loading and unloading cargo. At 5-foot-9, I could stand comfortably in the medium-roof configuration. The high-roof van's height almost is imposing to onlookers. It's tall, but the frame's unibody construction removes a lot – if not all – of its "top-heavy" feel. I pushed the van pretty hard through the slalom course to see if it would get a little sloppy, but it never did. I gave a lot of credit for that to the dual rear wheel The high-roof Transit is the tallest Ford makes, and there's headroom to spare. FORD MAKING TRANSIT-ION Company nails attempt at global commercial van BY JASON CANNON C C J T E S T D R I V E : F O R D T R A N S I T While Kenworth's K370 still shares some strong exterior cosmetic features with DAF – namely its Euro 6 cab – it's a NAFTA-capable truck. The Ford Transit offers more cargo space over the E-Series, and the uptick in horsepower means more juice to help move more freight in fewer trips.