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| Manufacturer | Ford Motor Company |
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| Production | 2002–present |
| Assembly | Kocaeli, Turkey Craiova, Romania |
| Predecessor | Global: Ford Escort Van Ford Fiesta Courier North America: Ford Aerostar Van |
| Class | Compact MPV |
| Body style | 3-door minivan 4-door minivan |
| Layout | FF layout |
| Platform | Ford C170 platform |
| Engine | 1.8L Duratorq TDCi Diesel I4 2.0L Duratec Gasoline I4 |
| Transmission | 4-speed automatic 5-speed manual |
| Wheelbase | SWB: 2,664 mm (104.9 in) LWB: 2,912 mm (114.6 in) |
| Length | 2007–09 SWB: 4,308 mm (169.6 in) 2004–06 SWB: 4,278 mm (168.4 in) LWB: 4,555 mm (179.3 in) 2010- LWB: 4,590 mm (180.7 in) 2010– SWB: 4,275 mm (168.3 in) |
| Width | 1,795 mm (70.7 in) |
| Height | Pre–2009 SWB: 1,814 mm (71.4 in) LWB: 1,981 mm (78.0 in) 2010– LWB: 2,014 mm (79.3 in) 2010– SWB: 1,815 mm (71.5 in) |
| Related | Ford Focus Ford Tourneo Connect |
The Ford Transit Connect is a compact panel van developed by Ford Europe and designed by Peter Horbury, introduced in 2002 to replace the older Ford Escort and Fiesta-based Courier van ranges, which had ceased production in the same year.
The Ford Tourneo Connect, a leisure activity vehicle, is a Transit Connect with side windows and rear seats. All North American Transit Connects destined for the USA are imported as passenger vehicles to circumvent the 25% "Chicken Tax" on imported light trucks.[1]
The Transit Connect employs the front-wheel drive Ford C170 platform of the original international Ford Focus—the same platform used with the North American Ford Focus before the 2012 model.[2] Other than the name, it shares few components with the Transit. The Connect is manufactured by Otosan in an all new production plant at Gölcük, near Kocaeli, Turkey, and since September 2009 in Craiova, Romania.[3]
The Ford Transit Connect was awarded "Van of the Year 2004" by Professional Van and Light Truck Magazine. In its first year on the North American market, the Transit Connect was awarded "North American Truck of the Year 2010" at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS).[4]
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Since mid-2009, the Transit Connect has been imported to the United States and Canada. It was first shown in the United States at the 2008 Chicago Auto Show and the 2010 production model was introduced at the following year's show on February 11, 2009.[5] The introduction of the North American variant coincided with a mid-cycle facelift which includes a restyled front grille, a deeper front bumper and a new dashboard featuring the switchgear and instrument pod from the C307 Focus.
Initially, only the long-wheelbase version of the van,[6] outfitted with a 2.0L four-cylinder petrol engine and 4 speed automatic transmission, was offered in North America; elsewhere, the 1.8L diesel engine and 5 speed manual transmission was the only available powertrain. An electric version is to follow about a year after launch, converted by Azure Dynamics Corporation at a U.S. facility.[7]
To build up interest and awareness in North America, Transit Connects specifically equipped as "mobile showrooms" were taken to industrial parks and other appropriate venues in 13 U.S. urban areas in May 2009, with the goal of offering 3,000 test drives to small business owners.[8]
Starting in 2011, Ford will offer a Transit Connect XLT Premium Wagon in the USA and Canada, a more stylish and personal version of the utilitarian van. It will include seating for five, rear windows that pop open for ventalation, BLIS blind spot awareness, rear view camera, larger alloy wheels, body-color grille, and front fog lamps. The Transit Connect Wagon is the first Ford minivan since the 2007 discontinuation of the Freestar; however, it is closer in size to the standard length Ford Aerostar sold from 1986 to 1997.
To circumvent the 25% tariff on imported light trucks, Ford imports all Transit Connects as passenger vehicles with rear windows, rear seats and rear seatbelts.[9] The vehicles are exported from Turkey on cargo ships owned by Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics, arrive in Baltimore, and are converted into commercial vehicles at WWL Vehicle Services Americas Inc. facility: rear windows are replaced with metal panels and rear seats removed (except on wagons).[9] The removed parts are then recycled.[9] The process exploits a loophole in the customs definition of a commercial vehicle. As cargo does not need seats with seat belts or rear windows, presence of those items exempts the vehicle from commercial vehicle status. The conversion process costs Ford hundreds of dollars per van, but saves thousands over having to pay the chicken tax.[9] Partly because of this, only the long-wheelbase, high roof configuration is exported to North America. In most places, the high-roof Transit Connect, like most Ford Econoline vans, is unable to access multi-story parking because of its height (6'-6").
The Transit Connect was one of three finalists (alongside the Karsan V-1 and the winner Nissan NV200) for New York City's Taxi of Tomorrow. The winning model was announced in early May 2011 and will be awarded a 10-year contract to serve the city exclusively.[10]
At the 2009 Chicago Auto Show, Ford confirmed development of a battery-powered version of the Transit Connect.[11] Later at the Geneva Auto Show the same year, Ford showed a prototype electric version of the Ford Tourneo Connect passenger van, which is closely related to the Ford Transit Connect. Ford originally announced Smith Electric Vehicles would install the electric drivetrains and lithium-ion battery packs in the vehicles,[12] but they later partnered with Azure Dynamics Corporation instead,[13] with Johnson Controls-Saft as the battery supplier.[14]
Production of the Transit Connect Electric began in December 2010,[15][16] and Azure Dynamics is the official manufacturer of record.[17] The official US Environmental Protection Agency range is 56 mi (90 km) and has a combined city/highway fuel economy rating of 62 miles per gallon gasoline equivalent (3.8 L/100 km equivalent) based on the five-cycle tests using varying driving conditions and climate controls.[18] The electric van costs US$57,400, which more than doubles the price of the gas-powered version even after federal and any state or local incentives for electric vehicles is discounted.[15][16]
The Ford Transit Connect X-press is a much faster[19] version of the Ford Transit Connect. It was created by a team of Ford engineers using the 212BHP[20] engine from the Ford Focus RS as shown on Fifth Gear.
The North American Ford Transit Connect is known to use an oddball key called a Tibbe key. The only other cars using this type of key in the U.S. were Jaguars, Merkurs, and some models of the Mercury Capri. The Tibbe key was designed to have a cylindrical base that is easily twirled in your forefingers. A valet version of the Tibbe key is notably absent from the market.
Canada Post is replacing their fleet of Grumman LLV vans with the Transit Connect after the former are retired.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ford Transit Connect |
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| Minivan | Aerostar | Aerostar | Transit Connect | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Windstar | Windstar | Freestar | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Van | Econoline | Econoline/E-Series | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The contents of this page are derived from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Transit_Connect>
Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License;
additional terms may apply.
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