Ford Transit Connect

Ford’s successful Transit Connect and Tourneo Connect have undergone extensive changes with a new fresh look, new features and higher quality levels.

Steve Kimber, commercial vehicles director, Ford of Britain, said: “Commercial vehicles are much more than simply a means of transporting goods; they are also a workplace and professional drivers often spend a full day in the vehicle. The new features on the Connect range make this driving and working experience as convenient and safe as possible.”

For 2009, the design of the Transit/Tourneo Connect range has been revised to echo the Ford ‘kinetic design’ language featured on the company’s latest passenger car line-up. There is a new trapezoidal shape to the front bumper and grille, new headlamps and tail-lamps complete the fresh appearance.  New details like body side mouldings and redesigned alloy wheels contribute to the contemporary approach.

The interior has also undergone a significant update. The design of the new dashboard has clearly been influenced by the luxurious Ford S-MAX.  Together, the new seats and interior colour scheme result in a highly comfortable and car-like environment. There is generous storage space for driver and passenger, which makes the working day easier. In addition, great care was taken to further upgrade interior craftsmanship and quality with the use of durable new materials.

For the new model, Ford is upgrading the active safety features of the Transit/Tourneo Connect by offering Electronic Stability Program (ESP) as standard across the entire range. ESP for the Connect range also includes Anti Lock Brakes (ABS) with Hydraulic Brake Assist (HBA) as well as Active Yaw Control (AYC), Roll Over Mitigation (ROM) and Roll Movement Intervention (RMI).

The ROM and RMI system is integrated into the ESP to increase driving safety. While this integrated system applies braking to the front wheels the engine torque is reduced to zero. These combined actions generate understeer and reduce the vehicle’s road speed in order to decrease lateral acceleration and minimise the possibility of a rollover. As soon as the potential rollover situation has passed, the system stops the braking and engine intervention for normal driving to resume.

The new braking system electronics also include Ford’s Hill Launch Assist (HLA). First applied to Ford’s large and luxury passenger car vehicles and already available to the larger Transit range, this new technology uses the braking system to hold the vehicle on a gradient and prevent it from rolling. HLA maintains pressure to the braking system and provides a two-and-a-half second delay while the driver’s foot moves from the brake pedal to the accelerator pedal.

In parallel to the electronic changes the brake hardware was upgraded to ventilated discs at the front and rear solid discs for all versions. All of these upgrades ensure the new Connect models offer enhanced active safety in all driving situations regardless of load conditions.

On the passive safety side, all new Connect vehicles have a driver airbag as standard, while a passenger airbag is standard for Tourneo Connect and optional for Transit Connect. Side airbags can be ordered for all variants, and they are standard with the Sport Van series.

The core of this tough, durable commercial vehicle remains unchanged. Transit Connect is built on a dedicated commercial vehicle architecture with MacPherson struts at the front and heavy duty commercial vehicle axles with single leaf springs at the rear. All Transit Connect models are designed and engineered to be as tough as a full-size Transit, but also offer a level of confidence and driving pleasure to exceed the expectations for light commercial vehicles in this class.

The new Connect range has been devised to offer high specification levels and comprehensive standard features. Starting with the entry-level model, standard features include power windows and a remote double locking system.

The Trend series adds front fog lights, power mirrors, heated windscreen, trip computer, voice control and Bluetooth®, rain-sensing wipers and auto headlamps.  Silver-coloured interior applications and an optional blue colour scheme add to the car-like feeling.

At the top-of-the-range, the Limited includes features such as air conditioning, body-coloured handles, chrome front grille and rear park-assist sensors.

Transit Connect is available in short wheelbase/low roof and long wheelbase/high roof designs. The Tourneo Connect comes as a long wheelbase, high roof. The generic vehicle design was targeted to meet an optimum balance of vehicle length and cargo capacity. The Transit Connect with short wheelbase (SWB) has a compact overall length of just 4.275 metres, but offers a generous cargo volume of 2.8 cubic metres – and the standard fold-flat passenger seat increases this to 3.4 cubic metres.

The long wheel base (LWB) adds another 25cm to the overall length and around 17cm to the load box heights, resulting in a 4.4 cubic metre loadspace with fold flat passenger seats. In all van versions, the load box width between the wheel arches is wider than 1.2 metres to make sure that standard sized cargo like Euro pallets can be laden with ease. In selected markets both the long and short wheelbase vans can be ordered in a Crew Van configuration to provide seating for up to five people.

All Connect vans can be ordered with regular or upgraded payload versions, offering a gross payload of up to 900kg. To give access to the cargo area, a wide choice of rear and side door openings can be ordered.

Load security is mandatory for vans – Transit Connect has a standard full steel foldable mesh bulkhead with solid tie-down hooks; this arrangement makes best use of the fold flat passenger seat. A full steel bulkhead is also available and can be specified with a glazed window. All of these load restraint systems are DIN compliant. Standard captive nuts are fitted in the load box area to allow easy racking without the need to drill holes into the body structure.

The Ford Tourneo Connect is designed to deliver a high amount of seat flexibility for both commercial dual purpose customers and leisure use. The second row seat bench can be split-folded away, and the Trend Tourneo Connect comes with a standard third row three-seat bench to make it a full eight seater.

The 1.8-litre Duratorq TDCi engine is available with three different power outputs: the entry-level engine delivers 75PS at 4,000rpm and 175Nm of torque at 1,800rpm. The 90PS version (peak power at 4,000rpm) delivers a nominal maximum torque of 220Nm at 1,750rpm – increasing to 240Nm in the “transient overboost” mode. The passenger car homologated Tourneo Connect with 90PS delivers a combined fuel economy of 44.1 mpg)*, and an average CO2 emission of 167g/km.

The top-of-the-range engine has a peak power of 110PS at 3,500rpm (max. torque 250Nm at 1,500 to 3,200rpm and 280Nm in transient overboost mode). Thanks to its variable turbo geometry, this engine is not only the most powerful but also the most frugal in the range: combined fuel economy is 47.0mpg*, which equates to an average CO2 emission of 159g/km.

All of these engines are combined with a well-stepped five speed manual transmission for high efficiency and ease of operation.

The 90 and 110 PS versions of Transit Connect can be fitted with an optional coated Diesel Particulate Filter (cDPF). Due to the special coating of this closed-loop device, the cDPF needs no additives for operation and is thus maintenance-free.

At the 2009 Geneva Motor Show,  Ford displayed a zero emission concept vehicle that could become part of the European Connect range if customer interest is sufficient.

The Tourneo Connect BEV Concept showcased a full Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) powertrain and was developed in collaboration with Smith Electric Vehicles, the European market’s leading battery electric specialist converter of commercial vehicles, which is part of the UK-based Tanfield Group of companies.

John Fleming, Chairman and CEO, Ford of Europe said: “The technology is already available for commercial vehicle applications, and at the 2009 Chicago Show we confirmed that we will launch, with Tanfield as our partner, the Transit Connect van as a full BEV in North America in 2010. Although conceptual for now, if there is sufficient interest, this silent, zero emission technology could be applied to the Tourneo Connect quite quickly. We think it would be an ideal solution for taxi use, as a hotel shuttle vehicle or similar inner city application,” Fleming added.

The Ford Transit Connect will arrive in the North American market for the first time in summer 2009. This model takes full advantage of the established strengths of the European Transit/Tourneo Connect product family, but is specially tailored to meet US customers’ expectations.

To prepare the Transit Connect for the unique needs of small-businesses in the United States, a Duratec 2.0-litre DOHC four-cylinder petrol engine delivering an estimated 138 SAE horsepower at 6,500 rpm will be mated to a four-speed automatic overdrive transmission. In addition, special features and options exclusive to the US market will be offered, such as the special Tool Link™ and Crew Chief™ tracking systems.

The US version of the Transit Connect is produced alongside the European vehicles in the Ford Otosan assembly plant in Kocaeli, Turkey. This plant has already been producing the European Ford Transit/Tourneo Connect product family since its launch in late 2002.

Ford Transit Connect & Tourneo Connect PRELIMINARY TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS