The neighbour's Transit Connect

-Have you taken the neighbor's car?!

Great cheerfulness from the crew at the ISI recycling station when I opened the back doors of the van. The registration number "NABOBIL" clearly indicated where I had picked up the car. It was close to where I work, and could be unlocked with an app. Neighbor car is the Airbnb of car owners. Private car owners let others rent their cars when they don't need them themselves. An alternative to car pool and rental car. Du can also rent this car at www.nabobil.no.

Van in all classes

Ford has a complete range of vans. Transit Courier (4 m), Transit Connect (4,5 m), Transit Custom (5 m) and Transit (5,5 m). Tonight's car is a Transit Connect long edition. The advantage of the long version is that you can bring in objects over 2 metres. An astonishing number of objects within flat-packed furniture, home furnishings and construction equipment are around 2 metres. In addition, there is a loading hatch in the wall of the warehouse.

Long edition (L2)

It was last weekend's garage clearance that made me rent a van. A considerable amount of bundled cardboard packaging, hard-packed sacks of paint plastic and Christmas paper had been piously sorted for the recycling station at ISI – where the Bæringene take their rubbish. If you come with a van full of unsorted rubbish, it can take a long time at the station. It therefore pays to sort at home in your own garage before setting off.

The "neighbor's" Transit Connect was only a little more than half full after I had loaded up. Choosing the long version has no negative consequences for the driving characteristics. On the contrary. It can still fit in normal parking spaces, although with a towbar it barely exceeds the 5 meter mark. I think the cargo space is impressively large for a small van.

3 seats

The seating arrangement is 1 + 2, i.e. a 3-seater, given that the third person is a bit sporty. The decor gave me flashbacks to the old Transit mk1 and D series. Good memories of simple and functional commercial vehicles. The new Transit Connect joins this range. I feel comfortable behind the wheel. It feels airy. The windshield is huge, like a bus. The dashboard follows Ford's theme with a large central button cluster. More practical than elegant. The 2018 models have received an upgrade to the infotainment part of the dashboard.

1,5 TDCI with Powershift

The engine is 1,5 TDCI which produces 120 HP and torque 270 Nm between 1750 and 2600 revolutions. It is quiet and performs like a 2-litre did a couple of years ago. Ford was early in downsizing its engines. If you take care to stay within the favorable rpm interval, I think it is possible to drive very economically with this car. The cash register does an excellent job in this respect. Powershift is Ford's dualclutch solution. Compared to Volkswagen's DSG, it seems that the first gear in Ford's 6-speed gearbox is somewhat higher than in the 7-speed gearboxes from VW/Audi. The automatic clutch engages a little harder when starting up. I also noted that you can feel on the gear lever that a gear is engaged, just like a manual gear lever. The DSG gear lever is, by comparison, completely dead.

Ford cars are fun to drive. The Transit Connect sits well and steadily on the road and the steering is direct, for a van. The drivetrain is made for a car like this. The engine was barely audible. At low speed, you cannot escape a "boomy" sound that is typical of vans. In road traffic it gradually disappeared. This is a car that thrives on country roads and motorways. Up the E16 on the last hill, in the 90-zone towards ISI, Powershift held sixth gear effortlessly while the revs were below 2000. Then I felt like taking the car on a proper long trip, – over Sollihøgda and all the way to the west country, or thereabouts.

- But that will have to be another time.

The Ford Transit Connect with 1,5 Tdci and Powershift is a great combination for all distribution tasks.

The instrument panel seems a little cramped, but has everything you need.

Powershift is Ford's double clutch solution. The shifts were well programmed to the turbo diesel's torque curve.

The infotainment display has been upgraded in the 2018 models. This is the display in the 2016 model. Fortunately with DAB radio.

Cool registration number!

Ford Transit Connect mk2

See

Facts Ford Transit Connect

Available in 2 lengths L1 and L2. L1 loads 2,93 cubic metres, L2 loads 3,63 cubic metres. Both can take 2 European pallets.

Guide prices (Feb. 2018):
254 L000 1 TDCI 1,5 HP Trend
279 L000 1 TDCI 1,5 HP Powershift Trend
266 L000 2 TDCI 1,5 HP Trend
291 L000 2 TDCI 1,5 HP Powershift Trend

Outer dimensions (Length/width/height in cm):
L1: 441/183/186 cm
L2: 481/183/186 cm

Source: www.ford.no