Ford Transit Van

Like the exterior, the cabin of the Ford Transit Van also looks very basic and functional and might make you remind that it is almost a decade-old vehicle, considering the layout and features from those days.

The all-black dashboard of the Transit Van might look boring, but offers a great sense of practicality, with all the controls in one’s easy reach, while it has small storage spaces here and there. The four-spoke steering wheel of the Transit Van has a basic analogue instrument console with a small blue backlit LCD screen for MID.

The vehicle also comes with a few basic comfort and convenience features like power windows, a music system with four speakers and Bluetooth and manual AC. While the cabin might not look exciting as one would like it to be, the essences of practicality and durability are visible here.

The Ford Transit Van has become a familiar sight in the world, and its design is one of the most easily recognizable ones in the auto business. But that’s where the problem lies. The Transit Van is in the market for a long time in its current guise, which makes it look a bit dated in the company of the new-generation commercial vans. However, the design still looks decent and very purposeful.

At the front, the Ford Transit Van greets you with its huge front fascia, comprising of a slanted bonnet ending up at a large hexagonal grille in the middle. With a honeycomb mesh design, this grille also comes with two vertical slats on the sides. There are large trapezoidal headlamps placed angularly and offer an all-halogen setup. The Transit Van also has a simple all-black front plastic bumper, which provides you with the provision of installing fog lamps as and when needed.

The side profile of the Ford Transit Van looks basic and functional, with the van riding on small 16-inch steel wheels with wheel caps. The body moulding over the rounded wheel arches and on the bottom part of the door panels bring some ruggedness to the otherwise plain design. The door panels of the Transit Van look decent, with the van coming with all-black rearview mirrors and door handles. Even the rear profile of the Ford Transit Van looks functional, with split-opening doors at the back and vertical tail lamps placed on the sides.

The Ford Transit Van is quite decent for a commercial vehicle, with its independent MacPherson-strut, stabilizer bar at the front and leaf springs with heavy-duty gas shock absorbers at the rear making it a proper load haulier. However, this very suspension setup gives it a not-so-comfortable ride quality, which can feel bouncy at times.

For the UAE market, the Ford Transit Van comes solely with a 3.5-litre naturally-aspirated PFDi V6 petrol engine. Channelling the power produced to the rear wheels via a 10-speed automatic transmission, this engine develops a maximum power output of 279 PS and a maximum peak torque output of 355 Nm. There’s also an optional 3.5-litre Ecoboost V6 petrol engine restricted for the ambulance version, which makes 300 PS of power and 509 Nm of torque.

The list of safety features offered in the Ford Transit Van is quite impressive, with inclusions like six airbags, roll stability control, ABS, rear parking camera, tyre pressure monitoring system and hill start assist. It also has Ford Co-Pilot 360 Technology, which consists of features like pre-collision assist with automatic emergency braking, BLIS with cross-traffic alert, lane keeping system, forward collision warning, auto high beam headlamps and rain-sensing wipers.

The Ford Transit Van might have started to show its age in the way it looks inside-out, but it still serves as a hugely practical vehicle which is effortless and efficient to drive and own.