FORD had two really great years. In this time it launched the best bakkie in South Africa – the Ranger – and the best affordable small car – the Figo. And it also introduced the new Focus and Fiesta! And to top it all, just recently it launched its van range.
The Ford van range offers an eight-seater luxury people mover, the Tourneo, and its cargo sister, the Transit. They both use the brilliant 2.2 litre turbo-diesel engine made in Port Elizabeth. It is the same engine fitted to the Ranger bakkies, and offers a lot of power to work with.
They are fitted with six forward gears, so fuel consumption is excellent. The sixth gear is almost like a long overdrive, helping to give impressive highway consumption figures of under six litres per 100 km. Ford claims that you should get 6.5 litres per 100 km for general driving. But based on my experience, I think you will get around 7 litres per 100 km and closer to 7.5 when fully laden – still an awesome figure.
Top speed is over 150 km/h. Acceleration is car-like. With the smooth gearbox and easy clutch, changing gears becomes second nature the first time you drive these vans.
You are helped by the hill launch assist function, which holds the van for a moment when you take your foot off the brake to pull away without effort, even on a hill. The turning circle is around 12 metres.
The vans come fitted with all the important safety features, including ABS with EBD, stability control, and solid disks at the back. Airbags are standard for both driver and front passenger as well as side airbags.
These vans are safe and practical. You could say they are class leaders…
The interior of especially the Tourneo is well designed and fully equipped. The front windows are powered. Fitted as standard is air- conditioning with filter-air pollen purifier, heated fully adjustable front seats, carpets throughout, courtesy lights and all the normal bottle holders and pouches.
The middle and rear seats fold completely and can be relatively easily removed to make a huge cargo space. The Tourneo has more space behind the rear seats than any of its competitors.
There are three power points, a good sound system with USB, Bluetooth, auxiliary connections, arm rests and eight coat hooks.
The cabin is very pleasant and will be great for touring.
The Tourneo is effortless to drive… much like a big car. Even reversing is easy, thanks to the park distance sensors and split rear view mirrors with normal and wide angle mirrors. Visibility is excellent.
Acceleration is good, especially when overtaking. You just need to drop a gear and away she goes. It cruises at 120 km/h with ease.
Cornering is impressive for such a tall vehicle (two metres high) and you always feel confident. Both handling and road holding set new standards for medium-sized vans.
Ford spares are generally very affordable and available, so keeping your vehicle on the road should be easy. The new Fords all drive well, have good roadholding, and appear to be really well built.
The Tourneo is the perfect shuttle or courtesy bus. But take out the seats and you have a cargo van!
All Ford vans come with a four year or 120 000 km warranty plus five year unlimited km corrosion guarantee.
Service intervals are 15 000 km.
Ford Tourneo passenger buses:
Ambiente SWB – LP @ R385 600
Trend SWB – MP @ R408 200
Ambiente LWB – LP @ R392 600
Ambiente LWB – LP @ R415 100
Ford Transit cargo vans:
2.2 Ambiente SWB – LP @ R303 100
2.2 Ambiente LWB – LP @ R310 100
2.2 Ambiente SWB – MP @ R306 800
2.2 Ambiente LWB – MP @ R317 800
2.2 Sport – HP @ R365 000
(Prices include VAT)
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