Utes are the hottest segment in Australia right now, but what about the other commercial staple, the humble van?
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, the dual-cab ute is a deeply compromised family hauler.
Ford Rangers and Toyota Hiluxes might be the vehicle-du-jour at the moment selling the dream of doing weekly dirty work and opening up a whole new world of weekend adventures.
But what about the poor van? Kombis, Transits and Sprinters have been doing double-duty as family-cum-work vehicles for much longer than utes.
Yet in Australia, mid-size vans account for a lowly two percent of the market, and a lot of those sales are from delivery fleets. Combine 4×4 and 4×2 utes and you get nearly 20 percent of sales — yikes.
We’re driving the new Ford Transit Custom in family-oriented (but not workshy) Sport guise with two rows of seating to see if the van deserves more love in Australia.
It should have a solid chance, with fairly spiffy cabin appointments including blue-accented cloth upholstery and a large touchscreen with wireless smartphone mirroring.
Driving should be pretty sophisticated as well, with a rear bulkhead insulating the passengers from the classic van rumble. Plus, Ford’s engineered the new Transit Custom with multi-link, independent rear suspension. Sounds sophisticated to us.
What is it? It’s a van! But this isn’t just any van, it’s one for the whole fam’, packing two rows of seating into the body with a bulkhead separating the cabin from cargo space.
Sport is the top trim level in the Transit Custom world until the 4×4 Trail arrives, and ours is the long wheelbase. Only options are premium paint, which ours has (Agate Silver, $700), and the ability to swap the standard barn doors for a lifting tailgate.
What’s a Transit Custom? As a nameplate, it’s right up there with Porsche 911 and Land Rover Defender for icon status. So if you don’t know what a Ford Transit is, well, you should. That said, this second-generation Transit Custom is a fresher face in Ford’s van family.
It sits below the full-size Transit as rival to other mid-size vans, such as the Toyota Hiace, Hyundai Staria, LDV V70, and related Volkswagen Transporter T7. Again, due to this vehicle’s configuration, it might be able to tempt Kia Carnival and the new MQB Evo-based VW Multivan buyers to go a bit more commercial.
The Transit Custom Sport LWB measures 5450mm long, 2275mm wide (including mirrors), 1991mm tall and rides on the extended 3500mm wheelbase. With five seats, the load space is, naturally, a little smaller, than a single-row option.
It is still generous, with the Transit Custom’s load bay measuring 1392mm wide between the arches, a height of 1425mm, and length of 2004mm for a total load space of 4.3 cubic metres. Payload is up to 1058kg.
For context, the two-seat Trend LWB has a comparatively huge 6.8 cubic metres with payloads up to 1223kg. All Transit Customs can tow up to 2500kg (braked).
Outside of pure van life, the Transit Custom underpinnings are also used for the Ford Tourneo people mover. Meanwhile, Ford is introducing a four-wheel-drive Transit Custom trail later this year for adventure seekers.
How much is it? At the top of the Transit Custom tree is our Sport DCiV which costs $62,990, before on-road costs.
What’s the spec of our car? The Sport comes with the following equipment.
How long is it sticking around for? We’re in the Transit Custom for three months and more than 5000km, and it’ll be followed up by its Kia Carnival-rivalling people-mover sibling, the Tourneo.
What are we going to do with it? Everything we can. Weekends away, using it as the audio-visual packhorse, taking it to the shops (with carparks that boast more than 2.0 metres of height clearance), and packing five people in. It’s even going on a rock and roll tour with The Rubens!
Ford only offers the Transit Custom with one diesel engine, a 125kW/390Nm 2.0-litre single-turbo four cylinder.
Performance is remarkably effortless around town considering it weighs nearly 2.2 tonnes, you can thank the well-calibrated eight-speed automatic transmission and good sound insulation. A 10-second flat 0-100km/h run feels plenty rapid for this kind of vehicle
Ford’s bringing two more powertrains to the mid-size van later this year, the petrol-based plug-in hybrid and a fully electric version, too. Our diesel has an official 8.0L/100km combined fuel claim.
Key specs (as tested)
About Chasing cars
Chasing Cars reviews are 100% independent.
Because we are powered by Budget Direct Insurance, we don’t receive advertising or sales revenue from car manufacturers.
We’re truly independent – giving you Australia’s best car reviews.
The estimate provided does not take into account your personal circumstances but is intended to give a general indication of the cost of insurance, in order to obtain a complete quote, please visit www.budgetdirect.com.au. Estimate includes 15%^ online discount.
^Conditions Apply
Budget Direct Insurance arranged by Auto & General Services Pty Ltd ACN 003 617 909(AGS) AFSL 241 411, for and on behalf of the insurer, Auto & General Insurance Company Limited(ABN 42 111 586 353, AFSL 285 571).Because we don’t know your financial needs, we can’t advise you if this insurance will suit you. You should consider your needs and the Product Disclosure Statement before making a decision to buy insurance. Terms and conditions apply.
Indicative quote based on assumptions including postcode , 40 year old male with no offences, licence suspensions or claims in the last 5 years, a NCD Rating 1 and no younger drivers listed. White car, driven up to 10,000kms a year, unfinanced, with no modifications, factory options and/or non-standard accessories, private use only and garaged at night.
^Online Discounts Terms & Conditions
1. Discounts apply to the premium paid for a new Budget Direct Gold Comprehensive Car Insurance, Third Party Property Only or Third Party Property, Fire & Theft Insurance policy initiated online on or after 29 March 2017. Discounts do not apply to optional Roadside Assistance.
2. Discounts do not apply to any renewal offer of insurance.
3. Discounts only apply to the insurance portion of the premium. Discounts are applied before government charges, taxes, levies and fees, including instalment processing fees (as applicable). The full extent of discounts may therefore be impacted.
4. We reserve the right to change the offer without notice.