G14 AUTOMOTIVE THE CAR PAGES Delivering just enough for the city
traffic. But I get paid to drive them. What I’ve noticed in my years of writing about cars and trucks is that lots of little guys world- wide spend their workdays haul- ing little stuff — usually in con- gested cities where big pickup trucks and vans make little sense. They use little trucks, or other smallish conveyances that better fit their work and living environ- ments.
I
One of those little trucks, in wide use in Western Europe, is the Ford Transit Connect. It has an appearance reminiscent of the Colorado River basin’s humpback chub, a small fish with a long snout and a pronounced hump behind its head. The humpback chub is built more for maneuvering between rock crevices and through other small spaces than it is for speed. The design of the Transit Connect is based on a similar concept. It is meant to move efficiently through man-made canyons of concrete and steel — to pick up and deliver without appreciably worsening the congestion found in those places. But the Transit Connect, equipped with a 2-liter four-cyl- inder engine (136 horsepower, 128 foot-pounds of torque), also fares well on expressways and highways, assuming it’s driven with a modicum of common sense. That means maintaining residence in the slower lanes — right and middle. It means stay- ing out of the acceleration lane, the left lane, unless it is absolute- ly necessary to use that strip. I fell in love with the Transit
Connect in London and Rome, where I noticed its ability to de- liver and collect goods with much greater ease than larger trucks. The little trucks were in and out of pickup and delivery spots in a fraction of the time of the big trucks, many of which were car- rying similar amounts and types of packaged and bundled goods.
’m a little guy who normally hauls little stuff. I often look foolish in big trucks with big engines, especially in city
2010 Ford Transit Connect XLT NUTS & BOLTS
Bottom line: One size, of course, does not fit all. But that’s one size, large or small. Trying to get around delivery trucks on D.C. or Manhattan streets would be a heck of a lot easier with trucks configured like the Transit Connect than with trucks having unnecessarily large engines and bodies.
Ride, acceleration and handling: All three are good, depending on HOW the Transit Connect is used. This isn’t a go-kart or sports car. It can easily be modified for personal use. But its main purpose is to pick up and deliver loads in congested spaces without using much fuel. It does this quite well, as I discovered in the transportation of new furniture and equipment for my home office.
Head-turning quotient: It attracted the attention of small-business owners everywhere I went in Northern Virginia. They literally were crawling in and out of the thing, trying to figure out how they could use it on their pickup and delivery routes.
Body style/layout: A compact, front-wheel-drive, front-engine pickup-delivery truck. It has two seats up front (a second row of seats is optional) and a large, high-roofed cargo area in the rear. The cargo section can be configured in many ways for a variety of needs. Standard rear doors are the swing-out type.
Engine/transmission: The standard engine currently offered in the United States is a 2-liter in-line four-cylinder with a maximum 136 horsepower and 128 foot-pounds of torque. It is mated to a four-speed automatic transmission.
Capacities: Standard seating for two, optional for two more. The two-seat model has a maximum 135.3 cubic feet of cargo space. It can carry a payload of 1,600 pounds. Fuel capacity is 15.4 gallons (regular gasoline is recommended).
FORD MOTOR VIA WIECK
WARREN BROWN On Wheels
The Transit Connect simply
makes more sense in urban spaces. It’s to Ford’s credit that its executives have overcome the bigger-is-better mentality of the truck market in the United States and brought the Transit Connect here. It’s also a risky business deci- sion in an environment where the urban transportation of any-
thing, including flowers, seems to require a medium-size or large truck, van, or sport-utility vehicle with six, eight or more cylinders. Maybe, now that “going green” is American chic, the little Tran- sit Connect has a chance of mak- ing it in a country that grew fat and rich by supersizing every- thing from hamburgers to houses. I hope so. I drove a 2010 Transit Connect
panel van for a week and am ea- gerly looking forward to driving future models, especially if Ford decides to bring a diesel version to these shores. Today’s advanced diesel en- gines come with low tailpipe and noise pollution. They also are 30 percent more fuel-efficient than
gasoline-powered models. In- stalled in the Transit Connect, that means a delivery truck with big utility, a small footprint, re- duced tailpipe and noise pollu- tion, and increased fuel efficiency in an urban setting. There also is the possibility of a gas-electric hybrid, or an all- electric model.
Am I proselytizing here? Yes. Not all trucks need long wheel- bases, wide tracks or body-on- frame construction. Not all of them need six-, eight- or 10-cylin- der engines. It’s time to end auto- motive overkill in the nation’s cit- ies. The Transit Connect is a way to start.
brownw@washpost.com Brown is a special correspondent.
Fuel economy: You get 20 miles a gallon in the city and 25 on the highway unloaded. Actual mileage depends on cargo load, road conditions and speed.
Safety: Standard equipment includes ventilated front disc brakes, rear drum brakes, four-wheel anti-lock brake protection, and side air bags in addition to front bags for driver and front passenger. Electronic stability and traction control are optional.
Price: Base price is $22,245; dealer price, $20,178. Price as tested is $24,925, including $1,985 in options and a $695 destination charge. Dealer’s price as tested is $23,059. A $500 rebate is available.
on
washingtonpost.com Chat with Warren Brown
11 a.m. Fridays at
washingtonpost.com/discussions. Also, listen to On Wheels with Warren Brown from noon to 1 p.m. Sundays on WMET World Radio (1160 AM) or
www.wmet1160.com.
3Next week: The 2011 Infiniti Q56. So out of place, out of touch and potentially out of gas.
6washingtonpost.com/cars Search a database of past reviews, plus the latest auto news.
OPQRS
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SUNDAY, JUNE 13, 2010
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