1st Drive Evaluation
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Ford’;s “unminivan” is not un-enjoyable to drive. But is it a great household truckster?
By each and every affordable definition, the 2014 Ford Transit Connect Wagon is a minivan. It’s a van. It is modest. Ergo, it’s a minivan. Duh. But Ford is touting it as the “unminivan,” even turning the term into a hashtag for marketing purposes.
But, by suggesting that the Transit Connect Wagon is anything it is not, or a lot more accurately, saying that it isn’t something that it is, Ford is muddling what tends to make the vehicle distinctive. It is a delightfully simple, fuel-efficient, and space-efficient minibus that is fairly low on frills but extremely higher on usefulness. It is equal parts utility van and compact automobile. As such, it stands in stark contrast to the heavy and bloated road whales at present getting marketed below that modern day misnomer of “minivan.” Okay, we suppose in that respect, it is indeed the “unminivan.”
Advertising and marketing bluster aside, the Transit Connect Wagon is normally fairly likable. Primarily based on Ford’s global C platform, which also underpins the Focus and the Escape, among other items, the Transit Connect Wagon drives a lot more like a modest auto than a minivan or a utility vehicle, with surprisingly quick turn-in and some semblance of road feel via the wheel. Our test drive was limited to the confines of Ford’s Dearborn proving grounds, where the Ford hounds assured us that we would maintain sane speeds, but we came away impressed with its light-on-its-feet demeanor and the way in which it typically quashed body motions. Thanks to its special suspension tuning compared to the cargo van, added sound insulation, and fully lined ceiling and walls, it is significantly quieter than the cargo model with which it shares its slab-sided physique, highly styled dashboard, and fuel-efficient powertrains.
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We sampled the quick-wheelbase, 5-passenger wagon with the optional 178-hp 1.6-liter EcoBoost 4-cylinder engine, as nicely as a long-wheelbase, 6-passenger model powered by its only engine, the 169-hp 2.5-liter 4-cylinder. Even with 3 aboard, the quick-wheelbase EcoBoost model felt the friskiest—no surprise there—with some turbo lag but enough scoot after the turbo rush kicked in. The 2.5, for its element, didn’t look to lack power below our benign driving regimen, but it may want for far more oomph if far more seats had been filled. And for what it’s worth, the EcoBoost engine—a $ 795 choice on the short-wheelbase model—achieves 1 to 2 more mpg than the 2.5, according to EPA estimates.
Virtually a Minivan
Most Transit Connect Wagon consumers will be satisfied with merely sufficient performance for them, the ability to carry folks and things is far much more essential. Ingress and egress are a cinch—there’s no ascent to the driver’s seat, you just open the tall door and slide in sideways. The rear seats are set equally low in the structure, amplifying the impression of Notre Dame–like headroom, though taller passengers may possibly be looking at the tops of their knees. Overlook placing the rest of the basketball squad in the far back—that space is strictly for youngsters. Additionally, the second-row seats are rather cumbersome to fold flat and/or obtain access to the third row.
Outward vision is amazing to the front and side, and is certainly far better than the cargo model out the rear. The cabin’s ergonomics will be familiar to any individual who’s driven other current Ford cars: the instruments are housed in a hexagonal cluster, even though ancillaries are displayed within a cowl-covered data screen (with offered MyFord Touch and Sync) perched above banks of stylized audio and climate controls. As with the cargo version, the Transit Connect Wagon features a complete-width aircraft-style shelf above the front visors for little things like, say, an iPad to show movies to the kids, since the Transit Connect does not offer a rear-seat entertainment method. And of course, all-in cargo space (104.2 cubic feet of it in the lengthy-wheelbase version) is pretty outstanding. Thank you, flat-folding seats, T-square walls, and sky-higher roof.
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But alas, there is a palpable cheapness inside that a single never ever experiences in other modern day minivans, evidenced in glimpses of physique colour in the A-pillars, exposed seat hardware, and challenging plastics covering pretty much almost everything that you cannot sit or stand on, amongst other factors. And several of the myriad possibilities taken for granted in minivan-dom, such as accessible multizone automatic climate handle, premium audio systems, power sliding doors and tailgates, and sunroofs that open—are missing from the Transit Connect Wagon.
Then there’s the matter of value. At $ 25,520, the cheapest, brief-wheelbase, 5-passenger wagon fees virtually as considerably as a loaded Mazda 5 Grand Touring or a base C-Max hybrid, the latter achieving roughly 17 a lot more mpg. A completely dressed 6-passenger model with MyFord Touch, leather seats, and a fixed-glass moonroof can surpass $ 34K, at which point any quantity of “proper” minivans, to say nothing of the V-6–powered, 6-passenger Flex, represent very appealing options.
If there is a sweet spot for the Transit Connect Wagon, it would be in 2-row, quick-wheelbase form with EcoBoost and Sync. In that 5-seat guise, it does not take itself too seriously, with favorable dynamics, fuel efficiency, and bread-box utility. Anything else, and it’s trying to be a true minivan. And we’ll give in and agree with Ford on that: It’s one of those.
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