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TheCarConnection.com has driven the 2010 Ford Transit Connect to bring you this hands-on review that covers styling, performance, safety, utility, and features from on-the-road observations. TheCarConnection.com's editors also researched reviews from other sources to give you a comprehensive range of opinions from around the Web-and to help you decide which ones to trust. High Gear Media drove a manufacturer-provided Ford Transit Connect to produce this hands-on road test.
Likes:
- unique cargo proposition
- Far better gas mileage than a full-size van
- Proven engine and transmission
- customizer's delight
Dislikes:
- No diesel engine option
- Missing convenience features
- Leisurely acceleration
It's new to the United States for 2010, but more than 600,000 Ford Transit Connect small delivery vans have been sold in Europe and elsewhere since 2003. Ford brought the 2010 Transit Connect Stateside in the hopes of cultivating a small but loyal audience for the oddly endearing van; it plans to build the next generation in an American factory. Designed from scratch as a cargo vehicle, the Transit Connect comes in passenger and cargo versions, with seating for up to five, and carries a base price of $21,475. It's unique, but may compete most closely with the 2010 Honda Element, another cargo-hauling specialty utility vehicle, and the 2010 Chevrolet HHR Panel Van.
There's not a lot to say about the styling of the Transit Connect. The front end is a variation on Ford's large headlights and horizontal-bar grille, but it looks like a small van, and it is. We suspect many will be painted white and quickly become an invisible part of numerous urban landscapes. Inside, the 2010 Ford Transit Connect betrays its European origins only occasionally. One example: The electric window switches are mounted on the center tunnel rather than on the doors.
The 2010 Ford Transit Connect is powered by a 136-horsepower, 2.0-liter Duratec engine. It's mated to a four-speed automatic transmission driving the front wheels; the same powertrain is used in the Ford Focus. Acceleration off the line is hardly lightning fast, but it suffices for urban use. We didn't get a chance to drive a fully loaded version. Midrange acceleration is good, as are the brakes (discs in front, drums in the rear), which include anti-lock protection.
