Our Vans: Ford Transit Custom Sport
1 February 2019: Moving house - putting the Transit to the test
The Details
| Current mileage | 1603 |
|---|---|
| Claimed economy | 44.1mpg |
| Actual economy | 38.8mpg |
Written by Andrew Brady
I'm not a regular van driver, but I do enjoy driving a Transit - and when our bright orange Transit Custom Sport arrived, I was very keen to get behind the wheel. A house move gave me the perfect excuse to borrow the keys from Dan for a weekend (it's a bit more practical for such purposes than my Volkswagen e-Golf).
It's surprising how much rubbish you can acquire in a one-bedroom flat, but I was also surprised how well the Ford Transit Custom Sport swallowed it. While it doesn't look like a big van, you can get an awful lot of boxes in the back. Loading was easy, too, thanks to its large opening tailgate as well as a sliding side door.
I was moving 50 miles north up the A1 - a very tedious journey with nothing but roadworks and the occasional roundabout to break it up. Over the space of one weekend, I did the return journey more than half a dozen times, meaning I had plenty of time to bond with the Transit.
I really like how easy it is to drive. You sit high up, obviously, giving you a good view of the road ahead. Gadgets like the rear-view camera and Blind Spot Monitoring make life much easier, as does the £500 adaptive cruise control. In fact, I'd almost go as far as saying cruise control is a must-have option if you're not used to the lower speed limits that apply to vans on certain roads.
With the van fully-loaded with my worldly possessions, I can't say I noticed a big difference in how the Transit drove. The brakes might have needed a bit more pressure, but they're on the grabby side when empty, and I resisted the temptation to chuck it around roundabouts.
Fuel economy was late 30s - pretty good with a full load, considering its official 44.1mpg. Most of the time I sat at 60mph up the A1 and it felt like it had plenty of performance left should I have wanted to go faster.
Criticisms? The wheelarches eat into luggage space slightly - but find me a van where they don't. And I'm not sure I'd go for orange with the black decals. Oh, and I'd prefer an automatic gearbox for the ultimate in upmarket long-distance load lugging.
These minor points aside, the Transit Sport took a lot of the hassle out of moving house. In fact, I'd even go as far as saying I'd happily drive it every day.
« Earlier: Home comforts – why we love the cabin of the Transit Custom Later: Driven to succeed – Transit earns its stripes as a works van »
