2024
Manual
Tax: n/a
Mileage: 10
Diesel
Automatic
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The Transit Custom isn't only Ford's best-selling van, out-selling its nearest rival three-to-one. It isn't only the nation's best-selling van of any kind. It's also the UK's best-selling vehicle full-stop, currently out-selling Britain's best-selling car, the Vauxhall Corsa, by about 25%. So this, our review on the all-new second generation Transit Custom, is a big deal because this LCV is hugely significant. What it now isn't in this second generation form is purely a Ford. The so-called 'Project Cyclone' agreement between Ford and Volkswagen provides for all future Volkswagen commercials to use Ford underpinnings (in return for Ford gaining access to Volkswagen's MEB platform for passenger EVs). Which is why most of what matters with this MK2 Transit Custom is shared with the new generation Volkswagen Transporter, which will be built alongside it at Ford's Otosan plant in Turkey. The headlines predictably lie with electrification - a bigger-capacity PHEV powertrain and an all-new EV model. But the previous diesel powerplant continues too. The Transit Custom model line dates back to 2012 - prior to which 'Custom' was merely a Transit trim level. An update in 2018 coincided with a huge surge in sales as home delivery took off, subsequently fuelled by the pandemic. That'll help this MK2 Transit Custom as well. But just how good is it?
Sales success for this second generation Transit Custom is hardly in doubt. After all, the previous model was still selling as fast as Ford's Turkish factory could make it after more than a decade on sale. And the current consumer appetite for home delivery, with the resultant demand for vans of this size, seems insatiable. It'll be interesting though, to see whether being able to buy essentially the same vehicle with a Volkswagen badge will have much effect on this Transit Custom's market share. Probably not. Ford, better than any other brand, has an effective handle on what business customers need in this segment. And what they're going to need going forward is more sophisticated electrification, which this second generation model provides very effectively. We can't help thinking that in the here and now, with the current state of public charging, the PHEV version might be a more sensible choice than the EV though. For the time being, most folk will probably avoid that decision altogether and stay with a conventional diesel variant - which they'll find will meet their needs better than ever before, though at a noticeably increased price. But you might expect to have to pay that for a class benchmark. Currently, that's what this van is.
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