Ford delivers Transit Custom

FORD Australia has announced the first installment of its new Transit Custom light-commercial van range will hit local showrooms this month priced from $37,490 plus on-road costs.

Initially available in two body-styles, the front-wheel drive Transit Custom kicks off from $37,490 for the short-wheelbase 290S, while the long-wheelbase 330L is priced from $39,490 plus on-roads.

The 290S lands in showrooms in February and the 330L is set to arrive in June, with a number of other body-styles and variants including the larger Transit Cargo lobbing later this year and into next year.

Pricing for the Transit Custom sits slightly above the opening price of some of its main diesel-powered competitors, including the Hyundai iLoad CRDi ($35,490), Renault Trafic SWB ($34,990) and the Volkswagen Transporter TDI250 ($36,490).

It does however undercut a couple of its European rivals, including the Peugeot Expert L2 LWB ($38,990) and the Mercedes-Benz Vito 110 CDI SWB ($38,990).

Both variants are powered by the same 2.2-litre turbo-diesel engine producing 92kW/350Nm matched with a six-speed manual gearbox.

Fuel consumption is lower in the shorter 290S with official figures of 7.1 litres per 100 kilometres on the combined cycle, while the larger 330L rates 7.3L/100km.

The Turkish-built vans carry the Blue Oval’s ‘Kinetic’ design language, matching its passenger car range, and feature standard integrated roof racks that fold down flat when they are not in use, a full-steel glazed bulkhead with a load-through facility for longer items and a load protection kit.

Ford is claiming “class-competitive” load carrying ability, with the 290S featuring a maximum load space of 5.95m3 and load length of 2555mm, while the 330L has 6.83m3 load space and a 2922mm-load length.

Main features of the redesigned cabin include a new dash and instrument panel, additional storage compartments, a fold-down centre armrest with a laptop or writing panel as well as the inclusion of Ford’s SYNC voice-activated infotainment system with Emergency Assistance.

The Emergency Assistance function – which Ford claims is a first for not only the Transit, but the entire light-commercial class – uses a paired mobile phone to send a message directly to emergency operators in the event of an accident that has triggered the airbags or shut off the fuel pump.

Safety wise, Ford has upped the ante for the new-generation model, with side thorax and curtain airbags adding to the driver and passenger airbags. The Transit Custom was awarded a five-star crash safety rating by Euro NCAP last year.

Other safety features include hill-start assist, cruise control, trailer sway control, roll-over mitigation system, Load Adaptive Control and Torque Vectoring Control.

For an extra $1500, buyers can opt for the City Pack which adds front and rear parking sensors, a rear camera with ‘Trailer Hitch Assist’, auto-dimming mirror with camera and front fog-lights.

For a limited time, Ford is offering the Transit Custom with a five-year/200,000km factory warranty which adds two years/100,000km to the regular Ford factory warranty. The Transit is also covered by Ford’s capped price servicing and Vancare roadside assist.

Ford Australia vice president of marketing, sales and service Graeme Whickman said the safety features will ensure the new Transit appeals to a wide variety of business customers.

“We are signaling to customers that the all-new Transit Custom presents a very compelling reason to buy,” he said. “Not only is the Transit well priced, but it has high levels of safety, practicality and driver appeal.”2014 Ford Transit Custom pricing*

290S	$37,490
330L	$39,490
Prestige paint	$385

*Excludes on-road costs.