- Easy to drive and very spacious
- Competitively priced
- Powerful and economical diesel engine
- Infotainment set-up is too fiddly
- Some rivals have a larger payload
- Rear door latch protrudes upwards and may damage items when loading or break off completely
Introduction
The Transit Courier is Ford’s smallest van but it packs a big punch with a generous selection of powertrains and trims to choose from.
It takes much of its technology from Ford’s car line-up, namely the Puma, but the latest model has grown in stature compared to its predecessor and that means improved practicality and versatility.
Customers can select from electric, petrol or diesel powertrains and the Transit Courier comes in four flavours called Leader, Trend, Limited and Active.
We opted for the high-end Active model for our test drive, powered by a 1.5-litre EcoBlue diesel engine, costing £22,500 before VAT and optional extras were factored in.
The Ford Transit Courier van is a smart looking vehicle that boasts a modern design featuring a black grille linking the light clusters with daytime running lights and an auto high beam function. There are front and rear skid plates, wheel arch cladding and 17-inch alloy wheels.
There is easy access to the payload via split rear doors or a single sliding side door. And a full steel bulkhead separates the vehicle’s occupants from any goods so protecting them in the event of an accident.
Up front, the seats and steering wheel are manually adjustable so it’s easy to find a comfortable driving position and they can be heated against the elements too.
The main nerve centre of the van is an eight-inch infotainment touchscreen featuring Ford’s latest SYNC 4 operating system. On-board creature comforts are plentiful and include Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone connectivity, sat nav, Bluetooth, a reversing camera and plenty more besides.
The driver display screen clearly shows all the vital driving data and the cabin has quite a modern feel to it. We would have liked additional physical buttons, especially to access the climate settings rather than relying on quick keys, but that seems to be the norm these days.
The cloth upholstery looks and feels quite upmarket, but there were a few hard plastic surfaces with sharp edges, namely on the door pockets, but generally the cabin is very well put together.
On The Road
Handling & Performance
Powering our Transit Courier Active model was a 1.5-litre EcoBlue diesel engine matched to a six-speed manual gearbox. With just 100PS, it may not seem that powerful but it is certainly a sprightly little number with decent acceleration and impressive handling.
Admittedly we were not carrying a load which would have weighed the vehicle down, but that’s the beauty of having the manual gearbox and 250Nm of torque at your disposal, so you can keep the revs ticking over.
The front-wheel drive van is perfectly balanced when pushed on through twisting lanes with bundles of grip and minimal body sway. In addition, the steering is nicely weighted, slightly on the heavy side, but with plenty of driver feedback.
The last generation van was based on the Ford Fiesta’s platform, but this latest model shares many of its underpinnings with the company’s excellent B-SUV Puma, and the qualities of that car shine through when you are driving this van.
The diesel engine does get a little raspy when pushed hard, but generally the revs can be kept at a manageable pace and that means the decent refinement levels can be restored. The adaptive cruise control will be a blessing on longer motorway trips and the reversing camera and all-round agility make city driving a breeze too.
Space & Practicality
Thanks to its growth spurt the latest Ford Transit Courier has a maximum loadspace of 2.9 cubic metres which is enough room for two Euro pallets. It is 1.8 metres long, 1.25 metres high and there is 1.22 metres between the wheel arches.
The loadspace stretches to just over 1.8 metres, but can be extended further with the addition of a load-through bulkhead, which increases the length to 2.66 metres. Weight-wise, the Ford Transit Courier can carry a payload of 615kg, but there is an option to increase it to 845kg if needed for £150.
At the rear, there are two doors, one of which stretches two-thirds of the width and there is a single sliding door on the passenger’s side so it’s easy to access items closer to the bulkhead.
With both rear doors opened, we noticed the door fastening latch sticks up quite a way, This means you would have to lift items over it to avoid damaging them or the latch.
Cabin storage is decent enough with a glovebox, a large overhead compartment, two front cup holders and a wireless phone charging pad. There is a small tray connected to the infotainment screen which looks ideal to store coins, but is actually designed to connect a mobile phone mount.
If you are considering towing, then the diesel-powered van is definitely the wisest choice as it can pull a 1.1-tonne trailer, compared to a 1.0 tonne limit for the petrol and 750kg for the electric version.
Ownership
Running Costs
Price is an area where the Ford Transit Courier is really going to get itself noticed with the entry-level Leader version costing just £16,200 before VAT.
Our range-topper was priced at £22,500, before VAT, but included some optional extras that bumped up the final price to £24,350 (excl. VAT).
These included a Bursting Green paint shade, the increased payload capacity, front and rear mud flaps, a rubber load floor cover, a spare wheel, plus a Driver Assistance Pack with navigation.
Under WLTP-testing, the Transit Courier van could deliver a combined 51.3mpg with carbon emissions of 143/km.
Unlike cars which are taxed based on CO2 emissions, vans are charged at a flat rate when it comes to road tax. With that in mind, anyone buying the Transit Courier will face an annual charge of £335 (up to April 2025). There is also a flat-rate Van Benefit Charge (similar to BiK for company car drivers). The current rate is £792 for a 20 per cent taxpayer increasing to £1,584 for anyone on the 40 per cent threshold.
Ford enjoys an impressive reliability record, but for added peace of mind, the Transit Courier van is supplied with a three-year, 60,000-mile warranty.
Verdict
As the Ford Transit Courier is heavily based on Ford’s Puma, it boasts a wealth of safety features, along with a great reputation for reliability. Admittedly, the working life of a van will be more strenuous than that of a car, but Ford has years of experience developing models that can put in a day’s shift and still deliver miles and miles of trouble-free motoring.
All in all, this latest Transit Courier really seems to have it all. It looks great, is packed with tech, is practical, economical to run and has a very attractive starting price. Quite the all-rounder then.