Ford Transit Connect Active SUV meets panel van

FORD TRANSIT CONNECT ACTIVE

If you want a cool SUV but life has forced you into driving a panel van, the good news is that Ford has the answer – just so long as you’re sure you’re asking the right question… has the answer – just so long as you’re sure you’re asking the right question…

FORD’S ACTIVE PACKAGE is its way of giving a dose of SUV attitude to its passenger cars. The Fiesta and Focus have both had the treatment – which might feasibly seem strange to you, given that real SUVs tend to be quite big things for people with families and the company has some big things of its own like the S-Max and Galaxy that would seem ideal for a dose of off-road styling.

Most recently, it’s another kind of big Ford that’s gained the Active option. The company’s vans need no introduction, though they might need some explaining as the range includes the Transit Courier, Transit Connect, Transit Custom and Transit. That’s before you consider the Transit Custom Kombi and Transit Minibus people movers, the Tourneo Connect and Tourneo Custom MPVs and the Transit Custom Nugget camper van. Whatever you want, if it’s van-shaped Ford sells it.

This includes the aforementioned vans that look like SUVs. The Transit Connect and Transit Custom can both be had in Active form; the latter is also available in Trail trim, which actually has four-wheel drive, and so too is the Transit itself, though these are presented as higher-mobility working vehicles rather than lifestyle motors.

So anyway, now we’ve got all that crystal clear, here’s the Transit Connect Active. It’s a small panel van, the sort that you’d imagine being ideal for a tradesman who doesn’t have to carry bulky tools or materials. There’s a choice of two wheelbases and in Active form the standard 1.5-litre, 120bhp

is its way of giving a dose of SUV attitude to its diesel engine can be mated to a 6-speed manual or 8-speed automatic diesel engine can be mated to a 6-speed manual or 8-speed automatic gearbox. Tested here is the long-wheelbase model with the auto box. And let’s start with that. The engine is quick enough, with plenty of torque to get it moving even when laden, and it feels smooth and very easy to drive. The auto box often feels as if it’s never going to change, however, to the point where general tooling around becomes unsettling. Happily, there’s a shift button on the side of the gearstick. After about fi ve minutes behind the wheel, we found ourselves driving along with one hand permanently sat there as we fl icked it up and down. Time it right and the box responds pretty well to this, to the point where it actually becomes quite enjoyable to drive. Trying to get around town in what you’ve just

All Connect Active models get a 1.5-litre diesel engine producing 120bhp. The only option is whether you go for a 6-speed manual or 8-speed automatic gearbox; our test vehicle had the latter, which adds £1200 to the price

The cabin is spacious and well equipped, with heated seats, dual air-con and a high-spec infotainment system. There’s plenty of stowage space, too, and a comfortable ambience that feels like it was created for people who spend a lot of their lives behind the wheel. We wouldn’t bother with the optional third seat in the centre, though – just look at how close it is to the shroud around the shifter and imagine having to sit in it…

turned in to an eight-speed manual is quite a busy process, though.

It works better in auto mode on A-roads and motorways, where the steering and suspension are set up to make it an inoffensive companion. It never feels as it if’s going to get light at the front, so as vans go it handles convincingly – though you need to recognise that despite its SUV-like styling, it’s not made to go off-road in any meaningful sense at all.

What the Active spec pack gives you is a black mesh grille, wide body mouldings, roof rails and 17” machined and painted alloys. Inside, you get dual-zone air-con, a rear-view camera and Ford’s Sync 3 infotainment system, complete with DAB radio, USB and Bluetooth connections, voice control and smartphone mirroring via Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. This is accessed through a decent touch screen mounted in a housing that protrudes up from the top of the dash, making it stand out without looking ungainly.

What will be ungainly is the position taken up by anyone who sits in the middle of what, on the vehicle we tested, considers itself to be a threeabreast cabin. The Connect Active comes as standard as a two-seater, and that’s how we’d keenly advise you to leave it. Ours had been upgraded to include a centre perch about one buttock wide and no knees long; the shroud for the gear shifter is literally no more than an inch or two in front of it. To call it ‘occasional’ would be generous.

Headroom, on the other hand, is immense, and both leg and elbow room are fi ne in the driver’s and main passenger’s seats. The view out is good, too, and the seats are both heated and trimmed in a fabric that feels both comfortable and tough enough to endure life. It feels like it’s been designed for people who spend an awful lot of time behind the wheel, with plenty of features to keep them fresh, relaxed, entertained and connected to the world.

There’s no shortage of places to stow stuff, either – including on a massive shelf at the top of the windscreen that’s big enough to stash things like a laptop, lunchbox or that van driver’s must-have, a baseball bat. When it comes to carrying real loads, obviously, it’s a van, with a sliding nearside door as well as wide-opening rear doors.

Again, what it’s not is an off-roader. But if that’s not a deal-breaker, the hint of SUV image it brings makes it a stand-out alternative in a very crowded panel van marketplace.

That just leaves you to decide whether said SUV image is worth £25,846 plus VAT. That’s a premium of £1800 over the Limited model on which the Active trim is based, so if you want a van that looks a bit like an SUV it shouldn’t be hard to justify to yourself.

We’d save £1200 by doing without the automatic box, however. And we certainly wouldn’t spend even one penny on the dual passenger’s seat. Mainly, though, if the did a version of the Connect with this attitude and the genuine off-road ability of the Trail drivetrain, we know exactly where our money would be going…