- Baby Transit van based on Puma platform
- Tourneo Courier Active passenger-focused, with SUV style
- Commerical Transit Courier still gets rear seats (DCiV, double cab in van)
Ford New Zealand might be calling its Tourneo Courier a "multi-activity vehicle", but it's really a return to the super-practical midi-people-movers that were popular in the 1990s and early-2000s. And we mean that in a good way.
"Tourneo" is Ford-speak for a passenger version of a commercial vehicle and "Courier" denotes the smaller, city-friendly version of the Transit (yes, there's one of those too, read on). It's a Ford-specific platform, by the way (related to Puma), not a VW-share like the similar Transit Connect.
The $55,990 Tourneo Courier Active "is ready for action-packed weekend trips with friends and family, enough room for the dogs and sports gear – plus kit for DIY, work or road trips". Well, that's what Ford says.
It's powered by a 1.0-litre EcoBoost turbo-petrol engine with 92kW/200Nm, and a 7-speed dual clutch automatic.
It's properly compact: just over 4.3 metres long, so about the same as a Toyota C-HR.
But because it's based on a van, the Tourneo Courier has a number of practical features. As previewed at Fieldays this year, the upright cabin is spacious, with a 3-seat rear bench. Seats are part-trimmed in "soft technical fabric" that is designed to be durable and easy to clean.
The rear seats are split 60/40, and fold and flip to help carry items up to 1.4 metres long.
In the boot, owners can use the cubbyholes built into the side panels for muddy kit or loose items. Ford is making a virtue of the van tailgate by saying it's large enough to keep the rain off as families "fill the boot or put on their gumboots".
Yes, it can be an actual van too
The light-commercial sister model to Tourneo Courier is the $49,990 Transit Courier double-cab in van (DCiV): same powertrain and 5-seat layout, but with less luxury and more practicality, including a “fold and tumble” rear seat that increases the rear load space.
Ford NZ has not released loadspace or payload figues, but in Europe it's rated at 2.9 cubic metres and can carry up to 845kg.
Both Tourneo Courier and Transit Courier models are available to order now, although deliveries will not start until the last quarter of the year.