Is a “Sport Van” a bit silly? No, it is not. Well, no more silly than a sporty ute, and a lot more fit for purpose. And fun to be around.
Ford is continuing its fine tradition of delightfully decalled-up light commercials with the new Transit Custom, which is offered in Sport Van guise wearing a couple of bold bonnet stripes (and on a tiny bit of the roof) that would do a Mustang proud.
It looks great in Frozen White (very racevan), but Sport Van is also available in the exclusive colours of Grey Matter, Digital Acqua Blue and Artisan Red. All pretty striking.
Same 2.0-litre turbo-diesel as the standard van, but it also gets swish stuff like power side doors, rear roof spoiler, upgraded seating with power-adjust for the driver and stripey upholstery for all 3-across occupants, plus an extra Sport drive mode. That’s in addition to Normal, Eco, Slippery and Tow/Haul (it can handle 2.5 tonnes).
The Sport Van rides on upsized 17-inch wheels (still sensible though) and boasts AWD as standard, giving it both a dynamic and practical advantage over the standard FWD van.
It’d be a bit weird to consider having a Transit Custom as a daily driver or 'lifestyle' vehicle. Call us weird.
That all goes for the short-wheelbase (SWB) versions, by the way. Opt for a standard Transit Custom LWB and you’ll also get AWD. But the only other Sport Van variant you can get is not strictly a van: it’s the Tourneo (people mover) Sport Bus, in LWB only and also with AWD. And stripes.
That’s a lot of Transit-related information to take in, but that’s not all. There’s a non-Sport bus and of course the pure-electric models: LWB van and bus in RWD, neither with stripes. Boo.
It’s brilliant when you have work to do, but you could say that of most vans. What you couldn’t necessarily say is that they are fun to drive.
Our Transit Sport Van test vehicle had a very particular job: to help move house. Which is where you start to wonder why people think double-cab utes are so handy; because we had one of those too, and we pretty much abandoned it in favour of the big white box.
The latest Transit (also the base for Volkswagen’s new Transporter, just so you know) was a clean-sheet design in 2023: stronger, 100kg lighter on average and with the design optimised to keep it under 2 metres in height… which is handy when you have a 2-metre-high garage.
You have to go Transit LWB to get barn doors, which would mean giving up the Sport Van spec. Boo.
The load floor is lower than the previous model and once you open the Sport Van’s powered sliding doors (both sides), there’s an integrated access step. It’s 2.6m load length to the bulkhead, or over a metre more than the tray on a Ranger Wildtrak.
Payload is 1160kg for the Sport Van, which is 155kg less than the standard model. But still really good. It’s rated to tow 2.5 tonnes, so a tonne less than a Ranger. But as good as some other utes.
The manual tailgate is still a bit of a handful and because it’s top-hinged, it takes up a lot of space when raised; you have to go LWB van to get the barn doors, which would mean giving up the Sport Van spec. Boo again.
It’s a brilliant thing when you have work to do, but then you could say that of most similar vans. What you couldn’t necessarily say is that they are fun to drive.
The Transit Custom has a very car-like cabin, with dual screens and Ford’s latest infotainment system including wireless phone projection. Plus the obligatory integrated shelf on the dashtop for your copy of the Saturday Driven Car Guide.
The diesel engine is no ball of fire, but the 8-speed automatic perks things up a lot. It’s not as lively as a Ranger biturbo with the 10-speed, but it’s also a lot less busy.
And the Sport Van is really quite… sporty on the road. For a van. Transit Custom has moved to a semi-trailing independent rear suspension setup, so it rides and handles with real comfort and assurance compared to the previous model. Combine that with the traction of AWD and you can really hustle the Sport Van along.
When you don’t actually have a load-carrying job to do, it’d be a bit weird to consider having a Transit Custom as a daily driver or “lifestyle” vehicle. Call us weird.