Ford TOURNEO CONNECT
Fords Tourneo Connect Is A Van That Thinks Its a Car. Or Vice Versa. Either Way Its Something Different From The Blue Oval. Andy Enright Reports
According to the Confederation of British Industry, we are a nation of small businesses. With nearly half of all the UK workforce being employed by either a small business or registered self employed its perhaps surprising that vehicles like Fords Tourneo Connect have taken so long to catch on. Reducing overheads is one of the cornerstones of small enterprise and combining a vehicle with load lugging and passenger capabilities fits that bill perfectly.
Yes, weve had vehicles like Citroens Berlingo Multispace, Renaults Kangoo and Fiats Doblo performing just such tasks for the past few years but these have been decidedly lightweight approaches to the issue.
Ford isnt a company renowned for getting to market first, preferring to see which way the wind is blowing first. In this instance theyve gone out on a limb and decided that industrial strength and versatile dual-purpose utility are the way forward in this corner of the market. Whats more, they have the technology to bring this off.
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Any vehicle thats going to be used for lugging bags of cement or plasterboards has to have a diesel engine. Its a must. It must also be of a decent size. These two considerations have traditionally meant giving up any notion of refinement or driving enjoyment.
Fortunately Fords latest generation TDCi common rail diesel engines render this dichotomy obsolete and make the Tourneo Connect viable.
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Ford isnt usually a company renowned for getting to market first"
Built alongside the Transit Connect at Fords Kocaeli plant in Turkey, the Tourneo Connect differs from normal window vans like Citroens Dispatch or Peugeots Expert by offering unmatched versatility. Not only are the rear seats fully removable, they can also be folded flat and stowed vertically. The rear
seat offers a 60/40 split on both the cushions and backrests, offering one to three seats across the back. The front passenger seat can be specified with four-way adjustment with underseat stowage or alternatively a fold flat seat can be selected for maximum load length.
A wide range of door options are available including standard twin side loading doors and reinforced hinges on the rear doors. The interior is genuinely enormous. Should you opt for the folding front passenger seat, you can liberate 4.4m3 of space or 3.
7m3 with the standard seat in place. This allows the Tourneo Connect to swallow 8x4 boards and, with a gross payload of some 800kg, youll probably end up waving the white flag before it does. Commercial purchasers are a hard-nosed bunch, and whilst mimsy private buyers may sniff that the rear end is a little square, those who expect their vehicles to work for a crust will appreciate the fact that the Tourneo Connect is 100mm wider at roof height than any of its competitors, increasing the useful cube. Interior stowage is plentiful, the centre console featuring a coin storage tray, a penholder, an indented section for other items and a twin cup holder.
The glovebox can easily handle A4 sized documents and also features a curry hook on the lid to keep your chicken dhansak the right way up. As well as rear door stowage nets and big front door bins, an overhead stowage shelf above the windscreen can be specified. The standard front passenger seat has a storage area beneath it big enough to hide a laptop but even if you put the PC on the dashboard with Back In A Week written across it, many tea leaves would require considerably longer to effect an entry. As well as double locking, the Tourneo Connect features the same pioneering lock-in-latch system as the Transit, effectively making pry-ins impossible.
Theres also the key operated bonnet lock to counter the growing trend for ECU theft. Even if all these measures are overcome, theres still an integrated passive immobiliser and shielded wiring to defeat hot-wirers. An alarm would have been nice though. Two versions are on offer, a standard and an LX version, priced at £15,758 and £17,080 respectively.
The standard model features a drivers airbag, cloth seats, an RDS radio/cassette stereo, remote central locking and tinted front windows. The LX adds air conditioning, a passenger airbag, ABS and traction assist, front fog lights, heated door mirrors, a heated front windscreen and washers, and a CD stereo with steering column-mounted remote. If these differences seem extreme its because the two models may well be catering to two very different buyers, namely those who buy the Tourneo primarily as a commercial but with occasional passenger use and those who purchase it to carry people around with the sporadic need for big load space. Naturally the first will be interested in cutting creature comforts to a minimum whereas the latter will expect a car-like experience with the utility being a bonus.
Functional rather than chic, the Tourneo Connect nevertheless has just enough sophistication in its makeup not to completely alienate those looking for something that can genuinely double up. For some it will be just the job. Others will look at the price tag and consider a new van and a used family saloon a better way to defray costs. Either way, its not going to be long before this market sector spawns a host of imitators.
Watch this space.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Ford Tourneo Connect range
PRICES: £15,758-£17,080 - on the road POWER: [TDCi] 90bhp@ 4000rpm TORQUE: [TDCi] 220NM@ 1700rpm
FUEL CONSUMPTION: [TDCi] (combined) 43.7mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Front airbag
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Height, 4525/1795/1981mm
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