Let's talk about the new Ford Transit Van

I don't intend to nitpick on the Sprinter, but it is the gold standard for Euro-vans as of now in the US, so the new arrivals have to be matched to something.

Interesting... a loaded Sprinter with a similar configuration is $3000 more if comparing MSRP to MSRP by those results. Drop the diesel, and that becomes around $10k. Drop some fancy options and the diesels are almost identical in price.

I wonder how street prices will end up on this. If it is too close to the Sprinter, it might be that we will see the exact same thing that is going on in Europe where the mainstay of "B"s ends up being ProMasters, while the higher end models ending up Sprinters.

-edited- The top end ProMaster gasser is ~$36,000, which puts it in line with the Transit gasser, assuming it MSRPs around $39k.

I'm sort of surprised at how small the price gap is between the models, but there are a ton of variables, such as what options one has and other things. I'd probably say it won't be price that determines the van, but other things like dealer incentives, fleet purchases, and the ability to get at/near invoice without too much rigmarole.

Transit Review from Top Speed

"The Transit is not on the Ford price books yet but the range should mirror today’s Econoline vans with a 10-percent increase to account for all this new tech. Base prices are expected at $27,000 for the shortie, low-roof 3.7-liter, up to $47,000 for the extended wheelbase, high-roof diesel. As with other Fords, the Power Stroke diesel will likely be a costly stand-alone option that adds nearly $8,000 to the price, but doubles the fuel economy and range from the 26-gallon tank shared by all engines."

Been thinking about this test the last few days. I saw the video when Ford first released it. Me being an old gearhead since the early 60's, it's a pretty impressive test cycle.
However having said that, today's CAD/Cam designed, manufactured and robot assembled engines are immeasurably better than they were even 20 years ago. The steel & aluminum is better. The sealing is better. The fuel & ignition setup is immensely better.
I believe pretty much any engine from a first tier, (my term), manufacturer, Ford, GM, Toyota, Nissan, Mercedes, BMW etc. is fully capable of doing the same durability test, within it's capabilities, and pass.
Ford has a wonderful publicity and advertising setup there....and if I was buying a Transit for a class B RV, I'd get the EcoBoost in it, no question

F-150 EcoBoost Test Engine
A production 3.5L EcoBoost V6 engine, #448AA, was randomly selected from the assembly line at Ford's Cleveland engine plant. This engine had no idea it was in store for 163k miles of brutal endurance testing.
#448AA was Shipped to dynamometer cell 36B in Ford's Dearborn, MI engine lab and run for 300 hours, this engine's first experience was a rapid simulation of 150,000 customer miles, including thermal-shock runs in which the engine was cooled to -20F and then heated to +235F, repeatedly.
The engine was shipped to Ford's Kansas City truck plant where it was installed in an F-150 4X4 Super-Crew. After assembly the truck was driven to Nygaard Timber in Astoria, Oregon, where it dragged a total of 110,000 pounds of logs across the ground (requiring all 420 ft-lb TQ)
Next they drove the truck to Miami Speedway, and hooked it up to a 2-car open trailer carrying two NASCAR Ford Fusions (a total of 11,300 pounds) and run continuously around the oval track for 24 hours (average speed: 82 mph, distance covered: 1,607 miles)
After this they took the truck to Davis Dam in Arizona, where it beat out the 5.3-liter Chevy Silverado V-8 AND the Ram 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 each pulling 9,000 pounds up a 6 percent grade in an uphill towing contest.
The 3.5-liter twin-turbo EcoBoost engine was removed and then installed in a 7,100-pound F-150 Baja race truck. After 1,200 miles of practice they raced the truck 1060 miles in the SCORE Baja 1000, the toughest off-road race in North America, finishing 1st overall in the Stock Engine class. The truck's owner said the engine's fuel economy was so good compared with his previous V8 he skipped 2 planned fuel stops during the grueling trip from Ensenada to La Paz. After winning in Baja they sent the engine back to dynamometer cell 36B and dyno-tested one final time. It generated 364HP and 420ft-lb TQ, only one horsepower less than its HP rating and exactly Ford's given torque rating.
Lastly, for the final episode of the F-150 EcoBoost torture test, Ford Motor Co did a complete engine tear-down and inspection of engine #448AA (never been serviced or previously inspected) in front of thousands at the 2011 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan. The engine parts were laid out on three huge tables so that when the tear-down was complete, the engineers and the audience could take a closer look.

I wonder how pricing will sort out. Ford doesn't have the pressure to sell by cost as Chrysler does (due to Ford's fleet clout and dealer network), but I wonder how close to a Sprinter they will be running for cost out the door.

According to what's being posted over on the Transit USA forum, they can now be ordered, and the 3500 dually has shown up on Ford's configuration website.

I think the vans actually compliment each other, just like there is room for Ford and Mercedes cars.

I do think the Ford EB gasser is going to be a great "B" platform, just because it has most of the diesel advantages, but none of the headaches. I wonder if Roadtrek could use their engine generator technology to their advantage with the EB here. Since there is no DPF to plug up, a gasser should be able to idle a long time without going into limp home mode. Since the turbos are not doing much boosting, the fuel consumption is of a small displacement V-6 at 800 or so RPM, so in northern areas, this might be a good way to have E-Trek like abilities without needing a generator.

I didn't start this thread to be another Sprinter VS Ford. We know how loyal the Sprinter owners are here, and how great the Sprinters have been for their owners, Any suggestion that the Ford might be better than the Sprinter, or pointing out any negatives about the Sprinter, is just going to cause a problem with the Sprinter fans, so let's keep it about the Ford Transit.

Thanks

obgraham wrote:
I'm not up to date on the Transit. Is this chassis still built in Europe and shipped to USA as a passenger car then remodeled? Or is the whole vehicle going to be assembled in USA?

It's being built in Kansas City with current F-150 derived V6's, and the 3.2 litre Duratorque (Powerstroke) inline 5cyl diesel. Both will be using a 6spd auto.
The diesel is currently being used for the last 2 years in the Ford Ranger being sold in the rest of the world, so it's not a new engine.

I kinda go with Asheguy on this point re Sprinter versus new Ford. The Sprinter is arguably as tough as nails and reliable too over hundreds of 1000s of miles(commercially). I bought mine used but well serviced and never ever have i had a problem. I sense we have more servicing available here with Chrysler or MB(I take my Sprinter next month to MB here(ThreePointMotors) for service and they have special bay for high roof vehicles.) I do like Ford products and one has to hope the Fords will be reliable commercially as well as with RV conversions. Should be, I suspect. I like the looks of the Ford Transit Van too. Warrantees should be similar.Driveability ie tracking on the road will be something to consider as Sprinters are great road warriors.