2010 Ford Transit Connect

Say you're a small-business owner looking for the ideal vehicle for your latest startup. You want something that can carry all the tools of your trade, including equipment and a few samples. This gear is valuable, so you want a fully enclosed storage area. There's lots of it, so you're interested in keeping things organized but accessible. You want a vehicle that is reasonably sized but easy to drive and park. And it would be swell if said vehicle could double as a people-mover for clients and coworkers and as the school bus for your kids. You're watching the bottom line, so the vehicle needs to be cheap to own, cheaper to run, and come with a proven track record.

What do you choose? A work truck? Close, but the payload and towing capacity are overkill, plus the open bed and fuel economy are a concern. How about a full-size van? Getting warmer, but they're too big and too thirsty. A minivan then: Stow the rear seats, stash the middle row, and, presto, cargo capacity galore.

That's probably the closest you'll get, unless you wait until summer, when Ford's 2010 Transit Connect arrives at dealerships.

There's good reason the Transit Connect looks like something the UPS man might thread through the narrow streets of London or Rome. Ford has been building these commercial vans in Kocaeli, Turkey, and selling them primarily in Europe, Asia, and South America since 2003. In that time, it's sold over 600,000 Transit Connects in 58 countries. America is next, as Ford thinks it's found a new niche to exploit. Ford may be correct. As far as purpose-built commercial vehicles go, there's nothing like the Transit Connect currently on sale in the U.S. Built on a truck-tough version of the European Focus C-170 platform, the Transit Connect utilizes a transverse powertrain to drive the front wheels. The engine is smaller than anything you'd find in an American commercial cargo vehicle: a 2.0-liter Duratec four-cylinder that produces an estimated 136 horsepower and 128 pound-feet of torque. It comes mated to a four-speed automatic. The upside of this relatively light-duty powertrain is good fuel economy. Ford expects the Transit Connect to hit 20 city and 24 highway mpg--high for the commercial-vehicle sector. Want even better fuel economy? Wait until next year, when the 100-mile-range battery-powered Transit Connect BEV finds its way into select dealerships.

Clearly, the big news is not under the hood, it's in the back. Ford loves to tout the Transit's 135 cubic feet of cargo volume, which is more than double the capacity of the Chevrolet HHR panel van. Ford also likes to brag about the Transit Connect's 1600-pound maximum cargo payload, more than the payload of Dodge's full-size Ram 1500 (standard cab, short box with any engine) can carry. How well this I-4-powered front driver will be able to lug such bulk and volume we don't know yet, but Ford assures us the Transit Connect will do just fine--especially with its low 4.20:1 axle ratio.