Here's what I love about this channel: Not only does Zach review a variety of vehicles, even ones that other RU-vidrs won't touch such as a mundane passenger van, it seems like no matter how boring the car may be, Zach has the ability to make every car cool. He gives each car he reviews its own personality. 😎
When I was working at PSU, we had a older version of this van (2010, I think). It was so nice. (Ours was the cargo version.) So much space in the back, and a nice low load floor.
Better than a minivan? For hauling stuff, yes. Minivans are designed for the sole purpose of moving people and their belongings and are more passenger-focused. This is nice but it's still a commercial design. It's a shame Ford (and its competitors) cancelled these small vans, they served a purpose.
Yeah, but stow n go honestly is the best reason to get a minivan. a 2012 + DGC or Chrysler T&C had the bigger wheels / brakes. Even 2011 has the towing transmission cooler standard. I fried fourth gear (not sure if forth prime or whatever) either way I doubled the payload in mountain driving by accident via math and a friend. The thing never crapped out except an alternator in winter lol. Got mine cheap enough in 2011 to make up for extra brake jobs, the transmission etc - all in a fantastic package compared to the basic skunk fur odyssey and a below average iq honda salesman. I've made more money transporting odd items at critical times than I ever could in another style van. Pacifica is just really expensive. When I finally replace, I am going to seek out a "voyager" and upfit myself or by a buddy for any luxury items. They still pump it as a base Pacifica to fleets i think. Cheap if you know a damn about car repair/installation and maintain them.
The company I work for rents a few of these through Enterprise. They're pretty nice. I'm sure they're newer though, but we like them Now that I think of it we use the 15 seater full size Transit but still cool
Seriously wish we could have cargo vans marketed to regular consumers, not just fleet companies, the same way that pickup trucks are today. I prefer to have a fully enclosed cargo area versus an open bed
My neighbor bought a cargo version of this to convert to a low budget camper, and the amount of room is surprisingly good, considering it really has a small footprint.
Unfortunately Ford decided to stop selling them in the US, a year or two ago. Same thing happened with all the competing brands’ small vans. My last car shopping was 2017 when I bought a new Ford Fusion. I now wish I had gotten a Transit Connect instead.
@@kc9scott Chicken tax was the main reason the TC left North America. These were initially imported from Turkey and then from Spain but customs would slap a 25% tax on them so the margins were slim to none and the full size Transit outsold these three fold so even if the size was right for many tradesmen, businesses and families the sales were not enough to keep them alive nor to move production to N.A
Every family of four or more should own one of these. But back in the late 90s it became not cool to drive a minivan. I know because most of my friends started their families back then and they owned a minivan for a hot second, they bought some sort of suv as soon as they could afford one. It was like one week they caravans, windstars and Dustbusters. The next they had Durango, Tahoe or expeditions. I never fell into that trap, I am a car guy. I also always had a truck. Never the two shall meet. Now I have all three, car, truck and minivan (I started family late). And yes I Love It! Sliding doors when getting kids in and out at Walmart rules. Zac , you have to do a Honda minivan van.
HUGE SHAME that the entire market for small cargo vans has completely evaporated in the United States. These kinds of vans drive like a regular car, and vans do not have to be very big to be very handy!
I work at a ford dealership and we used a 2017 titanium version as the service shuttle. It had just about 300k miles on it before the transmission finally went out. It was pretty solid and the customers actually liked it for its comfort and interior room.
My mother bought a 2016 back in 2021 when her 06 HHR died. It made a good impression, and we replaced it earlier this year with a very low mileage 2019. They are not terrible vehicles, and certainly very flexible for hauling people and things. Only complaint is that the 2019 has an 8 speed transmission that shifts and hunts for gears a lot more than the older transmission.
9:43 - Ford's product planning is such a mess. They discontinued these, citing low demand & their EV initiative. They develop the E-Tourneo, which kinda takes over for this Transit Connect, but decides it won't come to North America. So, US Ford buyers are forced look at the Escape as the entry-level Ford. 😒
I'm so bummed that all of the small cargo vans are discontinued in America. The Ford Transit Connect was definitely the best driving of the bunch, offered 2 wheelbases, 2 engines, and a passenger version. I get that sales declined for the whole small cargo van segment, but small cargo practicality will always have some demand.
I’ve wanted one of these for some time now.. I would swap in the turbo and transmission and any other needed parts from the focus rs into one for shits & giggles 😊
had a 2019 and 2016 transit connect for a previous job, all in all, it did the job, fun fact, these are sourced from Turkey, found that out when i had to hunt down the air filter. Except Ford thought would be cool to make the steering wheel plastic caps flashy chrome so the sun would get you right in the eyes.
I saw one with a VIN from Spain. As far as I know the previous gen came from Turkey and the 2013+ came from Spain but Turkey also made that body style so maybe there was a chance Ford imported from both countries?
Well, this van is much more reliable than the only Japanese brand van it competed with: Nissan NV200. The NV used a CVT and was underpowered and had less room compared to the Transit Connect. And the 2.5 Duratec Engine was co developed with Mazda, they're good for 300K+ miles and so was the later 2.0 GDI engine. The only ones you need to stay away from are the Ecoboost 4cyl ones but they are not as common