Slick Ford Transit Sport adds pizzaz to the white van life
And now, as they say, for something completely different. Why the hell would anyone want a ‘Ford Transit Sport’? Well, for a lot of reasons, actually. And among them may just suit you far better than you’d ever imagine.
Say for instance your kid races motocross. Why limit yourself to a mundane white van, when a GT-striped mag wheeled sports van like this actually does the job better than just about anything else. And stands out like the bees knees in the paddock. Its not just MX. Transit Sport can be an ideal race car, horse box or leisure boat tug too.
Never mind the perfect match for that caravan, wherever you must tow it. Ford lists Transit Custom Sport’s target audience as typically owner-operators or sole traders, as well as customers looking for an exceptionally spacious and practical vehicle to suit their adventurous and lifestyle-oriented requirements.
Transit is Europe’s best-selling van
Europe’s best-selling one-ton van and five-time International Van of the Year winner including the current 2024 title, they tell us that the New Transit Custom Sport adds design and dynamic flair to Ford’s highly acclaimed light commercial van range.
Only available in short wheelbase, the Custom Sport is tarted up inside and out to add to an already impressive pedigree of technology, convenience and safety, never mind loadability. You won’t miss it, either. In fact, you can’t.
End to end GT stripes up over the bonnet, straddling roof and down the twin rear barn doors. Set it apart. And sport side decals just in case you missed it. Add a sports body kit, honeycomb sports grille, rear spoiler and distinctive matt black 17-inch multi-spoke alloys in 215/60 rubber to further complement signature daytime auto LED headlights.
Transit Custom Sport has a racier cabin too
Step aboard to a racier dual-zone climate controlled blue and piano black trimmed Sport cabin matched to a premium trimmed multi-function display. It’d be easier to step aboard if it had grab handles on the A pillar, but they’re missing. The heated seats have it all though. The driver’s side is 10-way power adjustable with lumbar and dual armrests.
Sport carries the regular driver-oriented Transit Custom 13‑inch landscape Ford CarPlay and Auto SYNC®4 infotainment touchscreen over with dual USB-C charging ports. 12-inch dials include an eight-inch configurable display. Cabin storage spreads to passenger seat under- stowage and a dash binnacle to swallow a laptop or A4 file.
That’s thanks to a unique roof-mounted passenger airbag, among its six-bag arsenal. A soft-trimmed metal bulkhead separates and protects the cab from the load compartment. Complete with a useful central window.
More than enough space. And then some
This van’s all-new Transit Custom platform brings a lower floor and higher roof for even more space and packaging. It however still maintains a total vehicle height of under two metres to easily access height-restricted areas.
At 5050 mm bumper-to-bumper, Transit Sport Custom has a 2602 mm long load compartment with 1392 mm between the wheel arches. Accessible by twin 180-degree opening rear barn doors and soft-close dual sliding side doors, it delivers 5.8 cubic metres of load space and can carry up to three standard Euro pallets.
Convenient load compartment steps, six load area tie-down loops, and a full-height load area protection kit with a moulded floor and bright LED interior lighting add convenience. Transit Custom Sport will gobble up to a 1023kg payload while also towing a 2.5 tonne braked trailer.
Custom fails to live up to Sport promise
of Ford’s 2-litre EcoBlue single turbo diesel four-pot Transit Custom Sport’s 125 kW and 390 Nm are up a handy 25 kW and 30 Nm on the base model. Turning the front wheels through an eight-speed automatic that allows manual stick shifting, a spirited driving Sport option adds to Transit’s four Normal, Eco, Slippery and Tow/Haul drive modes.
While the bling clearly fits the bill, this Transit Custom however fails to live up to its Sport bill on the drag strip. In fact you’d be well advised to steer clear of any bakkie out there. Because most of them run to 100 km/h in under ten seconds these days. This van failed to break eleven seconds on the Auto Test.
An interesting aside is that the standard 55-litre diesel tank is complimented by a 20-litre AdBlue urea reservoir to transform nitrogen oxide into harmless nitrogen and water and reduce harmful exhaust emissions. We returned better than the claimed 8 litres per hundred too, which is already .2 better than the base model.
Safety Custom Sport advantages. At a price
Another area where Transit Custom Sport stars in in safety. Over and above those six SRS airbags, you also get electronic stability with traction control, hill launch assist, electronic brakeforce distribution, emergency and reverse brake assist. Add evasive steer, pre-collision with autonomous emergency braking, and collision mitigation.
But wait, there’s more… intelligent adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring, driver alert with impairment monitor, lane keeping roll over mitigation, intelligent speed control with speed sign recognition, and tyre pressure monitoring system. And there’s a most useful180-degree split view rear camera with front and rear parking sensors.
Security is also tops thanks to two-step unlocking keyless entry and start with shielded power door deadlocks, a Thatcham category 1 alarm and standard immobiliser. There’s also integrated FordPass Connect remote locking, unlocking and starting, along with a vehicle locator, health alerts and oil life status.
With a 6 year/90 000 service plan and four-year/120 000km Ford warranty and several attractive add-on and top-ups, the Transit Custom Sport Short Wheelbase Van 2.0L SiT 8AT sells for R932K.
We found this van a total hoot. It sure turned heads, but it also had us scratching our heads. Because you can get top Ranger single cap XL with 4×4 for almost R300K off that. Or a top fully loaded Super Cab XLT with 4×4 for R150K less. From the same Ford dealers. Which is why bakkies will always remain king on this market. – Michele Lupini
Images & Testing: Giordano Lupini
ROAD TESTED: Ford Transit Custom Sport SWB Van
Engine: 125 kW and 390 Nm 2-litre turbodiesel I4
Drive: 8-speed automatic FWD
Load Volume: 5.8 m3
Payload: 1025 kg
Braked trailer: 2500 kg
TESTED:
0-60 km/h: 4.47 sec
0-100 km/h: 11.18 sec
0-120 km/h: 16.23 sec
0-160 km/h: 21.29 sec
400m: 17.6 sec @ 125 km/h
80-120 km/h: 9.00 sec
CLAIMED:
VMax: 180 km/h
Fuel: 8 l/100km
CO2: 209 g/km
Range: 690 km
Warranty/Service: 4y 120K/6y 90Kkm
LIST PRICE: R932K
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