Ford’s larger and bolder-looking all-new Transit Courier arrived earlier this year to shake up the compact high-cube sector. Al Suttie gives it a thorough week-long grilling.
Ford Transit Courier 1.5 EcoBlue 100PS 6-spd man
List price: £19,256 CO2: 135g/km Economy: 54.3mpg Test efficiency: 58.9mpg
Monday
There isn’t much you can buy brand-new with four wheels and an engine for less than £20,000, but the Ford Transit Courier is available. Not only that, you can have it with Ford’s excellent 1.5-litre EcoBoost turbodiesel engine under the bonnet, which is exactly what arrived this morning. Granted, this van had a few extras – air con, grey paint, rubber load liner – that pushed the total to a smidge over £20k, but still cracking value.
Tuesday
In basic Leader spec, you might think this Courier van is going to be about as sparse as it gets. However, a wander through the spec sheet shows it comes as standard with automatic headlights, cruise control, and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Admittedly, it’s not a long list, but enough, and you get over head storage in the cabin for paperwork.
Wednesday
Ford has given the Courier a dash display and infotainment set-up that looks much the same as that in the latest full-size Transit van. It’s a good arrangement and the 8-inch touchscreen is certainly among the easiest to use and navigate. However, there are no physical buttons for the air con – an option in this van – so you are forced to work this via the screen.
Thursday
With not a huge amount of weight to cart about when the load bay is empty, the Courier bowls along amiably and rides surprisingly well on bumpy stretches. The six-speed manual gearbox has a good shift and the 1.5 diesel is more than refined enough to be easy to live with. The general nature of this van encourages a relaxed driving demeanour, which may be why it’s returning very decent fuel economy.
Friday
A long-ish motorway slog in the Courier today and, despite the blowy weather, it is impressively stable for a flat-sided vehicle. The steering has good feel and weight, which helps with the impression of stability on these faster roads, and there’s a grown-up feel to the Ford that isn’t always present in its rivals. Seat comfort is also good during this longer stint, with no aches or twinges.
Saturday
Moving attention to the Courier load carrying abilities, it has no trouble today with a bulk buying trip to the DIY store. New bookshelves for my office slide in without a care, helped by the sliding side door to haul them in the final few inches (or centimetres if we’re metric). Some other odds and ends chucked in are accommodated and secured to the sides with straps, though more dedicated points would be handy.
Sunday
An alternative use for the Courier’s load space this morning as I strap in my bike and a friend’s to head off for some gravel riding in Aberfoyle. It takes mere seconds to tie the bikes in securely and release them, which is much easier than my usual bike carrier on the roof. The Ford handles food, water bottles and the rest of our kit, plus it could easily swallow another four bikes, so it’s an ideal cycling companion.