@CRConrad :
You guys over there on the wrong side of the Pond have got to stop talking about the Transit and the Transit Connect as if they were mere “versions” of the same vehicle.
He wasn't talking about the Connect, he was talking about the SWB regular Transit in the picture.
He was wrong though about it not being available in RWD - you can get the short wheelbase Transit in either FWD, RWD or AWD, with exactly the same body. All you lose is half a cubic meter of cargo capacity, due to the 4" higher floor.
If you download the data sheet from Ford UK's website, it's right on page 4. RWD and FWD short wheelbase Transits in a nice comparison table.
You can DL it here:
http://www.ford.co.uk/cs/BlobServer?blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobcol=urldata&blobheadervalue1=attachment%3Bfilename%3D%22Panel+Van+Spec.pdf%22&blobheadervalue2=abinary%3Bcharset%3DUTF-8&blobheadername1=Content-Disposition&blobheadername2=MDT-Type&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobwhere=1214344334984&blobkey=id
What you can't get in the SWB Transit is a big engine. The most powerful diesel is a 140hp 2.4L. The mid- and long wheelbase versions are available with a 200hp 3.2L 5-cylinder.
Sabine Schmitz drove the SWB low-roof RWD version with 140hp on Top Gear, and the 'Ring time was just a few seconds over 10 minutes. I wonder if the mid-wheelbase mid-roof version with 200hp would be faster.
And for another, from practical experience of at least the previous generations of the Ford Transit and the VW Transporter, the FWD VW beat the Ford hands-down on handling and driveability.
A VW Transporter is roughly as large as a SWB Transit, but you can get much larger Transits - the Jumbo Transit is nearly 6.5M long. What Volkswagen will sell you in this class is the Crafter (I rented one for moving last year, excellent van BTW). The Crafter is RWD only. A LWB Transit can be ordered in FWD or RWD.
Mirko R: I'll be darned, I had no idea!
Sorry, "Garak", Sajeev, and whoever else I thought was talking out of their... eh, wrong orifice. It was I who didn't know what I was talking about, not you.
And yes, my driving experience with these vehicles is also from the Stone Age: When a friend and his now-wife (can't remember if this was before they married or after) moved in together (in, ehh, the early nineties I think it must have been) we got his stuff to their new home with a rented Transporter, and then hers from another part of the country with a rented Transit. Those conveyances were about the same size: The VW was definitely the then relatively new FWD Transporter, not an LT, and I don't think the bigger versions of the Transit were even very easily available at Swedish countryside filling-station rentals at the time (which didn't matter, since as young students each of them didn't really have all that much stuff).
At least back then, the VW was MUCH better to drive; you just wouldn't have dared (or endured) driving the Transit at the same speed you could the Transporter, i.e, around 90-100-110 km/h.
So what's this "Crafter" , then; a new name for the LT, basically?
@CRConrad :
So what’s this “Crafter” , then; a new name for the LT, basically?
Exactly. Basically it's the same chassis and body as a Mercedes Sprinter (shared development between VW and Daimler), but with a VW drivetrain and a different front end, with a seriously huge VW logo.
Inside you get exactly the same dashboard, stereo, etc. like you get in a Sprinter, but the backlighting is blue instead of yellow.
http://www.volkswagen-vans.co.uk/crafter/
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@CRConrad : You guys over there on the wrong side of the Pond have got to stop talking about the Transit and the Transit Connect as if they were mere “versions” of the same vehicle. He wasn't talking about the Connect, he was talking about the SWB regular Transit in the picture. He was wrong though about it not being available in RWD - you can get the short wheelbase Transit in either FWD, RWD or AWD, with exactly the same body. All you lose is half a cubic meter of cargo capacity, due to the 4" higher floor. If you download the data sheet from Ford UK's website, it's right on page 4. RWD and FWD short wheelbase Transits in a nice comparison table. You can DL it here: http://www.ford.co.uk/cs/BlobServer?blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobcol=urldata&blobheadervalue1=attachment%3Bfilename%3D%22Panel+Van+Spec.pdf%22&blobheadervalue2=abinary%3Bcharset%3DUTF-8&blobheadername1=Content-Disposition&blobheadername2=MDT-Type&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobwhere=1214344334984&blobkey=id What you can't get in the SWB Transit is a big engine. The most powerful diesel is a 140hp 2.4L. The mid- and long wheelbase versions are available with a 200hp 3.2L 5-cylinder. Sabine Schmitz drove the SWB low-roof RWD version with 140hp on Top Gear, and the 'Ring time was just a few seconds over 10 minutes. I wonder if the mid-wheelbase mid-roof version with 200hp would be faster. And for another, from practical experience of at least the previous generations of the Ford Transit and the VW Transporter, the FWD VW beat the Ford hands-down on handling and driveability. A VW Transporter is roughly as large as a SWB Transit, but you can get much larger Transits - the Jumbo Transit is nearly 6.5M long. What Volkswagen will sell you in this class is the Crafter (I rented one for moving last year, excellent van BTW). The Crafter is RWD only. A LWB Transit can be ordered in FWD or RWD.
That's a one nice looking Ranger Europe gets. And it's a diesel too!
Mirko R: I'll be darned, I had no idea! Sorry, "Garak", Sajeev, and whoever else I thought was talking out of their... eh, wrong orifice. It was I who didn't know what I was talking about, not you. And yes, my driving experience with these vehicles is also from the Stone Age: When a friend and his now-wife (can't remember if this was before they married or after) moved in together (in, ehh, the early nineties I think it must have been) we got his stuff to their new home with a rented Transporter, and then hers from another part of the country with a rented Transit. Those conveyances were about the same size: The VW was definitely the then relatively new FWD Transporter, not an LT, and I don't think the bigger versions of the Transit were even very easily available at Swedish countryside filling-station rentals at the time (which didn't matter, since as young students each of them didn't really have all that much stuff). At least back then, the VW was MUCH better to drive; you just wouldn't have dared (or endured) driving the Transit at the same speed you could the Transporter, i.e, around 90-100-110 km/h. So what's this "Crafter" , then; a new name for the LT, basically?
@CRConrad : So what’s this “Crafter” , then; a new name for the LT, basically? Exactly. Basically it's the same chassis and body as a Mercedes Sprinter (shared development between VW and Daimler), but with a VW drivetrain and a different front end, with a seriously huge VW logo. Inside you get exactly the same dashboard, stereo, etc. like you get in a Sprinter, but the backlighting is blue instead of yellow. http://www.volkswagen-vans.co.uk/crafter/