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With the All-New Ford Transit Custom launched in Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV) form, Britain’s best-selling van has a complete suite of powertrains. At Allen Ford, Essex Ford and SMC Ford, we’re so confident that this van gives businesses the best of both worlds (electric and internal combustion power) that we asked independent industry expert and freelance journalist Tim Cattlin to review the van. His brief? Be impartial and don’t hold back. Here’s what he thought…
Despite advances in battery technology meaning that fully electric vans can go further than ever on a single charge, many van users are still not ready to transition to an EV. There are many reasons given and Ford Pro has recognised this.
The company launched the first Transit Custom plug-in hybrid (PHEV) in 2019. This was a ‘range-extending’ hybrid, where the van is always powered electrically, the 1.0-litre petrol engine acting as an onboard generator, charging the battery on the fly. If I’m honest, despite being a fan of the Transit Custom, after spending a week with that van back then I wasn’t overly impressed with the drivetrain. This opinion was shared by others – the van was not a huge seller in an otherwise extremely popular Transit Custom range.
Move the clock forward five years and we now have an All-New Transit Custom PHEV. It’s easy to call the All-New Transit Custom a facelift, but it’s more than that – effectively a completely new van despite an exterior style that is similar in many ways to the outgoing model. So, what’s under the van’s skin and what makes this PHEV tick?
This time Ford Pro has opted for a fully hybrid drivetrain, a feature that will be shared with the next-generation Kuga SUV. The 232PS, 2.5-litre petrol engine works in harmony with an electric motor, either or both powering the van intelligently to account for the charge remaining in the 11.8kWh battery, road conditions, and the power demands from the driver.
Once the battery has been fully charged (normally by plugging into a home or public chargepoint), the van can operate solely on electric power for up to 35 miles. Under normal driving, the charge can be built up during long, downhill gradients when energy is recouped and stored in the battery.
What are the practical benefits of operating an All-New Transit Custom PHEV over a diesel version? Depending on where the vehicle is being driven, there are potential savings in fuel costs.
Working out the precise MPG (miles per gallon) on a hybrid vehicle is tricky, as power taken from a plug-in source must be included as well as the petrol being consumed. Official projected WLTP (Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure) combined test cycle figures state that if the petrol engine alone is used, 39.8mpg can be attained, which is pretty impressive for an engine that is relatively large and not fuelled by diesel.
However, using what Ford Pro states is a ‘weighted’ overall combined test cycle, the figure is a huge 176.6mpg. I’d take that number with a pinch of salt as urban and long-distance operations will give wildly different results. Fuel used on a 400-mile drive mostly on motorways using a high proportion of engine power won’t bear any relation to that consumed on a 50-mile urban delivery route, especially if the van has started the day with a fully charged battery.
There’s also another factor, one that may become even more critical to van users working in towns and cities.
Although modern vans conforming to Euro 6 emission standards can usually enter low or ultra-low emission zones without payment, Zero Emission Zones (ZEZ) such as that being trialled in Oxford mean that vans that are not fully electric will be liable to payment. As the All-New Transit Custom PHEV is classed as a ULEV (Ultra Low Emission Vehicle) in Oxford, an operator will only have to pay half of the daily fee that Euro 6 diesel users are charged.
There will almost certainly be an increase in the number of these zones cropping up in the future. In anticipation of hybrid vehicles being able to enter these areas freely in the future whilst operating only on battery power, Ford Pro is developing a geofencing option which will presumably mean an automatic switching to battery power (if available) when entering a zone.
How does the All-New Transit Custom PHEV drive? The experience is, well, sublime to be honest.
‘Starting’ the van is the same as with a fully electric vehicle – a push of a button and the word ‘Ready’ is illuminated on the dash. Move a column-mounted stalk to position ‘D’ (the transmission is automatic) and a gentle press of the accelerator sees the van usually move away in silent, fully electric mode initially.
If you’ve got the option selected on the instrument panel to show the drive status, you’ll then see it flick between hybrid and electric modes as the van intelligently decides the optimum combination at any one time. The transition is completely seamless and, usually, almost silent. If you’re not looking at the display, it’s unlikely that you’ll know that the engine has ‘kicked in’ to assist or if the van is being powered purely by electricity. Ford Pro has achieved perfection here – not only is zero driver intervention required, but the driver will generally be unaware of what’s happening.
The centrally mounted SYNC4 multimedia screen offers options such as alternative drive modes tailored for fuel economy, slippery surfaces, towing or ‘sport’ driving. Perhaps more importantly though, the standard ‘Auto EV’ mode can be changed to ‘EV Now’ (overriding the petrol engine providing that the battery has charge) or ‘EV Later’ (allowing stored battery power to be held in reserve for when it’s needed in a specific environment).
OK, there’s a caveat to throw in here. There’s quite a bit of power available from that petrol engine, and, if you put your foot down to the floor on the open road, you’ll definitely hear it. In the cab it’s got a note reminiscent of an old V8 unit and, to be honest, that’s not necessarily bad. Is it loud? It’s hard to say. On the face of it, yes – but perhaps that’s because the All-New Transit Custom PHEV is otherwise so quiet in operation it’s more noticeable.
Other sources of noise have been very successfully reduced or eliminated by the Ford Pro design team. Drive the van on smooth roads and there is virtually no tyre noise. More coarse surfaces bring a little noise into the cab but, again, as everything else is so quiet it’s debatable if this would be noticed in a diesel van. Wind noise, even at motorway speeds isn’t intrusive, although it is evident at times.
To summarise the driving experience, I’ve driven the vast majority of vans that are on the market and I can’t think of any that top the All-New Transit Custom PHEV. The van benefits from outstanding build quality (evidenced by zero creaks, rattles and knocks) and the van handles perfectly (incidentally, with an excellent turning circle). It really is top notch.
The All-New Transit Custom PHEV is offered in just a single weight, the 320 model providing the van with a truly excellent payload of up to 1350kg. This is a real achievement, more than most diesel medium-sized vans can carry, and there’s also a very useable towing capacity of 2,300kg. You can specify the L1 or L2 body lengths, offering a loadspace volume of 5.8 and 6.8 cubic metres respectively.
Trim levels almost mirror the diesel van – the PHEV is available in Trend, Limited, Sport and MS-RT guises, with more tech, comfort, safety, driver aids and exterior enhancements as you go up the range. Space constraints here mean that I can’t detail everything, but all have a 13” touchscreen with Android / Apple smartphone integration, plus air conditioning and cruise control are standard equipment.
A quick word on the cab environment – top quality, durable materials have been used, the flat floor is a feature you didn’t know you needed until you’d experienced it, the seats are extremely comfortable, and there are many storage areas and mobile office facilities. Overall, it’s a very pleasant environment that works in every aspect.
The All-New Ford Transit Custom is a fabulous van and this hybrid version is a dream to drive. For those who don’t want to worry about finding a chargepoint during the working day or who don’t have the facility to charge at home but want to operate in a more environmentally friendly way, it ticks all the boxes. From a future-proofing perspective, being able to operate in zero-emission zones with little or no financial penalty is a factor to bear in mind.
In many years of reviewing most of the vans on the market, I can rarely find little or nothing to criticise. This is one of those occasions – an excellent van and, yes, I would buy one.
