Van Finance – Ford Transit 2014 – The Back Bone of Britain
The Ford Transit van was once described as “The backbone of Britain” and has been the basis for a range of light commercial vehicles since 1965. Mainly produced as a panel van Ford Motor Company have manufactured over seven million units including chassis cabs, tipper trucks, pickup trucks and minibuses
For 40 years the Ford Transit van has been the bestselling LCV in Europe and is now an almost generic term for a panel van similar to calling a vacuum cleaner a Hoover. It is now produced in North America, Asia and Europe and is exported for customers worldwide.
The first generation Transit in the UK was initially built at Ford’s plant in Langley, Berkshire and demand soon out grew the demand so production was moved to Southampton, Hampshire until it was finally closed in 2013.
The instant popularity of the Ford Transit was considered to be down to the American styling and the large number of different variants available so that customers could choose whether they wanted a long or short wheelbase and minibuses or chassis cabs could also be specified.
The Mk 2 face lifted Transit van was launched in 1978 and featured a restyled front nose and a new and more modern interior and gained the Pinto engine from the Ford Cortina, although this was replaced with 1.6l Ford Kent engine later because of concerns over premature camshaft wear in the earlier engine.
In 1984 the range also gained a 2.5 Di diesel engine and a few minor cosmetic changes including a new grill, wraparound indicators and multifunction rear lights.
When the Mk 3 arrived in January 1986 it was noted for its new one-box body shell where the bonnet and windscreen are designed at exactly the same angle.
A major facelift was announced for the Mk4 in 1994 and gave the Transit a new dashboard and nose with a new 2.0 l 8v double overhead cam as supplied in the Ford Scorpio and the turbo diesel version was offered with several variants including an 85PS, 100 PS and 115 PS which featured an electronically controlled fuel pump.
The 4th Generation Transit van was launched in the year 2000 and included styling shared with the Ford Focus and Ka. It was developed in the US and was available in front or rear wheel drive for the first time. This version went on to win “International Van of the Year 2001”.
When the five millionth Ford Transit Van was produced in Southampton on the 18th July 2005 it was donated to an English charity.
The 5th Generation has now been launched in 2014 and the new 2 ton model offers business customers the promise of lower maintenance and repair costs, increased durability and bigger cargo storage.
It is now Ford UK’s third bestselling model and compared to previous models is the most comfortable and refined to drive and can compete with the likes of the Mercedes Sprinter for ride and quality.
Powered by a 2.2-litre TDCi diesel engine with three variants, 100PS, 125PS and 155PS it is available in 450 different models with two different roof heights and three different wheel base lengths!
Ford has not forgotten the Transit’s roots and what made it originally popular back in 1965 .With modern technology Ford has given the latest incarnation a very impressive and refined feel whilst making it very practical and functional.
At The Car Loan Warehouse we are sure that the Ford Transit 2014 van will remain the commercial success that it has been for nearly half a century and are happy as always to provide funding in order to keep British tradespeople on the move.
For an idea of monthly payments see our van finance calculator.