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Refreshed Transit Connect at Chicago 2018


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According to Automotive News:

 

The automaker is expected to reveal a freshened Transit Connect. The van, used mainly for commercial duty, gets updated styling and technological improvements.

 

From AutoWeek:

 

 

We’re expecting creature comfort updates, new tech and new powertrains to be the highlight of Ford’s small commercial van.

 

 

New powertrains, hmmmm....

Edited by Harley Lover
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No. The member of the Transit Family whose update has been revealed was the Transit Custom. They are totally different products.

 

Transit Custom was updated in mid 2017.

 

Transit Connect was updated in late 2017. It is making US debut at Chicago but it had already been revealed. We even had a thread of it in this forum. http://www.blueovalforums.com/forums/index.php?/topic/64192-facelifted-ford-transit-connect-and-transit-courier-unveiled-in-europe-with-updated-styling-upgraded-tech-and-new-engines/

 

The powertrain update that happened was availability of new 1.5 diesel engine and a gasoline engine in Europe for the first time... 1.0 Ecoboost. Also a first for Europe was the addition of automatic transmission... the new 8 speed auto.

 

Not sure if 1.0 EB will come to the US but I think 8 speed auto is a given. However, knowing 2.5 I4 is not long for this world, I do wonder if Ford will bother updating it with the 8 speed auto.

Edited by bzcat
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these "changes will be for the 2019 model year....bzcat, enlighten on the 2.5s demise....that engine has been a Trooper...and as far as the T Connect is concerned...that vehicle already had the 1.6 ecoboost in it....the take rate on that powertrain spelled its demise, so 1.0 wont do it, that 1.0 in the ecosport wont cut the Mustard either, go for a test drive with three of your buddys.....it was BEARABLE in the Fiesta, but that had a manual trans, ......

Edited by Deanh
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these "changes will be for the 2019 model year....bzcat, enlighten on the 2.5s demise....that engine has been a Trooper...and as far as the T Connect is concerned...that vehicle already had the 1.6 ecoboost in it....the take rate on that powertrain spelled its demise, so 1.0 wont do it, that 1.0 in the ecosport wont cut the Mustard either, go for a test drive with three of your buddys.....it was BEARABLE in the Fiesta, but that had a manual trans, ......

I test drove a Focus with the 1.0 and was really impressed with it. We got a 2.0 despite that because of a few things she wanted that wasnt available with the 1.0. Edited by fuzzymoomoo
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My 2011 2.5 Fusion, which I purchased new, has 201,000 miles with no repairs save a new battery 3 years ago. The 2.5 is an excellent engine that Ford has left unchanged since its introduction 8 years ago. As I’ve mentioned before, there’s no reason it couldn’t be updated into a class leading engine that would be a great base engine going forward for the Fusion, Escape, Transit Connect, and maybe Ranger. It’s got to be cheaper to build than the ecoboost 4 cylinders.

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From the jalopnik article above:

 

 

 

Beneath the hood is where the M A G I C lies: a 1.5-liter EcoBlue diesel engine with an estimated 30 mpg on the highway.

 

That little thing better get much better than 30 mpg on the highway. The F150's 3.0L is targeted to achieve 30 mpg on the highway, so this thing would be a huge failure at 30 MPG. I would expect near 30 out of the gasser and closer to 40 from the diesel.

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well color me surprised, i would have laid $ on the complete demise of Diesel power trains due to the fact electrification is inevitable....hybrids and plug ins i would have thought made diesels of this capacity redundant.

 

Have to fill the gap in till those products come out in another 4-5 years.

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Makes sense I guess silvrsvt, actually had the pleasure of driving a small Diesel TC prior to their initial release....and yes, here in the States..AND it was a stick....absolutely LOVED the car....was an absolute blast.

Deanh, I'm currently driving a Renault Kangoo van that very similar to TC LWB

it has a 1.5 TD and 6MT, it's averaging US 44 mpg (I get close to 1,000 km out of a tank and usually refill 54 liters)

These little diesels are fantastic, you get good economy everywhere but the secret is driving on the top 1/3 of the

accelerator pedal.

 

I would expect similar out of a 1.5 TD Transit Connect.

Edited by jpd80
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according to the 2015 UAW contract the 2.0 continues production and gets upgrades.

 

2.0 is still used in Ford's hybrids so I imagine that will continue. And given that Transit Connect and EcoSport are two new applications using the engine, I think Ford is just consolidating the number of non-EB I4 down to this single one.

 

The more interesting question to ponder is what else will receive the 1.5 EcoBlue in the US market? Surely Ford didn't Federalize this engine just to sell a few thousand vans a year. Ford must have bigger plans for this engine... next gen Focus and Escape perhaps?

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