Available in Van and Kombi bodystyles, the new Transit Courier is Ford’s first-ever small Transit van and is aimed at the urban delivery market and small businesses requiring a functional and compact van.

‘The all-new Transit Courier is an affordable, hard-working van that offers unrivalled fuel economy and bigger load space than its closest competitors,’ said Paulo Giantaglia, chief programme engineer, Transit Courier, Ford of Europe. ‘This is the perfect vehicle for today’s busy city streets, and will bring Transit capability to a whole new group of customers.’

The line-up of diesel and petrol engines includes the 95PS 1.6-litre Duratorq TDCi, which achieves 76.3mpg and 97g/km CO2 emissions, and the 1.0-litre EcoBoost offers 54.3mpg and 119g/km CO2 – said to be 15% better than the closest rival.

In addition, customers can specify the 75PS 1.5-litre diesel said to offer a rival-beating 103g/km CO2 and 72.4mpg. Fuel-saving Auto-Start-Stop is available as an option throughout the range.

All powertrains offer extended one-year/20,000 mile service intervals and the vehicle design has been optimised for ease of serviceability and repair. A multi-piece rear bumper, rugged body-side protection and high-mounted front and rear lights help to reduce the cost of accident damage and lead to lower insurance premiums. The van also includes the Ford Easy Fuel system as standard fit to help avoid misfuelling errors.

The new model is also focused on practicality, with Ford saying that it offers 10% more load volume than its direct competitors, with 2.3m3 (SAE) behind the bulkhead, as well as a longer load length at floor level, and greater access width through the sliding side doors. There’s also a full-height, full-width steel bulkhead (glazed or unglazed) and an optional folding mesh bulkhead (DIN- and ISO-compliant) and fold-dive passenger seat for longer items up to 2.59m, and maximum load volume of 2.6m3 (SAE).

With a maximum payload capacity of 660kg, the Transit Courier can accommodate a wide variety of cargo and equipment, including a standard Euro pallet. For optimum access to the load compartment, twin asymmetric rear cargo doors with an opening angle of up to 158 degrees are standard; single or dual sliding side load doors can be specified.

Meanwhile commercial Kombi versions offer room for up to five occupants with flexible 60/40 split folding rear seats with a tip/tumble mechanism for additional versatility or dual business/personal usage. Load volume of 1.69m3 is available with the rear seats tumbled.

The Transit Courier is said to bring new safety features to the segment, and the Commercial Kombi offers side curtain airbags, knee airbags and second-row seat beltminders as part of a comprehensive restraint system that also includes driver, passenger and side thorax airbags.

Customers can specify Ford SYNC with Emergency Assistance, the latter of which assists the occupants to call the local emergency services operator in the event of an accident, as well as Speed Limiters and a Tyre Pressure Monitoring System. The standard Electronic Stability Control system features Hill Start Assist, Traction Control and Roll-Over Mitigation.