Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Ford Transit Connect makes a Fiesta face

Gallery:
http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2014-...photo-5257233/

Since it has made its way to American shores, the Ford Transit Connect has proven to be nearly everything that one could ask for in a small commercial van: utile, frugal and easy to drive in tight quarters. What the van has never been accused of being, however, is particularly pretty. And, while we can't confirm with unerring certainty that the upcoming revision of the TC will be a looker, we do see evidence of a little more form to go with all of that function.

This new set of spy shots indicates that the Transit Connect will borrow liberally from the front end of the Fiesta, with headlights and grille both mimicking that fetching small car. Around back you'd be hard pressed not to notice the thinner, longer rear lighting elements, which appear both sleek and modern even in this heavily cladded context.

The Ford prototype in question makes use of a one-piece tailgate that is hinged on the roof, though we'd expect that the side-hinged double rear doors of the current model will still be available.

Expectations are that the new Transit Connect will arrive in North America and Europe as a 2014 model, sometime in the second half of next year. Small business owners everywhere, rejoice.

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/09/04/f...a-fiesta-face/

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Add a little EcoBoost to this van and we have ourselves a winner

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Ford unveils slicker, sleeker 2014 Transit Connect

Well, hello there. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the next-generation Ford Transit Connect (nevermind that Tourneo Connect front plate in the photo above), making its global debut today at an event in Amsterdam. And don't think this is some one-off Euro example, either. The handsome beast you see here will be making its way to North America toward the end of 2013.

As we first saw in some spy shots earlier this week, the next-generation Transit Connect borrows heavily from the smaller Focus and Fiesta models in terms of design, proudly wearing the automaker's trapezoidal grille. Smaller, sleeker headlamps and more pronounced foglamps finish off what's truly an attractive front end, and new wheel options go a long way to rid the TC of its all-work-and-no-play image. Around back, slimmer taillamps have been fitted, and as we can see here, the little van's barn doors have been ditched in favor of a more traditional liftgate. (No word on if Ford will still offer the two-door setup.)

Mum's the word on powertrain details, though Ford's brief press release states that Europe will receive "highly-efficient downsized diesel and petrol engines," while here in the United States, we'll make due with "a tailored range of gasoline powertrains."

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Meaning EcoBoost