Ford Tourneo Custom vs Iveco Daily

What's the difference?

This idea hasn’t always worked out too well. Take a parcel-van (in this case the Ford Transit Custom) strip out the rubber matting and cargo barrier and bolt six or seven seats into what was the load area. Sure, the original vehicle to use this concept, the Volkswagen Kombi way back in the 1950s, got away with it, possibly because there wasn’t anything better around.

Ford has plenty of history with this notion, too. The first Transit of 1965 was also available as a mini-bus, but worked okay because the Transit itself was such a car-like departure from the commercial-vehicle norm.

Things didn’t go so well for Ford in the early 1980s, however, when the Econovan-badged parcel van it shared with Mazda (the E2200) was fitted with eight seats, given some fuzzy velour trim and dubbed the Spectron. And it was dreadful. In fact, so bad, that it made the contemporaneous Mitsubishi Nimbus and the even more forgettable Nissan Prairie seem like vastly superior alternatives to the job of moving people. Only because they were.

Early versions of the Spectron retained the Econovan’s crude suspension, wheezy (and fragile) little engines and even the tiny dual rear wheels that entirely deprived the vehicle of any traction. In fact, dreadful doesn’t even cover it.

So you can see why Ford might be a bit antsy about me referring to the new Tourneo (a badge that has been around in Europe for decades) as a Transit Custom with extra seats and windows. Yet that kind of sums it up (up to a point, anyway). Luckily, the Transit Custom itself is a pretty sorted thing these days, so maybe Ford has nothing to worry about. Maybe…

There’s a school of thought that says you should always use the biggest hammer available. That’s the view of more than one van and truck manufacturer, who will point at the dual-cab utes Aussies are currently consuming at a frightening rate, and politely suggest a light truck or full-sized van might just be more appropriate.

It’s a hard argument to ignore, and for those who use their commercial vehicles to the max, perhaps a committed truck or van might make sense. After all, having the ability to tow 3.5 tonnes AND still have some payload left over for passengers and fuel is a hard argument to ignore. It’s also a line European maker Iveco is keen to push, along the lines of never taking a knife to a gunfight.

Iveco’s volume-selling light van offerings are the 42S and 50C models; vans that cross from recreational to professional user thanks to their overall size, capacity and the fact they can be driven on a normal car license in Australia.

Now revised for greater buyer reach, the 42S gains a 350kg payload boost over the 35S model it replaces, as well as more power and torque from its engine. It also boasts improved safety credentials with the addition of a range of driver aids which we take for granted in passenger cars, but are increasingly important in the commercial vehicle world thanks to a renewed focus on OH&S.

So, what else is new? Starting in the cabin, there’s now a 10-inch digital driver display unit, improved wireless and wired charging rates, changes to the chassis rails for better crash performance, an improved warranty and a pair of feature packages designed to target the end user market.

In Europe, the Daily van has plenty of competition, while in Australia, the major opponents are the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, VW Crafter, Fiat Ducato and the emerging Chinese van threat, the LDV Deliver 9.