2020 Ford Transit Custom Reviews

The top three contenders in the local medium-sized (2.5 to 3.5 tonne GVM) commercial van class are the Toyota HiAce followed by the Hyundai iLoad and Ford's Transit Custom.

The growing popularity of mid-sized commercial vans equipped with seating for five or six, generically known as crew vans, has seen an increasing number of rivals from mainstream manufacturers enter the market with a second row of seats.One of the more recent competitors is the Ford Transit Custom DCiV, available in a choice of short or long wheelbase configurations and Custom or Custom Sport trim levels.

When it comes to serving up acres of space for passengers and stuff, there isn't an SUV on the planet that can keep up with a van. But is Ford's Transit Custom too work focused to really cut is as a people mover? We put it to the family test to find out.

Ford is a making a habit of providing answers to questions that have not been asked. First there was the Baja-inspired Ranger Raptor, a unique version of Australia’s favourite Ford ute with pumped-out guards, a tougher frame and sublime long-travel suspension inspired by ‘pre-runner’ pick-ups used by US off-road race teams.Although we weren’t aware of any pent-up public demand for such a vehicle, regular sightings of Raptors these days suggest Ford’s ‘build it and they will come’ approach was the right one. Now just about every ute manufacturer is offering (or working on) a more specialised premium-priced variant of its top-shelf model in trying to match it.The blue oval is using this bold strategy again with the Transit Custom Sport. As its name suggests, this is a more athletic version of Ford’s mid-sized commercial van, which among numerous industry gongs claimed CarsGuide's 2019 Tradie Car of the Year award.Most folks think of vans as little more than shipping containers on wheels but, like the Raptor, Ford is again challenging the consumer to think outside the square (or rectangle in the case of a shipping container).After spending a week in Ford’s latest automotive thought-bubble, we have to admit it may be onto something here, too. From go-kart and motorcycle racers to surfers, scuba divers and personal trainers, the Transit Custom Sport may well have widespread appeal for those that need the practicality and load-carrying capacity of a van with a sportier image to go with it.