Ford Transit Custom vs LDV T60

What's the difference?

The Sport, like all Transit Customs we’ve tested, is a capable one-tonner and all-around workhorse even though it's not quite as sporty these days due to engine revisions. With an all-new Transit Custom range due later this year, we’re not sure if a Sport will be part of the model mix. So, if you like the look of this rebel, we’re sure run-out deals will soon be available.

The eT60 presents as an electric vehicle clearly converted from a combustion vehicle to take advantage of being first in our market. 

It comes with some significant downsides, from the lack of key specifications and safety equipment to the downright average drive experience, but in other areas it’s specified right, with decent charging specs, and surprisingly good software on that centre multimedia screen. 

In some ways, these impressions are a reflection of how far the ute market has come in Australia in the last few years, with many commercial offerings now feeling just as complete as passenger cars in terms of specification and driving prowess.

LDV has left open the door for future tweaks and improvements to the eT60’s spec, ride, and features, and we’re keen to get it in for a longer test in the near future. Either way, though, the brand says it has no shortage of buyers lining up to be a part of the zero emissions future of commercial vehicles.

The Sport enhances the purposeful styling of the Transit Custom, which, with its wedge-shaped character lines, trapezoidal grille and swept-back headlights, is still arguably Australia’s best-looking commercial van after more than a decade in local showrooms.

Although some may find the twin racing stripes too in-ya-face, the overall effect of the Sport’s unique body enhancements and larger 17-inch alloys with lower profile tyres is one of cheeky rebellion against commercial van conservatism.

Only the Transit Custom’s handsome lines could get away with this. Can you imagine how a HiAce would respond to this treatment?

Even so, the Sport retains the excellent design features that make it such a good workhorse, including the sealed steel bulkhead that separates the cargo bay and cabin. This not only serves as a robust cargo barrier but also insulates the cabin from cargo bay noise, which in some commercial vans without a bulkhead can be unbearable at highway speeds.

Its front-wheel drive chassis platform has MacPherson strut front suspension, leaf-spring beam axle rear suspension, four-wheel disc brakes, power-assisted rack and pinion steering and a compact 2933mm wheelbase that provides a competitive 11.8-metre turning circle.

Our test vehicle is fitted with the standard LHS sliding load-door and twin rear barn-doors, but optional body configurations include a window in the LHS sliding load-door, dual side load-doors with or without windows and a rear swing-up tailgate.

The eT60 is hard to tell apart from its combustion equivalents from the outside. If you were expecting a blanked-out grille, aerodynamic wheels, or some other special EV-specific design flair, you’ll be surprised to find there are none.

To that end, the eT60 shares the exterior appeal of the combustion range, with a big, tough-looking grille, modern LED DRLs, sturdy looking alloy wheel designs, and enough chunky personality from the wide stance and additional bits like the sidesteps and sports bar.

Peeking underneath reveals the housing for the batteries, notably no spare wheel, and the tray is utilitarian with the spray-in tubliner. At least the ute scores colour-matching bodywork all around.

The same goes for the inside, which certainly feels like a commercial offering. Again, all the items in there mirror its base combustion equivalent, with the only giveaway of its electric nature being the dial-shifter which replaces the lever on the centre console.

The cabin surroundings are largely hard-wearing plastics, including the steering wheel, making the swish touchscreen with surprisingly fast software look somewhat out-of-place.

The analogue dash cluster, for example, looks a bit old-school for an EV, and in terms of look and feel, the T60 generally feels a bit behind the pace compared to its traditionally more expensive rivals.

While it lacks in some areas, though, it is worth something that this dual-cab flies under-the-radar. Fleet operators won’t need to worry about a strange-looking ute with unnecessary frills, and common body panels with combustion versions will make repairs easy, too.

With its 2064kg kerb weight and 3100kg GVM, the Sport offers a one-tonne-plus payload rating of 1036kg.

Handily, up to 130kg of that can be carried on the smartest of roof storage systems, comprising a trio of sturdy hinged racks which lie flat against the roof when not in use but can be quickly swung up and locked into vertical positions for load carrying.

It’s also rated to tow up to 1600kg of braked trailer. However, to do that without exceeding the 4100kg GCM (or how much it can legally carry and tow at the same time) would require a sizeable and impractical 600kg reduction in payload from 1036kg to only 436kg.

More than half of that 436kg could be used up by the weight of three big crew members alone before you could think about loading anything in the cargo bay.

So, from practical experience, we reckon it’s best to base tow ratings on a vehicle’s GVM. In this case, the maximum tow rating drops from 1600kg to 1000kg, but the payback is you get to keep the full 1036kg payload which is safer when towing and generally more useful.

The Sport’s cargo bay offers a competitive 6.0 cubic metres of load volume and with its 2555mm load floor length and 1351mm between the rear wheel housings, it can carry either two 1165mm-square standard Aussie pallets or up to the three 1200 x 800mm or 1200 x 1000mm Euro pallets.

Both types of pallets can be forklifted through the rear barn-doors with their 180-degree opening, but only the narrower Euro pallet could be loaded through the sliding side door with its 1030mm-wide opening.

The load floor length can be extended by almost half a metre via a swing-up hatch at the base of the cabin bulkhead, which accesses otherwise empty storage space beneath the front passenger seats. This useful feature allows extra-long items like lengths of timber, copper/PVC pipe, rolls of carpet, etc, to be carried.

The cargo bay has eight load-anchorage points and the load floor is protected by a tough vinyl covering. The walls and doors are lined plus there’s a handy 12-volt power outlet and bright LED lighting.

Plentiful cabin storage includes three levels of bins and a large-bottle holder in each front door plus upper/lower bottle holders on each side of the dash and a pop-out cupholder beneath the gearshift. There’s also a single A4-sized glovebox and more bins set into the top of the dash.

 Overhead is another cubby for small items and hidden beneath the two passenger seats is a cavernous storage area (when the cargo bay’s load-through hatch is closed of course) which is accessed from above through the hinged base cushions.

The centre seat’s backrest also folds forward to reveal a handy ‘mobile office’ work desk with pen holder, elastic strap for securing documents and two more cupholders.

Your burning question here will be how much the eT60 can tow and haul. With the same suspension set-up as the Pro version, this ute is capable of carrying a 1000kg payload, or tow 1000kg braked.

This is limited, but when you consider its 2300kg kerb weight due to the addition of those batteries, reasonable.

Operators should keep in mind that the 330km driving range is unladen, so you can expect half of that or less when loaded to capacity.

Tray dimensions come in at 1510mm wide (1129 between the arches), 1485mm long, and 530 high. Axle load capacity at the rear is 2100kg, and the eT60 has a GVM of 3300kg.

The approach and departure angles, as well as the clearance are mostly the same as the combustion version, coming in at 27 degrees, 24 degrees, and 187mm respectively.

Technical stuff aside, the cabin is as hard-wearing and practical as you would hope for a working ute, with a total of six cupholders and four bottle holders, a glove compartment, and sunglass holder, two USB 2.0 ports, two 12V outlets, and the welcome addition of a full-size 220V household power outlet.

The synthetic seat trim is so-so for comfort, and the seat bases are quite high, leaving someone at my 182cm height quite close to the roof.

The lack of telescopic adjust for the steering wheel is a shame, but not unusual for products from LDV’s SAIC parent company (this problem is shared with the MG ZS, for example).

The rear seat continues to offer comparatively good space for this segment, even behind my own driving position, although it would be predictably quite tight with three abreast.

As this was a brief test, we can’t tell you what it looks or feels like when loaded up, but the spray-in tubliner is better than offering the eT60 with simply a painted tray, as it’s good-to-go from day one.

The eT60 is expensive. Shockingly expensive. The single variant which will initially arrive in Australia wears a before on-road costs price tag of $92,990.

To put that in perspective, its specification is equivalent to that of the base-model ‘Pro’ combustion version, which now wears a price-tag of $43,148.

Do the math. You could literally have two T60 Max Pros for the same cost as one of these electric versions, given the latter's price premium of $49,842.

To make matters worse, the eT60 is rear-drive only, and with its nearly 90kWh battery pack offers just 330km of driving range, and that’s without being loaded-up.

This price is puzzling for more than one reason, however. For a start, 90kWh of batteries certainly doesn’t cost nearly $50,000 (if you take the average price of a lithium cell per kWh in 2022, the battery should cost closer to $20,000).

In fact, even the electric Mercedes-Benz Vito van with a similarly-sized battery comes in at $85,353 before on-road costs.

To this you could argue many things, but perhaps the most salient point is the fact that big corporate commercial fleets with zero emissions targets are seemingly obliged to pay up given the eT60 has become the only zero-emissions option in the ute space.

Standard gear is mostly shared with the Pro grade of the combustion T60, but there are some real oddities.

Good things include 17-inch alloy wheels and a slick 10.25-inch multimedia touchscreen with Apple CarPlay connectivity, synthetic leather interior trim with six-way electric adjust for the front passengers, LED DRLs, and a sports bar over the tray, which itself has a spray-on tub liner pre-applied, and side-steps to make it easier to hop in and out.

A big bonus is the household-sized 220V power outlet on the back of the centre console, which can be used to power tools and charge devices.

Then things get a bit strange. For example, this is the only fully electric car I’ve ever driven which has a turn-key ignition (as opposed to a push-start system).

It also has an analogue dial cluster, a plastic steering wheel with no telescopic adjust, halogen headlights (in 2022, really?), a manual handbrake, and the example we drove didn’t even have a dedicated park gear. To exit the vehicle, you leave it in drive or neutral, rip the handbrake on, and turn it off. Very odd.

There’s some welcome items here, and it’s also nice that despite LDV’s clear focus on commercial buyers, the eT60 is a dual-cab, so you can actually use it for more than just hauling stuff, but there are just some things (the lack of a park gear in particular) which make it feel a bit pieced together on a tight budget. Rough for a vehicle which costs nearly $100K.

Originally the Sport’s 2.0-litre EcoBlue four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine was tweaked for more power (+11kW) and torque (+15Nm) than the standard engine, as you’d expect.

However, given that availability of that unique variant ended in June 2022, it now shares the same engine as the standard Transit Custom.

While not class-leading, it still provides an energetic 125kW at 3500rpm and ample 390Nm of torque between 1500-2000rpm.

It also meets Euro emissions standards using AdBlue with SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) and offers a choice of Normal and Eco drive modes, plus an auto engine stop-start function which thankfully can be switched off.

The Sport also shares the same six-speed torque converter automatic used in the standard Transit Custom with ‘intelligent’ electronic protocols that monitor different driving styles, gradients and loads to optimise engine efficiency.

It also offers the choice of sequential manual shifting, but that’s done by flicking a small toggle switch on the side of the gearshift which doesn’t feel very sporty to use.

The eT60 is rear-wheel drive only, with an electric motor producing 130kW/310Nm. That’s nowhere near as punchy as the 160kW/500Nm outputs of its punchy twin-turbo 2.0-litre combustion equivalent.

There are three driving modes - 'Power', 'Normal', and 'Eco', and driving performance seems tame. Again, as this was a quick spin in what was described as a pre-production vehicle, we didn’t have a chance to try it out with extra weight in the tray.

Suspension is the same as the combustion T60 Pro, consisting of ‘heavy duty’ coils at the front, and a leaf-sprung set-up in the rear. There are disc brakes all-round.

Ford claims an official combined average of 8.0L/100km and the Sport’s dash display was showing 8.4 at the end of our 200km test, which was conducted without a load in normal mode with the engine stop/start function switched off.

Our own figure calculated from actual fuel bowser and trip meter readings came in at a higher 10.2 which is within the usual 1.0-2.0L/100km discrepancy usually found between dash figures and our own.

So, based on our figures, you could expect a realistic driving range of around 680km from its 70-litre tank.

The eT60’s WLTP-rated energy consumption figure comes in at 21.3kWh/100km, which for a passenger car wouldn’t be great, but seems about right for a commercial vehicle of its size and aerodynamics. As already mentioned, this gives it an official driving range of 330km.

LDV says the fleet buyers it has lined up for the eT60 understand its range is “more than adequate for their daily requirements”.

There is some good news on the charging front, with the eT60 being sensibly specified from the factory. The DC charge rate maxes out at 80kW, for a claimed 20-80 per cent charge time of 45 minutes on a compatible charger, while the slower AC charging rate (important for back-to-base operators) is 11kW, meaning a nine-hour 5.0-100 per cent charge time.

On a single-phase charger (maxing out at 7.2kW, but cheaper to install) the 5.0-100 per cent charge time is a claimed 13 hours. Expect more like a 40-hour charge time on a standard wall socket.

For a one-tonne van it’s surprisingly engaging (dare we say sporty?) to drive with torquey engine response, communicative steering and a bolstered driving seat that provides good lateral support of the upper body.

The quartet of disc brakes provides ample stopping power and the well-planted chassis on its larger diameter and lower profile Michelins responds vigorously to steering input, which makes it enjoyable to drive either when zipping through traffic or cruising on the open road. Overall refinement is good with low engine, tyre and wind noise.

It’s a comfortable highway hauler, with gearing that keeps engine rpm capped at a leisurely 2100rpm at 110km/h.

The fold-down inboard armrest is much appreciated on long hauls, but driving comfort could be further improved with a longer base cushion for better under-thigh support.

 All-round vision is as good as you could ask for, given a huge blind-spot over the driver’s left shoulder created by the cabin bulkhead.

The door mirrors are large enough to provide good views down both side of the van, aided by the bottom third of each being fitted with a wide-angle view.

Combined with other active driver aids like blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, parking sensors, reversing camera, etc, the working van’s traditional danger zones are well monitored which makes the Sport easy to live with if you drive it daily.

As the forklift was temporarily out of action, we didn’t conduct our usual GVM test with the Sport during this review. However, we have previously tested one with a 1030kg payload which was right on its maximum payload rating.

The rear suspension only compressed about 40mm which left plenty of bump-stop clearance and resulted in an even more planted feel on the road with no significant effect on engine, steering and braking response.

It also resulted in a smoother ride quality, which is to be expected given that the much heavier sprung weight ironed out bumps and other road irregularities.

I said some of the standard equipment on this car is odd. This continues through to the drive experience. Keep in mind that LDV reminded us that there were some pre-production quirks about the vehicle we briefly drove on this launch.

Setting off, the eT60 emits a rather unappealing artificial buzzing sound to alert nearby pedestrians of its presence. While the audible aid is welcome, particularly for a commercial vehicle which may be frequently operating in areas shared with pedestrians, does it have to be so grating?

Even the Mifa 9 electric people mover makes a more appealing science-fiction-inspired noise. Perhaps the eT60’s noise was designed to mirror the tone of a diesel engine?

The seating position leaves a lot to be desired for someone of my height and I would also love to have telescopic wheel adjust, although visibility out of the cab is good all-around, and the reversing camera is relatively high-quality.

Manoeuvring at low-speeds is only tarnished, then, by heavy steering, which annoyingly, also gets a bit vague at higher speeds.

Higher speeds also reveal this ute’s main weakness which appears to be its ride. Keep in mind we’re driving a completely unladen pre-production example. But the ride was harsh, busy, and unsettled in our short drive, which covered a portion of freeway and some bumpy side roads.

The suspension from the combustion T60 Pro appears to struggle with the additional weight of the batteries in the eT60. Harsh bumps were easily transmitted to the cabin, whilst undulations had it jiggling and bouncing around side-to-side.

Power from the electric motor seemed sufficient, but not exciting, with tame acceleration off-the line. The obvious benefit being instantaneous response without the need for a transmission.

It is hard to tell whether the 310Nm on offer will feel too heavily burdened when the ute is loaded up. In some instances, electric motors don’t feel additional heft at all, so stay tuned for a follow-up load test.

Unlike this car’s Mifa 9 or eDeliver 9 relations (which use an electric motor with identical outputs), the eT60 does not have adjustable regenerative braking, with a single strong tune, which cannot even be turned off.

While it is welcome for extending the ute’s range and reducing the stress on the disc brakes, it is not a single-pedal driving mode.

The three driving modes don’t alter the experience much, with the Power mode making the electric motor more responsive, and Eco mode taking the wind out of its sails.

Its maximum speed is limited to 120km/h which is more than can be said for the eDeliver 9 which is limited to 90, a recipe for freeway frustration.

We’re keen to spend more time with the eT60 in the future to better evaluate its range claim and how it deals with more commercial duties. Hopefully it can shape up a little better than it did our quick and less-than-ideal testing environment.

The eT60 lags behind the competition here with a notable lack of active safety equipment, now considered industry-standard.

There’s no auto emergency braking, lane support equipment, active cruise, or blind spot support. Instead, this ute has the standard array of six airbags, electronic stability and traction controls, with the addition of hill start assist, roll movement intervention, and hill descent control.

While combustion versions of the T60 have a five-star ANCAP rating from 2017 (before active items like AEB were considered necessary), don’t expect the same from the eT60.

The Transit Custom is covered by a five-year/unlimited km warranty.

Scheduled service intervals are 12 months/30,000km whichever occurs first.

Capped-price servicing is $399 annually for the first four years/120,000km whichever occurs first when serviced at Ford dealerships.

Ownership is a better story. The eT60 is offered with an industry competitive five-year/160,000km warranty, with five years and 130,000km of roadside assist. There is also a separate eight-year and 160,000km warranty for the battery (supplied by CATL).

The service intervals might be the most appealing attribute, with the eT60 only needing to visit a workshop once every 24 months or 30,000km.

Even better is the cost, which will set owners back an approximate average of just $145.80 per year for the first 10 years of ownership.