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Ford Transit Goes AWD For 2020

ScotsSkier

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Interesting comment. The 3.5-liter ecoboost engine I'm looking at first came out in 2009 IIRC.

I'm more concerned about the "busy" behavior of a 10-speed automatic, although the tight gear spacing will be great for towing.

The eco boost is a great engine BUT it is either Eco or Boost! I had it in my last 2 F150s and in the last one when I traded, it was showing an average of just over 15mpg on on the lie-o-meter over its life. Of course I am fairly heavy on the RH pedal and living at 6500 and traveling up and over Mt rose (10k') regularly impacts that. Best I saw on long runs was 18-19.

My new F150 PS has the 10 speed and I am very impressed with it. Doesn't feel busy at all, very smooth and pretty seamless behavior. It is programmed to skip gears on a lot of occasions particularly moving up the box. Certainly makes a very good combo with the Diesel and I dont feel like I am down a lot on power compared to the Eco.
 
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Decreed_It

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Have you driven a newer Transit? They drive quite nicely and have surprisingly good visibility all around

I have - definitely agree, they drive/handle/visibility all great. Much, much safer than the old Econoline 15 passengers too. AWD makes it a legit competitor to the Sprinter family for adventure vans. Sweet!
 

Josh Matta

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My f150 2.7 eco boost get 20.2 mpg mixed driving loaded down with a ditch witch....,
 

Ogg

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The eco boost is a great engine BUT it is either Eco or Boost! I had it in my last 2 F150s and in the last one when I traded it it was showing an average of just over 15mpg on on the lie-o-meter over its life. Of course I am fairly heavy on the RH pedal and living at 6500 and traveling up and over Mt rose (10k') regularly impacts that. Bets I saw on long runs was 18-19.
.
Turbo motors are usually only efficient if you keep them out of the boost. Get the turbo spinning and watch your gas disappear, IME.
 

DanoT

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Turbo motors are usually only efficient if you keep them out of the boost. Get the turbo spinning and watch your gas disappear, IME.

Exactly! The appeal of a turbo is 4cylinder fuel economy when not boosting and 6cylinder like power (and lack of economy) when boosting....your choice.
 
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Tom K.

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Quoted from another thread:

My new Powerstroke has the 10 speed, very impressed with it so far. Moves up and down through the box almost imperceptibly. It is also designed and programmed to skip gears on a lot of the shifts, particularly going up the box eg 1-3 and 3-5 and can also be altered by the 5 electable modes (Normal, Eco , snow, sport and something else ogsmile) My 16 had the 6 speed and I do prefer the 10 speed, which also let me use a 3.55 rear end rather than a 3.31 and still keep the 2000rpm @ 82 cruising. . The 10 speed is designed for a N-S engine rather than an E-W. (I can't remember what configuration the transit has) . GM are also using the same basic 10 speed and IIRC the Corvette uses it among others

SO good to hear. Honestly, the switch to 10-speed for the 2020 Transit had me a bit worried. But the tighter ratios will be great for towing our ~4,000 pound loaded RV.
 

Ogg

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Quoted from another thread:



SO good to hear. Honestly, the switch to 10-speed for the 2020 Transit had me a bit worried. But the tighter ratios will be great for towing our ~4,000 pound loaded RV.
If it’s pretty much the same as the 10 speed in the corvette and Camaro then it should hold up. There are cars putting over 1000hp through them without issue. I’ve personally seen a couple on the dyno. When I asked about modifications they said it was stock.:eek:
 

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The Awd is music to my ears. I've been toying with the idea of a 2wd Transit for a couple years as many of my kayaking buddies have them and we've beaten the snot out of them accessing rivers/creeks on rough dirt roads all over the Southeast and they've seemed dependable. What's kept me from pulling the trigger is really wanting something that would be capable for ski tripping in the winter to help justify a Transit conversion. We've absolutely LOVED our Toyota Highlander which replaced a 2017 Subaru Outback (what a POS) for our family of four but the extra space and comfort of the Transit would be epic for the 25+ hrs trips out West.

So far, I've been impressed with the 2wd Transit's ride on curvy mountain roads and dirt roads but I'm curious how the fairly tall vehicle (having been inside all of them we'd definitely want the medium height and medium length) would do on snow, ice and in gusty conditions with quality tires and AWD vs a decent AWD SUV. Does it come with a locking differential? I assume you'll be able to manually shift the transmission to take advantage of engine breaking on steep grades? I think it would warrant keeping a set of studded tires in a friend's shed in Denver and then swapping them out as we pass thru both directions of our trip. The key for me would be that it handles the snow well enough that I'm not regularly wishing I had a smaller vehicle when driving up in a storm to get fresh tracks. We've fleetingly considered a small class C RV towing a small 4x4 SUV but my ass puckers just thinking about getting caught in a storm when trying to relocate to the next resort so I think that's off the table.

I've had some friends do some pretty amazing self-conversions for fairly cheap so it could be one hell of a good camper in fair weather and a great family hauler out west for our multi-month ski trips.
 
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Tom K.

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The Awd is music to my ears. I've been toying with the idea of a 2wd Transit for a couple years as many of my kayaking buddies have them and we've beaten the snot out of them accessing rivers/creeks on rough dirt roads all over the Southeast and they've seemed dependable. What's kept me from pulling the trigger is really wanting something that would be capable for ski tripping in the winter to help justify a Transit conversion. We've absolutely LOVED our Toyota Highlander which replaced a 2017 Subaru Outback (what a POS) for our family of four but the extra space and comfort of the Transit would be epic for the 25+ hrs trips out West.

So far, I've been impressed with the 2wd Transit's ride on curvy mountain roads and dirt roads but I'm curious how the fairly tall vehicle (having been inside all of them we'd definitely want the medium height and medium length) would do on snow, ice and in gusty conditions with quality tires and AWD vs a decent AWD SUV. Does it come with a locking differential? I assume you'll be able to manually shift the transmission to take advantage of engine breaking on steep grades? I think it would warrant keeping a set of studded tires in a friend's shed in Denver and then swapping them out as we pass thru both directions of our trip. The key for me would be that it handles the snow well enough that I'm not regularly wishing I had a smaller vehicle when driving up in a storm to get fresh tracks. We've fleetingly considered a small class C RV towing a small 4x4 SUV but my ass puckers just thinking about getting caught in a storm when trying to relocate to the next resort so I think that's off the table.

I've had some friends do some pretty amazing self-conversions for fairly cheap so it could be one hell of a good camper in fair weather and a great family hauler out west for our multi-month ski trips.

This is all crazy talk. The only thing I'm hoping for is a RWD mode, for some good old-fashioned hooning in snowy parking lots!

J/K, I agree on all counts (including Outback opinion). IMO, longer wheelbase is always your friend for snow stability (and towing), so your preference for medium WB should be good. I'm going short/short, but it will still have a longer WB than our AWD Sienna, which cannot be shaken off line in snow without the help of a nuclear device.
 
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Tom K.

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Disappointing update today, upon reviewing the official Order Guide (Build Your Own still not up on the Ford website).

Based on low previous demand, the regular WB, low roof Passenger Van version of the Transit will no longer be offered with the rip snorting EcoBoost V6 engine.

So.....it looks like we'll have to go with the Crew Van version in the same size. The good is that we'll not have to figure out where to store the extra seats. The bad is that we'll have to finish out the back half of the van ourselves.
 

Ogg

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The "build and price" is up on the website but there is no ability to chose the AWD option.:( I poked at them on social media and will continue to do so on a regular basis.
 
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Tom K.

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The "build and price" is up on the website but there is no ability to chose the AWD option.:( I poked at them on social media and will continue to do so on a regular basis.
Not only that, but they pulled the Crew Van and Cargo Van from the "build and price".

Only current option I can find is the passenger van, which confirms that I can't get that version with the EcoBoost engine.

Drat.
 

Ogg

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They now have the AWD option listed on the Ford website. It's a $4700 option :rolleyes: and I bet the actual difference will end up being more because of limited availability. It's still cheaper than a Suburban or Crew cab pickup with 4wd.:huh:
 
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Tom K.

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They now have the AWD option listed on the Ford website. It's a $4700 option :rolleyes: and I bet the actual difference will end up being more because of limited availability. It's still cheaper than a Suburban or Crew cab pickup with 4wd.:huh:

Finally. My low roof, regular wheelbase (LR/RWB) with Ecoboost, AWD, towing stuff, 10-way cloth seats, 8" display stereo and a few other things is showing right around $50,000. One friend has already ordered a similar unit with medium roof, and was told "invoice minus any incentives, or Costco, whichever is lower". This apparently works out to around 10% off retail, leaving me WAY below a Suburban or Expedition Max in price, yet far above them in usefulness to me.

Looking forward to seeing them in the flesh and driving them.
 

Ogg

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Finally. My low roof, regular wheelbase (LR/RWB) with Ecoboost, AWD, towing stuff, 10-way cloth seats, 8" display stereo and a few other things is showing right around $50,000. One friend has already ordered a similar unit with medium roof, and was told "invoice minus any incentives, or Costco, whichever is lower". This apparently works out to around 10% off retail, leaving me WAY below a Suburban or Expedition Max in price, yet far above them in usefulness to me.

Looking forward to seeing them in the flesh and driving them.
How did you configure it to get that combo of options? It doesn't look like you can get a passenger van configured like that(LR/SWB/AWD/Ecoboost) and it doesn't look like the crew/cargo van is available with the 10 way seats.
 

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Finally. My low roof, regular wheelbase (LR/RWB) with Ecoboost, AWD, towing stuff, 10-way cloth seats, 8" display stereo and a few other things is showing right around $50,000. One friend has already ordered a similar unit with medium roof, and was told "invoice minus any incentives, or Costco, whichever is lower". This apparently works out to around 10% off retail, leaving me WAY below a Suburban or Expedition Max in price, yet far above them in usefulness to me.

Looking forward to seeing them in the flesh and driving them.
I love the idea of a Suburban (Yukon XL) with a diesel, but I image that will be pretty darn expensive but...it will fit in the garage. One of these with AWD should de significantly less...but won't fit in the garage plus i am not sure it will have the comfort of the new Subur-kon. We are still at least two years out from replacing our Yukon XL, just wondering.
 
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Tom K.

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How did you configure it to get that combo of options? It doesn't look like you can get a passenger van configured like that(LR/SWB/AWD/Ecoboost) and it doesn't look like the crew/cargo van is available with the 10 way seats.

I wish I could get the passenger van. No Ecoboost offered. Crew does offer 10-way seats for a whopping $1,000 extra!

I love the idea of a Suburban (Yukon XL) with a diesel, but I image that will be pretty darn expensive but...it will fit in the garage. One of these with AWD should de significantly less...but won't fit in the garage plus i am not sure it will have the comfort of the new Subur-kon. We are still at least two years out from replacing our Yukon XL, just wondering.

7' high for the low roof. Still taller inside than our Sienna, so good to go.

You can't fit 7' inside your garage door?
 
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Tom K.

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So, have any of you gotten to drive one of these in the snow? I'm curious how they handle mountain passes.

Nope, but I've heard from some Transit forum members that were impressed. There are some short videos floating around out there. My favorite:


Given the "current situation" in the world, we're probably just going to delay things one year, and order next spring. Hoping MY 2021 offers the AWD passenger van with ecoboost V6. My dream combo, but not available in 2020.
 

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