![]() Our van, which is the low roof model doesn’t require as much forethought for vertical clearance. These give you anywhere from 8–15 passenger seating. There are three roof heights, two wheelbases and three body lengths. I will be ignoring the commercial versions for the rest of the article. The Transit comes in a myriad of configurations for the wagon model, which is the passenger version of the van. Here are the specifics on the model we purchased 16 weeks all told, having never stepped foot in the dealership we bought the car from. We placed our order toward the end of November 2015 and took delivery (at our house) the beginning of March 2016. We got the lowest price from a dealer in the center of Austin and placed the order with a $500 deposit. From our perspective, since it was a new vehicle price was the most important factor. We let them know we had emailed the other sellers and were hoping to get the best price. We built the model that suited us on the Ford website and then sent that (via email) to every Ford dealership within 75 miles of us. I think a combination of these being pretty new vehicles, that they are most commonly used as commercial vehicles, and that we didn’t want a mid or high roof model is why we were forced to order one directly from Ford. But I will say when it comes to ordering a vehicle I think we have found the secret to success.īefore that, it’s important to explain that we weren’t able to find a 10-passenger Transit Wagon that suited us on any dealer lots anywhere within a day’s drive. And how comfortable is it really going to be in that third row?īetter judgement prevailed this time around - it was more important to let the “coolness” go and instead focus on practicality. The Yukon/Tahoe technically did seat 9 but that was in a 3–3–3 configuration, that means a kid would be sitting up front with the driver. What you do want is functionality and ease of use. You don’t want to worry about people smashing their head into the door frame as they contort to get out of the car because there isnt a clear path from the back to the door. When you have kids, you don’t want to worry about people crawling over seats, or jamming a crayon in the slide/fold/stow mechanism. it was more important to let the “coolness” go and instead focus on practicality. In the end it was just us rationalizing not buying a minivan. We talked about how it had more power, and better handling, and better styling, and on and on. We went through that struggle a few years ago and decided a full-size crossover was better for us. If you are a parent and ever had that experience of trying desperately to find something that suits your family but isn’t a minivan you will understand our dilemma. We had our hardest time deciding between the Ford Transit and one of the large SUVs offered by GM. As for handling, it moves very much like a U-Haul box truck. It was the largest of the vans we looked at - about 2 inches too tall for our garage, and nearly 2 feet longer than similar vans. Our main issues with the Nissan were its large size and its handling. They come standard with 12-seats, the rear 10 are split into 7 different units so you have a lot of flexibility. The Nissan NV was an interesting choice as we’ve found them to be quite popular big family vans. Save a couple of small facelifts, they remain boring and slow, running on global-warming V8s with body-on-frame construction. Most of them haven’t truly been redesigned for a decade or more. ![]() ![]() If you’ve ever taken Super Shuttle to the airport you’ve ridden in one of these. Right off the bat we had basically written off the Express, Savana, and E-Series Vans. Clockwise from top left: Ford Transit, Nissan NV Passenger, GMC Savana, Ford E-Series, Chevrolet Express, Chevrolet Tahoe.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |