And so many variants: crew cabs; minibuses; pickups; high roofs; medium-high roofs; executive buses; long and short wheelbases; and now the front-drive Custom and smaller Connect Transit ranges. So what must sports teachers from private schools driving a netball or football team in a Transit minibus think of the sort of blanket assumptions made about their politics in recent days? Or the fine-art conservator with a panel van, or the on-site drainage specialist in a crew bus, or… damn it, you name the trade or profession, there’ll be a Transit in there somewhere.  What’s really galling for any of the engineers who have worked on five generations of Transits is the underlying agenda that these must be horrid, noisy, smoky things and not a vehicle you would want parked in your drive. In another life I was a senior road tester for Commercial Motor magazine and a third generation Transit was my company car. It was not only more comfortable than my own road car, but also handled better and used less fuel.  And the latest Transit, introduced last year, is the best yet. Not so surprising you might say, but it’s the way in which a Transit Custom stacks up against a road car that opens the eyes. The four-cylinder, 2,198cc, twin-cam diesel engine punches out 153bhp and 284lb ft, which gives Combined fuel consumption of 40.9mpg, CO2 emissions of 183g/km, a top speed of 98mph and an estimated 0-62mph time of about 13 seconds. No, it’s not the last word in diesel technology, but it’s punchy and well insulated and the six-speed manual gearbox has a lovely change quality with well-spaced ratios.  The suspension is comfortable and positive and on 215/65/R16 Bridgestone tyres, the ride is gentle and the handling forgiving. Sure, it likes to go straight on in corners, but the front end bite is surprisingly sure and the body roll, while acute in car terms, is also well controlled. As many will attest, you can get it on in a Transit.  Inside, the driving seat is comfortable and adjusts up and down, which with a reach and height adjustable steering makes for a good driving position. They’re perhaps not the most supportive set of seats, but this double cab gives you six of them and they’re all full-sized and comfortable.  On the range-topping Titanium version, there’s even enough standard equipment to shame a lot of cars, including a DAB digital radio, cruise control, air-conditioning, an electronic stability programme, load adaptive control, emergency brake assist and electronic brake force distribution. And check out the load space, 4,400 litres of it with the double cab, 6,800 litres with just front seats.  On four wheels, outside your door, taxed, it costs £31,314 including VAT, which most businesses will claim back. So that’s about 25 grand, which back in the fairy story we tell ourselves about how we can all afford a German car on our drives, will buy a base model BMW 2-series Active Tourer with five seats and a Luxury pack, or a front-wheel drive Audi Q3 with five seats and a small petrol engine. Excuse me if I take the white van.  Ford closed its Eastleigh plant last year. Over 500 jobs went and a 40-year history of manufacturing 2.2 million award winning commercials. There were a lot fewer dissenting murmurs out of Westminster than could be heard over last week’s white van man debacle. Priorities? Make your own judgements, but even if you unfairly blame the man, please don’t blame the van, because it’s much, much better than that.
Politicians may look down on white van man, but he actually has excellent taste in transport, as Andrew English explains