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'New' Connect, a few questions...

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Re: 'New' Connect, a few questions...

Postby Lefty64 » Fri Oct 24, 2014 2:23 pm

Postman Pat wrote:
Oh aye... the headrests and the middle seat belt are indeed attached to the bulkhead. The middle seat is positioned so anyone using it would have their legs in the same footwell as the other passenger... so yes it would get cosy if you had two burly builders in there.
I suppose it's a USP that none of the other manufacturers have, regardless of how useless (like DRLs) it actually is.
My old 230LXs had no bulkhead, just the driver's 'safety cage' and both of their cabin trims suffered from the vans being used as little more than skip wagons on site jobs, so I intentionally picked a van with a bulkhead to make the thing last a bit better - even if the load-through on the Connect is farcically small. Remember, I was perilously close to being lumbered with a Caddy Maxi :D


Actually the new Citroen Berlingo and Peugeot Partner (PSA group) have had this daft arrangement for years. Ford slavishly followed suit, and managed to make a worse job of it.

The PSA models have conventional seats, and a better bulkhead arrangement (a mix of mesh & solid) with a full size load-through gap which will take ladders, toolboxes, and all sorts of stuff. The restyled Vauxhall Combo/Fiat Doblo coming next year (looks much better at the front than the present pug ugly) is going to have this 3-seat option too, but Fiat are only offering the 3-seat cab outside the UK.

When you think about it, a flap-down middle seat as a writing surface really only works in left-hand-drive vans .... or in the UK for lefthanded drivers like me. :lol: :twisted:
2007 T230LX LWB (110PS) with aircon.

Vans are designed for people with imagination. Cars are so limiting ... what can you do with them?
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Re: 'New' Connect, a few questions...

Postby Bailey. » Fri Oct 24, 2014 7:28 pm

Had mine for The last few days, and am over the moon with it! The middle seat arrangement works well, personally I have it up in the day and had it downin the evening and made a trip to the shops with the mrs and our 5 month old in his car seat, don't get me wrong, you wouldn't want to go any real distance in the middle seat, but it does the job! It's a dream to drive compared to the mk1, much smoother, they seem to have done away with the super short 1st gear, and the performance of the 115 ps compared to my previous 90ps is crackin! (Obviously)The dab radio and 4 speaker setup in the limited also is a welcome improvement! Traction control is a little irritating and as already stated if it's switched off In settings, as soon as you switch off the key it resets and returns. The sync system so far hasn't played up and connects automatically without hesitation, so overall, well pleased,
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Re: 'New' Connect, a few questions...

Postby swishvan » Mon Oct 27, 2014 11:06 pm

well hi chaps I've done just over 10k miles in the new connect since march and I have to say its never missed a beat.
returning over 50miles to the gallon. there are a few niggles but with most things new they take a little getting used to,
over all its good maybe not as sturdy as the former one, but time will tell.

ps for the guy who says the volume on the Bluetooth phone is not loud enough, use the steering wheel volume controls
during a call to raise and lower the volume.
Also blue tooth music is the same but have the phone volume on max for better control, iphones display tracks on the head up
display only when connected via usb cable, but the added bonus it gets charged as well.

l1 trend moondust silver a/c 90ps
rear park led interior lights
two and a half seats ha ha
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Re: 'New' Connect, a few questions...

Postby Postman Pat » Wed Oct 29, 2014 1:16 am

OK, I know I started by dissing the new Connect even though I wanted one in preference to a Caddy Maxi (spit)... but daft niggles of advisory messages, seatbelt warning bleeping etc. aside, I quite like it. I've just been down to Reigate and Halstead and back, which took me over 1000 miles for the week I've had it, and having spent nine hours on-site I jumped in and drove the 270 miles home, arriving without the ringing in my ears and dead right leg that used to occur with the old van... I just set the cruise for 80, took my boots off and wafted along to the melodic strains of Led Zep :D
Well, once I'd queued for over an hour at the bloody Dartford tunnel, that is :roll: :?

Good points include less engine noise, a lighter clutch and nicer gearchange than the outgoing Connect; that said the indicator 'tick' is even quieter than before and the design of the dash means the repeaters are easily hidden by the steering wheel so it's easy to leave the indicators flashing away by accident. Fuel economy was reporting as high as 45mpg whilst cruising at 80 however the winds picked up in Yorkshire which over the last 100 miles brought it down to 41mpg - the 230LX struggled to do better than 27mpg under similar conditions.
The centre seatback folds down to give two very conveniently-placed cupholders (unlike those on the old Connect that were down by the back axle somewhere, lost count of the times I spilled my coffee) and somewhere handy to rest your sarnie while you compose a text or wave gaily at the arrogant twunt in the old Porsche 911 who somehow thinks his circumnavigation of the M25 is much more important than yours (yes you d!ckhe@d. Next time I'll brake and you can buy me another new van :roll:).

I've started ply-lining the van: I know I could give it to some monkeys or buy a kit of plywood bits but I like doing things the inconvenient way so I got a sheet of 9mm for the floor and 6mm for the sides; those plastic trim panels aren't going to last 5 minutes once our company cavemen start hoying rusty 12" valves and lengths of old pipeline, rescue tripods etc. in there. The floor's in, just a minor glitch in that the load-through hatch behind the passenger seat scrapes slightly on the ply.

I have a ramp that I used on the old van to get my welding sets, Nursy's Kawasaki etc. in and out but I haven't yet worked out how it'll attach to the new van as the bumper design is different and there's no convenient lip (of anything solid) to hook the ramp over. In fact the bumper is now about 90% plastic with only a narrow beam of steel under it; at least the old van's was a biggish pressing with plastic trim just hiding the rough edges ;) - anyway I suspect using it as a motorcycle transporter is out the window owing to the loss of 5" headroom plus having the solid bulkhead. I wonder what the legality is of towing a motorcycle trailer with another motorcycle... :D
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Re: 'New' Connect, a few questions...

Postby lightning » Fri Oct 31, 2014 9:58 am

My friend has had a succession of Ford C-Max/Galaxy people carriers, and with each update has come an increase in annoying "technology" and general reduction in quality of plastics.
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Re: 'New' Connect, a few questions...

Postby chogs » Fri Oct 31, 2014 5:33 pm

Yes that loss of height in the back has finished it for me. I work at the back of the van a lot, and now i'll be bumping my head on the lower roof, plus loading the bike will be difficult.
Hence the arrival of a brand new dispatch 2.0 tomorrow, 125 BHP, 3 seats standard (don't have to pay for top trim level to get it) plenty height and just over £12k new. Farewell connect, it's been fun.
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Re: 'New' Connect, a few questions...

Postby Lefty64 » Sat Nov 01, 2014 7:21 pm

chogs wrote:Yes that loss of height in the back has finished it for me. I work at the back of the van a lot, and now i'll be bumping my head on the lower roof, plus loading the bike will be difficult.
Hence the arrival of a brand new dispatch 2.0 tomorrow, 125 BHP, 3 seats standard (don't have to pay for top trim level to get it) plenty height and just over £12k new. Farewell connect, it's been fun.


You should have copied this post to Ford. I only hope they're listening somewhere :twisted: :twisted:

A new Dispatch 125PS for 12K is amazing ... the cheapest on the Citroen website is the base 1.6 90PS for 17K. :shock:
2007 T230LX LWB (110PS) with aircon.

Vans are designed for people with imagination. Cars are so limiting ... what can you do with them?
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Re: 'New' Connect, a few questions...

Postby lightning » Sun Nov 02, 2014 7:19 pm

I was offered a top spec NV200 for £12,995 and a fully loaded Bipper for £12,500.

Well below the list prices. In the end l sold my Connect last month and replaced it with......a Defender 110 lol
The Defender is nine years old and cost nearly as much as a new Connect. But it won't lose any value. I have already had five people want to buy it from me, two silly offers but two sensible ones and one at £2k more than l paid.
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Re: 'New' Connect, a few questions...

Postby g-man » Sun Nov 02, 2014 8:40 pm

ready for the snow then 8)
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Re: 'New' Connect, a few questions...

Postby lightning » Mon Nov 03, 2014 2:37 pm

The Connect was remarkably good in snow and ice when fitted with winter tyres (Avon Ice Touring)
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Re: 'New' Connect, a few questions...

Postby Postman Pat » Thu Nov 06, 2014 1:03 am

lightning wrote:I was offered a top spec NV200 for £12,995 and a fully loaded Bipper for £12,500.



I just couldn't bring myself to drive anything called a 'Bipper' :roll:

To be fair the list price on a Connect T240 Ltd is well above what we paid for this one so they're all paying the discount game. As far as I'm concerned I got a nicer van than the Caddy Maxi they wanted to lumber me with, which would have had the same loss of internal volume as the new Connect has (vs. the old T230LX). We got into Connects in '03 because we needed something bigger than the Corsa Combo we had at the time but not as big as a full-size Transit or equivalent. That hasn't changed, but the Connect's competition has. However we hear so many horror stories from delivery drivers of the vehicles they use (French and Italian, shall we say) that there was no suggestion of looking at anything else.
I've just driven back up from Kent this evening, another 277 miles in one hit and it was just like being in a car.
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Re: 'New' Connect, a few questions...

Postby Postman Pat » Thu Nov 06, 2014 1:09 am

lightning wrote:My friend has had a succession of Ford C-Max/Galaxy people carriers, and with each update has come an increase in annoying "technology" and general reduction in quality of plastics.


Funnily enough I think the new 'Focus' style interior is of better quality than the old Connect... the internal door releases were so raggy when new that I cut a finger on one. I know it's all still just plastic and cloth but it does have an air of pomposity that the old van didn't :D
The seat belt alarm and constant reminders about Emergency Assist being Off are a tad irritating, for sure. I hope that they release a software upgrade that corrects/ removes this, but I somehow doubt it.
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Re: 'New' Connect, a few questions...

Postby mattvik30 » Thu Nov 06, 2014 11:19 am

I just ordered mine yesterday in black and with the titanium spec. went for the 115ps engine. Should arrive early January. I had a look at a lot of other makes and models but in the end stuck with the connect again. Hopefully I have made the right decision!

I will probably get it remapped the day after I get it! Ha! :roll:
Tourneo connect 90ps Remapped by Vantuner, Mondy interior handles, Full SS exhaust with pptuning de-cat, Chrome Sportvan Grille, Fiesta St Seats, Dvd Player with Kenwood speakers,
Clear Side Repeaters, K&N Air Filter, Sportvan Sideskirts
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Re: 'New' Connect, a few questions...

Postby david56 » Fri Nov 07, 2014 8:55 pm

I am going the other way.

I have just bought a 240 limited and am selling my 53 discovery commercial. Its not worth much and all the bills come to £500 or more.I have had it for 7 years and done more than 120k miles. But I bought it for the towing which I no longer do so it is time to go. I will miss it.

The land rover is not as big inside as the ford nor as well equipped

Why the ford? Heated seats, the occasional third seat and the DAB radio was all it took.

Quite a bit more expensive than the Fiat Doblo 2.0 sx but not as nice.

David
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Re: 'New' Connect, a few questions...

Postby lightning » Sun Nov 09, 2014 2:10 pm

I loved my 2008 Connect but l always felt that the 110ps engine was hobbled by emissions software, making it shunt, stumble and hesitate as it tried to do what you asked it.
There was a lurch at 2500 rpm, it did not always deliver full power from a standing start, it self-revved/pumped out clouds of smoke when reversing as the anti-stall dumped diesel into the engine, it lost power briefly when cold, and it stumbled/shunted on a light throttle between 1500 and 2000 rpm.
When you put your foot on the gas, the engine took 2-3 seconds to spool up, making pulling out of side roads a lottery. Once, after the Ford dealer did a "PCM update" l had 12 months of the van refusing to hold a steady throttle at low speeds, until Ford brought out another software update. "sorry we cannot undo the update and the diagnostic shows no fault codes"

In contrast, the Defender 2.5 lump is much better behaved....it just does what you ask it to, and if you put your foot on the gas in neutral it revs instantly, rocking the vehicle with the torque.

I am guessing the new Connect diesels are better. As the old engine basically dates from the 1980's but with a new injection system plonked on top and a ruddy sop-to-the-environment computer, programmed to stop it from making birds fall out of trees with diesel fumes as you drive past.
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