New Connect

[xillent]

Guys,

My current 56 plate has done 174k. Hope she lasts a good while yet but the scrappage scheme has got me interested. What's the current thinking regarding models etc? Which is the best engine/ model to go for? Sounds like the petrol engine is economical but not great on motorway etc. Any thoughts on this and other options?

Is there one to avoid?

Cheers

[cavalino]

I also had a 56 plate connect that was a great van for the 8 years I ran it but had to let it go due to engine troubles. So I bit the bullet and bought a new Connect 1.5tdci L2 trend and have been running it for a year now and I find it a great van ,more car like, lovely to drive and now the engine has loosened up very nippy. Currently doing around the 56mpg mark.

[mrtn]

You need to put pressure on Ford to bring back 1.6 Ecoboost, it's awesome on motorway.

[Mike]

You need to put pressure on Ford to bring back 1.6 Ecoboost, it's awesome on motorway.

You can’t bring back something that never existed.

[mrtn]

You can’t bring back something that never existed.

It's not like bringing back a fire breathing dragon, the Ecoboost Connect always existed outside UK, so it's just a marketing matter. Much like back in the day our local Honda office decided not to allocate the original HR-V with both automatic and air conditioning "because nobody would want that". You had to decide which feature you care to lose. I got the auto, thinking that it's not that bad as we all drove windows down in the old days. Damn it was bad in a black car in the middle of summer.

[Mike]

[quote="mrtn”] Ecoboost Connect always existed outside UK[/quote]

But most of us (including the op) are in the UK. Don’t get me wrong, I’d buy a 1.6 Ecoboost at the drop of a hat and hopefully it will replace the 1.5 diesel, that’s not to knock the 1.5 as it’s a very good engine.

[xillent]

Currently doing around the 56mpg mark.

That sounds good to me. I see the 1.6 ecoboost comments too. Doubt if Henry will listen to me though

[boltondigger]

Got a 16 plate 1.6 recently i average 50mpg every fill and thats with a roof rack and ladders on.

Gutless thing but saving me a fortune.

[huns]

I just bought a new Tourneo Connect with the 1.5L engine (that's all they have now here, for Tourneo/Transit both).
It's the same DuraTorq engine, just 1.5L instead of 1.6L. I hoped it would be the new EcoBoost one (like the 2L transit), but nope, it's just a tad bit smaller. They did stick a bigger Turbo on it, so yeah. My Tourneo eats ~7.8L / 100km (~30mpg) but it also carries +3 seats, extra trim.

- It's very cheaply done. But yeah, same as the previous 1.6L Connect I had. Everything is plastic, flimsy, cheap. The plastic trim parts have gaps and whatnot. It's just cheap.
- Everything is held together with glue, these plastic "pops" that break if you try to remove them, etc. But that's the same as the 2016 1.6L Connect.
- The engine is no different from the 1.6L, the power difference cannot be felt too much. I mean you had to keep the RPM high in the 1.6L model as well if you wanted power.
- The 1.5L model, or the Tourneo itself warms fast! This was my biggest problem with my 1.6L Connect. In winter, I almost froze every single time. It took my like 15-30 minutes of solid driving to get warm air out of the vents. It was horrible. Let alone me freezing, the engine also ran cold for prolonged times, so I wonder how long that engine would have lasted. Not long I reckon.
- This van came with Sync, not the touch one. But it works, it's comfy.
- The digital AC is godsend. I wonder what took them so long.

So if you want to get a new Connect, you only lose a tad bit of engine power, but you get a very cool AC, awesome Sync support, and the faster heating cabin/engine. And seriously the last part is the most important. If you live in cold weather it's a must. I was shaking in my old 1.5L Connect from the cold because it was just that cold. I mean you sit in a -5C degree temperature for 10-30 minutes. That ain't good.

[Mike]

I mean you sit in a -5C degree temperature for 10-30 minutes. That ain't good.

That ain’t good, but the heated seat is

[huns]

I mean the old 1.6L Connect had no heated seats AND it took 30 minutes of driving to get heat from vents.

The new 1.5L engine has heated seats (as far as I know the Connect has too on higher trim levels), and it heats up very fast.
My father also used the previous 1.6L van and he always caught some flu in the winter. As I wrote it's no wonder, you shake from the cold. And to think it's a 2016 engine/vehicle, its' crazy. People tried the block heater too, but it only keeps the engine lukewarm and barely improved heat up time. Maybe premium diesel would have helped, I don't know, never tried it.

(sorry if my post got confusing, my brain is a bit fried. tried to install a dashcam today, but finding the wires on a Ford head unit is PAINFUL.)

Ps.: I think we will get a 1.0L three cylinder diesel sooner than a 1.6L Petrol in Europe. If you check the global trend, Europe downsizes first, then the US. Europe now uses three cylinder petrol (Ford came first, then I saw recently that Dacia only offers 3-cyl). Meanwhile, US now uses V6 instead of V8. Just some time until the US starts to use ultra charged I4s, and we get only 3 cylinders. I do wonder how we will work though. Like I have no idea how an undersized engine is supposed to carry people and weight...

With that said, the power is less, but the consumption is largely the same. So I am absolutely stunned why they do this. Many reviewers tested the 3-cylinder 1.0L EcoBoost engines, and they ate just as much as bigger petrol engines. Let alone that EcoBoost has this catch-can thing going on. I didn't dig into it because it's rare in Europe, but basically, people in the US started putting "catch cans" into EcoBoost motor bays to catch the dirt and grime that circulates in the system.

[xillent]

Dunno what to buy.

[Mike]

Dunno what to buy.

120ps Limited auto, with climate, satnav and the option wheels. Well that’s what I’d do if I replaced mine tomorrow.

[xillent]

I don't know when the scrappage thing ends but i'll pop in and see if what's said. I'll certainly take on board any suggestions. Certainly would like the climate control