Try convincing a 'proper' Capri enthusiast about that one.
The Ford | T7 Conundrum
- Thread starter Jacobsroodt
- Start date
They can be.
Got my first close up of the Fordsporter today in Villeneuve-Les-Avignon. Delivering baguettes I believe.
So has anybody here driven one of these yet? What's it like to drive?
Over the years I've had a T25, a 10 year break then a T5.1, and then a T6, both of which were mapped and were massive fun to drive with nice suspension upgrades.
I have a 2022 T6.1 150bhp 4Motion 6 speed now, and it is awful to drive. It apparently can't be sensibly mapped, and whilst it looks and handles great, I'm forever changing gears as it has very poor torque. It's utter dog poo and I dislike driving it. It has poor fuel consumption.
If the new one is quick, or can be made to be quick I'd swap to one anyway just to enjoy driving again. Does anybody know how they drive?
Over the years I've had a T25, a 10 year break then a T5.1, and then a T6, both of which were mapped and were massive fun to drive with nice suspension upgrades.
I have a 2022 T6.1 150bhp 4Motion 6 speed now, and it is awful to drive. It apparently can't be sensibly mapped, and whilst it looks and handles great, I'm forever changing gears as it has very poor torque. It's utter dog poo and I dislike driving it. It has poor fuel consumption.
If the new one is quick, or can be made to be quick I'd swap to one anyway just to enjoy driving again. Does anybody know how they drive?
A few have driven one yes, search the thread and forum
My SiL says his is nice to drive, but not driven myself. Fastest ICE version is a 16 second van, so about the same acceleration as a mid sized turd dropping down the U bend.
In fairness though, as sliggardly as that may be it's remarkable for a van. I can remember early 90s LDV diesel Sherpas with 70 odd horsepower, I think it may have been the same engine used in the Marina diesel. Kids on BMXs would overtake us and flip the bird while laughing. Even the V8 PSU carrier versions were something like 95 BHP, so while they made all the right noises they were pretty glacial by today's standards.
In fairness though, as sliggardly as that may be it's remarkable for a van. I can remember early 90s LDV diesel Sherpas with 70 odd horsepower, I think it may have been the same engine used in the Marina diesel. Kids on BMXs would overtake us and flip the bird while laughing. Even the V8 PSU carrier versions were something like 95 BHP, so while they made all the right noises they were pretty glacial by today's standards.
I was at the VW Van Centre in Liverpool today (1st oil change and inspection) so took the opportunity to have a good nose around the showroom.
Aesthetically I find the front of the Transitporter acceptable and sufficiently different from the Ford. The rear is pretty naff, but at the end of the day it's a panel van - a box on wheels. It doesn't really bother me. But apart from the VW steering wheel, the dash is really ugly and the reason I went off Fords when they brought out the last generation Mondeo.
The Multivan, on the other hand, is really rather nice. What I can't work out, is why have the Multivan and the T7? Visually they don't seem to be much different in size. Why didn't they just make the Multivan a tiny bit wider / longer (whatever was necessary to fit euro pallets or whatever) and kill two birds with one van, so to speak? Also, why don't any of the established campervan converters seem to be following VW's lead and building campers on the Multivan?
They had the full range of Californias on display, and I have to say I was quite impressed. The quality is undeniable, as is the clever use of space etc. If I had a spare 80k burning a hole in my wallet, I could be tempted by the top of the range Ocean model they had. Yes, it's probably a bit smaller inside than the T6.1, but since we make full use of the drive away awning when camping, and pretty much just sleep in the van, the only issue might be the bed being narrower than our current RIB 120.
Aesthetically I find the front of the Transitporter acceptable and sufficiently different from the Ford. The rear is pretty naff, but at the end of the day it's a panel van - a box on wheels. It doesn't really bother me. But apart from the VW steering wheel, the dash is really ugly and the reason I went off Fords when they brought out the last generation Mondeo.
The Multivan, on the other hand, is really rather nice. What I can't work out, is why have the Multivan and the T7? Visually they don't seem to be much different in size. Why didn't they just make the Multivan a tiny bit wider / longer (whatever was necessary to fit euro pallets or whatever) and kill two birds with one van, so to speak? Also, why don't any of the established campervan converters seem to be following VW's lead and building campers on the Multivan?
They had the full range of Californias on display, and I have to say I was quite impressed. The quality is undeniable, as is the clever use of space etc. If I had a spare 80k burning a hole in my wallet, I could be tempted by the top of the range Ocean model they had. Yes, it's probably a bit smaller inside than the T6.1, but since we make full use of the drive away awning when camping, and pretty much just sleep in the van, the only issue might be the bed being narrower than our current RIB 120.
(And that's in Candy white)I’m guessing the multivan runs on a more car like chassis/platform. People carriers/lifestyle vehicles don’t need to carry a huge payload. When you start adding weight carrying capacity comfort goes out the window (and never comes back).
Two different customer bases need two different models.
Im not sure I see the point either, but both are selling very well so I guess the shareholders are happy with it.
Fine apparently for about 60k miles then the wet belt totally destroys the engine and just about everything else.
Often well below that mileage, but more often than not it doesn't grenade at all.
The odds are in the owmers favour - my SiL is on his third wet belt transit and not had a sniff of an issue. The problem is it's just common enough to make it a statistically uncomfortable gamble, and even if it turned out to be fine id be sweating every time I turned the key, and that's not much of an ownership experience.
Taking the totally pragmatic view in this debate. The reality is the colossus of the VW empire has done the numbers and will not loose any money on the Ford JV. Platform sharing was the brain child of VW and has proved to be the best thing ever for mass production. Most mass production automakers have adopted the same formula - badge engineering. As a Transporter stalwart I will stick with my T6.1 knowing that I’m happy with the smile factor. The global market for The Ford based VW product is so vast that enthusiasts don’t come into the picture. It’s a numbers game.
Free RFL in 25 years ?
40 nowadays. I'm still waiting for my G reg Golf GTI to come of age. Only four and a half years to go.
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And expensive!
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