The Ford Transit, consistently Ireland’s best selling van, is celebrating its 45th birthday this month.
The first Transit went into production on August 9, 1965 and since then six million Transits have been sold across Europe, wth more than 120,000 sold in Ireland alone.
The current Transit arrived in 2006, as the Celtic Tiger was in full roar, helping it to become one of the best-selling vehicles – car or van – on Irish roads. This latest model was voted International Van of the Year in 2006 by a panel of Europe’s most experienced commercial vehicle journalists. There are now over 140 configurations of the van available as standard.
The most recent version of this iconic vehicle is the new Transit ECOnetic which is based on the front wheel drive Transit T280 Van with short wheel base and 2.2-litre 115 PS Duratorq TDCi engine.
As the “greenest†van on the road, the new Transit ECOnetic has target fuel economy of just 7.2 l/100 km (39.2 mpg), while average CO2 emissions are 189 g/km and best in class. The Transit ECOnetic is the first Ford commercial vehicle to offer Stage V emission standards in its segment.
“Ford has delivered a number of motoring icons, but I don’t think any can compare with Transit,†commented Eddie Murphy, Chairman and Managing Director of Ford Ireland.
“The Transit name is by far the most enduring on our books, and it’s a perennial best-seller in this country. Of course it’s not sentiment that keeps it at the top: it’s functionality, reliability and low running costs.â€
