Ford Transit Courier Sport 1.5 TDCI 95PS: Extra aggression for Ford’s smallest van

What is it?

TO give added appeal to the smallest Transit – the Courier – Ford has added this distinctive Sport trim to the range for the Ford Transit Courier Sport 1.5 TDCI 95PS.

This makes good financial sense for Ford as Sport models of the Transit and Fiesta have always sold well.

Plus, with Ford stopping production of the Fiesta van, with an all new car due soon and no plans for a new van, this has to be the obvious replacement for Fiesta Sport Van owners needing to change.

What’s it like? Well, we had an early drive to find out.

What’s hot

• This baby Transit is fitted with the choice of 100bhp 1.0-litre Ecoboost petrol or the one we’ve got, the 95bhp 1.5-litre TDCi diesel. Sport by name, but not by nature as performance is adequate rather than impressive. It is mated to a slick five-speed manual transmission for 104g/km emissions and 70.6mpg fuel economy.
• The Courier might only be sporty in name, but it is still great fun to drive. In fact it feels more like the B-Max MPV to drive, with precise steering, the slick five-speed manual transmission and impressively tight handling – even when not loaded.
•  The driving position will please Fiesta Van drivers too, but is more spacious yet is still car-like and – with the standard full-height bulkhead – refined. The switchgear and steering wheel are definitely borrowed from Ford’s current supermini. The instruments are also car-like, easy to read and the switchgear is logically-placed.
• Standard equipment for the Courier Sport is comprehensive and you certainly won’t miss it on the outside with its 16-inch Magnetic Grey painted alloys, front fog lights, colour-keyed bumpers and on our Magnetic painted test van, the red ‘Sport’ stripes down the side and over the roof of this van. Inside, equipment includes powered and heated door mirrors, a leather-trimmed steering wheel with red stitching, manual air-conditioning, remote central locking and electric front windows.
• The Courier’s boxy design equals more load volume than the outgoing Fiesta at 1.9 cubic metres. Maximum load length and height are 1,620mm and 1,244mm respectively, with the added practicality of a sliding side door. The Transit Courier Sport has a gross payload of 661kg.
• The Courier Sport seems good value with a base price of £13,845, but our test van was fitted with quite a few costly options taking it to a more chunky £15,895. Still it should be cheap to run with up to 76.3mpg fuel economy with the optional stop start system and the long service intervals.

What’s not

• 95bhp is enough performance in the Courier, but we’d like a bit more and reckon it would be a more relaxing cruiser with a six-speed gearbox.
• Those stripes won’t appeal to all, the Courier Sport is certainly no shrinking violet!
• The full bulkhead is welcome, but it does eat into the rear loadspace a lot.
• Is it just us, or is Ford’s SYNC infotainment system overcomplicated?

Verdict on Ford Transit Courier Sport 1.5 TDCI 95PS

 The Transit Courier was already one of our favourite small vans, being usefully practical, it looks great and offers a fun drive. The added Sport specification has taken nothing away from these traits and it looks even more attractive in our eyes.

Our only misgivings with this van are that those in-your-face graphics won’t appeal to all, it might be badged ‘Sport’ but there are no performance or handling modifications over the standard Transit Courier and that full height bulkhead robs more valuable loadspace than you’d expect.

Lowdown on the Ford Transit Courier Sport 1.5 TDCI 95PS

Side hinges and centre handle? Rear ‘barn doors’ asymmetric with shut at stripe edge