We spend a week in the boxy self described un minivan from Ford

Pros:

Passenger and cargo room
Smooth ride
Fuel Efficient

Cons:

Hard plastic interior
Only adequate acceleration
Road, tire and wind noise

2014 Ford Transit Connect Wagon

2014 Ford Transit Connect Wagon

Ford left the minivan market in 2008, but although that market has shrunk since the heydays of the early 2000s, there's still a healthy demand for family people movers. This led Ford to introduce a family-oriented version of its Transit Connect commercial van earlier this year.

2014 Ford Transit Connect Wagon

Exterior

Based on the same platform that underpins the Focus, the FWD Transit Connect Wagon also features Ford's Kinetic design language – albeit in a much boxier form while aligning it with the Fiesta, Focus and Fusion. Up front, narrow headlight enclosures flank a thin horizontal upper air intake that rests above the now-familiar trapezoidal-shaped lower grille.
2014 Ford Transit Connect Wagon
Its' fairly flat sides are broken up by upper and lower character lines, as well as an aggressive front wheel arch and a mild rear one. In back, the massive rear window is bracketed by narrow vertical tail lights that stretch from the mid hatch all the way to the roofline.

2014 Ford Transit Connect Wagon

Interior

Inside, you can see why Ford calls the Transit Connect the "un-minivan", as it bears little resemblance to the current iteration of such vehicles. It also means there's both good news and bad news in this regard.

We'll start with the good.

There are lots of ways to flip and fold the seats to maximize cargo capacity – there's even an overhead storage bin above the windshield. The dashboard is well laid out and the major controls are within easy reach of the driver. The front seats are also very supportive and there's plenty of leg, hip, shoulder and an amazing amount of headroom for front, middle and rear seat occupants. In this case, we're talking about two adults in front, three adults in the middle seat and two adults in the third row.

2014 Ford Transit Connect Wagon

In addition to the MyFord Touch screen, there are redundant controls for on/off volume, source, tune, seek, sound and display as well as redundant controls on the steering wheel for radio, information center, phone and cruise controls. It's certainly not a perfect world for touchscreen-averse drivers, but it makes using the system – at least those features used most often – quite a bit easier.

Views out the front and sides are excellent – even the view out the rear three quarters is acceptable. The view out the large rear window is also very good – unless the headrests on the rear seats are raised (those can be flipped forward to a horizontal position, dramatically improving visibility). Our Titanium tester also came with the optional rear view camera – making backing up even easier.

The leather-wrapped steering wheel both tilts and telescopes and the perforated leather seats are nicely bolstered, although the seat cushions themselves seemed a bit short and could use more thigh support.

2014 Ford Transit Connect Wagon

The only other bad news, and it is worth considering, is that although the interior is well laid out with the trim featuring nice textures and colors, there are lots of hard plastic surfaces that, especially on a vehicle like our tester priced above $30,000, seem very much out of place.

On the other hand, if you're someone who craves cargo room, believe us when we say that your ship has come in. On long wheelbase models such as this one, total passenger volume equates to 166 cubic feet. Even with all three rows in their normal position, there's 19.8 cubic feet of storage behind the third row. Fold that row down and it increases to 58.9 cubic feet. Finally, folding the second row as well means a total of 104.2 cubic feet.

While this is only two-thirds the capacity of the Honda Odyssey, keep in mind that the Ford is 5 inches narrower and 29 inches shorter overall – making it much more maneuverable (as well as easier to park) in urban areas.

2014 Ford Transit Connect Wagon

Equipment

Although the base trim level is the XL, the least-expensive model is the XLT, only because it's the only model available with the short wheelbase, offsetting its added equipment.

Standard equipment on the XL trim level is pretty basic and includes the 2.5-liter normally aspirated 4-cylinder engine mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission, vinyl flooring, front and rear air conditioning, power windows, keyless entry, 7-passenger seating (with dual rear doors or optional liftgate), an AM/FM/CD sound system and cloth seats.

Stepping up to the XLT adds the fold and tumble feature to the second row seats, 4.2-inch multi-function display with rear view camera and steering wheel controls, cruise control, rear window defroster, Ford's MyKey parental controls, carpeted front and second row floors, sun visor vanity mirrors, an in-cluster message center, body-color front and rear bumpers and door handles, rear liftgate, fog lamps, power heated outside mirrors and privacy glass.

2014 Ford Transit Connect Wagon

To that list the Titanium model adds leather-trimmed seats (6-way driver's power), dual-zone climate control, SYNC with a USB input, rain-sensing front wipers, cornering fog lamps and 16-inch alloy wheels.

Finally, stability control and a full complement of airbags including driver/passenger, front side seat and first, second and third row curtain airbags are also standard.

2015 Transit Connect Wagons start at $25,650 for a short wheelbase XLT. Our LWB 2014 Titanium tester had a starting price of $29,000. A $1,295 panoramic fixed glass roof, $300 quickclear windshield defrost, $840 MyFord Touch w/rearview camera, $345 remote start, $495 front & rear park and traffic sensing systems and $45 for daytime running lights. With a $995 destination & delivery charge, it brought the total MSRP to $33,315.

2014 Ford Transit Connect Wagon

Under the hood

Two engines are offered on the Transit Connect. Our tester was equipped with the standard 2.5-liter four-cylinder that generates 169 horsepower. The optional engine is also a turbo four, but that one displaces 1.6-liters and produces 178 horsepower.

Surprisingly despite its boxy shape, the EPA rates 2.5-liter-equipped Transit Connects at 20/28/23 city/highway/combined, while our own observed fuel economy was a respectable 25 miles per gallon in combined suburban and highway driving.

2014 Ford Transit Connect Wagon

On the road

Although the Transit Connect looks more than a bit ungainly, performance-wise it takes advantage of its Focus-based roots. It actually feels very tossable, with very little body lean through the corners – this despite the fact that the 2.5-liter feels only adequate in the acceleration department.

On the expressway, the Transit Connect feels very stable even in crosswind situations. And while the steering is slightly numb on-center, there's plenty of feedback when you decide to change direction. Braking is also very good and it's easy to modulate a brake pedal that offers plenty of feedback to the driver.

The only downside is that while the Trans Connect Wagon is much quieter than its commercial van counterpart, there's still more road noise that enters the cabin than in a typical minivan.

2014 Ford Transit Connect Wagon

The Bottom Line

There's a lot to like about the Transit Connect Wagon. Its fuel efficient, has a smooth ride, light steering, it's not affected much by crosswinds and there's plenty of space for either 7 adults, or a combination of passengers plus very usable cargo space.

On the other hand, much the interior reflects the Transit's commercial roots, the steering is responsive but a bit numb on-center, acceleration is only adequate and, despite additional sound insulation, quite a bit of road, tire and engine noise can be heard in the cabin.

When all is said and done, however, the Transit Connect feels much more nimble and more fun to drive than most minivans on the road today. Those willing to overlook some of the cheapness of its commercial roots will enjoy an entertaining, comfortable, versatile people hauler.

2014 Ford Transit Connect Wagon