Driving the Transit Courier – with only one litre and three cylinders

NOW, this might sound the sort of thing most van drivers would run a mile from. A petrol van. And I can’t blame them. But wait a minute… This is the new Ford Transit Courier and under the bonnet is a petrol engine, and this bit might make you blanche, but it only has (whisper it) three cylinders. Oh, and did I mention it’s only 1.0 litre? The good thing is that is has a turbocharger; even better it’s Ford’s EcoBoost engine, a unit we really like at our sister site Business Car Manager (click here to why we like it so much). And while I had mentally dismissed driving the car as ‘not worth it’ Ford thinks otherwise. And I’m glad I did give it a go. It’s brilliant to drive, remarkably quiet, coped with the 250kg load as easily as the diesel, offers 54.3mpg with stop-start against the diesel’s 74.3mpg with stop-start, and what’s more, the engine felt more flexible than the diesel (click here to read our full review).

Ford reckons it really has a part to play. Mark Easton, Ford’s lcv product manager, reckons it will take 5% of all Transit Courier sales. “It’s a question of economics. For a tradesperson with only local mileage, it’s a question of balancing the lower cost of the EcoBoost and the mileage against the greater cost of the diesel, the cost of diesel at the fuel pumps, and the number of miles you expect to drive.” So, before you dismiss it – as I did initially – get out your calculator, do a bit of maths, and then pop down to drive it. You won’t be disappointed. It might be small, but the EcoBoost engine in the Transit Courier can carry a heavy load.