New Ford Fiesta SportVan Launches in UK

New Ford Fiesta Sportvan

Unassuming commercial vehicle is ready to work

By Christopher Jackson
March 9, 2009 9:30 PM
Filed Under: European, Ford

For UK business owners who need inner-city transportation with a bit of sporting flair, Ford has introduced the Fiesta Van. Ford's smallest commercial vehicle looks like a standard three-door Fiesta, but blackout panels and a two-seat layout enable it to offer decent cargo-carrying capacity for urban deliveries or transport.

This isn't a last-minute addition to the lineup; Ford spokesmen say that the van has been a part of the plan all along. It's distinguished from the passenger-carrying version by solid panels that replace the rear windows, and the rear seats have been removed. Cargo tie-down hooks and a bulkhead have been added as well. Thus modified, the Fiesta Van offers 1000 cubic liters of cargo space and a range of payload capacities from 490kg to 515kg. The maximum useable load length is 1296mm.

Ford will offer the Fiesta Van with a choice of 82hp 1.25 liter gasoline or 90hp 1.6 liter diesel engines. Fuel economy is rated at 49.6 and 67.3mpg, respectively. The Fiesta Van also includes Ford's EasyFuel capless fueling system.

The Fiesta Van doesn't look anything like the typical compact panel van, a fact which is apt to increase its appeal among iconoclastic business owners. Its small size also reduces insurance costs. Prices are set to start at £9,025 for the entry-level version. Better-equipped "Trend" and SportVan models are also available.

Source: Ford

Press Release (Click to expand)

New Fiesta Van range now on sale from £9,025 to £10,780
Available with a choice of three engines and three series: entry, new "Trend" and the top-of-the range SportVan
Competitive payload of up to 515kg
Best-in-class fuel economy up to 67.3mpg
Low insurance groups
Dagenham-built diesel engines emit just 110g/km CO2

BRENTWOOD, 9 March, 2009 – The new Ford Fiesta Van is now on sale from £9,025. Low running costs make this new entry into the car-derived market a sound business decision. Frugal fuel economy of up to 67.3mpg*, insurance groups of 1E and 2E and a choice of engines and trim levels make it a class-leading package.

Steve Kimber, Ford of Britain's commercial vehicles director, said: "Fiesta Van is a main player in the car-derived van market with around 25 per cent of all sales. We expect to build on this, as more and more of today's businesses look to keep their costs under control.

"The van model was an integral part of the new Fiesta product plan and its superior quality really shows. Being competitive has never been more relevant and that's why Fiesta Van, with the range-topping SportVan, is a great addition to our 2009 line-up."

The fuel efficiency of the Fiesta Van is best in class: the petrol engine has combined fuel consumption of 49.6mpg and CO2 emissions of 133g/km. Both diesel engines have a combined fuel consumption of 67.3mpg* and CO2 emissions of just 110g/km.

The new Fiesta Van is available in three versions: Fiesta Van, the new "Trend" and "SportVan" with prices starting at £9,025 for the 1.25 Duratec 82PS petrol to £10,780 for the SportVan 1.6 TDCi 90PS with coated diesel particulate filter (cDPF). The addition of the Trend series is set to appeal to a wider group of customers. It is ideal for image-conscious businesses who may be delivering small packages, transporting compact equipment such as meter reading tools or for the site engineer who does not need a large capacity for tools.

Engines
The new Fiesta Van is available with a choice of engines: 1.25-litre 82PS Duratec 16 valve petrol unit and a frugal 1.4-litre 68PS Duratorq TDCi turbo diesel. The top-of-the-range 1.6-litre 90PS Duratorq TDCi turbo diesel is standard in the Fiesta SportVan. The closed-loop coated cDPF is optional on the 1.6-litre 90PS Duratorq TDCi turbo diesel on all series. Both diesel engines are built at Ford's wind-powered plant at Dagenham, Essex.

Car becomes a van
A payload range from 490kg to 515kg gives customers a competitive option for transporting their products. The rear side windows are replaced by body-coloured solid panels, and the rear passenger seats are removed to provide a load box area of 1,000 cubic litres, with a maximum useable load length of 1,296mm, as well as a maximum load box width of 1,278mm (1,000mm between the wheel arches) and a height of up to 806mm. A half-height composite bulkhead and DIN-compliant tie-down hooks are standard.

New Fiesta Van is equipped with the acclaimed Ford EasyFuel capless refuelling system which is clean and easy to use and also has a mis-fuel inhibitor that prevents the wrong fuel filler nozzle being inserted. This feature is a major benefit to commercial customers, particularly for mixed fleets and vehicles that are used by multiple drivers.

This new model also inherits the best technologies and features from its car cousin including: a chassis designed for a safe and controllable ride under all loading conditions, the new Electric Power Assisted Steering (EPAS) for steering accuracy and lower fuel consumption, and anti-lock brakes (ABS) including Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD). Electronic Stability Programme (ESP) is available as an option with all engines (standard on SportVan) and includes Emergency Brake Assist (EBA).

Fiesta Van feature specification:

EasyFuel capless refuelling
Three engine options
Body colour roof spoiler
Electric door mirrors
Stereo radio CD, MP3 connection, four front speakers and steering wheel mounted controls
Adjustable steering column
Electric front windows

Fiesta Van Trend features in addition to Fiesta Van:

Front fog lights
Body-coloured, power folding, heated door mirrors
Automatic windshield wipers and headlamps
Auto dimming rear view mirror
Trip computer
Driver's seat lumbar support
Heated front windscreen

Standard features of Fiesta SportVan in addition to Fiesta Van Trend:

1.6-litre TDCi (90PS) engine
Body colour sports "aero" kit including high intake front grille, rear bumper and rear spoiler
16" five-spoke sports alloy wheels
Bluetooth hands free and voice control, including multi function display
Air conditioning
Sports style front seats
Leather trimmed steering wheel
Rear sports spoiler
Perimeter alarm
Sports-tuned suspension with lowered ride height
ESP/traction control
Driver's knee and side airbags (head and thorax) and active head restraint

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Tags: Ford Fiesta, Ford Fiesta Van, Ford Fiesta Sportvan

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Comments

need4speed

March 9, 2009 10:41 PM

back in the day we use to call this a hatchback

Bristol411S3

March 9, 2009 10:57 PM

Hatchback implies a passenger car though, no? This is a Commercial Vehicle. What we in the UK call a van. What Americans call a van we call a MPV or People Carrier.

BabyMilo

March 9, 2009 10:57 PM

I saw the normal version at MIMS. And it looks alot better in person than it does in photos, especially in the lime green colour. I guess that this would be a good little run around van for the city.

ShinyG

March 9, 2009 11:34 PM

After stripping "coupe" of all its meaning by making "4 door coupes" and using as argument a century old french language, now manufacturers are keen on destroying what little dignity "sport" has left in the contemporary car naming scheme! Putting "sport" on anything isn't cool, it's like a chick wearing a "I have a big shlong" T-shirt: weird and unnatural! Can we have a bit of honesty Ford? How about just calling it Ford Fiesta Van. Is it that hard!? Is your CEO and/or marketing department payed by the letter with huge bonuses for adding "sport"/"sports" in every name!?

Edited by user on March 9, 2009 at 11:35 PM

afterace2

March 10, 2009 12:53 AM

The first ever van that I think I would actually like to be driving around in.

adz612

March 10, 2009 1:19 AM

coming to a rear bumper near you!

genie

March 10, 2009 5:44 AM

ShinyG, the SportVan is just the name of one of the trim levels. Its actually called the Fiesta Van, but the SportVan spec includes all those cliche 'sporty' things like front spoilers and sideskirts.

Michael

March 10, 2009 9:18 AM

Usually, a van or MPV requires more room and a different styling. I like the new Ford design, I like Fiesta, but I think they pushed things to far with Fiesta sportvan (!?). Let Fiesta be a small people carrier and launch as soon as possible the more roomy Ford B-max MPV (sharing the same platform with Fiesta). And based on B-max Ford could have the small van they want.

Edited by user on March 10, 2009 at 9:19 AM

Bristol411S3

March 10, 2009 12:40 PM

Er, you're not getting what a van is in the UK, are you? It has NOTHING to do with MPVs.

For has a larger, but still small, van above this called the Transit Connect.

Michael

March 10, 2009 1:54 PM

Well, English (either British or American) is not my mother tongue, so... let me put it this way: I think that a Ford B-class "SportVan" based on the future B-max MPV would have been more appropiate than one based on Fiesta HATCHBACK.

Edited by user on March 10, 2009 at 1:55 PM

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