The Transit Connect is based on the Ford Focus chassis - Same suspension, brakes and 215/55 R16 tires. I would say the ride is a bit more . . . . sporty than any other van I've ridden in. Noise isn't a problem unless you're on pavement which the tires aren't particularly fond of. Many TC's are work vehicles with just the front buckets and a sparse compartment in the back with no interior paneling or insulation - Those are a bit louder, but the 'wagon' version with rear seating have the usual interior headliner, side panels and insulation. They are all made in Europe - Ours was made in Spain
Originally I bought ramps for loading, but they quickly got to be a pain - We gave that up after just a few trips. A Seg without the cargo bars is a bit difficult to pick up by hand, even for two people, but since we added the cargo bars they're both much easier to pick up and to strap down. We're both seniors and she is 5' 3" and we have no problem at all loading them by hand. We set the first one in with both of us standing on either side and then turn it 90 degrees against the wall. For the second one, we set a 12 by 12 inch piece of cardboard on the floor of the van and she sets one wheel on that and gets out of the way and I slide it in with the wheel with the cardboard until it's where it needs to be. If you want/need to pick them up, I highly recommend adding the bars. We would never go back to the ramps
The two notched pieces of wood keep them spaced apart, near the sides of the van so they don't come together when we tighten the straps
Our TC is a Gen 2, 2014 Short wheelbase model and they come with a 2.5 liter four mated to a 6 speed 'Select Shift' trans and the mileage is nothing short of incredible, IMO. We don't drive it everyday - We have two EV's that we use for daily transportation, so the TC only gets used for trips. For the first 20,000 miles we are averaging 28.4 MPG. Best tank I ever got was 29.8 and that was mostly running roads with 55 mph speed limits, but we were going through several small towns on that tank. Running 70 or 75, the overall 28.4 shown on the computer display will eventually go down a tenth, but then running 55 or 60 for a few hours, it will go back up to 28.4
Overall, we love the van. We take the Segs on almost every trip and with the rear seats either folded up or removed from the van, we have room for all sorts of baggage and a good sized cooler too. The Segs do fit with the rear seats up though - You can carry 5 people and the Segs
Don
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