I feel we are able to all agree Ford makes some enjoyable automobiles. The 2024 Mustang looks as if a rip. Everyone, even my car-ambivalent family and friends, notices a Bronco when one drives by. And the Ranger Raptor is all of the Raptor anybody actually wants. But there’s a whole different facet of Ford that exists throughout the pond — a world that’s somewhat friendlier, tends to return in higher colours and now contains the cute, fun-sized E-Tourneo Courier.
Slightly background, as a result of Ford’s van nomenclature could be a little complicated. A “Tourneo” is mainly a Ford Transit kitted as a people-mover, relatively than for industrial use. The Tourneo Courier is essentially the most compact model of the Tourneo, and it’s traditionally shared a platform with Ford’s smallest automobile. That was once the Fiesta, however with the Fiesta going the best way of all right-sized hatchbacks, that place now belongs to the Puma crossover.
This technically isn’t the primary we’ve seen of the Courier. Last month, the E-Transit model debuted, which is just about the identical as this Tourneo besides in panel-van guise. By distinction, Ford seems to be pitching the Tourneo Courier as extra of an energetic way of life car, and I dig it.
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The Tourneo Courier will come in battery-electric and internal-combustion options, per Ford’s press release. The latter, with a 123-horsepower one-liter EcoBoost three-cylinder, will kick off production by the end of this year. The E-Tourneo Courier is slated to launch in 2024, packing a 134-horsepower motor with support for both 11 kW AC and 100 kW DC charging. While Ford hasn’t yet shared the E-Tourneo Courier’s battery capacity, the manufacturer does report an AC charging time of less than six hours, with the ability to add 54 miles of juice in just 10 minutes when using a supported DC fast charger.
But it’s the exterior and the surprisingly roomy interior where the E-Tourneo Courier wins you over. The option for a white roof is throwing serious FJ Cruiser vibes, and the Courier’s overall sense of diminutive, rugged ambition calls to mind other modern miniature marvels, like the Hyundai Casper and Mitsubishi Delica Mini. OK, this thing isn’t that small, but it may as well be relative to the tiniest Ford SUVs here at home.
Inside, Ford says it’s been in a position to claw again 44 % of cargo house, aided partially by the cavity the place the one-liter mill previously lived. There are a plethora of little areas to retailer little issues, and but Ford nonetheless shoehorned in a 12-inch touchscreen atop the dashboard, which should appear completely huge in a cabin this compact.
Ford doesn’t offer anything quite like the Tourneo Courier in the States. The Transit is about a decade long in the tooth, while the writing’s on the wall for the smaller Transit Connect. The E-Transit is a bit of an odd duck, with its new chassis and electric powertrain underpinning the same old body.
Ultimately we’ve no alternative however to admire the Tourneo Courier from afar, identical to the outgoing Fiesta and Focus, Puma ST and even the brand new Volkswagen-based Explorer EV. (I’ll give it to Ford — it seems to be good-looking.) The seller I purchased my Fiesta ST from retains attempting to get me again within the showroom to promote my scorching hatch. To ship me off in what, a Maverick? Long stay small Fords.
Source: jalopnik.com