Ford has officially unveiled the new Transit Connect which is available to order now with the first vans due to arrive later this year.

Available as a standard van, a double cab-in-van or Kombi, the Transit Connect comes as a short or long wheelbase but both can carry two Euro pallets while the maximum payload is 1000kg.

The big news is that this is the first Ford van to get the impressive 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine which has been highly praised in Ford’s passenger cars like the Fiesta and Focus. With claimed economy of 50.4mpg and CO2 of 129g/km it willl certainly have appeal for short distance and town users. However, it’s still the TDCi diesel that will be the more popular.

The 1.6 TDCi Duratorq comes in either 75PS, 95PS or 115PS outputs plus there’s an Econetic model fitted with start/stop and an active grille shutter, which helps boost official economy to 70.6mpg and drop CO2 to 105g/km, although only when fitted with a 62mph speed limiter.

Inside it gets a car-like interior following on from the new Transit Custom which means a neat yet functional layout and comfortable seats. There’s a load-through hatch in the bulkhead and the passenger seat folds flat to allow you to carr long loads up to 3.4 metres in the long wheelbase version. As an option there’s a multi-fold passenger seat which mean you can carry two passengers in the front.

The Kombi and double-cab-in-van variants seat five, or seven in the long wheelbase Kombi model, while the double-cab has a movable mesh bulkhead. Total cargo volumes are 2.9m3 and 3.6m3 with a full bulkhead, or 3.7m3 and 4.4m3 including the front loadspace area.

Ford has improved the remote central locking system while anti-tamper shielding of the door lock latches stops drilling or chiselling of the locks. In terms of safety the Transit Connect is also available with Active City Stop, designed to prevent or at least minimise damage in low speed collisions with stationary or slower moving traffic in front.

Prices start at £13,921 (plus VAT) and across the board list prices are actually cheaper than the outgoing model. The new Transit Connect has been subjected to Ford’s tough commercial vehicle testing and durability standards, covering the equivalent of three million miles in arduous testing, including at least 250,000 miles in tough real-world fleet conditions.