Ford E-Transit Custom 2024 Review – International

Local pricing for the Ford E-Transit Custom will be announced closer to its arrival in Australia, slated for the end of 2024, but the increasingly competitive EV marketplace could see it start from about $70,000 plus on-road costs.

Exact local specifications are also still to be confirmed, but Ford Australia says the model will initially be available here in a long-wheelbase/standard-roof format with a 160kW motor, with a high-roof option to follow.

While commercial vehicles are generally considered through a lens of total cost of ownership, local pricing for the model will be key.

The electric medium van space is hotting up, spanning rivals such as the Mercedes-Benz eVito (priced from $91,051 plus ORCs) and LDV eDeliver 7 (from $65,253), as well as the still-to-be-released Peugeot E-Expert (from $79,990).

The Volkswagen ID. Cargo and an all-electric version of the new Volkswagen T7 Transporter, both of which are based on the Ford E-Transit Custom platform, is also in the pipeline.

By way of comparison, in the UK, in a long-wheelbase example in Limited grade trim, the electric version carries a 13 per cent premium over the ICE equivalent with a 2.0-litre EcoBlue turbo-diesel. If that carries through here, Ford has a strong opportunity to stake its claim in the emerging e-van landscape.

The E-Transit Custom is Ford’s second electrified commercial vehicle and will join the larger E-Transit that was officially launched in Australia in May 2024.

And while the European Ford E-Transit range spans multiple wheelbases (short and long), body styles (panel van, Double-Cab-in-Van, Kombi and MultiCab) and grades (Trend, Limited, Sport and MS-RT), Ford Australia says the long-wheelbase model earmarked for Australia will be closest to the base-spec Trend, with a load space volume of 6.8 cubic metres.

The 2024 Ford E-Transit Custom is based on the new second-generation Transit Custom platform, which launched in Europe at the end of 2023 and was recently crowned 2024 International Van of the Year.

The new-gen combustion-engined range will start arriving here in the next month or so.

While the E-Transit Custom swaps out Ford’s carryover 2.0-litre EcoBlue four-cylinder turbo-diesel and eight-speed auto for an electric drivetrain, the new platform ushers in a new three-seater cab (single driver’s seat, twin passenger bench) with some standout new features.

The cab is now more spacious, with more foot-room, while a new 13-inch touch-screen runs Ford’s carryover SYNC 4 infotainment system alongside an 8.0-inch high-definition digital instrument cluster.

The van has keyless starting and a choice of drive modes, while Ford Australia has confirmed we will also receive the optional Mobile Office pack. This can include recessed A-pillar LED lighting (for reading documents without any shadows), AMPS mounting kits (for things like smartphone holders) and an innovative two-position tilting steering wheel – the first position for resting a laptop on the wheel, and a second that sees a centre insert convert the wheel into a small table, ideal for lunch!

There’s no confirmation that we’ll see the Delivery Assist option, which automates multiple repetitive functions for delivery drivers when they make a drop, like activating the hazard lights, closing or opening windows and the sliding load bay door, and locking or unlocking the vehicle.

Nor will we see Ford’s Pro Power Onboard feature, which provides twin power points and a 2.3kW capacity to power a range of electrical appliances straight from the van. It will, however, be available in the looming Ranger PHEV model.

A 5m 32A Mode 3 Type 2 charging cable is stowed under the driver’s seat, while the E-Transit Custom also has what Ford terms a ‘vapour-injected’ heat pump for cab heating and cooling. This patented Ford design is said to be ultra efficient, helping maximise range.

And in a first for Ford in Australia, the E-Transit Custom will also come with an embedded 5G modem as standard, for greater connectivity and over-the-air updates.

The load bay features a standard bulkhead and load area protection kit as well as a wider (1030mm) power sliding side door and a lower and wider side step. The area has bright LED lighting, including LED loadspace lighting that illuminates the load area to the rear of the twin 50/50 barn doors, which can open to 90 or 180 degrees.

A tyre inflation kit is provided in lieu of a spare wheel, which may be unsettling for some.

Ford Australia hasn’t announced warranty details yet but expect the E-Transit Custom to adopt the same five-year/unlimited-kilometre new vehicle warranty and eight-year/160,000km battery and high-voltage component warranty of the larger E-Transit.

Service intervals are set at two years/unlimited kilometres; Ford estimates the E-Transit Custom will deliver significant operating cost savings, along with savings on servicing of up to 40 per cent.

The new-gen Transit Custom platform on which the 2024 Ford E-Transit Custom is based was recently awarded Euro NCAP’s maximum Platinum rating for safety, scoring highly in all categories of the assessment.

There are front and side airbags for the driver and front passenger (the latter’s front airbag having been repositioned into the roof lining, affording a new concealed storage space in the dash), while the list of smart safety tech and driver assistance features is extensive.

In Europe, standard features include cruise control, adjustable speed limiter, pre-collision assist, autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist detection, intelligent speed assist, traffic sign recognition, lane keep assist, reversing camera, rear parking sensors and a digital rear-view mirror, while items like a 360-degree camera, blind spot monitoring, cross traffic alert and adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go are also available.

The new model can also feature ‘exit warning’, which uses sensors to alert the driver if they are about to open their door into the path of a cyclist or other vulnerable road user.

The 2024 Ford E-Transit Custom is packed with cutting-edge technology, much of which is hidden from view due to its highly connected, digital nature.

As Ford Pro executive Peter Watt said at the model’s launch in Frankfurt: “This next generation of connected, electrified vehicles are like smartphones on wheels, in a way – the mechanical content is not so significant, but the digital content is all-important.”

Ford Pro, the brand’s commercial vehicle arm that operates in Europe and the US, says it’s heavily invested in integrating these vehicles with fleet telematics platforms to unlock greater efficiency, reduce costs and maximise uptime.

Ford Australia says it’s hard at work on a digital interface between its vehicles and fleet telematics too, although at this point those solutions are still some way off being realised.

Still, many smaller operations or owner-drivers will be happy with the connectivity already offered via the FordPass smartphone app, which puts a wealth of vehicle and trip data, battery and charging status, route planning, charger locations, cabin pre-heating or cooling and more in the palm of your hand.

The app integrates with the SYNC 4 platform and allows route planning to be made and transferred seamlessly between device and vehicle, with the GPS navigation displayed on the huge, crisp and clear 13-inch touch-screen.

Other highlights include wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, voice commands, an embedded Amazon Alexa virtual assistant and wireless smartphone charging. Many functions can be accessed via the new squared-off multi-function steering wheel.

The 5G modem can facilitate over-the-air updates for 30 modules in the E-Transit Custom, allowing owners to improve performance, update features or even add new functions and capabilities.

The new cab also has three USB charging points – near the smartphone charging tray (USB-A and USB-C), in the driver’s dashtop tray and in the new passenger-side dash compartment.

The 2024 Ford E-Transit Custom is powered by a single electric motor mounted beneath the floor at the rear of the vehicle.

Available in 100kW/415Nm, 160kW/415Nm and 210kW/415Nm formats in Europe (that last one a racy MS-RT edition), in Australia we’re getting the mid-tier rating.

Interestingly, the motor is exactly the same for all three outputs – it’s just calibrated differently. And even at that mid-tier 160kW/415Nm rating, the E-Transit Custom is still the most powerful Transit Custom we’ve ever seen in Australia, easily outperforming the diesel equivalent’s 125kW/390Nm 2.0-litre EcoBlue engine.

The E-Transit Custom’s motor is powered by a nickel manganese cobalt (NCM) lithium-ion battery with a useable capacity of 64kWh, with drive fed to the rear wheels via a single-speed automatic transmission.

The battery pack, comprising 276 cells, is held within the load floor above the sill flange, which Ford says eliminates the need for additional protective structures.

How far can the Ford E-Transit Custom go on a charge?

The Blue Oval claims the 2024 Ford E-Transit Custom has a driving range of up to 337km, under WLTP guidelines.

That’s well under the 380km range of the 74kWh battery initially quoted by Ford in 2022, but still four times the average daily usage of many of its European customers, the company says.

The range varies depending on variant. Ford quotes a range of up to 308km for the 160kW E-Transit Custom Sport and 275km for the high-performance 210kW E-Transit Custom MS-RT, for example.

After a couple of days of mixed city and rural driving in an E-Transit Custom Sport (with 160kW motor) with a 500kg test load, we’d say a 300km range looks achievable.

Naturally, range will vary according to load, driving style, and driving conditions.

Charging? Ford says it takes 39 minutes to recharge the battery from 10-80 per cent using a 125kW DC charger, while a full charge via an 11kW three-phase AC charger takes 6.7 hours, or 10.1 hours on a 7.4kW charger.

And for anyone caught short on the road, Ford claims that a 10min charge (again, via a 125kW DC charger) can add 82km of range.

In a mix of city and rural driving in Germany, our E-Transit Custom Sport seemed to settle on around 20kWh/100km.

I can only imagine the reaction from veteran drivers of traditional vans once they’ve driven the new 2024 Ford E-Transit Custom – it’s like stepping through some portal to the future…

We had three different test routes to choose from in Frankfurt, all pre-uploaded to the van’s SYNC 4 system, providing everything from congested inner-city traffic to arterials and autobahns, while the 500kg test weight was roughly half the van’s available payload.

Press the start button and you’re greeted with… silence! Deactivate the electric park brake and select drive via the new column-mounted gear selector, and you’re away, with just a faint whine to indicate the presence of an electric drivetrain.

There’s five drive modes to choose from – Eco, Normal, Sport, Slippery and Tow/Haul – with each giving a nicely nuanced driving experience.

Performance in Eco is suitably subdued, the motor’s output cut to 100kW, while both Normal and Sport unleash the full 160kW, just with different profiles affecting acceleration and throttle response. I settled on Normal for the most part, appreciating the smoother take-up in busy city traffic, but Eco is the prudent choice for maximising range.

Swapping drive modes, however, is fiddly – achieved through pushing a button on the dash and then tapping your preferred mode on the touch-screen. It means taking your eyes off the road momentarily, which isn’t ideal – an integrated steering wheel function would be preferable.

In terms of handling and dynamics, the E-Transit Custom is very impressive. Ford says the new chassis is now 30 per cent stiffer while ride compliance is no doubt aided by the new independent rear suspension, which replaces the old leaf-spring live axle.

It soaks up road imperfections nicely, even if there is a bit of a noisy ‘thunk’ over sharper hits. It’s still streets ahead of most vans for noise, and the road noise is probably more noticeable because this EV is so quiet in general.

A bit of load bay ‘boom’ still permeates through the steel bulkhead, and there’s a bit of wind noise around the side mirrors, but it’s far quieter than any traditional van.

The E-Transit Custom holds the road beautifully with only modest body roll by LCV standards, while steering is accurate and instils confidence, even at autobahn speeds – a speed-limited 134km/h, as it turns out.

It’s fast enough for an LCV, and with acceleration that sees many other vehicles shrinking in your mirrors.

To recoup some of that spent energy, the E-Transit Custom offers a few options. There’s an inherent (and varying) level of regenerative braking available in each of the drive modes, but you can increase the resistance by selecting ‘L’ (for Low) on the gear selector.

Or you can opt for ‘One-Pedal’ mode by selecting that option on the touch-screen. This amps the regen up to the max and, as its name suggest, gives true one-pedal driving for most situations.

I preferred the smoother on and off power transitions of Low mode, but it’s nice to have other options. And there’s always the service brakes, which give good power and feedback.

On the driver assistance front, traffic sign recognition is a big help on camera-festooned city streets while our E-Transit Custom Sport also had adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go functionality and intelligent speed assist, which helps the vehicle maintain its pace through changing speed zones.

The 180-degree rear-view camera display is excellent, giving a superbly crisp view to the rear. Add in a 360-degree camera and front and rear parking sensors, and there’s an effective safety net to guard against bumps and scrapes when parking or negotiating tight spots, the latter helped by a nicely tight turning circle.

Vans of not so many years ago were clunky, agricultural affairs – harsh, noisy and often plagued with vibration. Not so here – the E-Transit Custom has tamed NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) to a thoroughly benign level, and ultimately that spells a more comfortable, less fatiguing drive.

Local specifications for the 2024 Ford E-Transit Custom are yet to be announced, but the van is rated to handle payloads of up to 1011kg and has a maximum braked towing limit of 2300kg.

Yes, towing will impact the vehicle’s range but at least it’s a healthy limit, unlike the larger E-Transit that’s not rated for towing at all.

The LWB we’ll be seeing has an overall length of 5450mm, a width of 2032mm (excluding mirrors) and a wheelbase of 3500mm. The load bay measures 3002mm while a load-through flap delivers up to 3450mm for longer items.

The load bay is also 1777mm wide and measures 1392mm between its wheel-arches, so it will easily accept a standard Australian pallet. The maximum load height is 1433mm.

The 50/50-split rear barn doors measure 1400mm wide by 1316mm high, with a load floor height of 531-585mm. A new lower and wider load bay side step is 393-435mm high.

The load bay floor is a little lower than the outgoing platform, by around 25mm, says Ford. The LWB model has a load space capacity of 6.8 cubic metres, while still sporting a sub-2.0m roof height to deliver access to multi-story car parks, giving access to many more public chargers.

Ford says that overall the E-Transit Custom is around 100kg lighter than the outgoing platform, and quotes a GVM of 3225kg.

New LED lighting illuminates both the load bay and the loadspace area at the rear of the van. And the new powered sliding load bay door can be opened manually, via the key fob, or even with a sweep of your foot under the front bumper.

Ford Australia says it has already begun introducing body builders and upfitters to the new Transit Custom platform to help them prepare for Ford’s next generation of medium vans.

The 2024 Ford E-Transit Custom brings near car-like refinement to the commercial vehicle space.

Yes, there are still plenty of hardwearing plastics and a cab-width rubber floor mat, but a pleasing mix of textures and colours softens the environment, as does the use of piano black around the touch-screen and instrument cluster.

But the first impression is also one of space, helped by this new architecture’s repositioned front wheels and struts, which are now further forward. This adds extra foot-room, while the cab is tidied further by the adoption of a column-mounted gear selector and an electric park brake.

The result is excellent cross-cab access that means drivers can easily exit the vehicle on the kerbside, instead of hopping out into the traffic.

Behind the wheel, the seating is supportive and the vision excellent. The E-Transit Custom Sport’s leatherette-wrap steering wheel adds a touch of class, as does the attractive fabric upholstery with speed stripes to match the bonnet trim, and on test we appreciated the added comfort of the adjustable driver’s seat arm rest.

The instrumentation and new touch-screen lend the E-Transit Custom a cutting-edge feel befitting an electric next-gen vehicle, elevating the cab from that of a humble van to another level – there’s really nothing ‘humble’ about it.

There are small outboard cup holders set into the dashboard and a fold-down cup holder on the centre of the dash, while overall storage for personal items has increased from the old platform, says Ford. As in the previous generation, there’s a fold-down tray in the centre seatback.

The fit and finish of all the panels is really very good, with not a sharp edge or panel misalignment in sight. It’s comfortable yet practical, refined yet commercial – a nice mix that will keep drivers smiling as they power through the working week.

With its all-new architecture, efficient and emissions-free drivetrain, clever features, dynamic performance and solid load-lugging credentials, the new 2024 Ford E-Transit Custom is positioned well to tempt business owners considering the switch.

Drivers will love this van for its comfort, its performance and the many thoughtful touches employed to make their working lives easier, better and more efficient, while business owners will appreciate the next-level technology that should see them unlock greater efficiency, productivity and uptime.

Electric vans are really still in their infancy, but Ford’s E-Transit Custom looks, feels and drives like a next-generation vehicle, and one that shines a light on the vast potential of the category – provided the usage case adds up.

Yes, local pricing, suitability of application and factory support will all be key to local uptake. But, based on our first drive, Ford’s efficient and emissions-free workhorse is shaping up as a serious contender in this rapidly evolving space.

2024 Ford E-Transit Custom at a glance:
Price: $70,000 est (plus on-road costs)
Available: Fourth quarter 2024
Powertrain: Single rear-mounted electric motor
Output: 160kW/415Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Battery: 64kWh lithium-ion
Range: 337km (WLTP)
Energy consumption: 20kWh/100km (as tested)
Safety rating: Platinum (Euro NCAP 2024)