2019 Transit Connect Wagon announced, 1.5 diesel for US market

oilhammer

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There are just too many to list....
Yep. Plumbers here drive giant V8 gasoline behemoths, bolted to a slushbox of course, laboring down the road struggling to get into double digits MPGs.

The Transit has at least somewhat changed that, as they have no V8 option. But the VAST majority of them use a gasoline engine (V6), even though a 5 cyl diesel is on offer. All our Transits are automatics though.

The only dinosaur left for vans is the aging GM G-van, which comes standard with a giant gasoline engine and of course they are all automatics. They do offer the 2.8L diesel 4 cyl in them, but I bet the take rate for that is less than 5%.
 

bhtooefr

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There's also the US-market Nissan NV, although that can barely be called a van (seeing how it's basically a previous-generation Titan full-size pickup with a van body), and I almost never see them. (Even the NV200 (although ours is stretched wheelbase, by about 8 inches, with a 2.0 I4 gasser and a CVT) is far more common.)
 

German_1er_diesel

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There's also the US-market Nissan NV, although that can barely be called a van (seeing how it's basically a previous-generation Titan full-size pickup with a van body), and I almost never see them. (Even the NV200 (although ours is stretched wheelbase, by about 8 inches, with a 2.0 I4 gasser and a CVT) is far more common.)
I guess you don't get the NV300 mid-size and NV400 full size family of vans then?
 

bhtooefr

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No, we don't.

Instead, we get the NV1500, NV2500, and NV3500:



(They all look like that, although there's a high-roof version too.)
 

bhtooefr

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I wonder if Nissan will eventually have to bring the NV400 over.

I suspect the NV300 will be seen as too niche for the US market - too big to be a small van, too small to be a big van. (I mean, that's the trap the Metris is falling into, really - I'd be unsurprised if the low-roof SWB Sprinter takes almost all of its sales here.)

Also note that our Transit has a low-roof version that you don't get (aimed directly at the former Econoline market), instead you get the Transit Custom to fill that niche. (And, we only get the RWD Transit, not the FWD variants.)
 

German_1er_diesel

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I suspect the NV300 will be seen as too niche for the US market - too big to be a small van, too small to be a big van. (I mean, that's the trap the Metris is falling into, really - I'd be unsurprised if the low-roof SWB Sprinter takes almost all of its sales here.)
But wouldn't it be "just right" for many applications? Significantly more room and payload capacity than a small van while still being much more maneuverable than a big van. Being FWD is a serious advantage for camper van applications. The new Sprinter adds FWD versions to the lineup too...

By this logic, a F-150 is too small to be a big truck (F350) and too big to be a small truck (Ranger).
They still sell a few.
 

bhtooefr

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That's the thing, the Metris is RWD, so you don't get that advantage, and in most of the US, maneuverability is not important at all (I mean, people daily drive F-150s in most of the country, and most areas are built to take deliveries from things like Isuzu NPR box trucks, which make the largest Sprinters look tiny) - and if it is, a Metris isn't that much better than the smallest Sprinter, you're going to buy something smaller.

And the F-150 is not small at all - it's the same size as an F-350, just built lighter duty.

As far as FWD, the only FWD non-compact (Transit Connect, NV200, ProMaster City (Fiat Doblò)) cargo van in the US market is the ProMaster (Fiat Ducato). There's a distrust of FWD for work vehicles in this market, so I think most manufacturers that have a RWD option are choosing it instead. (I agree that FWD is a serious advantage, but many people think it's not capable enough.)
 
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GoFaster

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There is a dearth of information on the Ford 8F24 transmission which I am sure this will be using, even though a customer of mine is building parts for it as we speak ...
 

IndigoBlueWagon

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Funny, having AWD is a deal breaker for me. I don't think there's any reason for it in most metro areas. Just adds complexity and weight, IMO.
 

oilhammer

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There are just too many to list....
That's why we have options and choices...

Except the "we" (Americans and Canadians) don't. Unless you want a giant pickup, or a CUV/SUV or some other such abortion. Has anyone seen that new Acura thing? Good gravy I nearly threw up when I saw one on the road last week. It looks like a cross between the Jetzon's sky car and a turtle. :rolleyes:

The lady I purchased my 2004 Passat wagon 4mo from was left without a new Volkswagen to purchase in 2014, because the Passat wagon, 4mo or not, was no longer available. She wanted nothing to do with a Tiguan (I wouldn't either). She went and bought a Subaru. The Alltrac was not out then, that *may* have been a candidate, who knows. Volkswagen's lack of product portfolio here is increasingly disappointing, especially in light of how vast their offerings are elsewhere. Diesel or not, they have a LOT of models available outside North America.
 
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bhtooefr

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To be fair, nobody bought the Acura ZDX, and it was discontinued five years ago.

The similar BMW X6 and Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe, though... people actually buy that trash. And, I mean, I'd be slightly better with it than an X5 or a normal GLE, except they don't get better mileage, either, despite the fastback profile.
 

oilhammer

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There are just too many to list....
Oh man, I thought that thing was new, LOL. Cannot recall ever seeing one... and it is so ugly, it gets burnt into your retinas so bad you can't UNSEE it.

The hump back MBs and BMWs are pretty awful too.
 

German_1er_diesel

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The lady I purchased my 2004 Passat wagon 4mo from was left without a new Volkswagen to purchase in 2014, because the Passat wagon, 4mo or not, was no longer available.
Europe gets the 190PS and the 240PS Passat TDI wagon with 4motion, as well as the 280PS 2.0T, all with DSG only (7-speed for the diesels, 6-speed for the gasser). The 150PS manual 4motion is gone, so if you want to row your own, you end up with FWD.

The Passat Alltrack TSI comes with the 220PS 2.0T instead of the 280. Diesels are same as the 4motion options in the regular Passat wagon.


Arteon comes with the same 4motion options as the Passat.

The only manual transmission Arteon is the TDI 150.

-> Plenty of choices if you live in Europe.
Golf wagon comes with TDI 150 4motion in manual or DSG.
Want a gas AWD Golf wagon? There's a DSG-only Golf R wagon, or a 1.8T Alltrack (DSG-only)
Alltrack also comes with 150hp TDI in manual or DSG, as well as a 184hp TDI with DSG only.

If you are allergic to sedans and wagons, there's also a minivan (based on the B6 passat platform), the Sharan:

4motion versions: 150 TDI manual or DSG, 184 TDI DSG. No gas 4motions.

...and that's before we look into the commercial vehicle lineup, where we find 4motion-equipped vehicles in all sizes and colors.

Caddy Alltrack (4motion TDI)


Multivan Generation Six 4motion TDI


California Beach (pop-up camper) 4motion TDI


Transporter dropside 4motion TDI crew cab (single cab is available too)


Crafter cargo van Super high roof 4motion TDI


Amarok Canyon 4motion TDI

etc etc etc...
 
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German_1er_diesel

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Mind you, we get the Golf 1.8T Alltrack in the US, too.
IIRC you even get a manual 1.8T which we don't... And the 1.8T in non-Alltrack Golfs! And Golfs and Passats with torque converter transmissions! And 5-speed manuals instead of 6-speeds!

And, oddly, you don't get any of the natural gas powered VW/Audi products.
 

oilhammer

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There are just too many to list....
There is literally nothing, NOTHING, at the Volkswagen dealer in the USA that I would be interested in purchasing. Nothing.

Sad because I am their biggest fan. :(
 

bhtooefr

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And, oddly, you don't get any of the natural gas powered VW/Audi products.
NGVs don't really have much in the way of tax incentives - I'd say about 15 years ago they were a thing that was being pushed, and some of the American automakers as well as Honda got on that train, but poor fuel availability sunk it.
 

IndigoBlueWagon

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There is literally nothing, NOTHING, at the Volkswagen dealer in the USA that I would be interested in purchasing. Nothing.
Sad because I am their biggest fan. :(
I'd buy a 1.8T Golf with a manual. I think that's still a nice car. Maybe with an extended warranty. :D
 

kjclow

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There is literally nothing, NOTHING, at the Volkswagen dealer in the USA that I would be interested in purchasing. Nothing.

Sad because I am their biggest fan. :(
I feel the same. I might look at the Atlas if it had a TDI, but I don't need that kind of room anymore. I guess it's off the list.
 

oilhammer

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There are just too many to list....
I'd buy a 1.8T Golf with a manual. I think that's still a nice car. Maybe with an extended warranty. :D

I think that family of engines is a wallet flushing nuisance.

I'd stomach the 1.4L before the 1.8L. At least the 1.4L has a proper belt running its overhead cams.

The court is still out on its longevity and reliability, though. But I heard through the dealer grapevine they are already having (you guessed it) water pump failures. Seriously, Volkswagen, it is time to give up the plastic water pumps. They suck. BMW too.
 

German_1er_diesel

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NGVs don't really have much in the way of tax incentives - I'd say about 15 years ago they were a thing that was being pushed, and some of the American automakers as well as Honda got on that train, but poor fuel availability sunk it.
Here they only have low taxes on CNG fuel, and once everybody started using turbocharged engines as the base for their CNG cars, they were getting somewhere. Fuel availablility is really good now, and for when it's not, they still have gasoline tanks...
 
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