When we decided that our 2004 Toyota Corolla needed to go the search began for a purposeful replacement that would fulfill our need to transport bicycles along with other large items on our frequent journeys. We do love to travel. Being the "denizen of the internet" that I am, the approach I used was to go to edmunds.com and perform a search to find a car with the specs we wanted. The vehicles that were shown as a result of the search were broken down into crossovers (too small), utility (still too small), full size vans (too large), minivans, and all by its lonesome was this thing called a Transit Connect. What was a Transit Connect? I sure had never seen one.
So began the process of looking over the minivans to see which would be the right one. We ruled out the Chrysler products due to concerns if Chrysler was going to survive and stay in business, Chevrolet's minivan had many bad internet reviews about its quality, and Ford had removed its Windstar from production. The field was getting pretty small. Toyota's minivan had stellar reviews but it is VERY pricey. In any case, I decided to take it for a test drive. I brought it by where my wife worked and showed it to her and we took it for a spin. To be honest, this is the type of vehicle I truly dislike driving. It drives like a boat, it corners like a boat, and it stops like a boat(boats don't stop). The idea of buying a Toyota minivan was jettisoned.
All that was left to look at was the lowly Transit Connect. I drove over to Ford (the same day we took the Toyota out) and asked the sales person where the Transit Connect was on the lot. Now remember, this is the South where the truck is king. Everyone drives a truck. The salesperson had never heard of a Transit Connect. We went inside the showroom and the sales manager looked on his computer that was connected to the Ford intranet and located one about an hour away. It could be brought over if I wanted to wait. I said "go for it." It showed up. And, what could I say when I first saw it? I really did not want to look at it any further but I felt obligated (it was brought in especially for me). Before I took it for a test drive I looked it over and my transformation began. The inside was awesome. It was like en enclosed truck. The seats were comfortable and its dashboard features were complete but simple. And I love simplicity. It did draw a lot of unexpected attention as the entire Ford sales force came out to look at it. It was actually pretty funny watching all the sales folks "kicking the tires" along with all the "oohs" and "ahs."
Anyway, it was time to get my wife and go for a test drive. I left the lot, and I must say, it drove exactly like a car I like to drive. Sure, a whiner can bring up the "lack of power" (it did manage the 80 mph Utah speed limit quite nicely) but if you want gas economy that is the trade off. It cornered better than the Toyota we were unloading and the road visibility was fabulous. If only I could get past its looks. I drove the TC (thats our name for her; its the name our daughter and husband coined) over to the parking lot where my wife and a fellow worker were waiting, my wife knew I was coming to pick her up. As soon as I pulled into the parking lot the fellow worker bent over laughing and my wife had an embarrassed smile. My wife reluctantly got in and we went out for a drive. She told me to forget it. It rode nice but she would never be able to drive it because of its looks as this would be her main ride (my ride is a 1998 Z28). I dropped my wife off at her work and took the TC back to Ford. I told them I didn't want it. They said they were going to keep it on the lot over night as it was too late in the day to send it back to its home dealership. I left the lot and went home driving the Corolla.
That night I did not sleep well and woke up real early in the morning (4 am) and thought about whether not buying the TC was the right thing to do. I got up and made coffee and thought some more. I could not get past the fact that there was NOTHING ELSE that fulfilled our list of wants in a van. I restlessly waited for my wife to wake up which finally happened at about 6am. I don't know, maybe I helped wake her by "making a little noise." She was finally awake, groggy, but awake. I sat on the edge of the bed and pleaded my case. She listened to me patiently and eventually caved in under my relentless pressure. I just felt it was the right thing to do. Later that day the deal was complete and the TC was purchased.
Now back to the original question of why in the world anyone would want to buy a Transit Connect - here is a MAJOR reason. All this, and more, EASILY fit into the TC.
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