While it's likely that few people will read this, we did go ahead and get a LWB 2014 Transit Connect Wagon. We've been happy with it -- it's big enough for our family of two adults, two kids, and a dog, it has good gas mileage, and the power is good too. We've driven it with every seat filled and a car-top carrier to hold luggage for an overnight trip, and didn't have any problems accelerating or keeping pace on the freeway. We've driven it down country roads with a kayak strapped to the roof rack, and didn't have any problems.
Ours does not have a tow rack but I don't really feel comfortable towing something on a regular basis with a 4-cylinder. As much as I have confidence that the van can get itself and the stuff in it where we need to go, I wouldn't want to tax it with a trailer as well.
Also I recently looked up the old Ford Ranger that was mentioned in the original post, and it only had like 100 HP. Come on Ford, why would you put that in any kind of a truck? This van gets 169 HP and probably has a much better transmission as well, and the difference is night and day.
Oh, and this is replacing a 2007 GM SUV that had some nice luxuries but was terrible in terms of reliability. Also really happy with the gas mileage and amount of space in this one compared to the 3-row crossover.