SF Bay Area, California

[PBXgeek]

Hi from the East Bay, San Francisco Bay Area, California USA.

I'm a PBX engineer (commercial telephone systems), use a minivan for work, and don't do a lot of personal driving. My primary axes of value for a vehicle are fuel efficiency and reliability, subject to the need to carry about a half cubic yard of gear most of the time, and about 3 cubic yards on large system installations.

About 6 - 9 months ago, I was driving along in my previous vehicle, a '96 Dodge Caravan, and I saw this ...interesting-looking panel truck... up ahead. I pulled up to get a closer look: Ford something-or-another. Hmm! I rolled down the window and gave the thumbs-up signal, the driver smiled back, and I filed it away for future reference. A couple of months later I saw one in a parking lot and took a closer look. Nice layout inside, lots of space, clearly a smart design.

Mid July or so, my Caravan had its first major mechanical issue in its lifetime (125,000 miles): transmission failure, fortunately on local roads with a coworker a short distance away (heading to the same jobsite). That proved to be an "NER" as we say, "not economically repairable," by way of another colleague who went through the same thing twice in six months, total @ $6k in repairs. I went looking around online for a replacement. Found the TC on Ford's website. Did all the usual comparisons with competing vehicles, and decided to go for it: best fuel efficiency, lowest initial cost, and @ 10 years' history in Europe. Picked up the TC in early August. The dealer was able to get the model I specified in a couple of days, so I was surprised to read others on this forum had to wait weeks for theirs.

Excellent!

This truck is shorter and narrower than the Dodge Caravan, but it has more usable interior space.

The folding rear seats initially struck me as "something I'd have to get used to," but turn out to be a smarter design than Dodge's removable rear seats: all the space behind them is usable without interruptions. We just did two major system moves, and loading all the equipment in & out was easier than with the Caravan.

I'm making more use of the rear doors than on the Caravan since there isn't a seat in the back to get in the way. The 270-degree folding door system was a very worthwhile extra. It was suggested to me by the sales rep at the dealer, and it really makes sense for loading/unloading in traffic and in tight spaces. Think of backing right up to the door of a building, and being able to lock up the truck and load cargo at a leisurely pace, without worrying about thieves.

The added headroom inside enables me to strap my 4' ladder in an upright position in the rear so it's out of the way and safely stowed. I haven't built any racks etc. yet because I'm still thinking about how the new design works best for my materials & tools storage, and in the meantime it all goes in boxes on the floor.

Fuel efficiency: the sales rep told me it would be lower than expected for the first few thousand miles, so I'm not disappointed to see 19.75 mpg in mixed driving over the first 600 miles. I'm going to install a ScanGauge this week and see how the feedback improves my driving. The old Dodge Caravan was rated 19/22 but got 39.5 on the freeway at 50 mph with the AC off. The TC is rated 22/25, so I'm expecting to see 40 mpg on the freeway at 50 mph after the break-in period. BTW, if you're going to do 50, stay in the slow lane and don't do it when the road is crowded, since that'll just tick off other drivers and possibly cause traffic jams that waste more fuel overall than a single vehicle will save by slowing down.

Other:

I've seen comments about the cover for the fuse panel & ODB port being difficult to remove. I need to find out more about that so I can install the ScanGauge without causing damage.

The small footprint plus tight turning radius are really helpful with city parking. I have to keep reminding myself it's about a foot shorter than the Dodge, so it can fit into places the Dodge didn't.

And yes, I've also been getting "nice truck!" comments once or twice a week on average.

Ford has a definite winner with this one. It practically sells itself because the design is so obviously smart for its applications. I've been seeing a lot more of them on the road lately, so I suppose in a couple of years I'm going to need a bumper sticker saying "I got this truck before they became trendy!":-)

[4DThinker]

Great post. Welcome! I'm loving my TC too. My Wife had it all day yesterday for a video shoot, and the video crew was enamored of it. They started throwing their gear in it rather than their own sedans as they moved from site to site.