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By Jonathan Crouch

Ford pioneered PHEV technology in the van market with the original plug-in hybrid Transit Custom. Jonathan Crouch takes a look at the MK2 model.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 47

Full hybrid electrification has been slow to reach the van market but Ford offers it in plug-in form on its Transit Custom, now in second generation form. There's a usable 31 mile all-electric range, decent load-carrying practicality and proper green credibility for your business on offer here.

Backgroundword count: 118

Pollution in our cities won't be fully solved until vans as well as cars fully embrace electrification. But that won't happen until electrified LCV offerings become really credible. At the moment, there are a wide range of full-electric vans available, but their operating ranges are generally poor and their asking prices often unreasonably high. So what can a city-based business working to reduce its carbon footprint do right here, right now to make a difference? Well, if a mid-sized LCV is required, they could perhaps consider this, the second generation version of Ford's Transit Custom PHEV model. It's not full-electric but it can, unlike the mild hybrid version of the full-sized Transit, be run solely on electric power.

Driving Experienceword count: 202

A PHEV Transit Custom isn't very different to drive from a combustion-powered one, though if the battery's charged, you'll find it surprisingly quick away from rest, thanks to the instant torque of the electric motors. Enough to wear your front tyres quite quickly if you're not careful with your right foot. This PHEV variant now comes with Ford's 2.5-litre four cylinder petrol powerplant (replacing the previous PHEV model's 124hp 1.0-litre EcoBoost three cylinder petrol engine). As part of the Plug-in hybrid set-up, this 2.5-litre unit's paired with an electric motor powered by a lithium-ion battery pack (now 11.8kWh in size) that's capable of providing for a 31 mile all-electric driving range. Overall range once the petrol engine kicks in is around 300 miles. At the wheel, there are four drive modes to choose from. Most of the time, you'll use 'EV Auto' (which combines the engine and battery to best effect). If you're in town and want to use battery-only motion, you'll select 'EV Now'. There's also 'EV Later' (which stores up battery charge for later in your trip); and 'EV Charge' (which uses the petrol engine both to power the van and top up the battery, though that's not very economic).

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