- ford will not sell a diesel version of the small transit connect van in the u.s. after all.
- the company had announced a 1.5-liter turbodiesel engine option for the updated 2019 transit connect that was slated to arrive earlier this year, but now says it has canceled production of this powertrain for america.
- the short-wheelbase, five-seat version of the transit connect passenger van has also been dropped.
another diesel has bit the dust in america, this time the ford transit connect small van. while ford had previously announced the addition of a 1.5-liter turbodiesel engine for the 2019 model year, ford spokesperson elizabeth kraft told c/d that production of the diesel has been canceled.
ford cites a "lack of market demand" as its reasoning for dropping plans for the diesel, but we wonder if the epa's increased scrutiny on all diesel engines in the u.s. could have also played a role in the company's decision to pull the plug. the transit connect diesel never received an official fuel-economy rating on the epa's website, which only lists the gasoline 2.0-liter and 2.5-liter inline-four engines for both the 2019- and 2020-model-year transit connect.
ford had initially claimed an epa estimate of around 30 mpg highway for the diesel inline-four and said that this engine would arrive at dealerships in early 2019. the diesel inline-four was slated to make around 120 horsepower and 200 lb-ft of torque and pair with an eight-speed automatic transmission.
ford also says that it has dropped the five-seat, short-wheelbase version of the transit connect passenger van. the short-wheelbase model is still available as a cargo van, while the long-wheelbase continues on as both a cargo van and a passenger van with either six or seven seats. pricing for the 2020 transit connect starts at $25,570 for the short-wheelbase cargo version and $28,315 for the passenger version.