I got one for work. Drove the smaller one for 2 years previously, and this one is the LWB version and had it for abotu 1500miles so far...
Jucie wise, not fantastic. Most of my driving is stop start town driving, and much of the time I leave then engine running to power my hoover, drill battery, etc, and such like and I get, if lucky, 300miles to a £45 tankfull...
Driving wise, the smaller one is better, and a tad quicker. It feels less likely to fall over round the bends, and when you pass a lorry on the motorway
The little one is nimbler through the country lanes aswell
Inside they aren't too bad, but Ford have begun to be right cheap bastids and taken half the stuff out! Ours are boggo-basic of course (Autoglass spend money on fitters? Yeah fucking right! lol) but they are available with all mod cons of course - but a good example is : my 03 plate small van had interior mirror adjusters - my 55 reg one don't! I have to actually GET out to adjust the N/S mirror, and then get back in to check it, then repeat untill it is right! Very annoying when you park it up and someone knocks the fucker!!!!
Clutch pedal is a killer for city driving as you have to use your whole leg from the hip to depress it rather than just from the ankle or knee as in a car, due to seating position and pedal arrangement - like wise with throttle, tho it is a little better there, but not much. Gear selection varies - mines a bit notchy, but some of ours are slick as fook, and some and like stiring a bowl of porridge
Dash is MASSIVE. One big fooking slab of plastic, and surprisingly for Ford Commercial, there are few cubby holes in it. If you have the ashtray in the dash, you don't get ANY storage spaces in the dash. No ashtry = 1 cubby whole, but it's tiny and you can't even fit a CD in there. Door pockets have big-ish compartments (not as big as the slightly older version) but are too low to reach into for small items. On top of dash is a flat section with a half cover which is good for a map book or A4 clipboard, but every time you nail it the fooker slides out! I had to glue a couple of strips of rubber to the dash to stop this happening!
High top versions have a shelf above your head for stuff, but the lip is too low and again, nail it, anything with a slight bit of weight comes out and conks you on the bonce! Very annoying having a fooking A to Z hit you on the head when trying to nail something off the lights
You do get two cup holders behind the handbrak tho, and a nice space for a phone and a pen under the handbreak
Don't even try to wheel the bastid - it spins for a second then the whole fooking van starts banging as it bounces up and down on the tarmac - it's like it's on fooking hydralics lol
Seats aren't the best I have sat in, but not too bar. Ford again have made cutbacks and half the adjustment has gone from them - most importantly the raise/lower adjuster, which is pissing me off as now it's set height I keep banging my knee's in the sodding sterring column and dash
They very kindly put in a pocket on the back of the drivers seat big enough for more map books and paperwork - but you can't fooking get to it anyway cos of the wrap-around cage that seperates the front from the back
Dumbasses
In an empty van, loadspace is good - ours are shit cos they are all racked out by our transport division - but Ford do fit a lot with the centre divide, which is fucking shite! Wheel arches are big - space between the two is only about 52" (4.3ft) Side doors on both sides are a nice touch, but even on the long wheelbase vans they are short so don't plan on taking anything of any size out of em!!!
Engine's aren't great - mine is still slow as fuck, but then I have been told it needs a good 3k to "open up" fully....
Bodywork wise - wing mirrors ALWAYS break on em when they have been bashed or brushed more than a handfull of times - rear bumper is pants and the plastic cover comes off easily breaking all the clips. The rear bumper end caps are worse tho - even tap em slightly agains something (my fence usually
) and they snap the clips and fall off, and you can NEVER get the new ones to line up to re-fit. I eneded up needing about 5 of em in 2 years (I swear I had three of em nicked from outside my house one year!) and evertime I ended up drilling and riviting the fuckers on cos the poppers don't line up!!! And if they do line up, they don't stay on....
All round they aren't bad, but Ford could have put a bit more effort into em and they would have been a LOT better....