Ford Transit Courier review: Best Small Van in the Parkers Van and Pickup Awards 2025

• Great, car-like handling
• Smooth, quiet engines
• Slick manual, slow automatic

Ford’s new Transit Courier is the best handling small vans out there right now. The secret is that the Courier runs on a car-based platform, using engines and engineering shared with the Fiesta supermini and Puma SUV.

Both those cars are great to drive, and many of their handling characteristics are present in the Transit Courier. Our first opportunity to drive the Transit Courier was in Spain, where all of the vans we tested carried a 500kg load in the cargo area. We've subsequently driven the van extensively in the UK, and with an empty load bay.

The Courier's steering is accurate and pleasingly weighted, and its suspension handles bumps and rough roads very well. It feels absolutely secure at motorway speeds, it's really nimble around town, and you can easily make rapid cross-country progress. All of the van's controls – pedals, steering, gear lever – feel so-well judged, requiring very little effort while feeling just lovely to use.

1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol and 1.5-litre EcoBlue diesel engines are available. There are two petrol options: 100hp with a six-speed manual gearbox or 125hp with a seven-speed automatic. the diesel also has 100hp and a six-speed manual. The engine options offer reasonable if not particularly noteworthy performance that crucially doesn’t feel slower or dulled when there’s a considerable payload in the rear.

The manual gearbox is enjoyable to use, feeling light and slick. With both petrol and diesel engines, the gears are quite long which means you might have to change down a gear or two when going up hills, or to maintain lower speeds. The automatic, meanwhile, changes gear smoothly but can be slow to change down when going uphill or a burst of acceleration is needed.

• Good interior storage options
• Driving position lacks a little space
• Fiddly infotainment with no physical climate controls

Ford’s Transit Courier has a sensible and neatly laid-out interior that includes lots of small storage areas and cubbies. As well as overhead storage, the Courier benefits from slots and trays in the dashboard for both driver and passenger, a paperwork holder in the passenger’s footwell and large door bins.

All Courier models feature a digital instrument display and central infotainment screen, with very few buttons on the dfashboard – save for a set of shortcut buttons for key adjustments or menus in the infotainment and some for the lighting. The infotainment system itself is reasonably easy to use, albeit there are a lot of menus and sub-menus to navigate through, including for frequently used features such as the heating and ventilation. Turning off the speed limit warning requires several pokes at the screen, as well.

The Courier's car-based platform does betray some limitations in the space it offers. In particular, there's not much space around the pedals, so drivers may need to change out of chunky work boots before taking the wheel.

The Courier's load bay bulk head is quite close to the seats so taller drivers might find they can't move the seat far enough back to get truly comfortable. Similarly, the steering column only has a relatively small range of adjustment up and down, and in and out. That, again, can lead to a compromised driving position. It's what comes with the Courier being as small as possible.

The seats, however, are excellent – even on the lower levels. They're very comfortable and you don't feel like you're going to fall out of them in corners. Top of the range Active models have seats approved by AGR, the German 'Campaign for Healthy Backs' organisation.

On the move, engine noise doesn't go away entirely but it's hardly intrusive – both the petrol and diesel are generally smooth and refined. Wind noise isn't much of an issue either, though we did notice the roof above the windscreen can generate an odd resonance when driving into a gusting headwind at more than 50mph.

• Entry price undercuts Renault Kangoo
• High-end specs likely not worth it for fleet buyers
• Reasonable fuel economy offered

The Ford Transit Courier range is priced from £16,200 (excl. VAT) which, for now, makes this one of the cheapest vans you can buy in the UK. Prices naturally rise with higher specifications, top-spec Active trim costing around £22,000 (excl. VAT).

Ford Transit Courier mpg

The Transit Courier’s engines are small and right-sized in terms of power, and offer reasonably competitive fuel economy.

The 100hp 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine achieves 39.7mpg to 43.4mpg according to the official WLTP figures, while the more powerful 125hp EcoBoost averages 38.1 to 43.5mpg. The 1.5-litre diesel engine does 49.5 to 54.3mpg. Our experience with the diesel suggests you can match or even exceed the official numbers if you drive carefully.

A zero-emission electric e-Transit Courier was launched in March 2025. the WLTP figures show it's capable of a range of 181 miles on a fully charged battery.

Ford Transit Courier servicing

As with all other Fords, the Courier is available with a number of service plans that help spread the costs of maintenance. Servicing intervals are set at every two years or 25,000 miles.

Ford Transit Courier warranty

Ford provides a three-year/60,000-mile warranty as standard on the Courier. Various extended warranty packages are also available at extra cost.

Ford Transit Courier Leader standard equipment

• 15-inch steel wheels
• Black Front Grille
• Powered and heated Mirrors
• Halogen headlights
• Auto high beam lights
• Side-hinged rear cargo doors
• SYNC 4, Bluetooth, Apple Carplay and Android Auto
• 8.0-inch touchscreen display
• Steering wheel radio controls
• FordPass Connect Modem
• eCall (Emergency Assistance)
• Full steel bulkhead
• Pre-Collision Assist 1.5 with pedestrian and cyclist detection
• Cruise control

Trend standard equipment (in addition to Leader trim):

• Manual air conditioning
• Heated front seats
• Heated, Sensico wrapped steering wheel
• Lumbar support - driver seat
• Driver seat armrest

Titanium equipment (in addition to Trend):

• 16-inch alloy wheel
• Front fog lights
• Quickclear heated windscreen
• Single sliding door
• Automatic wipers
• Chrome detail front grille
• Body colour door handles
• Climate control
• One-touch power windows
• Front parking aid
• Rear view camera
• Heated front seats
• Heated steering wheel
• Premium Sensico-wrapped Steering Wheel
• Reverse parking aid
• Overhead console
• Keyless start
• 12v power point plug in the loading bay
• Wireless phone charger

Active equipment (in addition to Trend):

• 17-inch alloy wheels
• Quickclear heated windscreen
• Automatic wipers
• Black honeycomb grille
• Front and rear silver skid plates
• Active series floor mats
• Front parking aid
• Rear view camera
• Keyless start
• Wireless charging
• 12v power point plug in the loading bay

A lot of the Courier's components have been proven over many years in many other Ford models. The van's platform has also been in service for a long time under the Fiesta and Puma, as well as the previous-generation Transit Courier.

The EcoBoost petrol engine doesn't have the best reputation for long-term reliability thanks to its so-called 'wet belt'. The engine's timing belt runs through the oil sump, causing the rubber to degrade more rapidly than normal. You can avoid any issues by getting the belt changed at around half the recommended interval. By contrast, the EcoBlue diesel is proving to be very reliable – we certainly haven't heard any horror stories.

• Generous safety tech as standard
• Awarded Platinum EuroNCAP safety award in 2023
• Annoying speed limit warning

A significant benefit of using an up-to-date car-based platform is that the Courier gets many of the latest safety technologies. The other good bit of news is that pretty much all the good stuff on the safety front is included as standard on all models, so the entry-level Leader trim isn't a poor relation as basic vans once were.

Ford Transit Courier safety equipment

Every Transit Courier has the following features as standard:

• Collision assistance
• Lane-keeping assist
• Traffic sign recognition and intelligent speed assist
• Automatic high-beam lights
• Rear parking sensors
• Cruise control
• Hill start assist
• Driver and passenger front airbags, driver and passenger side seat airbags, right and left curtain airbags

Limited trim adds front parking sensors and a rear parking camera, while higher-grade models can offer more optional safety kit as an option. That can include adaptive cruise control with a stop and go function on automatic models, reverse brake assist, evasive steering assist, intersection assist and blind spot monitoring.

Ford Transit Courier security

Oddly, for all that standard-fit safety kit, the Transit Courier doesn't come with an alarm as standard, although one is available as an option on every model.