My six-month tenure with the Ford Transit Custom Sport is almost over.
With this in mind, I decided to make the most of it and dedicate the past few weekends to clearing out my storage unit. Not because I wanted to (the thought of trying to somehow cram more stuff into cupboards and far-flung corners of the garage sent my anxiety spiking to new heights), but because in a province as expensive as the Western Cape every free rand counts. So I rolled up my sleeves, put in some diesel and set to work.
Flinging open the aluminium roller door to my unit was a shock reminder of how much junk I needed to move before month-end.
Floating atop a sea of battered stock seven cardboard boxes was a four-piece Gretsch jazz drum kit, seven large antique wooden chairs, a chest of drawers and old photographic darkroom equipment I bought on a whim last year but will probably never use as I can’t afford to rent a big enough house.
But wait, there was more. As my eyes grew accustomed to the gloom a peninsula of open concrete floor reacquainted me to a large steel racing simulator, a plastic wheelie bin stuffed with about 50kg worth of paperwork pertaining to my failed pizzeria (just in case Sars ever feels like a quick after-the-fact audit), an equally heavy container of MX-5 suspension components and an MX-5 soft-top sandwiched inside a gargantuan 75" flat screen TV box I spent nearly R600 on.
The pièce de résistance was the hefty antique armoire that has been in the Falkiner family for what seems like centuries and was rebuilt after it was smashed in a home invasion circa 2010.
To be honest, I wouldn’t blink if 90% of this stuff disappeared in a sudden flash-flood or cosmic fireball, but here I was, ready to spend time, money and kilojoules on bundling it off to its next resting place of dust and atrophy.
It’s not a nice way to spend a Saturday, but the Custom Sport made it a a lot easier — undertaking this endeavour in a car or even a large SUV would have been a pain in the derrière.
To recap, this panel van has a generous load compartment measuring 2,602mm long, 1,392mm wide (between the rear arches) and 1,427mm tall. Do some quick mental arithmetic and you’ll see this equates to a maximum load volume of 5.8m³, which according to Ford is enough to stow three Euro pallets.
While I can’t confirm this claim, I can tell you the space at hand was more than adequate for my requirements. As you can see in the accompanying photos taken over three consecutive weekends, the Custom Sport allows you to pile up boxes with ease. It's also an easy thing to pack, thanks to its low floor, twin 180º opening rear barn doors and sliding side doors. Both feature wide apertures for easy access, while a set of ultra bright LED load area compartment lights aid visibility in dim conditions.
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My one bugbear — and I have mentioned it in posts before — is the load bay protector. Though this thick black plastic covering does an excellent job at keeping the vehicle’s metal floor protected from scratches, dents and foot traffic wear and tear, its surface is slippery from the factory and your cargo slips and slides under braking, turning and acceleration.
To help combat this unwanted movement, I covered it with an old sisal rug, a non-slip rubber mat stolen from my partner’s VW Cross Up! and also made liberal use of elasticised bungee cords. This worked a treat and kept everything from the racing simulator to the armoire — yes, I managed to fit it in — secure once I was back on the road.
If things go awry and you need to jam on the anchors in an emergency stop, this Ford has a substantial metal firewall separating the passenger compartment from the cargo bay, meaning you won't be knocked out or disfigured by a wayward box or family heirloom.
One of the biggest and heaviest loads involved a trip to Montagu, as my mother kindly agreed to let me store some selected contents between her garage, attic and guest bedroom. Literally packed to the rafters — they’re exposed in the Transit Sport — the van’s 2.0l turbodiesel engine did a fair job with the added weight and had no problem cruising along the N1 at just over the legal limit.
Where it did seem to take a bit of strain was during highway speed overtaking manoeuvres or negotiating steeper inclines. The former definitely required more space and planning while the latter often saw the eight-speed gearbox shift down a cog (or two) to keep momentum on the boil.
If you’re in a rush, then you’ll feel the effects of the additional heft (as will your fuel tank) — but take it easy as I did and you’ll be more than happy with the Transit Sport’s aptitude and relative frugality (I used about 0.4l/100km more than I usually average) for schlepping lots of stuff from point A to point B.
2025 Ford Transit Custom Sport | Update 6
- ODOMETER ON DELIVERY: 3,458km
- CURRENT ODOMETER: 8,663km
- AVERAGE CONSUMPTION: 8.8l/100km
- PRICE AS TESTED: R938,000
- PRAISES: Sizeable cargo bay and easy access make packing and transporting cargo an absolute joy. Put to work, the Custom Sport doesn't disappoint.
- GRIPES: Slippery load bay floor protector remains an issue; extra weight of carried cargo does somewhat blunt overtaking performance at highway speeds.
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