LONG-TERM UPDATE 2 | Five things I learnt road-tripping our Ford Transit Custom Sport

My best friend and ex-bandmate was set to get married in a small beach ceremony in Plettenberg Bay — a (roughly) 500km drive from where I live in the Western Cape. Originally my partner and I had agreed to take her VW Cross Up! but our plans changed when the Ford Transit Custom Sport arrived a few days before we were due to depart. And why not — the lengthy trek would offer a test of the van’s road trip abilities.

So we took the scenic way up Route 62 to Oudtshoorn. From there we meandered down the N12 to George and then followed the N2 through Knysna and up towards Plett. Taking our time and stopping for regular coffee breaks, these are a few things I learnt en route.

1: Luggage space | Don’t let it slide 

First on the agenda, packing. While the Custom Sport’s huge cargo bay had no issue swallowing our luggage, keeping it from sliding all over the place while driving would prove a challenge. Especially considering how slippery the plastic floor moulding is.

I had a few elasticised bungee cords in my garage, which I lashed around our suitcases and secured using the Ford’s tie-down loops. Items of pressed formal clothing were placed on coat hangers and hung either on the Custom Sport’s exposed roof crossmembers or the mesh grille protecting the bulkhead window.

My laptop bag and partner’s handbag were placed between the front seats.

2: Interior | A workman’s aesthetic with a sense of style

Being a dyed-in-the-wool commercial vehicle, I was sceptical about the Custom Sport’s comfort levels on such a long haul. After the first 100km or so, however, it became obvious this great big hunk of van is more than up to the task of devouring highway miles with ease. The driving position is excellent with a lofty view of the road ahead that makes reading traffic a dream. The seats are also surprisingly body-friendly and offer a generous amount of adjustment to help make yourself snug behind the leather multifunction steering wheel. The latter can be tweaked for rake and reach. Even the lumbar can be fine-tuned on the driver’s chair, which is a nice touch.

Another bonus is folding, padded armrests that give both your elbows an agreeable perch to see out the journey. If you’re tall — 1.88m and over — be wary of the bulkhead as its steely presence can impede on your recline angle depending on how far back you like your bottom seat cushion to be set. As such a bit of compromise might be in order. 

While we’re dealing with interior ergonomics, top marks must be awarded to the placement of the cup holders moulded into the dashboard and set above the far-side air vents. Easy to reach, they're perfectly sized for cradling a large black Americano. With an additional pair in the centre console, your hydration needs are well taken care of. 

Nice to sit in as the kilometres click by, the Custom Sport’s cabin is also packed with tech the likes of which you wouldn’t expect to find in a vehicle with such a strong utilitarian bias. Highlights, especially when on a fatigue-inducing road trip, include adaptive cruise control, speed sign recognition, blind spot monitoring and lane-keeping assist.

There’s also a driver alert function that bleeps at you when the vehicle’s electronic brain thinks you’re in need of a break. It’s proved extremely sensitive and tends to go off for no good reason — even a few kilometres after getting behind the wheel. You can turn it off before a journey with a quick scroll through the settings menu.

In-van entertainment is provided by Ford’s Sync 4 infotainment system that here pairs with a crisp 13” landscape touchscreen mounted in the middle of the dashboard. Unlike the frustrating China-sourced system in my previous Ford long-termer, the Territory Titanium, it’s super intuitive and offers logical access to everything from vehicle settings and driver modes to HVAC adjustment. Wireless Apple CarPlay is standard (ditto Android Auto if that’s more your style), as are four loudspeakers — two tweeters and two woofers — that fill the Custom Sport’s cabin with a decent sound. 

A simple 8” digital instrument cluster is standard and displays a range of information including coolant temperature, fuel level, speed and what gear you’re in. It also houses the vehicle’s on-board computer (fuel consumption and so on) and gives you a visual status of what driver assistance features are activated. As much as I like this set-up, I find Ford’s decision to omit a tachometer an oversight. Especially in a vehicle fitted with a turbodiesel engine where keeping an eye on the revs is important. 

On the NVH front things are impressively subdued for a commercial vehicle, particularly when travelling at slower speeds or around town. On the highway though — and despite the substantial bulkhead — the cargo bay can get a trifle boomy when cruising at velocities higher than the national limit. The chunky side mirrors also give off a fair amount of wind noise. That said, the Custom Sport feels more like an SUV than it does a workhorse. 

3: Engine | Decent power meets reasonable economy

Nestling behind those LED headlamps and gaping radiator grille is a 2.0l four-cylinder turbodiesel engine putting out a claimed 125kW and 390Nm of torque. Smooth, quiet and refined, this oil-burner delivers snappy acceleration at town speeds and is an effortless highway cruiser, propelling you along the blacktop at 120km/h — or faster when the need arises — without breaking sweat. In cars such as this diesel makes much sense. 

The eight-speed automatic transmission to which it's paired has ratios nicely stacked and goes about its cog-swapping business with a pleasing amount of polish. Up or down the gate, it's so far proving to be a real smoothie of a unit, one that makes Ford’s comparable 10-speed gearbox seem clunky in comparison (I’ve never been a fan). Overtaking oomph is strong when unladen, the Custom Sport allowing one to leapfrog slower moving traffic and dawdling pantechnicon trucks with confidence.

Engine performance can be tailored via five drive modes — normal, eco, slippery, tow/haul and sport. Keen to whittle down my diesel bill I used eco mode for the trip, averaging 8.1l/100km there and 8.3l/100km home. Not bad for what’s essentially a brick on wheels — and close to Ford’s official claimed combined cycle figure of 8.0l/100km. Fuel tank size at 55l is borderline adequate but I would like an extra 20l or so to extend range.

4: Ride | A (surprisingly) smooth operator

Some of the asphalt leading from Oudtshoorn to George was noticeably bumpy, especially after experiencing the exceptionally well-maintained surface of Route 62. Usually such imperfections would throw vans like this into a tizzy but the Custom Sport shrugged them off with aplomb. The secret here is Ford’s new semi-trailing arm independent rear suspension design that not only makes the vehicle feel more stable and precise but also imbibes it with a degree of ride comfort that not too long ago would be unheard of on such a hard-core hauler. It also contributes to a lower floor height for easier loading.

5: Practical finishes | Some mess = no fuss

Road trips are usually accompanied by a fair amount of dirt. Muddy feet. Sandy shoes. Stealthy crumbs dropped from snacks. Accidentally spilt coffee. This sort of detritus is inevitable. While this can be a huge annoyance in regular cars with carpets, the floor of the Custom Sport is covered in a layer of easy to clean rubber. So whatever horrors land next to your kicks, all you need to wash away the evidence is a damp cloth or, if you want to be fancy, a few squirts of detailing spray and a thorough rub with a microfibre cloth. 

2025 Ford Transit Custom Sport | Update 2

• ODOMETER ON DELIVERY: 3,458km
• CURRENT ODOMETER: 5,646km
• AVERAGE CONSUMPTION: 8.2l/100km 
• PRICE AS TESTED: R938,000
• PRAISES: Comfortable cabin with loads of features. Punchy yet frugal diesel engine. Composed ride. Racing stripes still fielding plenty of attention.
• GRIPES: Lack of tachometer is a big oversight. Driver alert function is overly sensitive and annoying. Bungee cords or tie-downs essential for carrying luggage.