The new Ford Fiesta Van and the new Ranger Wildtrack X will be on show at the Birmingham Commercial Vehicle Show

During these days, the Beijing Motor Show, or Auto China 2018, is naturally drawing most of the attention, with a number of new models presented that are mainly aimed at Chinese customers, although it remains of interest since some of these new models will also reach Europe. At the same time, the English city of Birmingham is hosting the Commercial Vehicle Show, a show that doesn’t receive as much attention but where some interesting things have been presented, such as those brought by Ford.

The commercial models in Ford’s range are very important for the brand itself, as shown by its sales, where it has been the absolute leader for three consecutive years, and 2018 is on course to become the fourth, as it remains the leader in the first quarter of the year with 93,200 units sold, the brand’s highest first quarter since 1993. It is therefore logical that this is an important area for the brand, which is why it has brought to Birmingham the new Ford Fiesta Van, the new FordPass Connect technologies and the new Ranger Wildtrack X.

Ford Fiesta Van

Before starting, I would personally like to say that I can’t see the point of a Ford Fiesta Van, I can’t see what it can contribute in terms of capacity to a company, but I must be completely wrong, since the Ford Fiesta Van is back in the commercial range of the American brand following strong demand from its customers.

The Ford Fiesta Van is based on the three-door bodywork of the new Ford Fiesta, differing only on the outside by the removal of the rear side windows, while keeping the rear tailgate window. Even those who want a sportier look will have the Sport trim available, with more aggressive exterior finishes, side skirts, and 18-inch alloy wheels; this image also carries over to the interior with sports seats, steering wheel, pedals and an exclusive gear lever, speed limiter and lane-keeping assist, all fitted as standard.

The changes, as you can imagine, focus mainly on the interior and especially its rear, where the seats have been removed to make way for a clean cargo area, with a hard-wearing lining on the walls and a rubber floor covering with four tie-down points, separated from the front by a mesh partition. In this way it can carry around 1 cubic metre of cargo over a length of almost 1.3 metres, with a gross payload of around 500 kg.

The front of the Ford Fiesta Van does not differ from the conventional model, and we will even find practically the same comforts in terms of safety and connectivity, such as the SYNC 3 system with an 8-inch floating touchscreen compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. As for safety, we will have technologies such as Pre-Collision Assist, emergency braking with pedestrian detection, blind spot information, Adaptive Cruise Control, Active Park Assist, Traffic Sign Recognition and a speed limiter.

The vehicle will also benefit from the new integrated modem with FordPass Connect technologies, which, besides turning our commercial vehicle into a WiFi hotspot, also allows us to access a range of information through the FordPass mobile app, such as vehicle status alerts, vehicle status, door locking and unlocking, and vehicle location.

Ford Ranger Wildtrack X

Before its presentation at the Frankfurt Motor Show last year, we were able to see the Ford Ranger Black Edition, a special edition that was very well received and popular, so Ford wants to repeat and maintain this success with a new special edition, the Ranger Wildtrack X. Like the Black Edition, the Ranger Wildtrack X will feature distinctive elements both outside and inside.

For the first time in the Wildtrack version, the exclusive §h49;Performance Blue metallic paint will be available with the X special edition, combined with black details applied to the front grille, the protective side and roof bars, the step bars, the alloy wheels, the Wildtrack lettering logos and the rear load bed roller cover fitted as standard. For the interior, black leather upholstery has been chosen, with River Rock grey contrasts on the edges.

The Ford Ranger Wildtrack X will be available in a double cab configuration, while mechanically it will be paired with the 3,200 cc TDCi diesel engine developing 200 CV, linked to a six-speed automatic gearbox and 4×4 traction. With this engine, the Ranger Wildtrack has an homologated consumption of 8.8 l/100 km and CO2 emissions of 231 g/km. For the moment, Ford has not revealed when it will be available, nor the price it will have in our country.