Fleet Transport June 2020

50 | GROUP TEST
Ford Transit Custom
Renault Trafic
Although there has been a lot of snow in northern Finland
this Winter, in the south the general conditions remained dry.
Therefore, during the tests the road surface were mainly dry, but due
to the frost there was very occasional black ice on the road. During
the road trip, snow could be seen on the Vierumäki ski slopes and on
the slopes of the Messilä ski resort. The traditional ‘Arctic’ name may
not best describe this year’s test, but fortunately the frost provided a
touch of winter for the test programme and the vehicles in particular.
The minus temperatures put the vehicles’ heating equipment to
work and challenged the engine, as well as fuel consumption.
Usually February is wintery throughout Finland, but this time the
organisers of the test could do nothing but bow to the forces of
nature. As the climate warms, the snow line is constantly pulling
further north and the likelihood of more snow-free weather as
experienced this winter will increase.
Mobile office
A well-equipped cab interior helps drivers perform their daily
distribution tasks. Even in our now highly digitalised world, drivers
may still have to use some paperwork. The test driver panel estimated
that the best facilities for A4 sheets were in Transit Custom while the
Proace was rated the poorest. The cabin storage in the Transporter
also received some criticism, with testers noting that it was difficult
to find a suitable place for a phone or paper.
The Transit Custom and Proace were praised for their convenient
writing pad area, available by turning down the back of the middle
seat.
In general, all test vehicles have versatile multimedia
systems and appropriately-sized touch screens.
Smartphones are easily connected to in-vehicle multimedia systems
such as Bluetooth. USB-slots for charging phones and other devices
were also conveniently found in all test cars. Volkswagen is ahead
of the game in terms of wired data transfer, as the T6.1 is equipped
with the new and faster USB-C plug. Unfortunately, this type
FLEETVAN&UTILITY | Summer 2020