Just came back from a vacation into the Colorado Rockies with a Transit 12-passenger rental van. 7 people on the vacation, adults and older teens.
2500 miles total, 18.6 indicated mpg. Driving at speed limit all the way. Worst mpg was driving across Kansas at 75mph into a strong headwind.
I was really impressed with the 3.5 Ecoboost engine in this vehicle. Always had plenty of power on tap, even loaded with passengers and luggage at 10,000+ ft elevations. Smooth and quiet, stayed in tenth gear for most hills on the highway. I drove a non-turbo Transit a few years ago on a trip that crossed the Appalachians and it was bit gutless.
I'm not used to a lot of the features in modern cars... The proximity sensors on the front and rear bumpers and a very good backup camera made it easier to maneuver this beast. The blind-spot detection was good. There was lane-keep assist that didn't really do much but buzz the steering wheel a little if you got off track. I would have liked a better system that kept the van in the middle of the lane by itself. No adaptive cruise, which might have been nice for the long highway stretches. My first experience with auto wipers, worked OK. Wasn't impressed with the headlights, but I didn't drive much at night.
The van tracked well - it was not stressful keeping it in the lane, even in gusty conditions. I thought the ride was a bit rough, but I guess it's supposed to be pretty good for the GVWR. I have taken our Odyssey on family trips and it was basically bottomed out on the suspension with a family of six and luggage. It was great to have a vehicle that was designed to haul a lot of weight.
2500 miles total, 18.6 indicated mpg. Driving at speed limit all the way. Worst mpg was driving across Kansas at 75mph into a strong headwind.
I was really impressed with the 3.5 Ecoboost engine in this vehicle. Always had plenty of power on tap, even loaded with passengers and luggage at 10,000+ ft elevations. Smooth and quiet, stayed in tenth gear for most hills on the highway. I drove a non-turbo Transit a few years ago on a trip that crossed the Appalachians and it was bit gutless.
I'm not used to a lot of the features in modern cars... The proximity sensors on the front and rear bumpers and a very good backup camera made it easier to maneuver this beast. The blind-spot detection was good. There was lane-keep assist that didn't really do much but buzz the steering wheel a little if you got off track. I would have liked a better system that kept the van in the middle of the lane by itself. No adaptive cruise, which might have been nice for the long highway stretches. My first experience with auto wipers, worked OK. Wasn't impressed with the headlights, but I didn't drive much at night.
The van tracked well - it was not stressful keeping it in the lane, even in gusty conditions. I thought the ride was a bit rough, but I guess it's supposed to be pretty good for the GVWR. I have taken our Odyssey on family trips and it was basically bottomed out on the suspension with a family of six and luggage. It was great to have a vehicle that was designed to haul a lot of weight.
