Why the Citroen Spacetourer is a breath of fresh air

SOMEONE at Citroën is clearly a kindred spirit. They know what it’s like to grow up as part of a larger family – and they’ve come up with a solution.

Growing up with lots of brothers and sisters has all sorts of problems. For starters they eat into the parental funds that should rightfully be reserved for the BMX and games console of your choice, and getting ten minutes in the bathroom in the mornings requires the sort of planning that’d give the scientists at CERN sleepless nights. Growing up in that brief period of history with dial-up internet connections made it even worse; I vividly remember the rows over who got access to the one computer and the looks I’d get when a squawking modem would disconnect my sisters’ phone calls.

But worst of all was having to cram into the back of my parents’ Land Rover, because that was one of the few vehicles that had the requisite eight seats. Every childhood holiday involved sitting on side-facing benches in the back of a bouncy old 4x4, but at least Land Rovers are vaguely fashionable; just about the only alternative was sourcing a Ford Transit minibus, which would have killed my passion for cars stone dead at the age of nine.

Even today getting more than eight seats in your wagon’s tricky. At the last count I found just four on offer; Ford’s Tourneo Custom, Mercedes-Benz’s Vito Tourer, Volkswagen’s Transporter Shuttle and the badge engineered, virtually identical twins that are Renault’s Trafic and Vauxhall’s Vivaro Combi. The anoraks among you will already spotted what they’ve got in common. While none are especially nasty to drive, they’re all based on vans rather than cars.

Which is why Citroën’s new Spacetourer will be a breath of fresh air for over-productive parents and taxi firms specialising in airport runs and picking up groups of plastered partygoers from Liverpool city centre. It’s got nine seats so it’ll be able to heave each and every one of your offspring about, but rather than being a van with more windows and seats it’s basically the same as the Peugeot 308 underneath. So it’s 2014’s European Car of the Year with an extra four seatbelts.

Which is great. Someone on the other side of the Channel has realised parents who have more than five children might want to drive something other than a Transit van with some seats bolted into the back – and that hopefully will encourage other car makers to offer up rivals to the Spacetourer.

It hits the showrooms later this year – if you are looking for something vaguely interesting to cart your six children to school in it, it’s well worth thinking about.

Don't punish younger drivers. Just give them a Luton van

LOTS of people in cardigans have been using this last week to call for even tougher restrictions on those pesky young drivers who keep passing their test and then crashing.

Among the suggestions being bandied about by the bores-that-be are restricting them to cars as woefully underpowered as the one-litre Kia Picanto I tried the other day, banning them from venturing onto Britain’s highways and byways once the sun goes down, and bringing in yoof-specific drink-driving laws that’ll land them in prison for twenty years if they’re caught in the possession of wine gums.

In fact, the only sensible idea that hasn’t come from someone who’d otherwise suggest reintroducing National Service is tougher, more plentiful driving lessons, and a harder driving test to match. It’s mad, for instance, that my newly-qualified mate can freely venture onto the M6 at rush hour, despite not having had a single lesson on motorway driving!

I, however, have found an even better way to encourage careful driving after moving house last week. Insist everyone does their driving test – and all the lessons leading up to it – in a Ford Transit Luton van packed to the brim with their most prized possessions.

Driving something the size of a student flat is a little nerve-racking at the best of times, but knowing it’s weighed down with your furniture, your DVDs, your carefully accumulated copies of Evo magazine and the IKEA bookcases you gingerly screwed together on an idle Sunday afternoon does tend to focus your mind on driving more carefully.

The windy West Lancashire lanes I use to get to the motorway network – lanes I’d normally enjoy driving – were mildly terrifying, not only because a Luton van is so long and so wide, but because the cargo in the back is yours. It also encourages you, thanks to its appetite for diesel, to go easy on the throttle, and if you can park one, you can park pretty much anything.

Make cocky, over-confident new drivers – like me not that long ago – do their lessons and tests in vans fully loaded with their prized personal belongings and they’ll learn more about defensive driving and not taking risks than any 1950s-style motoring curfews.

You never know. There might even be a few less hot hatches wrapped around trees as a result…

Fire up the... Peugeot Partner

A DOUBLE duvet, a mountain bike, and a pile of bags and boxes filled with household clutter. No, not the prizes of some awful Generation Game spinoff but a list of things Peugeot's Partner could swallow with ease.

Trips to the tip are the sort of missions where you'd want the generously-named Peugeot Partner Teepee Outdoor HDi 115 on your side; it really is family man motoring on a truly utilitarian level. Keen students of all things automotive will have already deduced it's the familiar Partner van with an additional helping of windows and seats, but if you're prepared to drop any pretensions of being sporty and go along with its load-lugging groove than you've got the perfect, er, partner. If you strip your family car requirements back to hauling five people and as much luggage as possible, then I challenge you to find a motor more geared up to the task then this one.

Stylish it ain't and it's a big thing, but the tradeoff is the simply enormous amount of room you get inside, and when you aren't using the faintly ridiculous amounts of headroom and legroom in the rear the back seats fold away and the Partner turns back into a van, offering you more luggage space than just about any other people mover for the money. True, the 1.6 version I drove will set you back £17,000 but while I don't think that's too unreasonable, there are plenty of other Partners in the range offering you the same amount of space for even less.

But the best thing about the Partner is that despite its van origins it doesn't alienate drivers who like their vehicles smaller and lower (me, basically). No, it's not going to inspire you with its handling in a bleak corner of Britain's countryside but it disguises its considerable bulk with a welcome dose of handling aplomb, and on the motorway it's a comfortable cruiser which isn't left wanting for turbocharged diesel punch. The only thing I'd ask Peugeot to give the Partner for Christmas is a sixth gear, to help improve the already none-too-bad 44mpg I averaged with it.

The Partner isn't a thriller through the corners or a work of art, but it isn't pretending to be. See it for what it is - a tool which dedicates everything at its disposal to moving people and things as efficiently as possible - and it's a belter.

It might be a van with windows, but I'm a convert

JUST call me Jean-Jaques and pass me a beret. This week, I've fallen for that most French of motoring institutions.

I know that the small-van-with-windows format is offered by all sorts of manufacturers these days - Ford with its Tourneo, Fiat with the Doblo and so on - but really it's the Gallic trio of Citroen, Renault and Peugeot who've made it a hit with motorists on this side of the Channel. Now, thanks to a week with a Partner as my partner, I can see why.

I've entrusted it with a several missions, including a trip to the tip to get rid of a few bits of household clutter simply too big for the Rover 214 to deal with, but the assignment on which it's impressed me most was conveying a carload of petrolheads to the NEC in Birmingham for last weekend's Footman James Classic Motor Show. Normally, this would be a job given to either my Rover or my mate's turbodiesel Saab 93, but it seemed almost rude not to use the big Pug instead.

Each and every one of us - a group of car enthusiasts who'd usually value the small, the sporty and the quick - left impressed by the Partner's almost ruthless approach to practical, family-friendly motoring. Up front, I loved the way it disguised its considerable bulk with its sweet handling, my turbo nutter, Saab-owning pal liked its mid range punch, and everyone else seemed slightly lost with the vast amounts of head and legroom.
In fact, the only real gripes were the popout windows in the sliding rear doors, which left them with a slightly stuffy feel on the long trip.

Admittedly, the boxy shape - especially in the delightfully Seventies shade of brown the car I've just tested came in - isn't going to keep you awake at night, and nor is it going to thrill you on the Buttertubs Pass, but I'm a small-vans-with-windows convert, because these things do the job they're designed to do brilliantly and unpretentiously.

Now, what's the going rate for a secondhand one?

The Southport brothers who built a camper van for less than a grand

TWO brothers from Southport have used their technical know-how to write a book on their bid to build a camper van on a budget.

Matthew and Stuart Ball, of Fylde Road said this week that they have used their technical skills to convert an LDV van into a camper van for less than £1,000, and detailed how they did it in a book which has just been launched by publishing firm Veloce.

Co-author Matthew Ball said: “We've always dreamed of having our own camper. We love being able to go anywhere at the drop of a hat, and being able to afford it. The Lakes, The Cotswolds, Scotland, Cornwall - heck, the whole world is there waiting for you!

"We used to think that one day, once we'd got enough money together, we'd get our dream machine, but we never seemed to have the money and that's the problem - dream machines seem to cost so much. Isn't the idea of a camper van to get away, anytime you want, cheaply. That was certainly our plan anyway."

The pair, having been put off by both the prices of brand new campervans and the quality of secondhand machines available, decided to use Matt's experience as a resistant materials tutor to convert a secondhand van into a campervan to keep costs down, and have chronicled the project in a book to help spur others on to follow suit.

The project, which took place over ten weeks last summer, saw the brothers convert the van into a fully-functioned camper van for a total of £996, including the cost of buying the van itself. It also marks their debut into the publishing world, with the finished title being their first book.

Stuart Ball said: "Inspiration came from Ron Champion's book, Build a Sports Car for Less Than £250. I knew through converting another van into a camper that costs can easily run out of control, so a great deal of thought and preparation was required to achieve such a low cost.

“We have also developed a basic website showing pictures which didn't make it into the book, and a gallery page for fellow camper van enthusiasts to upload their camper van builds.”

The book, entitled Build Your Own Dream Camper Van For Less Than £1,000 is available to buy now both in bookstores and online, costing £19.99. For more information visit the brothers' website.

Pictures courtesy of Matthew and Stuart Ball

Prepare to fire up the... Ford Transit

A NEW Ford Transit is on the way for the first time in 12 years, the van's makers have confirmed this week.


Believe it or not, the current Transit is - give or take a facelift or two - the same as the one you would've bought way back in the year 2000, but with it still being Britain's best selling commercial vehicle The Blue Oval hasn't exactly been in a rush to replace it.

The new version, which makes its global debut this week at the Birmingham Commercial Vehicle Show and is part of efforts by Ford to revamp its entire commercial range within the next two years, is promising to offer more car-like gadgets than ever before, while offering the same sort of value which made its predecessors such a hit with small businesses.

Jesus Alonso, Ford of Europe's director commercial vehicle marketing, sales and service, said: “This is a stylish, modern van which customers will be proud to have on their driveway, while losing none of the hard-working attitude that they expect from a Transit.

”The launch of this new range marks the start of a far-reaching transformation of Ford’s global commercial vehicle range. With more new models set to be revealed in the coming months, 2012 is destined to be a very exciting year for our commercial vehicle business.“

Stylistically the new Transit loses the bluff-nosed appearance of the old one in favour of a style more closely related to Ford's cars, while drivers will be able to take up the same options - including reversing cameras and emergency assistance systems - you'll find elsewhere in the company's range. The company also reckons it's answered the all-important question of loadspace; not only is the new Transit roomier than the old one, it also claims it's now more capacious than any of its rival cargo carriers.

Will it pick up where the old one left off? That all depends on whether Ford's managed to pull off the same trick its predecessor and make a van that's good value and tough to boot, but as fun and easy drive as a Fiesta or Focus is.

The new Transit will be available later this year.

Hugh Buckingham: the man behind the MINI Clubvan

THE Southport signwriter who gave a helping hand to one of the world's biggest car makers has spoken to The Champion about his involvement with a new MINI show car.

Last week The Champion reported on a MINI concept van being displayed at this month's Geneva Motorshow featuring the work of a signwriting firm based in the resort - but despite our initial enquiries before last week's edition, BMW, the car's creators, remained tight-lipped about the story behind the project.

However, shortly after last week's edition reached our readers we were put in touch with Hugh Buckingham himself, who explained how a family connection to the firm helped him land a job decorating the vehicle, which will be given worldwide media attention when it forms the centrepiece of the MINI stand at the Swiss automotive show.

Mr Buckingham, who has spent more than 30 years working with vehicle graphics, said this week:

"My son John works for BMW as one of their designers, and when the company decided they wanted the graphics on the van to be authentic he pointed out that I work as a signwriter, and that's how the company got in touch with me. I'm amazed at the publicity the van's aleady had and am very proud to have been involved with it.

"The design I went for is almost a little anachronistic, because it's like something you'd see on a canal boat on a brand new concept car, but that's right for the MINI because it's a very traditional product. It's the first time BMW has ever cross-promoted another company in this way, but really the praise should go to their publicity department for coming up with the idea and managing to get so much attention drawn to it."

The vehicle, called the MINI Clubvan, is a modern recreation of the iconic Mini vans of the 1960s and has already received global attention, including a brief appearance on Top Gear last week when it was discussed by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.

If you've got an automotive story for The Champion contact motoring correspondent David Simister on 01704 392404 or send him an email at david.simister@champnews.com

Electric Mia gets green light for Government grants

IF YOU liked the little Mia electric van Life On Cars tested a couple of weeks ago then the Governnment have got some good news for you.

The secretary of state for transport confirmed this week that the French-made zero emissions vehicle - which is unusual because it only comes in middle-hand-drive - is eligible for both the ‘Plug-In Car’ and ‘Plug-In Van’ Grants, and confirmed that Mia's offerings meet all the safety, reliability, performance and warranty standards necessary for the UK market.

As a result the standard short wheelbase model (mia-U) will retail at approximately £21,000 and the two extended models, the mia L and the mia box van, will both retail at approximately £22,000.

Last month Life On Cars reported on the Mia's local connection - a Southport man is helping UK companies to test the car for possible fleet use in the future.

Can you solve the MINI Clubvan mystery?

A SOUTHPORT sign writer is to have his work displayed to thousands of people at a prestigious show in Geneva - on the side of a new MINI concept car.

Visitors to this year's Geneva Motorshow will get to see the new MINI Clubvan - a small panel van in the same vein as the original Mini van of the 1960s - on display, which features vehicle graphics on the side which reads “Hugh Buckingham Sign Writer, Southport”, giving the resort worldwide attention after the concept car was announced this week.

MINI UK said in a statement: "The company featured on the MINI Clubvan Concept shown at Geneva ‘Hugh Buckingham Signwriter’ is a UK company, based in Southport which creates similar vehicle graphics for its customers.

"The Concept showcases how these might look on a MINI Clubvan."

However, when pressed by The Champion earlier this week MINI were unable to confirm any further details about the firm, or give any more details as to how the tie-up with the Oxfordshire-based car company came about.

The Champion also tried to track down the sign writing firm to hear more about the promotion its work would get through the MINI Clubvan concept, but despite efforts to track down the company no details could be found before this week's edition went to press.

Are you the Hugh Buckingham whose work is featured on the van? Get in touch with The Champion on 01704 392404 or send an email to david.simister@champnews.com

The Southport car company getting charged up by electric motoring

A SOUTHPORT man has joined forces with a French electric car firm in a bid to encourage businesses across the north west to use more eco-friendly vehicles.

David Cowperthwaite, of Fylde Road, has teamed up with the makers of the Mia electric van in a bid to persuade companies to reduce their carbon footprint, and said that the unusual vehicle has already attracted attention from police forces, local authorities and the Royal Mail.

He has set up the Marshside-based firm TYC Electric Vehicles to help distribute the van in the UK, and told Life On Cars:

“I took the Mia to Liverpool last week to show it to an organisation interested in trying out electric vehicles, and we went down the M57. Even though we did a lot of miles and had the wipers and the lights on at 50mph it just kept on going and kept its charge, so electric vehicles can go a lot longer than people think.

"The organisations that have tried it have been really impressed with its performance and by how quiet it was, although with it being middle-hand-drive quite a few of them couldn't get used to sitting in the middle! The vehicle leaves no carbon footprint at all and you don't have to pay any road tax on it, so companies could save themselves thousands if they ran one over a couple of years instead of a van powered by fossil fuel."

Electrically-powered vans have this week been given a fresh boost by the Government after the Department For Transport announced that they would offer grants to businesses which buy them, which ministers say will save firms as much as £8,000 per vehicle as well as helping to reduce carbon emissions.

Among the organisations which have expressed an interest in the Mia is Merseytravel, who declined to comment but did confirm they had been looking at the vehicle as a possible addition to their fleet in the future.

Transport Minister Norman Baker said: "Electric vehicles are the arrowhead for a low carbon revolution in motoring and as more models come to market we’ll begin to see sales gather pace. Car buyers have had a year to take advantage of our grant and now it’s time for van buyers to get their chance to go electric. This is great news for businesses given the lower running costs of these vehicles – fleet buyers tell us that this is one of the most important factor influencing their decision on what to buy.

“It is radical initiatives like these which will allow us to create a transport system that both cuts carbon and is an engine for economic growth.”

Charge up the... Mia Electric

THE ingredients would make for a mouth-watering supercar. It is rear-engined and rear-wheel drive, like a 911. The driving position is in the middle, just as it is in a McLaren F1. And it’s all put together by a small French specialist – just like the legions of Venturis, Alpines and Matras car enthusiasts love.

But the recipe is for a small electric van that’s full of surprises.

The Mia – which Life On Cars is one of the first publications in the region to test drive – is a battery-powered load lugger which Brit buyers will be able to order as either a car or a van, and the Franco-German firm which builds them are hoping a warm response over here will help them hit their production target of 10,000 cars a year. The van I tested was small and upright in the vein of, say, the Bedford Rascal beloved of small businesses back in the Eighties, but clock the smooth contours and you realise that’s where the similarities end.

Once you get used to that central driving position you realise the interior’s got all the gadgets you’d expect but is still sparsely laid out – if anything, it reminded me of the Lotus Elise, which also has a dashboard limited to a simplistic bar running across the cabin. It might not have been the last word in luxury, but I liked it.

Yet what really impressed was the way it drove, which is far better than you’d expect an electrically-propelled city slicker to manage. The steering was a little on the light side but I actually enjoyed the oomph offered up the little Mia, while the easy-going ride and the tidy handling will keep your passengers on either side happy. You almost forget that you’re limited to a top speed of 60mph.

Admittedly, it costs £20,000 – the same as a decently-specced Ford Transit – and only does 80 miles on a charge but I get where the Mia is coming from. If you’re one of those small businesses who raved about the Rascal then I reckon you’d love one of these, because it offers up the same sort of cargo space, it’s cheap to run, a doddle to park and makes other motorists look because it’s cute. If all you do are deliveries around town then the Mia’s a capable and eco-friendly contender for your cash.

It’s also – with the going rate for a secondhand McLaren F1 soaring into the millions – probably the only middle-hand-drive car I’ll ever test.

Sorry seems to be the hardest word

A CROSS chap in an RAC lorry has left me revisiting one of the biggest questions in motoring.

He was driving along to somewhere important this morning along the M62 - the very same stretch of motorway I needed to join en-route to IKEA. Because my better half needed a bookcase too big for any of the Life On Cars fleet, I was at the helm of a Ford Transit, and might have got a bit carried away with the whole White Van Man thing.

Put simply, I might have cut him up. Cue an angry flash of the lorry's headlamps.

Still locked into Transit mode, and with the window convenientally open, I immediately wanted to figure out how many fingers I should put up at the driver to make him aware of my discontent. Only I didn't, because a split second later I realised he wasn't being unecessarily uppity. It was in fact me who was driving like a berk. What I should have been doing, in fact, was apologising.

Which brings me to the big question; how? There are, as I'm all too aware, a multitude of hand gestures and angry facial expressions to let someone know they've been a wally* at the wheel. You can also plant your hand on the centre of the steering wheel to voice your disapproval through a patronisingly long parp of the horn, or you can flash your headlights in disgust.

Yet I can't think of any convenient, universally-understood gesture or signal that means "Sorry, my mistake". Giving a wave or a thumbs-up can be easily misunderstood and wind up the motorist you've already angered even more, which means that eating humble pie at the helm of a white Transit - in fact, any vehicle - is next to impossible. So what do you do?

Clearly, the Government and the great and good of the motoring world should get together, thrash it out and work it out, because Britain's motorists need a symbol so they can easily say they're sorry. It wouldn't just cut down on confusion, it'd save accidents and road rage. People would arrive at the office happy and be more productive as a result. It could also be used in other places you can't speak to people you've just peeved off - nightclubs for instance - so clearly it's something which could transform our society if it's successful. Britain needs a new apology gesture, and the campaign should start here.

I think I'm owed a few apologies off other motorists as it is!

*With The Champion being a family publication "wally" is a substitution for a certain other word beginning with 'W' which most wound-up motorists actually use...

You're nicked!

FORD'S Transit isn't just a favourite with British businesses - thieves love it too, as newly-released statistics have revealed this week.

The Association of Chief Police Officers' Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service, or AVCIS for short, said that Britain's best selling van is also the nation's most nicked motor, beating the thieves' favourite car, the Vauxhall Astra, into second place.

The organisation said that not only are Transits are popular choice because they offer a lot of value in terms of spare parts and scrap metal, but are also likely to have valuable tools stored in the back.

Britain's top ten most nicked vehicles, according to the figures released this week, are:

1) Ford Transit
2) Vauxhall Astra
3) Ford Fiesta
4) Volkswagen Golf
5) Vauxhall Corsa
6) BMW 3 Series
7) Ford Focus
8) Mercedes-Benz Sprinter
9) Ford Mondeo
10) Honda Civic

Head of AVCIS, Detective Chief Inspector Mark Hooper, said:

"Vehicles appearing in the list may surprise motorists. Although high-end cars are stolen to order by criminals, those driving more affordable vehicles should not be complacent.

"Whatever vehicle you drive, security should always be a priority."

Do you have any motoring related stories you'd like to share? Get in touch with Life On Cars by sending an email to david.simister@champnews.com or call 01704 392404.

Imagine clocking this in your rear view mirror

THIS week I’d like to break with Life On Cars tradition and offer some practical car buying advice.

Specifically, I’ve a few suggestions for the road rage-ridden, van-driving cretin I encountered at a busy roundabout last week, who rather than give way decided to battle through at upwards of 40mph. When I sounded my horn to remind him I was already on the roundabout and could well have been about to ram him into the middle of next week, he politely responded by winding down his window and lobbing a can of his favourite drink straight at me. Charming!

I’m not about to advise you that all van drivers are inconsiderate twonks with little regard for the Highway Code but simply suggest this to my Transit-trashing friend; if you want to look aggressive in a van, why not just buy an aggressive looking van?

That’s why I’m hoping White Van Man will become Racing Van Man, thanks to a new Transit for delivery drivers who fancy a bit of GT40 with their Ford. Launched to tie in with the van’s 45th anniversary, it is essentially standard Transit fare - until you clock the fat tyres, the black alloy wheels and the white racing stripes, that is.

It’s the latest in a long line of Transits to be given the Dodge Viper treatment, and Ford know full well that van drivers love ‘em.

“We know that 'white van man' is image conscious both personally and for his business,” said Ford of Britain's marketing director, Mark Simpson.

“The SportVan is a real head-turner as well as a reliable workhorse and that's why they sell out so fast."

Basically, it’s a Transit designed by a five-year-old boy - all it’s missing is a few machine gun mounts - meaning you’re going to remember if it rumbles past you on a dual carriageway, negating any need for its owner to make up for a shortfall in machismo by driving like a berk.

But if you’re still going to insist on carving your way through busy traffic and cutting up every other road user on the way to a delivery you’re already running late for then I can suggest trying a trick a lot cheaper than the £22,630 Ford is asking for the SportVan.

Setting off earlier.

Getting sunburnt the vantastic way

FORGET hay fever and barbecue-induced food poisoning, because I’ve just discovered a far more annoying summer disease. This week, I’m suffering from Van Driver’s Arm.

That’s right; my arm is redder than a Liverpool shirt, and it’s all because I stepped away from the world of cars and drove, for the first time ever, a Ford Transit. On a day when Lancashire felt more like Lanzarotte, I’d like to say I became White Van Man, but I can’t. I was White Van Man With A Red Arm.

Anyone who’s ever hired a van on a hot summer morning, journeyed north, and then headed home on an even more blistering afternoon will know exactly what I’m on about when I whinge that the sun has to move about so that the same arm conveniently gets burnt again on the return run. It still hurts now.

Van Driver’s Arm is a disease with all sorts of symptoms; elevated sense of driving position, insistence on driving a white vehicle, inexplicable urge to buy copies of The Sun, that sort of thing. Fully fledged cases can even lead to severe bouts of tailgating, but luckily I managed to avoid the more severe symptoms (although I am still suffering from the need to make crass generalisations).

I was only exposed to the world of White Van Man for a few hours, but I thought it rocked as much as the music every Transit driver I’ve ever met listens to. How can something so enormous be so much fun to drive?

It might be the same size as my old student flat but I still decided to take it down one of my favourite driving roads on the way up to Carlisle, and it impressed endlessly. Every modern Ford I’ve ever driven has clearly been set up by someone who loves driving, and even in something as enormous and workmanlike as the Transit it shows.

Even when you’re tootling around town you soon forget just how big it is, so natural is it to drive, and there’s something about its hard-wearing plastics and big, chunky cupholders which suit it perfectly. It might have got my right arm sunburnt but besides that I really couldn’t fault it.

It’s just a shame I forget to tie the boxes in the back down before I took it down the back roads. Oops!

Vantastic

THE backbone of Britain is celebrating a birthday bash this week - and Ford wants van fans to join in the party.

Ford's faithful Transit is 45 years old and to mark the occasion the company has unveiled a special version of the British-built load lugger, the appropriately-named Ford Transit Sapphire.

Available in three different wheelbases and powered by the same 115bhp diesel engine as the standard Transit, the Sapphire comes with a dazzling array of optional extras to mark the occasion, including new 'Ink Blue' paint, air conditioning, front fog lights, tinted glass, and cruise control.

Ford now makes the Transit - which it dubbed the “backbone of Britain” in a long running series of TV adverts - in three factories, including one in Southampton, and has sold more than two million of them since it was first introduced in 1965.

The name Sapphire comes from the British tradition of naming wedding anniversaries and linking them to precious materials, with Sapphires traditionally being used to mark the 45th anniversary.

The Transit Sapphire is on sale now, costing £14,995. For more information visit Ford's website online at www.ford.co.uk