2010 Ford Transit Connect XLT Van

Unlike Eric Tingwall, I did find some bulky items to haul in the Transit Connect: about 30 used car tires from Automobile Magazine's tire-storage room. I was simply amazed by how many of them the Transit Connect could swallow, and these were not small tires: they were all 17s, 18s, and 19-inchers. Aside from the obvious utility of a big-box vehicle with doors on each side and big rear dutch doors that swing open wide to reveal a broad, flat cargo floor lined with a thick rubber pad, the other thing I really liked about the Transit Connect was its front visibility. With a low, broad windshield, it was easy to place the front end of the vehicle on the road, which was especially nice since you have no rearward visibility at all. Despite that, it's easy to get a sense of the size and mass of the Transit so that you can back into a parking space using only the side mirrors. That said, here's a place where a rearview camera would REALLY be useful. Have a look at the spec sheet for our Transit, which priced out at $26,215, and you'll see that $2615 is for dubious options like the in-dash computer and Tool Link. Skip those and you'll have a great utility vehicle for your small business for only $23,600. Joe DeMatio, Executive Editor