Ford Transit Facelifted Spied, Could Be Offered With All-Wheel Drive

The Ford Transit isn’t the most exciting vehicle on the market, but the company sells a surprising number of the vans every year. In 2017, Ford sold 127,360 full-size vans in the United States – making it more popular than the Mustang and Taurus combined.

That brings us to the recent batch of spy photos which show the Transit is getting a modest refreshing. Caught on the back of a semi, the updated model has a new front fascia which is more upright than before. The grille has also been extensively updated as it features a more hexagonal shape and three fully enclosed bars.

Besides the new grille, the van has been equipped with a modified front bumper that appears to feature a larger air intake. Other notable changes include updated headlights and new fog lights.

Ford hasn’t said much about the van, but the company has already confirmed it will arrive next year. At the time, the automaker said it will be offered with 4G LTE connectivity.

While little is known about the Transit at this point, the model was being benchmarked against a Volkswagen Crafter equipped with a 4MOTION all-wheel drive system. There have been rumors that Ford was working on an all-wheel drive system for the Transit and the presence of the Crafter adds fuel to the fire. This notion was further backed up by the truck driver who reportedly said both models were being subjected to off-road tests.

The Crafter and Transit compete against each other in Europe, but Ford and Volkswagen recently announced they are exploring a strategic alliance and a number of joint projects including a “range of commercial vehicles … to better serve the evolving needs of customers.” Reports have suggested the talks focus on a commercial van, so it’s possible the two models could have a lot more in common in the future.