In 1989 its 3.0 Essex V6 gave way to the fuel-injected Cologne 2.9, largely because the Essex design was nearly 25 years old and still used a carburettor.
Lead trim: Transit Mk III 1.6 Pinto (petrol) · up to 150 hp
Ford Transit Mk III–VMk III–V · 1986–2000
- 0spots by members
- Unclaimednobody has spotted one yet
- 0sets it belongs to
Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Ford Transit Mk III–V yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactIn 1989 its 3.0 Essex V6 gave way to the fuel-injected Cologne 2.9, largely because the Essex design was nearly 25 years old and still used a carburettor.
Collectors Spotted in the Ford Transit Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Ford Transit yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
10 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transit Mk III 1.6 Pinto (petrol) | 1986–1994 | 1.6 L Inline-4 | 63 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| Transit Mk III 2.0 DOHC (petrol) | 1994–2000 | 2.0 L Inline-4 | — | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| Transit Mk III 2.0 Pinto (petrol) | 1986–1994 | 2.0 L Inline-4 | 77 hp | 115 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Transit Mk III 2.5 DI diesel (70 PS) | 1986–2000 | 2.5 L Inline-4 | 69 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| Transit Mk III 2.5 DI diesel (76 PS) | 1986–2000 | 2.5 L Inline-4 | 75 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| Transit Mk III 2.5 intercooled turbodiesel (115 PS) | 1998–2000 | 2.5 L Inline-4 | 113 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| Transit Mk III 2.5 turbodiesel (100 PS) | 1986–2000 | 2.5 L Inline-4 | 99 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| Transit Mk III 2.5 turbodiesel (85 PS) | 1986–2000 | 2.5 L Inline-4 | 84 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| Transit Mk III 2.9 Cologne EFI V6 (petrol) | 1989–2000 | 2.9 L V6 | 150 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| Transit Mk III 3.0 Essex V6 (petrol) | 1986–1989 | 3.0 L V6 | 100 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
Before a single E-Transit reached a customer, Ford had already banked more than 10,000 orders from 300 commercial fleets — buyers signing on for an electric van sight unseen.
On Top Gear, Sabine Schmitz nearly lapped the Nürburgring in under ten minutes in a stripped, weight-reduced Transit van — she missed it by just eight seconds.
In 1989 its 3.0 Essex V6 gave way to the fuel-injected Cologne 2.9, largely because the Essex design was nearly 25 years old and still used a carburettor.
This Transit could be spec'd across 6 body styles, 5 engines, 32 door combinations, 6 axle ratios and up to 17 seating layouts — a mix-and-match menu so broad Ford called it unprecedented, and credited it as key to the Mk II's success.
In 1972 London's Metropolitan Police reported the Transit was used in 95 percent of bank raids — fast enough for a getaway, roomy enough for 1.75 tonnes of loot.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
Chevy pitched the Astro as the anti-minivan, telling buyers life was too big for one, while it rode on a rear-wheel-drive truck frame.
The IIHS rated the Astro Poor in a 1996 crash test, yet 2001–2004 Astros later had the lowest driver death rate of any US passenger vehicle.
The boxy, unglamorous Astro quietly posted one of the best real-world safety records in America: IIHS found 2001-2004 models had the fewest driver deaths per million vehicles of any passenger vehicle on US roads.
The third-generation Tourneo Connect, released in Europe in October 2021, is a rebadged fourth-generation Volkswagen Caddy, assembled by Volkswagen in Poland.
Ford beat the 25% "chicken tax" by importing the Transit Connect as a passenger van — rear windows and seats included, then stripped out and recycled once it landed in the US.
Ford spent years in federal court over the second-gen Transit Connect: in June 2019 the US won its appeal, and judges ruled the van was cargo-only — ending Ford's workaround for the 'chicken tax.'
GM sold a rebadged Nissan NV200 as the Chevy City Express for four years, then killed it in 2018, citing weak sales and the fact that its parts weren't even compatible with GM's own parts catalog.
Its name is a pun: "S-Cargo" means "Small Cargo" but sounds just like escargot — French for snail, the shape the whole van was built to resemble.