1. The European Transit has the dash storage on each side so it could have been included. What I really miss is the large center bin with lid.
2. Correct on foot space although it does not seem to be a problem for me.
3. I never could figure out the Sprinter HVAC controls even after 6 1/2 years. I must be a slow learner. Transit controls are very easy to use and very intuitive. You can also control the electric air heater that could not be controlled on Sprinter. IMO Fords HVAC controls are a huge improvement over Sprinter.
4. Fully agree that the 4" screen is a joke. Hopefully someone will offer a larger replacement.

FYI attached is a similiar review of Transit vs Sprinter I posted on the Sprinter site. May give you some more areas to talk about.

http://sprinter-source.com/forum/showpost.php?p=374033&postcount=36

 

The Transit has huge water bottle holders, so all is forgiven by me.

 

Plus that nice little nook for a cell phone with USB ports to charge it while it's there.

 

I understand every point you brought up but could I give a counterpoint?

If I had open dash storage I wouldn't use it for anything except maybe papers or a few diapers. Heavy, hard, or sharp objects could be very dangerous in an accident and are best stored in a closed compartment.

I personally find the foot area on my transit to be plenty roomy but I'm a smaller than average woman so I can see how it might not work for everyone. I do wish the brake pedal was lower to the floor. My feet are so small (I can wear child size shoes) that I can't use the brake pedal without lifting my foot/leg off the floor entirely to reach it. It's very uncomfortable in stop and go traffic.

My transit has a much larger screen than that one but I do still feel it's a bit small when using the navigation. I don't mind the placement of the heat/ac controls. I can't reach the touch screen while comfortably seated but the low placement of the dial controls allows me to use them while seated.

There's no making anything work for everyone but I don't think they've done all the bad a job. My only big gripes are the high brake pedal and the lack of a driver side grab bar. Getting out of the driver seat is, for a short person, like rappelling down the side of a mountain.

 

My only big gripes are the high brake pedal and the lack of a driver side grab bar. Getting out of the driver seat is, for a short person, like rappelling down the side of a mountain.

vanshopper,

Consider taking your Wagon to a mobility shop , or any upfitter shop really, and get a price on installing a driver side grab bar. They will be doing that on mine, mobility upfitter said it is an easy fix.

Tadibrothers sent wrong cables for my camera up-grades, so Ford brought my wagon over to my house and parked it in the garage for me, over the weekend. I opened the slider and pulled myself in to experience the new car feel.

They were going to come get it last night to take it over to the stereo shop, my wife said she would drive it over. When done, she told me if something happens to me, :s she wouldn't get rid of it. She wants it, nicer ride than her Traverse. She is 5' 4", only thing she said they could improve , is having a drivers side grab bar. Told her one was going to be put in, she advised me it's a shame she is the only one that can drive it, , now.

She did mention the brightness of the console display, was a distraction. Think it was previously discussed, did anyone figure out how to dim it?

Semper Fi

 

Transit has the ecoboost option and a decent turning circle making it, for me, 10 times more pleasurable to drive. The rest of it is just details. Get a roll of sticky tape and slap a tupperware bin on your dash. Sorted. The tiny screen is silly at first but you adapt and it works fine. Heater control placement? Footwell? Seriously? For an electrician you whinge like a low voltage guy.

 

Turning circle for 144" WB Sprinter is 47.6 ft. Turning circle for 148" WB Trnsit is 48 ft. Both have similar turning radius.

Transit is much more pleasurable to drive due to the handling. I also like having the Ecoboost power available if needed. Many other small items like the bumps on steering wheel, a temperature gage, hillholder, tow haul mode, rear step, easier sliding door, easier seat belt pull, better instrumentation, a transmission that works properly etc. make the Transit a better vehicle for me.

Then there are the stupid mistakes: no rear door handle, no cargo light switch and water in air cleaner.

After 6 1/2 years driving a 08 NCV3 Sprinter the Transit is appreciated. Did I say the handling is much better?

 

. . .
Stay tuned for more impressions...... So far, I'd say the Sprinter has the Transit beat.

So I guess you will be returning your new Transit and getting another Sprinter?

Really, could you shift gears please?

This is getting very old . . .

We get it !!!

You are an unhappy camper . . .

Thank you

 

So I guess you will be returning your new Transit and getting another Sprinter?

Really, could you shift gears please?

This is getting very old . . .

We get it !!!

You are an unhappy camper . . .

Thank you

Personally I enjoy his biased comments. It is nice to hear other opinions taken from a different point of view. What I do wonder is if he will eventually have to admit the Transit is a better vehicle. The more he drives both vehicles it will be hard for him to ignore. I hope he continues to criticize the Transit. We may learn a few things.
We knew ahead of time that everything he could find negative would be documented. Started before he even had the Transit so fully expected the negative comments to continue.

 

many on here are anti-Sprinter for whatever reason, ... (snipped)

I don't own a Sprinter, though I came very close to purchasing one 6-7 years ago - I have no skin in the game you perceive is being played.

But to answer your question, my insight suggests it's not unfounded anti-Sprinter bias, but the result of many owners having many tens of thousands of miles on their Sprinters and not being pleased with some of the poor engineering choices, breakdowns, high parts costs, and sparse/expensive repair opportunities when out on the road. Real people with real Sprinters - to me that's valuable information.

I wouldn't let the "anti" sentiment you perceive bother you. At the moment I have an F-150 truck and a Toyota Highlander. If people want to relate real negative experiences from owning those, it's no skin of my back!

 

i miss the little paper hanger thingie on my sprinter.

i think the MB door latches look more bomber than the transit, but my sprinter doors made more rattle and clank new than my transit does, so looks may be deceiving there.

my dogs can't accidentally barge the shift lever in the transit and make it downshift like they always did in the sprinter.

i keep trying to reach for the volume knob on the transit stereo, forgetting that there are controls on the steering wheel. when i try to reach over, the shift lever is in the way.

the cruise control on the transit is easier to intuit than that on the sprinter.

the sprinter had an armrest on each front seat, passengers miss that in the transit.

the sprinter seat/pedals/steering wheel relationship felt a bit better than the transit. i kinda wish the transit wheel telescoped more than it does.

onetwo is definitely all up inside the MB. that's fine, i appreciate that he is willing to show his preference and at the same time own a transit. having owned a 2013 6cyl sprinter, i am very happy NOT to be owning one now. like everything in life "your mileage may vary."

 

the sprinter had an armrest on each front seat, passengers miss that in the transit."

mtothef,

My Wagon has them on both seats , is yours a Van (cargo) ?

Semper Fi

 

For all the Transit pundits, the reality is, my Transit is my daily driver, and its fine overall and we will get along. However, there is too much "good enough" on the design from the Ford engineers, where as with the Sprinter, I feel the engineers and designers built the thing as if it was for "them" with clever touches and ideas. My original post shows some of the "good enough" engineering from Ford, but certainly, I wish it was "great".

the incredibly small 4" back up camera screen is a example of "good enough" Ford engineering. If those engineers designed it as if they were going to own one as a daily driver, you can bet they would have spec'd a 8" screen which would easily fit in the space, and would only add measly dollars to the build cost as LCD screens are cheap and plentiful in the world supply market.

Here is another example from today that is driving me bonkers. I spent $76 for rear glass windows, because I like to keep an eye on my cargo when towing.

Ford's "good enough" solution, major blockage of rear view and I can barely see who/what is directly behind me. Whats the point?

My E series, the view was so much better.....

Surely the engineers could have done a better job......

 

...
the incredibly small 4" back up camera screen is a example of "good enough" Ford engineering. If those engineers designed it as if they were going to own one as a daily driver, you can bet they would have spec'd a 8" screen which would easily fit in the space, and would only add measly dollars to the build cost as LCD screens are cheap and plentiful in the world supply market.

Here is another example from today that is driving me bonkers. I spent $76 for rear glass windows, because I like to keep an eye on my cargo when towing.

Ford's "good enough" solution, major blockage of rear view and I can barely see who/what is directly behind me. Whats the point?
...

The view out the rear is surprisingly obstructed.
I agree on the camera display size, that's why I skipped the Ford stereo and back-up camera and got my own. I will post a thread when I get around to installing the camera.

 

Hopefully in two or three years your transit won't rust

 

I don't know, but judging from the multipage Airbox thread, maybe my Transit engine and all the H20 it will ingest will rust before the body does....

 

Yeah, that view is obstructed. My HR EL model's rear windows look more like your old E-Series though. Is this rear door glass and "V" pillar design specific to the T-150 LR?

 

Rear view through both the Sprinter and the Transit rear windows is poor. Both mfg. need to address the problem. Ford engineering is worse because they had ample time to discover the problem by looking at and driving the Sprinter. Ford also copied the leaking plastic molding fasteners. Sometimes you wonder what they were thinking (or not thinking).

 

onetwo, can you post the footwell comparison again without the aftermarket mat in the Transit? Just curious after checking mine which, like the rear glass, looks different than yours. I've got a full-size dead pedal in addition to the protruding box all the way to the left. You would think the basic features would be the same throughout the lineup but now I'm not so sure.

 

onetwo, can you post the footwell comparison again without the aftermarket mat in the Transit? Just curious after checking mine which, like the rear glass, looks different than yours. I've got a full-size dead pedal in addition to the protruding box all the way to the left. You would think the basic features would be the same throughout the lineup but now I'm not so sure.

Mine has that too, what the **** is it for and can it be removed?

 

The T1N was a great van. Then they slapped a MBZ logo on it and presto, overcomplicated junk.

 

For followers of this thread, this post is meant for the lurkers who are cross shopping a Sprinter to a Transit, and would like one observers honest assessment since I am not emotionally attached to the Transit and tell things 'as it is' unlike the drum-bangers on here who feel the Transit does-no-wrong....


Onto my second week of ownership, and a few other peculiarities to be pointed out....

the right windshield wiper is totally annoying, it looks like its in the 'parked' position, or broken. How does this pass the design stage? As well, the 1970s antenna placement leaves much to be desired as its clearly a target for vandals and passerby,

Steering wheel volume control, awkward and long reach to the upper volume steering control, would work better if the designers could have provided a 'flatter' design as opposed to arching it away.

Cheesy tie down hooks on the Transit are intrusive and seem like an afterthought by the designers (no pic posted), but for comparison, the Sprinter designers cleverly integrated the tie down hooks in to the floor for a neater, cleaner, refined look.....

Are all these things deal breakers? Not at all, to some, its more like a 'death by a thousand papercuts' over the annoying designs and peculiarities. And they are items that you just might not pick up on a 3 minute test drive...



.

 

the drum-bangers on here who feel the Transit does-no-wrong....

You must have been reading the Sprinter-Source forums and gotten confused. There are drum banging MB people over there, but a careful re-read of the Transit forums (really only about 20 months of active daily posts here) will prove out that the ones who favor T series over Sprinter have done their homework and are only reporting honest objective opinions.
The continuing theme seems to center on costs of ownership, and the lack of a gasoline engine option in the Sprinter in conjunction with the difficulty for many of access to a skilled tech and timely parts procurement.
I guess the newer members here would be a good group to gather an opinion on the bias/non bias projected by the posters here. They are looking for purchase advice and should be pretty good at filtering out writings and rantings by posters that are better off ignored.
I'd be curious to how they rate your posts.......you claim to be the impartial one since you own both, I may be wrong but I detect a clear anti-Transit bias. Might just be how your style is percieved, or maybe I just read you wrong, but yeah, my assumption is that YOU would be up there on the reader's perceived bias list.

 

>>> or followers of this thread, this post is meant for the lurkers who are cross shopping a Sprinter to a Transit, and would like one observers honest assessment since I am not emotionally attached to the Transit and tell things 'as it is' unlike some others on here who feel the Transit does-no-wrong....

Just curious, who are these "some others on here who feel the Transit does-no-wrong..."

 

onetwo, thanks for rejuvenating this thread, which I had forgotten about. Another annoying thing about the wipers, which you may not have noticed, is that they leave a small vertical triangle of "un-wiped" windshield in front of the passenger's seat (just to the left of the right wiper blade in its parked position which you have shown). I am telling this so that you can be really annoyed every time it rains, for the rest of the time you own your Transit.

 

The antenna thing I totally agree with. The older T1N Sprinters were very utilitarian in design, with a non-adjustable steering wheel that was very flat/upright in driving position, but the 2007 NCV3 made it more of a real person's vehicle that seemed closer to a mini van in driver comfort as well as aesthetics. Apparently the utilitarian sheet metal and paint treatment has also now been addressed and is closer to what a owner/operator would expect.
I had assumed that Ford was starting where Sprinter left off, and skipping the utilitarian phase with the introduction of the new unibody world design Transit series.
Really surprised at the antenna treatment, something the driver is stuck looking at during the van's entire operating life. That is IF a vandal doesn't destroy it somewhere before the van's eventual demise.
The tie-downs I can live with, but no question the included wood floor and recessed one's in the Sprinter's floor are superior.
I've already removed two that were in the way, really surprised how one was at the side step.

 

when one product is engineered better than another, and its clearly pointed out, then it really isn't bias, is it?

Currently owning both late models of vehicles, and making direct comparisons, and leaving the 'emotional aspect' out of the equation surely has some value.

How you and others wish to interpret my posts is up to your discretion....

 

. . .
. . . leaving the 'emotional aspect' out of the equation surely has some value.
. . .

You are kidding right?

>

 

I guess we should clarify whether or not we are comparing the two products themselves vs each other or the entire ownership experience including average annual cost of ownership over a certain time period.
My decision was based on the latter.

 

The wiper is annoying to me as well. The antenna I don't find annoying at all. And I don't know what part of the country you guys live in, but I've never seen or heard of vandals going after them? I wonder if reception is better with them vs the new shark fin design? (I doubt it).

I think drivers foot space is small, but I didn't think it was bad (I cant compare to other vans as I've never been in one). I'm a size 13 shoe and if I didn't stare down at it, it wouldn't bother me. The steering wheel with integrated controls seems a bit odd to me, but perhaps one could get used to it after driving for a while, and committing everything to memory. The van I get to crawl around doesn't have the 4" display, but it does have backup camera integrated into the rear view mirror ($470 option), and its does its job just fine. The space between the seat and factory center console is pretty small, so if I were to try to go through the partition, it takes some calculated leg movements to not be impeded. This van is a HR, and the above storage is nice, although the thing feels a little on the cheap side.

One thing I haven't read anyone say, is the fuel fill door. The front door has to be open to open it up? Along with fuel, 25 gallon tank is small IMO, 30-35 would have been my preference. Crawling underneath (we have a 48" drive over pit, a pain to use but better than having to jack things up) nothing stands out at me. Under-hood is leaps and bounds better than an E series or Chevy/GMC Express, etc, at least for the EB.

Last thing, and its pretty dumb, but a V6 just doesn't have the right sound. Drive experience is great and I love the engine, the exhaust note (besides slight turbo noise) is meh.

 

And I don't know what part of the country you guys live in, but I've never seen or heard of vandals going after them? .

Detroit. Motown. The "D". The Motor City. My office is a half mile SOUTH of Eight Mile.
Need more?

 

Speaking of HVAC controls again. We've owned 2 Sprinters since 2009 and also have yet to figure out how the controls work all the outlets, that is if they work at all, (problems with both of our Sprinters)
When I climbed into the Transit for my ride & drive, I had the HVAC figured out in less than 30 seconds, and it's much easier to use with the controls where they are.

My absolute favorite big van HVAC controls are in the ProMaster. Same as our Jeep Wrangler's controls, and even easier than the Transit. Smooth & quick, don't even have to look at them

 

Also a big fan of the simple HVAC controls... no auto temp BS, just a fan speed and red/blue sweep. It's nostalgic, and it works.

The HVAC controls on a Mercedes are practically a running joke since the 60's. My Dad and I have owned a bunch of MB's from the late 50's to a 2009, and they are all wonky. The 84 500SEC was the most hilarious. What do all those goofy symbols mean? What's do the two rectangles mean? Or the S bend on it's side?? Press one and nothing happens, press the other and your head gets blown off.

 

I'm still trying to figure out the overhead console in my transit, just as a matter of curiosity... What did the designers expect you to use the two center boxes for? they look like they might have been for a cd-rom jewel cases. you can put one case in there and it might stay, although it rattles if you hit a bump. but, if you put two or more in there it might just slide out if you hit a bump while going up hill, or such.

 

Buy a cloth multi CD case. Mine fits just right in the left box. Get rid of the plastic cases.

 

Also, I use one of the two cubbies in my overhead console to store my toll transponder. It does rattle around a bit on bumpy roads.

 

From what people stated, I wonder about a few things. For the F-150, I can buy a fuel plug for the capless door, which isn't 100%, but it is something to keep the vandals away.

For the glovebox, having one on the dash like some cars is something that the local meth-heads don't see (and thus don't break into) when they are doing their routine vehicle break-ins.

One small thing, but would be a nice feature to have. Some Sprinters have a small cargo compartment on the lower part of the door under the cupholder, and openable by 102 latches. It would be nice if the Transit had something comparable, just because there are items like flashlights, a Leatherman multi-tool, and other small items which are not commonly accessed... but would be quite useful to have at the ready, even though it took popping it open.

 

LOL at the HVAC controlls on the Sprinter! My 2008 is definitely a mystery to me in this regard and the owners manual is NO help. I love the AC off button, it must be lit up in order for the AC to be off, just backwards to me. It works enough for me to survive but I had to chime in that yes the HVAC controls on my Sprinter are just odd. The worst part of this thread is looking at the pics of the 2014 dash and realized that they have changed almost NOTHING since my 2008 Sprinter...

 

I had the same comments about my sold 08 Sprinter. Had to take it back to the dealer to have them confirm that the AC light on means that the AC is off. I also thought it was backwards. I think they did reverse the light operation on newer Sprinters. I never did figure out the Sprinter HVAC controls. I guess I did not speak the language. Transit's HVAC controls are logical and are easy for my feeble brain to operate.