While the U.K. market got the ruggedized Transit van back in 2020, we on this side of the pond will finally get it in 2023.
Ford just teased us with a short video of the forthcoming Transit Trail. It’s obvious that Ford is looking at the outdoor enthusiast camper van crowd with this new offering, and we’re excited about it.
It looks to get the ruggedized treatment nearly all vehicles are getting these days — a blacked-out, aggressive grille, lots of plastic body cladding, and a more aggressive off-road wheel and tire package.
Ford says the new Transit Trail will be “equipped with its new adventure-seeking capability alongside interior and exterior enhancements providing do-it-yourselfers and motorhome distributors a turnkey canvas direct from the factory.”
Here’s what we know so far.
Grille
While euro Transit Trails got a Ford script front grille, similar to those found on the F-150 Raptor, Ranger Raptor, and Bronco Raptor, it looks like we’ll get one with the traditional blue oval badge. Otherwise, the new grille will look similar to the Raptor variants. We’ll also be getting three amber marker lights — which denote a wide vehicle — in that front grille.
Body Cladding
As with all vehicles looking to be rugged and off-road-capable these days, Ford has added a bunch of black plastic to this van. It looks like the Transit Trail will get lots of black plastic lower body and wheel arch cladding.
Wheels & Tires
For sure, we’ll see meatier off-road tires on this van. Likely, that will be some form of an all-terrain tire.
A rugged-looking wheel will also be a part of the package. The euro spec Transit Trail got unique black 16-inch split-five-spoke wheels, which it looks like will carry over to the U.S. van.
Drivetrain
We don’t know anything yet about any actual off-road capability upgrades, besides the tires.
The euro model has a mechanical limited-slip differential on front-wheel-drive models and an AWD Lock Mode on intelligent all-wheel-drive models. It also gets Slippery and Mud/Rut selectable drive modes.
Ford Transit Trail: More Coming Soon
We’re also not sure just yet if the Transit trail will be available in the fully electric form or not. Our best guess is not out of the gate, but soon. The van life community is for sure itching for a viable electric camper van option.
The Transit Trail will come out of the Ford Pro and Ford Upfits programs. It will be assembled in Kansas City, Missouri, alongside Transit and E-Transit vans.
We’ll know more next month when the Ford Transit Trail is fully revealed.
