The Ford Duratorq engine was conceived as being a clean running, economical and easy to service/repair power plant which would have derivatives for cars and commercials.
Released in 2000, the 2.0 diesel has been refined and improved year on year to the point where it is a strong rival to engines which are brand new such as the Fiat/Iveco 2.3 litre and the Renault 2 litre diesel plants in their own commercials.
First introduced in the Ford Mondeo, it was quickly revised and installed in the Transit as the growing contract hire industry demanded more efficiency and a better drive. Ford van lease deals where critical to the survival of the Belgium and UK Transit manufacturing bases during the following decade and the quality of the Duratorq diesel was influential in keeping them at number one.
Today, the latest derivative drives like a car, it is available in 100, 125 and 140 bhp versions with 310,330 and 350 Nm of torque respectively. The 100 is nowadays only fitted in the SWB260, with the 125 being used in the minibuses.
The latest Duratorq is standard fit in the new Transit Custom