The all-new 2014 Ford Transit isn’t slated to go on sale until late next year but it’s already shaping up to be a solid addition to the Blue Oval’s North American lineup. Today, Ford announced that a 3.2-liter Power Stroke Turbo Diesel five-cylinder engine will be an available option alongside the 3.5-liter EcoBoost gasoline-powered engine. All Transit engine options will be mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. Numbers are still waiting to be certified here in the states, but across the pond, the Transit full-size van is rated at 197 horsepower and 347 pound-feet of torque. We expect the Americanized version to be somewhere close to these numbers as well.
The other diesel option available to North American consumers is found in the Ford F-Series Super Duty trucks: a 6.7-liter Power Stroke V-8 turbodiesel. However, no diesel engine configurations are available in any Ford light-duty vehicles at this time. Ford is banking on its reputation for durable diesel engines found in the global Ford Ranger truck, which is not available in the states. The new 3.2-liter five-cylinder diesel engine will be the only one offered of its kind in commercial vans once it becomes available late next year.
Ford has packed the all-new 3.2-liter PSTD engine with an array of cutting-edge technologies including piezoelectric fuel 
injectors. These injectors are fed through a high-pressure common rail fuel system and features advanced emissions technologies to cut down on the full-size van’s carbon footprint. Drivetrain engineers in Dearborn also calibrated the 2014 Transit’s fuel injectors’ so that the combustion process would be less violent, cutting down on diesel engine noise. Quick-start glow plugs come standard from the factory and ensure a smooth and quick startup even in temperatures as low as 25 degrees Fahrenheit. Engineers also took the time to integrate the diesel oxidation catalyst and diesel particulate filter in order to save space. Ford also expects the 2014 Transit van to be compatible with B20 biodiesel fuel as well.
Engine assembly of the 3.2-liter Power Stroke Turbo Diesel engine will take place at Ford’s Struandale facility in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. These diesel engines will then be exported to Ford’s assembly facility in Claycomo, Mo., right outside Kansas City. The Claycomo assembly facility just received a $1.1 billion investment to handle production of the Transit.
What say you? Should Ford begin offering the 3.2-liter Power Stroke Turbo Diesel engine in other North American models? If so, which ones? Tell us your choice(s) in the comment section below.
Source: Ford
