By far the biggest threat to the City Express' success is the continued dominance of Fords just updated Transit Connect. The TC is clearly the incumbant, having pretty much defined the segment in North America when it launched mid-2009.




Engines:

City Express: 2.0L DOHC I4
Transit Connect: 2.5L DOHC I4 or 1.6L EcoBoost I4

Power/Torque:

City Express: 131 @ 5200 rpm/139 @ 4800 rpm
Transit Connect: 169 @ 6000 rpm/171 @ 4500 rpm or 178 @ 5700 rpm/184 @ 2500 rpm

Fuel Economy (MPG):

City Express: 24 city/25 highway/24 combined
Transit Connect: 21 city/29 highway/24 combined (2.5L) or 22 city/30 highway/25 combined (1.6L T)

Max Payload/GVWR:

City Express: 1500 lbs/4751 lbs
Transit Connect: 1710 lbs/5280 lbs

Cargo Volume:

City Express: 122.7 cubic feet
Transit Connect: 126.4 cubic feet




Cabins:

City Express:



Transit Connect:



The City Express is really going to have a tough slog of conquering the volume race especially when it is seemingly outclassed in nearly every important metric. However the City Express does carry one silver bullet and that is its better fuel mileage in town, likely the result of Nissans CVT. Chevrolet has still not priced the City Express, but if they can undercut the Transit by a significant number coupled with its superior fuel economy and Chevrolet's brand it could steal more than a few sales.

Whats your take?

smaller engine gets better mileage in the city but worse mileage on the freeway

expected

the 2.0L in the express is a smalll engine

for that reason i think they should add a turbo, or turbo's. a sequential turbo setup should greatly help with power in all ranges and still keep fuel economy in the low range

It looks like the Transit Connect beats out the City Express on most measures. Is the price similar on both of them? I think that once a vehicle becomes the standard, it becomes really hard to dethrone unless you truly hit it out of the park. I'm pretty sure that Chevy hasn't done that here.

well the nv200 is cheaper than the transit, some say its the dealer network that holds the back. so what branding and availability plus price will make it a winner...

Cheaper pricing does help to pull in more people, as people buying these want to spend as little as they can

I think whats going to hammer chevy in the sales race is that Ford is now offering the Transit to north american consumers in passenger van form. I actually saw one just the other day, its a very modern iteration of the mini van, but not in the foolish japanese sense of body kits and hood scoops. Its classy.

I wonder if chev will be considering a passenger version?

At least it can't be as bad as japanese vans like this:

hehh, yea but this is almost as bad...



I think the TC wagon is a great little modern mini van, it looks a bit stretched as well vs the straight panel version..




I would imagine chev could base a passenger version off the NV200 taxi special...

i guess its a good thing the inside is painted too. i never noticed this.. as my previous van was white. not entirely sure if the inside was painted.. i dont even remember