Ford popped the champagne corks a few years ago when the Transit van celebrated 40 years of sales.

Its popularity in Europe is mind-boggling where most of London's traffic-choked streets seemed to be occupied with hard-working Transit vans.

Here, Transit works hard for sales success against a formidable lineup of Japanese, European and - in recent times - Korean vans.

Interestingly, current model Transits are sold with either front-wheel-drive or rear-wheel-drive configurations - very unusual.

Most Transits are powered by either a 2.3-litre petrol engine (LPG compatible), a naturally-aspirated 2.2-litre diesel or a 2.4-litre intercooled turbo-diesel engine - which is the one to go for if you can.

Later models came with a 6-speed manual transmission, but most are either five-speed manual or four-speed automatic.

Like most commercial vans, the Transit has been sold with a bewildering lineup of long-wheelbase, short-wheelbase vans, single cab, crew cab and cab chassis variants - so it pays to shop around and in most capital cities there are specialist used commercial vehicle dealerships.

Back in the 1960s, Transits were popular choices for surfers and other weekend adventurers who threw a sleeping bag in the back for instant overnight accommodation.

Things have got a bit more sophisticated and the Transit is a popular choice with motorhome builders who recognize its strong chassis, performance and fuel economy. For motorhome customers, the fact that a Ford dealer is located in just about every Australian town provides peace-of-mind.