Why does the Ford Transit Connect have such lousy towing capacity?

This is the vehicle some have been promoting as the latest midsize van (like the Ford Aerostar and the Chevy Astro/GMC Safari.) It's midsize (supposedly between a minivan and a full size van.) It's also the only midsized van in the USA that is being offered as a passenger van (there are others built by Nissan, Dodge and Chevy but are only cargo vans.)

But unlike the Chevy Astro and other midsized vans the Ford Transit Connect has only a 2,000lb tow capacity (compared to 5,000lb in an Astro.) Why?

And why did they make the rear seat only hold two people so that it's only a 7 passenger van? (many Astros had eight seats.)

Added (1). And why does the Transit Connect only come in 2WD? The Astros came both in 2WD and AWD versions.

I guess my question is why someone doesn't make a practical midsized van? Something you can take your family out on a camping trip with a modest camping trailer without having to own a full sized 12-15 passenger van or several vehicles for one single purpose?

The Transit was never designed as a tow vehicle.

To safely tow a heavy load you a heavy vehicle, engine power, brakes and a strong chassis to attach the tow hitch to. This of course costs money, and the fuel economy sucks because of the weight and large engine.

The transit is mechanically is more like a mid-size car. 4 cyl engine, unibody constructiuon, front wheel drive etc,. Just it has a big box body on top so you can carry a lot of stuff. Parcels, work tools etc.

It was never disgined to be a truck

The small towing capacity might be to avoid competing with other Ford vehicles like the F250/350.

169-hp 2.5-liter four, front wheel drive.

Size does not translate to weight. Take a look at the mileage the engine gets and that will roughly correlate to towing capacity.

It is a small fwd (transversely mounted) 2.5l gas powered (or 1.6l diesel) unibody utility van based on a Ford Focus.

An Astro was a rwd or 4wd 4.3l v6 based on a light truck frame/chassis, not a lightweight unibody van, hence the higher towing capacity.

Apples and oranges.

If you want 5000# towing, go for an E350 van.

It is next to impossible to run awd/4wd with a transversely mounted engine. There's no tunnel for the driveshaft, no provision for rear axle, no way to run a transfer case to distribute power to the rear end… Would need to design a complete new vehicle/different platform for what you want.

I test drove one and walked away. Slow as a turtle with me and the salesman in it, never mind putting a trailer behind it. Still driving my Aerostar.