Ford EcoSport EcoBoost Titanium

Expert Review by Maxabout

Ford has recently launched its compact SUV, EcoSport in Indian market on June 26, 2013. It is a new segment for Indian market as in this lies SUVs which are somewhat smaller and has an attractive price range of INR 5-10lakhs. It was first unveiled at New Delhi Auto Expo 2012 and grabbed quite an attention because of its stylish design and advanced features. It will directly compete with Renault Duster, an another compact SUV launched recently by Renault in Indian market, which received immense popularity and its diesel variant seemed to made quite an impression with its performance, thus becoming one of the best-selling SUVs in Indian market. The booking for EcoSport has already been opened and the amount for that is INR 50K.

The exterior of Ford EcoSport is such that customer of any age feels an inclination towards it. It is a sub 4-meter SUV and is probably smaller than some of the hatchbacks with comfortable sitting for five people. Its exterior is lashed with a lot of aggressiveness and stylish features which includes a huge and slightly raised front bumper with large three-layered air dam covered partly in black with chrome surrounds, chromed circular fog lights, trendy and peeled-back angular halogen headlights with thin yet wide radiator grille which also carries in it the logo of Ford, body colored side mirrors with in-built turn indicators, stylish door handles, attractive silver colored roof rails, an antenna to give a sportier look, huge 16-inch alloy wheels, side turn blinkers at front, strongly laminated front windshield with a pair of intermittent wipers, side doors with sharp lines and colored black in their lower parts, its A-pillar merging superbly into the side fender, unique C-pillar with stretched rear glass at back, the rear glass and integrated spoiler runs superfluously and ends near to the rear gate stylishly, semi black rear bumper with rectangular reflective lights on its both sides, boot gate mounting a spare wheel, stretched clear lens tail lights, rear windscreen with wash and wipe function along with defogger, highly mounted rear stop lamps, body colored side skirts and scuff plates and dual exhaust pipes giving a muscular look to this SUV along with all its sophistication.

It has 3999mm of length, 1765mm of width and 1708mm of height as its dimension and has a good ground clearance of 200mm. The wheelbase is 2520mm and to assure a large space, it has a vast boot capacity of 346 litres which can be extended up to 705 litres by folding the rear seats. As it is a SUV, it maintains a good approach towards off-road driving experience by offering an approach angle of 25 degrees, departure angle of 35 degrees, break-over angle of about 35 degrees and 550mm of water wading capability to easily cruise on any off road terrain and glides smoothly off shallow water areas on roads.

The interiors of this SUV gives a very refreshing and classy look with its plush interiors with premium upholstery, three spoke leather covered power steering wheel with audio and Bluetooth controls, short and trendy gear knob, easily readable and attractive instrument dials with blue lighting, dual toned interiors with the combination of silver and black, use of quality plastic material, adjustable and elevated driver's seat, sun visors, vanity mirror, sound proof cabin, internally adjustable external wing mirrors and internal anti-glare rear-view mirror. For the utmost comfort of the passengers, it includes a powerful AC with Automatic Climate Control System, adjustable and tilt-able power steering wheel, all four power windows, electric remote boot lid opener, remote fuel lid opener, anti-drip wiper for front windshield, central locking, intelligent Start/Stop button with Hill Launch Assist, fabricated door trims, deluxe floor console and a low fuel warning lamp.

The dashboard of EcoSport is decorated with dual color combination of silver and black and has a V-shaped central console with AC vents, a large glove box which can also act as a cooler to store things, at least 20 storage spaces and an instrument cluster with a digital odometer and a trip-meter. This SUV has a powerful music system with voice control system, CD/MP3 player, FM Radio, AUX-in, USB port, Bluetooth connectivity and quality speakers to keep you fully entertained in whatever long journey. The Bluetooth can also be connected through SYNC which allows you to play music, take calls and read out messages without any real effort thus maximizing the comfort and minimizing the risk of a diversion of attention from the road. Ford EcoSport comes in three engine options, two petrol and a diesel.

The 999cc 1.0L three cylinder turbocharged EcoBoost petrol engine with dual VVT has a maximum power of 123 Bhp at 6000 rpm and a maximum torque of 170 Nm at 1400 rpm giving the top speed of over 170 kmph and reaches 0-100kmph mark in under 10 seconds with an ARAI certified mileage of 18.9 kmpl. The 1499cc 1.5L TiVCT petrol engine of Fiesta provides the maximum power of 108 bhp at 6300 rpm and a maximum torque of 140 Nm at 4400 rpm giving an ARAI certified mileage of 15.6 kmpl in AT variant and 15.8 kmpl in MT variant. The 1498cc four cylinder 1.5L 8V SOHC diesel engine has a maximum power of 90 bhp at 3750 rpm and a maximum torque of 204 Nm at 2000 rpm giving the top speed of around 160 kmph and reaches 0-100 kmph mark in under 12 seconds with an ARAI certified mileage of 22.7 kmpl. The 1.5L petrol, 1.5L diesel and 1.0L EcoBoost has a five speed manual gearbox transmission while the Titanium variants of 1.5L petrol also comes with an optional six speed power shift automatic gearbox transmission.

This SUV has disk brakes at front and drum brakes at rear. The suspension system is an independent McPherson strut type with dual path mount mechanism at front and semi-independent twist beam with coil springs at rear. Ford EcoSport is also demonstrating some great safety features which are dual front Airbags along with side curtains Airbags, a Hill Launch Assist, rear parking sensors, ABS with ESP and EBD, seat belts for every passenger, front and rear fog lamps, side mouldings, engine immobilizer and Traction Control. It has 52 litres of fuel tank capacity. It also has a minimum turning radius of 5.30 metres to easily cruise in crowded cities. Ford EcoSport comes in 10 exclusive variants out of which Ambiente, Trend, Titanium MT and Titanium AT comes with 1.5L petrol engine. Titanium and Titanium (O) comes with 1.0L EcoBoost petrol engine. Ambiente, Trent, Titanium and Titanium (O) come with 1.5L diesel engine.

It comes in seven beautiful shades which are Mars Red, Moondust Silver, Sea Grey, Diamond White, Chill Metallic, Kinetic Blue and Panther Black. It comes with a warranty of 2 years or 100000 kms whatever comes earlier and also offers you with an extended warranty for all the mechanical and electrical failures regarding your SUV. There are also some accessories that you can get with your EcoSport which includes rear spoiler, Air Deflector, spare wheel cover, appliques for front and rear bumpers, a headlamp guard, Mud Flaps, stylish rails and cross bars for roof, front fog lamp kit and bonnet protector. It has a price range of INR 5.59-9.00 lakhs (approx., may vary).

Overall, Ford EcoSport looks like the new face of style for young generation with its class, space, luxury, comfort, safety, performance and speed and sturdiness and 1.0L EcoBoost engine which is in the least priced variant is expected to give Ford a good extra head start in its competition with Duster.

Ford EcoSport Diesel vs. Fiat Avventura Diesel