I took a look of Ford ecosport recently and these are my first impression. Though I am not a big fan of Ford cars I was impressed. It’s overall a very good package and highly competitive pricing. It has a very fresh looking design both interior and exterior. The duratec diesel and ecoboost petrol motors are the gem of this car.
Exterior: Body seems sturdy and strong. The spare wheel on the rear door looks stylish and the wheel cover accessory adds to the style. However the weight of the wheel may result in rattle noise after sometime. Keeping the spare wheel at home would be wiser as the tires are tubeless and rarely become flat. The extra weight removal may also increase fuel efficiency. A big let down under the bonnet is absence of engine cover which makes in engine bay ugly. Good news is we can opt for a engine cover for Rs.2, 500. The height of the car is over 200mm and may be bit difficult for short people to get in or out.
Interior: Interior looks modern and stylish, but we will be let down by poor plastic quality which will not give a sense of premium car and all black interior and leather seats makes interior claustrophobic. However the gadget list is big like steering mounted controls, bluetooth, Sync function, climate control USB, ipod connectivity, two 12V charging point (One in front and one in rear). The sync function also enables to contact emergency services in event of emergency automatically. Seats are comfortable and adjustable (Including height). Even rear seat backrest is adjustable. Steering is also adjustable (Tilt and telescopic). The view of the front car is bit compromised and may be tricking to drive till we get used to it. Rear seat legroom is good but may be a tight fit for 3 people.
Safety: ABS, 6 airbags (in Titanium’O’), 2 airbags in other models, seat belt, Reverse parking sensors, rear defogger and wiper. EBD, ESP, HLA, is avilable only in Petrol AT, which is disappointing.
Fuel efficiency and ride quality: The ride quality is good. Steering is sharp and electronic power steering is like butter. Gear shift is precise and smooth. There is very little body roll as expected in any SUV. (Disagree on too much hype on body roll). Tubo does a good job with decent power.All time turbo makes the car quicker. The company claims 20KMPL for diesel and 15KMPL for petrol overall. Users say petrol 11-12kmpl and diesel 14-16kmpl.
Comparison to Duster: This is the tough part. Duster is great car and proved itself on road. Its fuel efficient and bigger than ecosport. But Duster is an old model and may not impress many. Duster hydro-electric power steering is harder and wobbles too much on rough rode and potholes. Ecosport electronic power steering is light and effortless. Duster’s clutch is harder than ecosport. Duster’s gear shift has lot of freeplay and not precise compared to ecosport. Duster handles potholes and bad roads effortlessly better than ecosport. Ford ecosport is smaller car and yet to prove itself on road. Having said that Ford ecosport is a new and fresh car and will be liked by most. It has more equipment, more stylish, more legroom in rear and the greatest advantage is the pricing. Nearly two lakh cheaper than duster may simply cause a big dent in duster sales.
I don’t think Ford is interested in repeating the flop story of New Ford Fiesta. Ford ecosport is likely to rule this category and may overtake duster.