[volkman10]

IAB reports.

MotorTrend reviewing the Ford EcoSport and boy do they have some terrible things to say about it.
Here are some key criticisms of the review -

• The spare wheel on the tailgate is a design characteristic for people who live in the 1990s.
• The front fascia has an uncanny resemblance to a goldfish gasping for air.
• The quality of the plastic on the dashboard seems to have taken a small dive from the Fiesta.
• The dashboard is very confusing to operate.
• The equipment level even on the highest variant was considerably inadequate.
• Sluggish throttle response, stupidly long gear ratios, lackluster acceleration, and a sensation of excess weight sloshing around in the nose almost spoils the driving experience.
• The electric power steering was considered mild but accurate and reliable.

There were some good points in the review as well such as –

• The publication mentions that for a small car it commands a lot of attention on the road.
• The tall trunk space is usefully large at 12.8 cubic-feet, increasing to 24.9 cubic-feet with the rear seats folded down.
• Those rear seats can recline in two stages, perfect for sleepy rear passengers.
• Fiesta’s driving personality has been endowed on the EcoSport as well and it is very infectious.

http://indianautosblog.com/2012/11/m...#ixzz2BK0EtSTE

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by volkman10

The spare wheel on the tailgate is a design characteristic for people who live in the 1990s.
The front fascia has an uncanny resemblance to a goldfish gasping for air.

Well, i loved that design. I guess most Indian like the spare wheel of an SUV to be on the tail-gate, dont they?

And goldfish or not, Ecosport is defenitly one of the better looking small SUVs out there IMO.

Originally Posted by volkman10

The quality of the plastic on the dashboard seems to have taken a small dive from the Fiesta.
The dashboard is very confusing to operate.

Thats sad! Because the dash is a major let-down on our Fiesta as well. Its nowhere premium as compared to competition cars like the Hyundai Verna.

Originally Posted by volkman10

The equipment level even on the highest variant was considerably inadequate.

I think IAB really got it wrong here. "Not to be sniffed at" is what Motor Trend reported, means not to be underestimated. They seem impressed with the equipment levels on the car.

Qouting Motor Trend-

Our top-spec Titanium model came with climate control, push-button start, and leather seats. There was no sat-nav on our tester, but Ford's Sync was on board with the usual suite of connectivity options to help Brazilians pass the time while sitting for hours in Sao Paulo's infamous traffic jams.

Originally Posted by volkman10

Sluggish throttle response, stupidly long gear ratios, lackluster acceleration, and a sensation of excess weight sloshing around in the nose almost spoils the driving experience.

They tested a 2.0L petrol engine, which should explain the nose heavy nature. We will be getting a 1.0L. Not sure which gearbox is used in the brazilian market though.

[agambhandari]

I had read this review earlier as well and the only real problem that I seem to find in EcoSport is its interior quality as told by the online reviews. So fingers crossed for that!!

I am sure we all love the tailgate mounted spare.
And we are going to have a completely different drivetrain from evrything that has been reviewed anywhere in the world.

[sharninder]

I read the Motor trends review yesterday and from what I could tell, since they're a US publication, they're comparing it with the US version of the Fiesta (hatch). Now its no secret that most manufacturers give us Indians slightly worse quality as far as interiors and plastics are concerned, so maybe compared to the US fiesta hatch, Ecosport has bad plastics, but compared to our Fiesta, the plastics quality will be similar or better.

The point about steering actually seems like a plus point to me. Light steering that weighs up well on speed and is accurate/reliable is a good thing.

Tire on the boot. Well, we all know how much we love that

[sridhar-v]

Had given our Fusion for servicing on saturday. The sales rep mentined that a display vehicle will be in the showroom by december end & demo vehicle in january. No firm info on launch dates.

Sat in a new Fiesta to get some idea of the likely space in the Ecosport. My take - Rear will be cramped unless they have pulled of some good packaging tricks.

[chennai-indian]

Originally Posted by volkman10

[left]IAB reports.

MotorTrend reviewing the Ford EcoSport and boy do they have some terrible things to say about it.

The review is by a US mag and US specific. Let them have their V8's and V12's , Ford F150's and 450's and Raptors. Give no credence to reviews like these.

Ecosport is not a vehicle made for USA. It is meant for countries like India and Brazil.

[ACM]

Originally Posted by VishnuNarayanan

Anything above 10 lakhs won't be justifiable considering it to be a 5 seater and sub 4 meter vehicle.
My expectation is that Ford would price Ecosport diesel top end in par with Ertiga ZDi. Anything above Ertiga ZDi's price bracket won't make Ecosport VFM.

But then if we we speak in terms of Non Indian brand 5 seaters so is say the Yeti or the Duster or for that matter any sedan be if from the c/d segment and some do cross the 10L mark, and for that matter the hatch back i20 or the Jazz are close as the their own new fiesta which in some ways is a lesser vehicle too crosses 10L (yep a blunder agreed).

So while I totally agree with the various price range tags mentioned / suggested in this thread I do wonder if ford will manage to execute this and if so then we have already seen the SUV / MUV segment growing much faster than Sedan and infact the D segment has degrown. This will impact c & d class segment significantly as the eco sport is reported to be truly sedan like to drive as well and seems to have tremendous road presence for the price range.

[jaykc78]

Don't know if anyone has posted this before - Ford Ecosport Automatic scoop pics in India -

http://www.indiancarsbikes.in/cars/i...sguised-63226/

Looks great on white color though -

[agambhandari]

Originally Posted by jaykc78

Don't know if anyone has posted this before - Ford Ecosport Automatic scoop pics in India -

http://www.indiancarsbikes.in/cars/i...sguised-63226/

Looks great on white color though -

It has been posted before.

Thereis no ecoboost badging on the car which makes me believe that the AT will come with a naturally aspirated motor. Probably 1.5

The cost of AT+ more duties on the larger engine would make this spec very expensive

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by agambhandari

It has been posted before.

Thereis no ecoboost badging on the car which makes me believe that the AT will come with a naturally aspirated motor. Probably 1.5

The cost of AT+ more duties on the larger engine would make this spec very expensive

If it does come in the configuration (AT + 1.5 Diesel) you talk about, it will absolutely murder the duster and every other imaginable manual SUV/sedan close to 15L over night. Space will probably be the only reason why it would be dropped down the pecking order.

However, reports from every quarter strongly suggest that only the top of the line 1 ltr petrol ecoboost will receive the AT and not the 1.5 diesel motor.

[agambhandari]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

If it does come in the configuration (AT + 1.5 Diesel) you talk about, it will absolutely murder the duster and every other imaginable manual SUV/sedan close to 15L over night. Space will probably be the only reason why it would be dropped down the pecking order.

However, reports from every quarter strongly suggest that only the top of the line 1 ltr petrol ecoboost will receive the AT and not the 1.5 diesel motor.

I think i forgot to write it above clearly. I meant a 1.5 petrol like on the fiesta. It would mean high duties and bad VFM

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by agambhandari

I think i forgot to write it above clearly. I meant a 1.5 petrol like on the fiesta. It would mean high duties and bad VFM

The 1 litre ecoboost will probably make the 1.5 litre a has been. Thus effectively sealing it out of the engine choices for the Ecosport.

[sids911]

Originally Posted by VishnuNarayanan

Such a pricing would surely be something that can be termed 'killer pricing'

Yes, it will be a killer price indeed! As it definitely will kill the sales of the new fiesta!!

I am not even sure how ford will price the fiesta hatchback when and if it launches here in India.

[MAS]

While driving back to Chennai on the NH45, last Saturday in my Endeavour, i spotted a White Ford Ecosport. It was a Titanium variant and had a thin chrome label stuck beneath the Titanium label. It was not TDCi, but i think it was Ecoboost. The car was very quick, was weaving through the traffic and the exhaust tip was neither black nor smoking under hard acceleration (like the Diesels).

I had given my Fiesta for service yesterday ( http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...mpleted-9.html). My regular service advisor had been to Ford's Maraimalai Nagar factory for training. When i was taking back my car, he returned from the factory. One thing led to the other and he was very excited about the Ecosport. When i asked him if he had gone for training on Ecosport, he gave a sheepish smile. Looks like Ford has started training their dealer personnel on the Ecosport. I shared with the device personnel & mechanics, the photos of the Brazilian Ecosport that i took during my test drive in Brazil. The first question everyone had was how it behaved when compared to the Duster. It was very obvious what Ford was pitching the Ecosport against.

My other source also told me that Ecosport is expected to go on sale in March 2013.

[anumod]

Originally Posted by MAS

My regular service advisor had been to Ford's Maraimalai Nagar factory for training. When i was taking back my car, he returned from the factory. One thing led to the other and he was very excited about the Ecosport. .

Even from HYD the technicicans started going for training. Everybody is tight lipped about the training content . But it is obvious that this is for EcoSport as the training is happening in sequences.

Hi Mas,

Did they say about the availability of the display vehicle. Here in HYD they are confident about getting it in November itself.