[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by agambhandari

I don't think the Ford guys can fall any lower than the quality of the Duster interiors.
Interior design and quality is pretty much the reason why there isn't a Duster parked in my house.

If the Fiesta's interior quality is anything to go by, I'd say the EcoSport's insides should be well appointed. Better than in the Duster. I've been around a few Dusters and have had a go in one of them, and I've got to say, the quality isn't as bad as even I'd claimed, or as bad as it's generally reported. Sure, there are some rough edges like the rudimentary seat-adjustment controls but it's alright in terms of general 'feel'. As far as I can tell, the plastics in the Duster slightly below the Ford's? Only time will tell - as the car ages.

Fords in general are put together quite well, and better than your average Jap / Korean car. So it shouldn't be an issue with regard to general build and interior quality. The only thing that could pose a problem for the EcoSport is the level of accommodation.

What the Duster has though is more room for passengers (and a much larger boot) or at least I think it does?! The EcoSport will be just about as roomy as a Fiesta, perhaps s'more shoulder / head room given the added width / height of the car?

I've got to say, the Fiesta is very cramped. It belongs in a (price-bracketed) segment where cars generally offer enough leg-room for two six-footers to sit one behind another. The Fiesta simply cannot do that for even slightly long drives without ensuring a few frowns on some faces.

In terms of ride quality, I'm not quite sure if the EcoSport will match the Duster. But it should be more fun to drive, given that all Fords are.

[agambhandari]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

If the Fiesta's interior quality is anything to go by, I'd say the EcoSport's insides should be well appointed. Better than in the Duster. I've been around a few Dusters and have had a go in one of them, and I've got to say, the quality isn't as bad as even I'd claimed, or as bad as it's generally reported. Sure, there are some rough edges like the rudimentary seat-adjustment controls but it's alright in terms of general 'feel'. As far as I can tell, the plastics in the Duster slightly below the Ford's? Only time will tell - as the car ages.

Fords in general are put together quite well, and better than your average Jap / Korean car. So it shouldn't be an issue with regard to general build and interior quality. The only thing that could pose a problem for the EcoSport is the level of accommodation.

What the Duster has though is more room for passengers (and a much larger boot) or at least I think it does?! The EcoSport will be just about as roomy as a Fiesta, perhaps s'more shoulder / head room given the added width / height of the car?

I've got to say, the Fiesta is very cramped. It belongs in a (price-bracketed) segment where cars generally offer enough leg-room for two six-footers to sit one behind another. The Fiesta simply cannot do that for even slightly long drives without ensuring a few frowns on some faces.

In terms of ride quality, I'm not quite sure if the EcoSport will match the Duster. But it should be more fun to drive, given that all Fords are.

Duster's interiors are good enough, if they were in a budget hatchback.

My family had an NHC before and the duster costs substantial amount more than it. For that extra amount, the "SUV" qualities are appreciated, but the deterioration in the interiors is just not done.
We are currently making do with a Chevy Spark and frankly, there isn't much difference in the interior quality between the two cars.
The plastic grain used in the two is in fact identical.

I suppose this is similar to the case of the cramped fiesta. The segment demands differently.

Both the EcoSport and Duster would then prove to be pretty different character and promising different USP (apart from the obvious SUV)

[frequentflyer]

The Duster is a big car. The Ecosport a small car. The Fiesta is quite narrow and therefore is cramped. By over-pricing, Ford often snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Let us hope they get the math right with Ecosport. The Duster strategy of launching at a low price and hiking it within six months has much to commend it!

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by frequentflyer

Ford often snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. it!

I love this expression! A nice elegant way of saying that Ford pricing strategy is dunderheaded!

[CARDEEP]

Not sure whether this is from the above discussion, but the 1L Ecoboost engine is a marvel in itself for many things... dimension included, for it fits in suitcase. Link:

http://jalopnik.com/5961187/ford-bui...rport-security

[apachelongbow]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

There is no point in comparing the prices across countries. You'll end either disappointed or angry. Cars in India are relatively expensive compared to many countries and even cheap compared to some others.

From some guys working at Ford, I heard they are pushing localization to the maximum possible on the EcoSport. Let's see how much they pass on to the customers. Hope the Fiesta launch taught a good lesson.

Expensive or cheap, even if we compare ex showroom prices, Renault or Ford have no business to overcharge for practically the same product. I can still understand that on road prices here are higher on account of taxes.

[VishnuNarayanan]

If Ford wants a carbon copy of the sales charts they received for Fiesta sedan with the Ecosport also, pricing in par or above Duster would be a nice idea. I am of the opinion that the Duster is over priced considering the bare feature lists it offers in the lower variants(minimal safety features like ABS are not provided even as an optional addition) and the huge price gap between the variants makes no sense.
I am also of the belief that Ford Ecosport would have a kind of killer pricing which we saw earlier in the case of Figo. I would say Ecosport would be VFM only if it is priced in the Ertiga's territory.

[suchit23]

I really do not think we should expect Figo pricing for the EcoSport. One manufacturer cannot place half its products on the volume segment. Also keep in mind that no matter how good the demand is for compact SUVs it still can't match the demand for a small car in India like the Figo and hence the volume card may not work. So we should accept if the manufacturers have a little margin there.

In summary I would agree with anyone who thinks EcoSport will be priced at par or higher than the Duster. Please don't forget the exhaustive list of equipments it is going to come with. If Ford prices it less than 10 ex showroom it is going to go bankrupt and we can't buy our Figos also.

[rambo1o1]

Originally Posted by suchit23

In summary I would agree with anyone who thinks EcoSport will be priced at par or higher than the Duster. Please don't forget the exhaustive list of equipments it is going to come with. If Ford prices it less than 10 ex showroom it is going to go bankrupt and we can't buy our Figos also.

I disagree with you on this. Ford spent alot of money to ramp up its production in india for the launch of the ecosport and if the ecosport fails like the fiesta ( 100 to 200 odd sales) it will never recover the money spent.
Going by your logic hyundai must be going bankrupt selling all those fully loaded i20s, vernas and elantras. If ford prices it below 10 lakhs for the topend and gets good sales then i dont see how ford will go bankrupt. I am sure ford will not sell the ecosport at loss here in India given that it will be more localised then the new fiesta when it was launched last year. Hopefully ford will also be able to relaunch the facelifted fiesta at a better price.



Sent from my Razr.

[VishnuNarayanan]

Originally Posted by suchit23

I really do not think we should expect Figo pricing for the EcoSport. One manufacturer cannot place half its products on the volume segment. Also keep in mind that no matter how good the demand is for compact SUVs it still can't match the demand for a small car in India like the Figo and hence the volume card may not work. So we should accept if the manufacturers have a little margin there.

In summary I would agree with anyone who thinks EcoSport will be priced at par or higher than the Duster. Please don't forget the exhaustive list of equipments it is going to come with. If Ford prices it less than 10 ex showroom it is going to go bankrupt and we can't buy our Figos also.

If feature lists and equipment levels were the trump cards why did the so called Fiesta sedan miserably failed in India where as the sensibly priced Skoda Rapid and VW Vento sell in respectable numbers ?
A combination of good feature lists and a VFM pricing only can do the magic. Ford Ecosport may come with a long feature list which may lead to a price above 10 lakhs for the top end variant. But I don't think that a person who wants a proper SUV and has a budget of around 10 lakhs would go for an Ecosport which can be termed a Soft Roader more than calling it a full fledged SUV.
Anything above 10 Lakhs (on road price) for an Ecosport diesel variant with ABS and Airbags won't be worth the money.

[rajshenoy]

By now ford management should have learnt from the success of duster and xuv500 and how they increased the price after initial aggressive pricing. This goes long way instead of high price and then giving discounts.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by VishnuNarayanan

Anything above 10 Lakhs (on road price) for an Ecosport diesel variant with ABS and Airbags won't be worth the money.

What top of the line softroader (ABS/Air Bags/the works) is available between 10L and 13L?

I'm totally discounting domestic tractors like the Safari and Scorpio and MUV's like the Xylo/Ertiga.

[VishnuNarayanan]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

What top of the line softroader (ABS/Air Bags/the works) is available between 10L and 13L?

I'm totally discounting domestic tractors like the Safari and Scorpio and MUV's like the Xylo/Ertiga.

With the term 'softroader' I only meant to explain that a person who wants a proper rugged SUV won't opt for an Ecosport. For a budget above 10 lakhs a traditional Indian buyer who looks for an SUV will have choices like Scopio SLE , Safari etc (of which the variants are equiped with ABS and Airbags) if he could extend his budget a bit. Moreover with a budget of above 10 lakhs the buyer could surely glance over the well equipped sedans too.

[ampere]

I think one can look at the problem in 2 ways. If you want volumes by pricing it down, then you eat into your margin.
Else keep the margin high and be happy with lower volumes, but make sure that the business is still profitable.

If Ford wants to play the premium game, then for sure they will go the second route. Now Ecosport as a premium lifestyle
product will sell for sure and will be grabbed by urban folks. But only fly in the ointment is with the current Duster like pricing,
how much Ecosport will sell, especially because of lower space on the offer.

[anachronix]

Originally Posted by VishnuNarayanan

With the term 'softroader' I only meant to explain that a person who wants a proper rugged SUV won't opt for an Ecosport. For a budget above 10 lakhs a traditional Indian buyer who looks for an SUV will have choices like Scopio SLE , Safari etc (of which the variants are equiped with ABS and Airbags) if he could extend his budget a bit. Moreover with a budget of above 10 lakhs the buyer could surely glance over the well equipped sedans too.

With that logic, the Duster would have been market dud already! But, What is happening with the Duster?

We are only counting the chickens before they hatch! This thread is going into a pointless discussion with fancies about the pricing being good or bad