[humveeguy]

Originally Posted by KMT

For anyone expecting ABS to be a Rs 20k option you may be in for a dissapointment.
I paid about Rs 50K extra for a Ritz VDi ABS above the VDi price.

Wow..So Maruti gains atleast 40K by giving ABS to u .
Im finger crossed for the Launch now ..all the assumptions will then take a rest

Originally Posted by tachobells

Its unlikely to have traction control included in a budget compact SUV.

Well, I just checked the Ford India site. Traction control is listed as one of the feature of ecosport.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by KMT

For anyone expecting ABS to be a Rs 20k option you may be in for a dissapointment.
I paid about Rs 50K extra for a Ritz VDi ABS above the VDi price.

Sure? A quick search shows me the exshowroom prices of VDi & VDi ABS differ by ~19K where as VXi & VXi ABS by ~24K!!

At any cost, it will NOT translate to 50K OTR! Screenshot from Maruti website attached below!

[zenren]

Originally Posted by KMT

For anyone expecting ABS to be a Rs 20k option you may be in for a dissapointment.
I paid about Rs 50K extra for a Ritz VDi ABS above the VDi price.

Interesting! When I purchased Swift VDi ABS in 2008, it was only around 20-25k extra IIRC. When did you buy Ritz?

EDIT: Saw swiftnfurious's post below after I posted. Wagon R VXi with ABS+Airbags is around 45k extra over VXi. So it is unlikely that Maruto would charge 40-50k for ABS in any model.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by humveeguy

For me it is very clear: If Im spending 10 L and above I expect these:
Must have features
1. 4 wheel controlled ABS [ This is is the best one, for eg from Bosch ]
2. Traction control [ slippery roads and rough terrain driveability]
3. Air bags [2]

Good point, but unfortunately we don’t have many options in the given price point. For some (or most of brands in the 10 lakhs segment, even the basic two airbags comes in the top variant only. And if you need traction control / ESP, the only option in the sub-15 lakh (OTR) segment will be the Fiesta AT.

Coming to the Ecosport, I hope they have front airbags, ABS+EBD, ESP etc. standard across all variants. I see a bit of a hope there because the last launch from Ford – the Fiesta AT Petrol had these entire features standard in both Style and Titanium variants. Hope they continue with the same approach.

[dhanushmenon]

I paid 35-40 K extra for ABS & Airbag together for Figo. Dont know why Maruti should charge so much premium only on ABS

[zenren]

Originally Posted by dhanushmenon

I paid 35-40 K extra for ABS & Airbag together for Figo. Dont know why Maruti should charge so much premium only on ABS

It is still 20k for ABS and another 20k for airbags even for Maruti vehicles. Not sure what happened in KMT's specific case though.

BTW, just curious how you arrived at 40k figure for Figo? Were these the only additional features in Titanium over ZXi when you purchased?

We can certainly hope similar numbers even in the case of Ecosport as there wouldn't be much difference for ABS and airbag cost across models for Ford. Even if they choose to leave out safety kit in base version to have an exciting price range, I hope they give it as an option in mid variants. After seeing more and more features mentioned as available in Ecosport that are probably of no use to me for regular city and occasional highway usage, I would really be happy to get a middle variant with ABS and airbags rather than being forced to pay for all those additional features for the sake of ABS and airbags. If not, I might have to relook at the other choices if top end is out of my budget.

[Surprise]

Originally Posted by sbala

Let people get used to this.

+1

My first two cars do not have ABS. The one which Iam using currently has all the safety features & I learnt how handy the ABS system was during emergency situations. Having used to that system, Iam sure I will never ever purchase a car without these features.

[sbala]

Originally Posted by Surprise

+1

My first two cars do not have ABS. The one which Iam using currently has all the safety features & I learnt how handy the ABS system was during emergency situations. Having used to that system, Iam sure I will never ever purchase a car without these features.

Thanks.

Folks are taking safety as least priority. I know my neighbor who owns a civic which developed a small crack on the windshield couple of months back. And now that small crack has got so many branches. Still, he is not bothered about that. He still goes out with his kid sitting in the front seat. That's how our people's mentality is.

[shabash]

Originally Posted by humveeguy

In India , people can be easily fooled as I said before, most of these SUVs are in 10,000 to 20,000 dollars range in other countries and they comes with all the safety measures with proper NCAP rating. So, I wonder why still people get trapped in camoflauged SUVs.

I think there is an element of taxation by the government on the same. I had read somewhere that the ex-showroom component of the vehicle has about 33% as tax components, not road tax but things like VAT, Sales tax other cess etc. in the US I have heard that it is 10%, in UAE it is almost non existent. That explains why the corners are cut (read no safety features) in Indian automobiles.

[dnahelix]

Originally Posted by CtrlAltDel

+1 to that.

Ride quality is only a "nice to have" feature for most people.

And different people have different requirements.

For instance in my case, a lack of driver's central armrest would be a deal breaker for me, esp in an AT version. Thats one major reason why I am not going to buy a Duster. Charging around 10 lakhs and not providing a central armrest for the driver is a serious omission in my view.

If I have to consider Ecosport my requirements are AT and central armrest. Rest of things like safety package etc, I can take for granted that they would be available.

I agree. Here are my considerations and why Ford Ecosport "may" fit the bill:
- High riding position and nice ground clearance, handy for potholed and inundated during monsoon roads, particularly in Mumbai
- Hopefully robust build quality
- Powershift AT, test drove a Ford Fiesta and loved the responsive AT, hope it is mated to EcoBoost engine
- Deep foot well akin to Ford Fiesta or a Honda City

I test drove a Skoda Rapid AT, a Honda City and Ford Fiesta AT; while each of these offer few of the things I like, each fell short on one or the other critical aspect I am looking for:
- Skoda Rapid/VW Vento AT: Pluses - Fairly good AT as I am not an "enthusiastic" driver, solid build quality, climate control. Deal breaker - Poor front leg room, no dead pedal and the instrument cluster intrudes into foot well brushing against the left knee, instrument cowl blocks road visibility
- Honda City: Pluses - excellent ergonomics and superb foot well, nice engine. Deal breaker - feels flimsy, no climate control, low riding position
- Ford Fiesta: Pluses - Superb AT, excellent ergonomics, nice instrument cluster, nice build quality. Deal breaker - sub-optimal rear cabin and rear design, in fact the rear seat bench was kept loose in the car I saw for upholstery work and it felt as flimsy as an autorickshaw seat

Thus given a sub-13 Lakh pricing I hope a Ford EcoSport with Powershift and Ecoboost will launch at, I am hoping to have the best mix of my criteria for selecting a car and keep my fingers crossed driving a 4 year old company-leased Swift ZXi with rickety suspension that has one more month to go.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by dnahelix

Thus given a sub-13 Lakh pricing I hope a Ford EcoSport with Powershift and Ecoboost will launch at, I am hoping to have the best mix of my criteria for
selecting a car and keep my fingers crossed driving a 4 year old company-leased Swift ZXi with rickety suspension that has one more month to go.

Very true. But do note that higher displacement , puts the engine under lesser stress as compared to smaller engines churning out same power/torque.

From that point of view, I do hope in spite of the smaller engine running at rated capacity during the tenure of the product, the reliability is still maintained.
(This was the topic of discussion along with friends today!)



PS : By the way nice handle ! Watson and Crick would be very happy.

[Gizmokid]

One of the most comprehensive videos giving exteriors & interior perspectives of the ecosport.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNwPfxWDLOk

[humveeguy]

Originally Posted by tachobells

Its unlikely to have traction control included in a budget compact SUV. Care to elaborate on the chasis and driveability comment? I respect your opinion, but for me, directional headlamps, rear sensors, rear camera, fog lamps are more useful features than cruise control. .

Well, what I meant was, these secondary features are now available as after market add ons. for instance armrest, controllable headlights, LCD screen with rear camera, fog lamps. A rain sensor addon is also not a difficult one as electrically the circuit is very simple with a sensor integrated. In fact the after market HU will be much better than the one in ecosport, think about 10 inch lcd, Divx, GPS and hi def playback

But in India, we wont get a ABS, cruise control, traction control as after market add ons.

It requires good amount of r&d and technology mapping to bring in good driveability to vehicles. eg: still Tata hasnt figured out how to deliver soft clutches/gear boxes. None of mahindra/Tata stable gives independent 4 wheel traction control, 4 wheel controller ABS as of now , but ford and GM already has many trucks with this for years. Coming to suspension, now adaptive, active supension systems are appearing in other markets. I feel it may take some more time for our folks to get a hang of the advancements..

[byomjeet]

But when will this lovely machine will be available in Indian market? Can anyone tell me the tentative launch date?

[rajesh.sml]

Originally Posted by ampere

Very true. But do note that higher displacement , puts the engine under lesser stress as compared to smaller engines churning out same power/torque.

From that point of view, I do hope in spite of the smaller engine running at rated capacity during the tenure of the product, the reliability is still maintained.

Is there a genralized proof of the above statement present, I am not sure hence asking ..

Do the hyundai Kappa Engine's or Maruti's K10's have lesser lifespan as compared to engines delivering same power having higher displacements ??