[Nilesh5417]

Originally Posted by CARDEEP

The EcoSport could be launched in 4 trims - Ambiente, Trend, Titanium & Titanium Optional. Here is link to more details on the same (courtesy The Automotive India & IAB):

http://indianautosblog.com/2013/05/f...or-india-74413

Meanwhile the vehicles for Media Drive to be held in Goa this month have seemingly reached the place, as a fleet of EcoSport have been spotted by a IAB reader. Refer below link for the article:

http://indianautosblog.com/2013/05/f...goa-yard-74331

I see the Blue, Red & a solitary Grey (my personal fav on Figo)!

So the engine options as below?
1. Ambiente & Trend : 1.5 MT petrol & diesel
2. Titanium & T+ : 1.5 MT petrol & diesel, 1.5 AT Petrol & 1.0 Ecoboost.

AND - if they are going for the media drive, can the t-bhp folks really be left out? I'm hoping for a first hand report on t-bhp!

[84.monsoon]

Originally Posted by CARDEEP

The EcoSport could be launched in 4 trims - Ambiente, Trend, Titanium & Titanium Optional. Here is link to more details on the same (courtesy The Automotive India & IAB):

http://indianautosblog.com/2013/05/f...or-india-74413

Again, a disappointment in terms of safety features. You have to go all the way up to Titanium if you want a pair of airbags and ABS, a must for highway travel in India.

Also, interesting to see the 1.0 Ecoboost being offered only in Titanium and higher variants. So, they are pitching it as a premium product and not as an excise-duty saving economy option. This is just as most of us expected. This is a high-tech engine and it is going to be expensive to make and/or import it. I expect the Titanium Ecoboost to be priced close to or above Rs. 10 Lakhs ex-showroom.

Seems like the base Diesel (Ambiente) may be a good value for those who do not care too much about the safety features. It will enjoy the concessional excise duty bracket. It has all the essentials, plus some uncommon features for a base version - Bluetooth Audio System, Electric OVRMs with turn indicators, remote locking, Tilt and Telescoping steering etc. I expect the base petrol and the base Diesel to be priced pretty close to each other, since the Diesel enjoys 12% duty and the petrol does not.

The middle "Trend" variant does not add anything significant, except ABS. However, there are no airbags, which in my opinion are equally important from a safety point of view.

The Titanium is very well equipped, with 16 inch alloys, auto climate control, cooled glove box, fog lamps, dual airbags, lumbar support for driver, reverse parking sensors etc. I hope Ford does not price this variant way out of the ballpark. Seems like this is the variant they want most prospective buyers to navigate towards, given the clever choice of features they have ensured are not available in lower variants.

From the feature list, it is not clear what combinations of engines and transmissions are on offer in the Titanium variant. I would guess the automatic transmission is available only on the 1.5 Petrol but that is not made clear in the feature list. I am still hoping faintly that the 6-speed auto will feature along with the 1.0 Ecoboost engine. If so, this is the variant to buy for me.

Titanium Plus will probably be priced significantly more than Titanium, since all the features added are expensive from a manufacturer point of view - Leather seats, push button start, keyless vehicle operation, side and curtain airbags etc. Probably priced really high and I doubt will be the best value.

So, I assume there will quite a few variants:

Ambiente 1.5 Petrol
Ambiente 1.5 Diesel
Trend 1.5 Petrol
Trend 1.5 Diesel
Titanium 1.5 Petrol Manual
Titanium 1.5 Petrol Automatic
Titanium 1.0 Petrol Manual
Titanium 1.0 Automatic <hopefully>
Titanium 1.5 Diesel Manual
Titanium Plus 1.5 Petrol Manual
Titanium Plus 1.5 Petrol Automatic
Titanium Plus 1.0 Petrol Manual
Titanium Plus 1.0 Automatic <hopefully>
Titanium Plus 1.5 Diesel Manual


I expect the price range will straddle from 7.0 Lacs Ex-Showroom to 12 Lacs Ex-Showroom

[avira_tk]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

Again, a disappointment in terms of safety features. You have to go all the way up to Titanium if you want a pair of airbags and ABS, a must for highway travel in India.

The middle "Trend" variant does not add anything significant, except ABS. However, there are no airbags, which in my opinion are equally important from a safety point of view.

Ford burnt it's fingers really bad when they offered the safety kit in all versions of the Fiesta, they are not about to repeat the same mistakes I guess. People just don't want safety, most customers will opt for alloys and ICE over ABS and airbags. Ford is not alone in this, most companies offer safety only in the top end, even Honda removed airbags and ABS from the Brio, now Amaze also, after blowing their own trumpet about safety being standard kit in every car.

The Trend with ABS is a really good option, very few mid variants offer ABS, you can't expect full safety kit in cut price variants. Trend without ABS will be as pointless as Polo and Vento Comfortline trims.

[rajshenoy]

Ford - We will bring Ecosport to india
Honda - Working Diesel engine for india
Ford - We will launch Ecosport in india
Honda - Brio diesel spotted testing
Ford - We will launch Ecosport in india
Honda - Details out on 1.5ltr iDTEC engine, Media drive held in Japan
Ford - We will launch Ecosport in india
Honda - Amaze launched !!!
Ford - We will launch Ecosport in india

C'mon Ford please launch EcoSport before it becomes previous generation !!!

[bageherath]

What I can decode from http://indianautosblog.com/2013/05/f...or-india-74413 post is.....

Diesel is only available in Ambient, Trend and Titanium + (Titanium is missed here).

1.5 Petrol is available in all the variants.

1.0 Petrol is available in Trend, Titanium and Titanium +

One more news is that ford hired Deloitte to handle the bookings!

[StarScream]

What the variants show is that for all practical purposes the Ecosport will be priced as if it doesn't get any excise benefit. The fact that 1.5 petrol is available from the base trim onward and will attract higher excise tax means that the base diesel will be priced even higher (going by conventional logic even though the diesel will attract lower excise.)

The only variants that will get excise benefit are the ones with diesel and the 1-liter Ecoboost. Ecoboost may cost Ford money to make so perhaps for that the price will be justified but for the diesels, Ford will pocket higher margins because I seriously doubt they will price them cheaper than the petrols.

I think this car will be priced slightly lower than the Duster. All that talk of very aggressive pricing is out the window. This makes me wonder about two things - why adhere to the 4-meter stipulation when half your line up isn't going to benefit from it and you have no intention of passing on the advantage to customers? Might as well give people more room and fight as a direct Duster competitor. Second, now I understand the need for the excessive hype, because the price ain't going to do it for you.

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

So, I assume there will quite a few variants:

Ambiente 1.5 Petrol
Ambiente 1.5 Diesel
Trend 1.5 Petrol
Trend 1.5 Diesel
Titanium 1.5 Petrol Manual
Titanium 1.5 Petrol Automatic
Titanium 1.0 Petrol Manual
Titanium 1.0 Automatic <hopefully>
Titanium 1.5 Diesel Manual
Titanium Plus 1.5 Petrol Manual
Titanium Plus 1.5 Petrol Automatic
Titanium Plus 1.0 Petrol Manual
Titanium Plus 1.0 Automatic <hopefully>
Titanium Plus 1.5 Diesel Manual

The Ecoboost will not be mated to the AT. The features list says MT after the 1.0 engine.
Another thing i noticed, no ESP. Unless, like the Fiesta sedan, it'll only be available with the AT variants and this is a more general features list.

[Nilesh5417]

Originally Posted by StarScream

What the variants show is that for all practical purposes the Ecosport will be priced as if it doesn't get any excise benefit. The fact that 1.5 petrol is available from the base trim onward and will attract higher excise tax means that the base diesel will be priced even higher (going by conventional logic even though the diesel will attract lower excise.)

The only variants that will get excise benefit are the ones with diesel and the 1-liter Ecoboost. Ecoboost may cost Ford money to make so perhaps for that the price will be justified but for the diesels, Ford will pocket higher margins because I seriously doubt they will price them cheaper than the petrols.

I think this car will be priced slightly lower than the Duster. All that talk of very aggressive pricing is out the window. This makes me wonder about two things - why adhere to the 4-meter stipulation when half your line up isn't going to benefit from it and you have no intention of passing on the advantage to customers? Might as well give people more room and fight as a direct Duster competitor. Second, now I understand the need for the excessive hype, because the price ain't going to do it for you.

And what if the Petrol is out there to make sure you offer one? Look at the sales of the petrol Duster and i'm sure Ford knows that the 1.5ltr petrol isn't going to set sales on fire. But its necessary to ensure that an option is available if at all.

So i would assume that the diesel is going to get priced right and the petrol, will be around the same range (no excise benefit). But mostly Ford wouldn't care for the petrol much cause it was always meant to be largely inconsequential in the numbers game.

[StarScream]

Originally Posted by Nilesh5417

And what if the Petrol is out there to make sure you offer one? Look at the sales of the petrol Duster and i'm sure Ford knows that the 1.5ltr petrol isn't going to set sales on fire. But its necessary to ensure that an option is available if at all.

So i would assume that the diesel is going to get priced right and the petrol, will be around the same range (no excise benefit). But mostly Ford wouldn't care for the petrol much cause it was always meant to be largely inconsequential in the numbers game.

You're assuming that Ford will be willing to take a hit on petrol margins and essentially absorb the higher excise they have to pay, for the sake of having a petrol version? Considering the diesel will attract 12% excise, the petrol 24% and that petrol versions are typically priced lower than diesel - I think that is an unlikely scenario. Remember, Ford will have us believe they are a premium car maker.

I do hope you're right, that they do some cross-subsidization and come up with brilliant prices. But practically, I just don't think that will happen. They know they have a unique product on their hands, they know the craze for SUVs in India, they've seen the Duster's success - why would they lose money on a variant?

[Marauder]

Originally Posted by bageherath

What I can decode from http://indianautosblog.com/2013/05/f...or-india-74413 post is.....

Diesel is only available in Ambient, Trend and Titanium + (Titanium is missed here).

1.5 Petrol is available in all the variants.

1.0 Petrol is available in Trend, Titanium and Titanium +

I think you misunderstood the post,in the pics when describing the features of the variant it says in addition to the previous variant on the top.
So when it says 1.0 Ecoboost and 1.5AT it means in addition to the 1.5MT and 1.5 Diesel.So,it means both 1.5L engines are going to be available in all variants and Ecoboost is going to be available only in titanium variants not the Trend one.

[bageherath]

Originally Posted by Marauder

I think you misunderstood the post,in the pics when describing the features of the variant it says in addition to the previous variant on the top.
So when it says 1.0 Ecoboost and 1.5AT it means in addition to the 1.5MT and 1.5 Diesel.So,it means both 1.5L engines are going to be available in all variants and Ecoboost is going to be available only in titanium variants not the Trend one.

May be, if that is the case why they have mentioned 1.5L in Titanium again?

[damager21]

Originally Posted by StarScream

What the variants show is that for all practical purposes the Ecosport will be priced as if it doesn't get any excise benefit. The fact that 1.5 petrol is available from the base trim onward and will attract higher excise tax means that the base diesel will be priced even higher (going by conventional logic even though the diesel will attract lower excise.)

The only variants that will get excise benefit are the ones with diesel and the 1-liter Ecoboost. Ecoboost may cost Ford money to make so perhaps for that the price will be justified but for the diesels, Ford will pocket higher margins because I seriously doubt they will price them cheaper than the petrols.

I thought the base version of EcoSport with 1.5L petrol engine was expected because imported Ecoboost engine will cost Ford more than locally manufactured 1.5L engine.

Moreover, I dont think there is any debate on impact of excise duty because the government has classified SUVs as all vehicles larger than 4 meters in length and having an engine bigger than 1500 cc (Diesel) or 1200 cc (Petrol) and a ground clearance of more than 170mm.

Since EcoSport is less than 4 meters in length, irrespective of the engine capacity and ground clearance, it will attract 12% excise duty. In fact in all recent articles, Joginder Singh (Ford India MD) has stated that as per Ford's interpretation only 12% excise duty will be applicable.

Given the features, starting price (Ambiente) of around 5.9 lacs for petrol and 6.5 lacs for diesel looks possible. I think for all successive models viz. Trend, Titanium and Titanium Optional, Ford will charge an increment of 1 lac. In which case highest version of petrol variant may come for 8.9 lacs and that of diesel for 9.5 lacs. It could just wipe away i20.

[drpudhi]

Originally Posted by damager21

Moreover, I dont think there is any debate on impact of excise duty because the government has classified SUVs as all vehicles larger than 4 meters in length and having an engine bigger than 1500 cc (Diesel) or 1200 cc (Petrol) and a ground clearance of more than 170mm.

Since EcoSport is less than 4 meters in length, irrespective of the engine capacity and ground clearance, it will attract 12% excise duty. In fact in all recent articles, Joginder Singh (Ford India MD) has stated that as per Ford's interpretation only 12% excise duty will be applicable.

I think you have misinterpreted the excise slabs.

The ground clearance more than 170 mm for SUV is for the 30% excise slab(From 27% post budget) along with engine and length. The 24% slab is for all vehicles >1.2 petrol or >1.5 diesel or >4 m length. The smaller cars are then placed in the 12% slab.

Also, think the wait is not long.

The media drive is on May 7 & 8 according to the invitation received by the IAB.

[sharninder]

Originally Posted by damager21

Moreover, I dont think there is any debate on impact of excise duty because the government has classified SUVs as all vehicles larger than 4 meters in length and having an engine bigger than 1500 cc (Diesel) or 1200 cc (Petrol) and a ground clearance of more than 170mm.

Since EcoSport is less than 4 meters in length, irrespective of the engine capacity and ground clearance, it will attract 12% excise duty. In fact in all recent articles, Joginder Singh (Ford India MD) has stated that as per Ford's interpretation only 12% excise duty will be applicable.

This is interesting. So you're saying that Ford can project the ecosport as an SUV and then pay a different tax rate than, say, sedans? Man! This govts tax policies are so vague. A few years down the line someone will think Ford did something wrong and the govt will then come after them with a retrospective tax notice.

[arjab]

Latest update on Ecosport by Autocar India on its website:

"...Whereas the 1.5 petrol and diesel are familiar (the 107bhp petrol and 88.8bhp diesel are similar to the engines on the Fiesta), the new Ecoboost is expected to make approximately 95-100 bhp. Prices for the EcoSport are expected to start at around Rs 7.5 lakh, with the top-end Titanium crossing Rs 12 lakh"

source: http://www.autocarindia.com/News/342...-leaked.aspx/0

Quite a climbdown in terms of power from the earlier perch eh! ;-)

[ranjithrnair]

Originally Posted by arjab

Latest update on Ecosport by Autocar India on its website:

"...Whereas the 1.5 petrol and diesel are familiar (the 107bhp petrol and 88.8bhp diesel are similar to the engines on the Fiesta), the new Ecoboost is expected to make approximately 95-100 bhp. Prices for the EcoSport are expected to start at around Rs 7.5 lakh, with the top-end Titanium crossing Rs 12 lakh"

source: http://www.autocarindia.com/News/342...-leaked.aspx/0

Quite a climbdown in terms of power from the earlier perch eh! ;-)

"You can get an automatic-gearbox-equipped version, but that only comes with the normal 1.5 petrol. There is no diesel version available for the top-spec EcoSport. "

Does this mean that we don't get the Titanium variant for 1.5 TDCI ? If so it is real disappointment ! :(