[ssbshankar]

I saw a video in youtube where EcoSport was on Bangalore-Chennai highway.
In that video, when I carefully observed, the rear/boot door seemed to be slacked or sunken.
Sorry about the quality of the pic. But if you see the marked area, you may observe that the door is slightly dropped down from its position and not aligned to tail lamp levels. In all display units in malls, tail gate was properly aligned.



Does this hint on things to come? Could the tyre mounted on the tail gate be the reason? if tail gate slacks on such a new EcoSport, would it be rattling a lot over a period of time?

[sameerg001]

Originally Posted by ssbshankar

I saw a video in Youtube where EcoSport........ Snip..... hint on things to come? Could the tyre mounted on the tail gate be the reason? if tail gate slacks on such a new EcoSport, would it be rattling a lot over a period of time?

These are pre-production vehicles, build for testing purpose. So, we can safely assume that, the production vehicle won't have such issues.

[MotoNanu]

Originally Posted by ssbshankar

Does this hint on things to come? Could the tyre mounted on the tail gate be the reason? if tail gate slacks on such a new EcoSport, would it be rattling a lot over a period of time?

I think this is what happens when patience runs out. Do not worry, such things should not be an issue in a series production car!

Ford, better do the launch and reveal pricing info. People will start digging into every corner otherwise.

@GTO: Desperate for the review

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by niks_devil666

Was the media given the "powershift"/automatic tranny version ?

Seems like it was only the EcoBoost MT.

cya
R

[Chirag911]

Beautiful looking car. I will definitely want to buy if they take out an automatic diesel variant. Automakers should realize the importance of automatic transmission and how we Indians have become open to more options. We like to explore and discover. And I sure want to explore and exploit an automatic hatch.

[johy]

Originally Posted by Chirag911

And I sure want to explore and exploit an automatic hatch.

Hatch you say my friend? Ford seems to think this is an SUV!!
But even I think it is a hatch. May upgrade my Wagon R to this one. :-)

[ssbshankar]

Originally Posted by MotoNanu

I think this is what happens when patience runs out. Do not worry, such things should not be an issue in a series production car!

Ford, better do the launch and reveal pricing info. People will start digging into every corner otherwise.

@GTO: Desperate for the review

Originally Posted by sameerg001

These are pre-production vehicles, build for testing purpose. So, we can safely assume that, the production vehicle won't have such issues.

Hope these are pre-production issues.
I have seen similar issues with Tata safari and I have pointed out this issue some time earlier in this thread.
Today, when I saw this video, I felt EcoSport also running into similar issues of tail gate getting loose due to Tyre mounting on it.

I wish Ford does a good job of doing something about hinges of tail gate and reduce the impact of tyre mount. From what I see is these tyres are not huge as the ones of Tata safari. So, it should be of lesser impact.

[Venkytalks]

Originally Posted by Chirag911

Beautiful looking car. I will definitely want to buy if they take out an automatic diesel variant. Automakers should realize the importance of automatic transmission and how we Indians have become open to more options. We like to explore and discover. And I sure want to explore and exploit an automatic hatch.

Agree with this sentiment, Fiesta AT was fantastic.

Ecosport body is really wide at 2000+ mm. S rear seat will have more space sideways than legspace - pity about the central hump

Inner door handles from Fiesta will keep mashing the fingers. Poor ergonomic design.

If the seats get the same black upholstery as the Fiesta, then nothing to complain about in the interiors. I quite liked the black trim of Fiesta.

The console was better suited to Fiesta cockpit than to the Ecosport from styling point of view.

Anyway, lets wait for the the pricing and take a test drive from the showroom before passing judgement

[agambhandari]

Originally Posted by Venkytalks

Ecosport body is really wide at 2000+ mm. S rear seat will have more space sideways than legspace - pity about the central hump

Keep in mind, that the 2000mm width also includes the XL sized wing mirrors. The actual width of the body is a little less than the Duster.

Three medium built Indians are just about OK in the EcoSport.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by agambhandari

Keep in mind, that the 2000mm width also includes the XL sized wing mirrors. The actual width of the body is a little less than the Duster.

Three medium built Indians are just about OK in the EcoSport.

Even then it should be wider right? The difference is 200+ mm, and I believe even the Duster will have the measurement with wing mirrors open. Anyway, we should know soon from our review if the width on paper translates to usable space inside.

[agambhandari]

Originally Posted by vb-san

Even then it should be wider right? The difference is 200+ mm, and I believe even the Duster will have the measurement with wing mirrors open. Anyway, we should know soon from our review if the width on paper translates to usable space inside.

Nope....

The 1822 mm width of the Duster does not include the Wing mirrors. Yes, that is a very wide car. Infact, out on the road, the Duster looks a bit out of proportions in that it is just too wide, at least visually.

I have checked out the EcoSport in flesh, and I am quoting my observations below:

Originally Posted by agambhandari

It finally happened!!

No I haven't bought it just as yet, I haven't even test driven it. I have only checked it out in a Mall. That is the Magnitude of the hype created by Ford......

Is it worth it?
Probably for some of us..

Reached there at 5:00 PM and a Mars Red EcoSport was welcoming a thin crowd checking it out. I was happy to see this, since it gave me(and my father) to check out the details easily.

The Looks:
Yes, it looks great. The height looks just in between that of an SUV and a Hatch.

Looks good in 3 quarter look. But it is a compact SUV, keep that in mind at all times.

The Paint quality is top notch, there were no LED headlamps(even confirmed by a girl from Ford)

It certainly would have more road presence than a Hatchback and some compact SUV's like the Yeti and dare I say, even Duster, mostly due to its nicely styled and modern exteriors.

The Interiors

The Interiors are nice and certainly better than the nearest competition (The Duster).
The Plastic quality isn't bad. It seems bad at first glance due to the texture of the plastic used on the dashboard. I haven't seen that sort of texture anywhere else.
The build quality is actually pretty good and I believe would be able to stand some abuse.
The Visibilty is good because of the higher seating. But the design of the A-pillar may create a problem at times. My father didn't seem to be worried about this, since he has already experienced such a design in our earlier 2005 Honda City(NHC). The A-pillar design is almost Identical.
Before talking about the Space,as I said earlier, It is a compact sub-4m SUV.
My father(5'11") adjusted the driver seat for himself and I (6') could sit in the back with a quarter of an inch space between my knees and the front seat. I was comfortable and that is also something to do with the seats. They were very comfortable. The under-thigh support was better than average and though you can't stretch your legs, you can make a long journey with 6 footer back to back.
The Seats also have adjustable recline in 60:40 ratio. There is also a 12V power outlet at the back.

The Sales person promised about 6 airbags. But the car on display didn't seem to have them. The AIRBAG marking was no where to be found on the B-pillar.

This car certainly belongs to the C1 segment. The space is Swift/i20 class, It looks good and hopefully drives great(It is a Ford after all). I believe the Duster should also belong in the C1 segment. As I see it, the only thing that puts these two cars in the C2 segment is their Kerb weight. Consider it as an alternative to a Dzire and you have a great car, but try pitting it against the City, you would feel a little shortchanged stepping into the EcoSport. But I believe this should also reflect in the pricing.

As I see it, The EcoSport should be priced in line with the Amaze/DZire segment.
It would kill the Duster sales by quite a large margin, because the way I see it, the only real advantage the Duster has is its larger Boot( By about 150 L)

People checking out the car had mixed opinion. One of them remarked it to be a half a size bigger than swift and that he wont pay more than 7.5 lakh for the Diesel(Base).
Another person (who asked me about the pricing) couldn't believe that it would only cost as low as 7-8 lakhs.

[ganesc]

Originally Posted by agambhandari

Nope....

The 1822 mm width of the Duster does not include the Wing mirrors. Yes, that is a very wide car. Infact, out on the road, the Duster looks a bit out of proportions in that it is just too wide, at least visually.

In that case, even the duster's width cant be considered as the body width as its max at the fenders which is way bulged out from the body un-necc. Duster too is not that spacious and is a squeeze for 3 at the back. To me, it looks like a tavera with bulged out fenders at back and front.

Ecosport really pulls the heart strings. Cant wait to hear the pricing. Why ford is just promoting the petrol car and not the diesel one yet?

Beige if provided as an option could make things look bright and airy a bit.

Enjoy's pricing is very good and if this though not relevant if priced around that would sure be a hit.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by agambhandari

Nope....

The 1822 mm width of the Duster does not include the Wing mirrors. Yes, that is a very wide car. Infact, out on the road, the Duster looks a bit out of proportions in that it is just too wide, at least visually.

I have checked out the EcoSport in flesh, and I am quoting my observations below:

Thanks, I have seen your first-hand report on the Ecosport.

My reference was based on the picture below (from Ford Brazil). It does look like mirror alone is the reason for the width.

[damager21]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Seems like it was only the EcoBoost MT.

cya
R

As per following video released by OnCars India, it seems even 1.5L TiVCT engine was available at the Goa drive. As can be seen, engine badging was clearly missing.

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

Following has to be the best looking video of EcoSport released by motorbeam

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPvC_Df1wVM

Another detailed video review released by OverDrive. Interestingly there were some EcoSport on MRF and some on Goodyear.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icMh5Elwdxg

[fiat_tarun]

All versions of the Ecosport were there in Goa, but the media were allowed to drive only the Ecoboost variant.

The other 2 engines have already been seen on the Fiesta, so guess they wanted all the attention on the Ecoboost.

Everything looks good and I know for a fact that localisation levels on the Ecosport are very high at launch itself (not the Ecoboost). Ford knows they have to price it right and I expect around i20 pricing for the diesel variants.