[M35]

Is this the top end model? Going by the pictures,the plastic used especially in the lower half of dash reminds me of the 2003 model Indica which I used to own eight years ago.


Attempt to pull off another Duster show with a great looking exterior and contemporary design with mediocre interiors,both in terms of quality of materials used and space managed[read rear]

Shocking to see the cluttered and untidy engine bay with those visible taping all around.An engine cover could have covered it up a bit at least.Going by these pictures it looks like an unfinished prototype. But can't think of any logic behind Ford making such a nation wide exhibition of a half cooked product.

Ford's compact SUV Eco Sport will debut by June this year and the company has said that high localisation level will help it price the model competitively to rivals like Renault Duster and Mahindra's Scorpio.
"Also, we plan to have an automatic variant right from the beginning to offer a wider choice in the market," company MD Joginder Singh said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/b...w/18991147.cms


If this is what the high localisation means and if it is priced against Duster and Scorpio,you may have another dud in making,Ford. Especially with Duster 4x4 on the cards and Scorpio AT in both 2WD and 4WD already available. At the same time the high localisation will help Ford to price it competitively as well.

Now, how are they going to price it? It could only work if the pricing is just about to attract high end hatch or mid size sedan seekers, thanks to its design and AT option.If they price it so, with no doubt ES will be a big success in India, IMHO.

[Batfreak]

Originally Posted by parrys

Interiors:

No dead pedal, but there is a raised portion on the footwell to rest your left foot on.
Attachment 1062660

Space is limited. The EcoSport is in premium hatchback territory here. Notice how high the window sill ends toward the rear. The floor hump is prominent; considering the rear legroom, a 5th occupant wont be happy.
Attachment 1062664

A look at the ordinary seat cover quality.
Attachment 1062665

Rear parcel tray starts higher than the rear seat. The visible gap doesn't look good.
Attachment 1062666

Ugly taping of wires.
Attachment 1062674

First Pic: Is that the steering column protruding in the foot-well pic? Not cool.

Second Pic: Sad how the car looks so big from the outside and is exactly the contrary on the inside. My Getz has more space in the rear than this butch (looking) SUV.

Rest of 'em: How can Ford offer such blemishes? At least they could have had tried to liven things up for the Media show cars? Don't know what the average Joe will be getting. Even the Duster has begun to look as better quality stuff than this (No offences meant).

The Bottom Line:
If Ford believes this is their key to re-capture their much lost share in the market, it is mistaken. IMO, even the Indian customer is ready to look beyond the price tag.
Plus, I don't expect the car to be priced as low as people are betting on. Look at the feature list! I mean six Airbags? IMO, Any comparable variant to the C2 Segment Sedans would be carrying a figure of about 50k above the Sedan counterparts.

Ford get your priorities right!

[vipulbatta]

This should have interesting competition with Duster. Duster seems a better package overall, but what should work in Ford's favor is the engine and Ford having better showroom and service coverage. Of course only if they price it well. Either way, nice to see competition in this segment!

[swiftnfurious]

I was looking at the Duster price and am shocked; the barebone petrol base variant retails at 7,87,000/- Ex showroom Delhi. If Ecosport launches base variant petrol at 5,87,000/- (shock price as rumored), there is a straight 2L difference, even with the same level of kit (Duster entry variant has mainly PS, PW & AC from what I could gather) and a much more powerful engine with world class technology!

At this price, Ecosport Diesel base variant should start at 7,20,000/- (1,30,000/- premium over petrol variant) against 8,59,000/- of Duster. Even this will give a 1.5L difference.

If there are 3 trims in Ecosport diesel variant, can we assume that each variants will have a 1L price difference topping out at 9,20,000/- ?? This while Duster top end retails at 11,99,000/- ! And Ecosport will still have better kit with ACC, Voice assistance, ESP etc!! That would be AWESOME!

Edit:: A 120 bhp engine @ 6L ex showroom definitely looks yummy!!

[Enigmatic]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

I was looking at the Duster price and am shocked; the barebone petrol base variant retails at 7,87,000/- Ex showroom Delhi. If Ecosport launches base variant petrol at 5,87,000/- (shock price as rumored), there is a straight 2L difference, even with the same level of kit (Duster entry variant has mainly PS, PW & AC from what I could gather) and a much more powerful engine with world class technology!

At this price, Ecosport Diesel base variant should start at 7,20,000/- (1,30,000/- premium over petrol variant) against 8,59,000/- of Duster. Even this will give a 1.5L difference.

If there are 3 trims in Ecosport diesel variant, can we assume that each variants will have a 1L price difference topping out at 9,20,000/- ?? This while Duster top end retails at 11,99,000/- ! And Ecosport will still have better kit with ACC, Voice assistance, ESP etc!! That would be AWESOME!

Edit:: A 120 bhp engine @ 6L ex showroom definitely looks yummy!!

I suppose the Eco-boost engine would be priced at par with the diesel engine. The 1.5L Petrol would be offered at around 6L ex-showroom. However even the 1.5L engine produces a respectable 108 BHP

I hope ford doesn't screw up the pricing..

[PatienceWins]

Good:
The exterior quality looks good.
Ground clearance.
Space at the front and boot space.
Arm rest.
Display on center console, Microsoft blue, provisions for USB, socket etc.
Wide range of engines to choose from.

Bad:
Rear space with hump in the middle.
Interior quality (looks better in the second set of pictures)
Dead pedal missing, the solace is that there is space to rest foot. It may be possible to fit an after-market one.
Seat cover is not much of an issue as it is easy to fix this outside.

[jaibir]

I think the ecoboost engine will get the excise benefit while the other petrol won't (over 1.2l). May actually be the cheaper one!

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by Enigmatic

I suppose the Eco-boost engine would be priced at par with the diesel engine. The 1.5L Petrol would be offered at around 6L ex-showroom. However even the 1.5L engine produces a respectable 108 BHP ...

See the beauty of secrecy from Ford! We are still speculating which engine will be the base variant! I thought the 1.5L petrol will be offered ONLY in Auto transmission which will be the top most variant in petrol! And once localised, wouldn't the Ecoboost be better priced owing to the 10% tax discount than the 1.5L engine variant?

I seriously hope to see a 100+ bhp on the diesel engine too! @Mustang.101 on another forum posted that there indeed was two states of tune undergoing testing in diesel variant, though he declined to state the specifics or even confirm which one will be launched in India.

[Enigmatic]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

See the beauty of secrecy from Ford! We are still speculating which engine will be the base variant! I thought the 1.5L petrol will be offered ONLY in Auto transmission which will be the top most variant in petrol! And once localised, wouldn't the Ecoboost be better priced owing to the 10% tax discount than the 1.5L engine variant?

I seriously hope to see a 100+ bhp on the diesel engine too! @Mustang.101 on another forum posted that there indeed was two states of tune undergoing testing in diesel variant, though he declined to state the specifics or even confirm which one will be launched in India.

The pricing might just be the biggest pre-launch secret ever

IMHO there would be four engine options :-

Eco-boost Petrol

1.5L Petrol

1.5L Petrol + Automatic

1.5L Diesel.

I suppose the eco-boost would be a bit more expensive than the 1.5L petrol because ford may want to charge a premium for the new technology and also for the fact that it produces more power+ efficiency.

However i have no clue about there being two different states of tune for the 1.5L diesel. The Fiesta's 1.5L Diesel produces 89 BHP.

[zulfi hansi]

I do not see any good reason that Ford will have a 1.5 L petrol. The Ecoboost is not going to cost any more to produce than the 1.5 L, since it is not produced in large numbers even as off now. Unless off course the turbo is not imported. Even otherwise the difference will be negligible, again unless Ford wants to charge a premium for their Ecoboost. That would be just stupid if they that in a diesel dominated market.

[sameerg001]

Originally Posted by zulfi hansi

I do not see any good reason that Ford will have a 1.5 L petrol. The Ecoboost is not going to cost any more to produce than the 1.5 L, since it is not produced in large numbers even as off now. Unless off course the turbo is not imported. Even otherwise the difference will be negligible, again unless Ford wants to charge a premium for their Ecoboost. That would be just stupid if they that in a diesel dominated market.

I guess they might launch it with 1.5L petrol along with ecoboost, just for the sake of killer base model pricing, They may launch it with 1.5L.

And, 90% of the customer, which i think will go the diesel way and rest of the guys, who want to opt for the petrol, Well you know, most of the indians don't give a damn about ecoboost technology, they all want is a petrol car. It's just that guys like us, will be more inclined toward ecoboost technology.

And if they launch it with 1.5L and ecoboost and diesel, And they charge premium for ecoboost, then most of aam janta would be better off with diesel, instead paying off premium for ecoboost, which is afterall petrol.

My 2 cents.

[zulfi hansi]

Originally Posted by sameerg001

I guess they might launch it with 1.5L petrol along with ecoboost, just for the sake of killer base model pricing, They may launch it with 1.5L.

And, 90% of the customer, which i think will go the diesel way and rest of the guys, who want to opt for the petrol, Well you know, most of the indians don't give a damn about ecoboost technology, they all want is a petrol car. It's just that guys like us, will be more inclined toward ecoboost technology.

And if they launch it with 1.5L and ecoboost and diesel, And they charge premium for ecoboost, then most of aam janta would be better off with diesel, instead paying off premium for ecoboost, which is afterall petrol.

My 2 cents.

+ 1 on that, certainly it is going to be just that. Eventually and sadly the Ecoboost will remain in the showrooms and its going to be a big dud, simply because Ford sales staff will never be able to effectively convince the customers that a 1.0 L is better than the 1.5 L (CC still rules in India), in any case the petrol engine buyers will be 80% well informed lot and they will not need any sales talk on this point and will buy what they want.

The irony is that at least 80% will buy diesel and they have one engine to chose from, and the remaining 20% will have 2 petrol engines to chose from That is India mate

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by zulfi hansi

...The irony is that at least 80% will buy diesel and they have one engine to chose from, and the remaining 20% will have 2 petrol engines to chose from That is India mate

Both the petrol options are NOT "made for India" trims right? They anyway have to develop these for the rest of the world, so why NOT launch it in India as well?

On the other way, the diesel model should be more for India (and Europe I guess), but they might sell it in countries where there is less demand than petrol. That's what a company dynamics is right? You anyway have to develop these for someone, so why not sell it to others too? They don't lose anything after all.

[zulfi hansi]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Both the petrol options are NOT "made for India" trims right? They anyway have to develop these for the rest of the world, so why NOT launch it in India as well?

On the other way, the diesel model should be more for India (and Europe I guess), but they might sell it in countries where there is less demand than petrol.

Practicality wise yes it makes sense. What is annoying is our market demand and how Ford will react to it. I understand that Ecoboost is a new technology and they can charge a premium for it. But in India it doesn't work that way. Why will anybody give a premium for Ecoboost technology if the entire market is driven by diesel? On the other hand they will happily give that premium for a latest technology in diesel engine. So if Ford is going to charge a premium for Ecoboost nevertheless tell me how many are prepared to shell out those extra bucks? Also when some companies are selling their diesel powered car at a lesser price in markets where petrol engines are in demand, but are charging a premium for the same product here even if there is no extraordinary technology involved. So why not let go off that premium for Ecoboost in India? The way I see it, Ford is launching 1.5 petrol engine only to distinguish it from Ecoboost and charge a premium for it. And that is why it will not sell here.

[pyrodrive]

Any idea if ecosport will sport the same interiors accross models or offer something better for the top end models?
IMO if ford prices this anywhere between quanto and duster,it will sell.
just for the exterior looks alone if nothing else.
and with such extensive testing ford has carried out, i think they will put out a niggle free car.