[Daewood]

Originally Posted by sansvk

On one of the ecosport reviews I noticed the driver/reviewer continously giving inputs to the steering wheel on a relatively straight empty strech. That's not a sign of a car with a great steering, or must be the terrain was such that it may have been required, not sure, but I didnt like that.

If even a small imperfection on the road is transmitted it to the drivers hand via the steering, that's a sign of a steering unit with good feedback.

[sansvk]

Originally Posted by civic-sense

I don't see any reason why they should launch a 1.5 petrol unless they plan to sell it to us without a profit.

Ford is not going to complicate things, I see the 1.5L Petrol with just the Auto box, no Manual. They are doing this to have an Auto variant and the only engine suitable for that is the 1.5L Petrol.
Again one single engine choice with the Manual Petrol i.e. 1.0L engine.

[rambo1o1]

Originally Posted by civic-sense

Simply because the petrol and diesel fall into different tax brackets. There would be an additional 1L (approx) tax on the 1.5 petrol that will offset the additional cost for the 1.5 diesel engine.

I don't see any reason why they should launch a 1.5 petrol unless they plan to sell it to us without a profit.

All comparisons with the Fiesta classic are of zero value.

I got mixed up with the excise duty structure.
If ford prices the 1.5p atleast a lakh cheaper than the diesel even though the the diesel enjoys 12% less tax then the 1.5p ,either ford will earn a very thin margin or they will recover the cost of selling that petrol at low price through the sale of diesel which means that manufacturing cost for its diesel engine is ridiculously low.

I dont care what Ford does as long as it doesn't cross 10 lakhs ex showroom for the top model.

[eq24]

Could we please have a rough ETA on the review. Almost everyone has their review out and the one which really matters is nowhere to be seen.
Quality takes time, I understand, but there are lives at stake here man.
Please, you can only check the review section for updates so many times, before the GF thinks you mentally unstable.

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by eq24

Could we please have a rough ETA on the review. Almost everyone has their review out and the one which really matters is nowhere to be seen.
Quality takes time, I understand, but there are lives at stake here man.
Please, you can only check the review section for updates so many times, before the GF thinks you mentally unstable.

You took the words out of my mouth, man. I'm alternating between excitement at hitting F5 and despair at seeing no changes. Waiting for a girl to return a call is nothing compared to this.

[Nilesh5417]

Originally Posted by rambo1o1

Why should the 1.5 petrol cost more than diesel?? If ford can price the fiesta classic with the 1.6 petrol at 5.6l ex showroom even when the classic falls in the higher tax bracket due to its >4m length and >1.5 engine capacity i see no reason why ford should price the 1.5p variant high, the 1.5p is made in India so should have very low manufacturing cost.

Which is my point - are they making money? If you look at the Diesel vs. Petrol split of the already lack lustre sales of the new fiesta, its evident that petrol doesn't sell much.

Who set these rules that petrols have to priced cheaper than diesel? I guess the manufacturers themselves inflated the price of the diesels as the demand went up (for umpteen reasons). There was already a discussion in the past where questions were asked, and justifiably so, whether it really costs more to produce a diesel car. The answer if i remember well was - not really. Is that still the case?

So it doesn't cost way more to produce a diesel over a petrol car, your petrol engine actually attracts more excise duty than the diesel and you still price it less.

The 1.5 petrol seems to have thrown up an interesting discussion. Nice to read the different theories around trying to fit it into the conventional pricing models.

Can the idea of launching the 1.5ltr petrol in trend variant really work? How much can you strip down a car to offset the price of excise and still make it sell? Next question to think of objectively.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Nilesh5417

Can the idea of launching the 1.5ltr petrol in trend variant really work? How much can you strip down a car to offset the price of excise and still make it sell?

Most guys are predicting 6.5L as the starting price for line-up. Now that seems to be somewhat decent ground to start with. But given the fact that even the base versions are somewhat loaded, I think they can get pushed up by another 50K at the most.

But the 1.5L petrol as you said may/may not yield them much sales. The reason I say that is because, unlike the sedan/hatch products we now discuss SUV styled products for which Indian buyer has a definite soft-corner. From that angle there may be many takers for that base petrol variant who would be aspiring that product by stretching their budget to enter that category of buyers. And given the fact that even base version is loaded and not a bare bones version, many would like to go for it. So if Ford prices it just about the higher-spec'ed compact sedan and B-segment hatches, it may find many takers.

Now Ecoboost versus diesel is a different argument though. Everyone knows that diesel version will sell. No two thoughts about it. But then the only question is why is Ford trying to sell the petrol version so hard and taking pains to bring in newer technology of the 1L engine? I think the answer to that lies in their visions for future proofing. Because, as per my thoughts this diesel vs petrol inequality wont last for ever. And when that bubble breaks, they need to be ready with every thing. Any way the 1.5 petrols are a dying breed (Please dont kill me for that statement!). A change in technology is on cards with many of them bringing in the smaller displacement turbo charged petrol engines. So Ford may as well think this as a good strategic move.

[agambhandari]

Originally Posted by eq24

Could we please have a rough ETA on the review. Almost everyone has their review out and the one which really matters is nowhere to be seen.
Quality takes time, I understand, but there are lives at stake here man.
Please, you can only check the review section for updates so many times, before the GF thinks you mentally unstable.

Originally Posted by arunphilip

You took the words out of my mouth, man. I'm alternating between excitement at hitting F5 and despair at seeing no changes. Waiting for a girl to return a call is nothing compared to this.

You don't need to check the reviews section, just keep following this thread alone. This thread would be closed a couple of hours before the official review goes online.

[sharninder]

Originally Posted by ampere

Now Ecoboost versus diesel is a different argument though. Everyone knows that diesel version will sell. No two thoughts about it. But then the only question is why is Ford trying to sell the petrol version so hard and taking pains to bring in newer technology of the 1L engine? I think the answer to that lies in their visions for future proofing. Because, as per my thoughts this diesel vs petrol inequality wont last for ever. And when that bubble breaks, they need to be ready with every thing. Any way the 1.5 petrols are a dying breed (Please dont kill me for that statement!). A change in technology is on cards with many of them bringing in the smaller displacement turbo charged petrol engines. So Ford may as well think this as a good strategic move.

I agree.

I don't think Ford really believes they'll sell a lot of the ecoboost engines right now. But India will be a good place to actually produce and test this engine in extreme conditions and be ready when the time comes.

Or ... The petrol vs diesel gap is reducing and Ford probably believes that the ecosport will be mostly a city roundabout vehicle and buyers might buy petrols too. They don't know that we Indians even take Tata nanos offroading and on the highways. No car is just a city vehicle for us.

The Ecosport is definitely a tough vehicle to price.

[Turbokick]

Reviews say Ecoboost in ES is decently fast with good mid range torque. The real highlight can be the Brio matching ARAI figures.

Still I feel 1.5 litre petrol will be an intelligent option keeping in mind its (supposed to be) adequate 105-110 bhp performance and lower price tag can compensate for fuel economy over Ecoboost.

For 6.5-7 lakhs its a lurcative deal over Petrol variants of Swift,i20, Liva and Polo.

[pamishra]

From Rediff:
"The steering is quite light at low speeds and weighs up at high speeds, although we still found it lacking enough feedback and weight"

From Carwale:
"The steering will disappoint a lot of enthusiasts, because it isn’t related to the hydraulic system in the Classic or Figo – it is related instead to the new Fiesta’s electric power steering system, and it offers the same features such as pull-drift compensation. It is light, nimble but doesn’t offer as much feel or feedback as the Classic and Figo"

This is really dissappointing for me. Numerous reviews are saying this. Well our Team-bhp review should be able to clarify this

[vkochar]

Bookings start in June. I thought they would start this month and start delivering ASAP. Got this from facebook by the way.

[drpudhi]

Originally Posted by pamishra

From Rediff:
"The steering is quite light at low speeds and weighs up at high speeds, although we still found it lacking enough feedback and weight"

From Carwale:
"The steering will disappoint a lot of enthusiasts, because it isn't related to the hydraulic system in the Classic or Figo – it is related instead to the new Fiesta's electric power steering system, and it offers the same features such as pull-drift compensation. It is light, nimble but doesn't offer as much feel or feedback as the Classic and Figo"

This is really dissappointing for me. Numerous reviews are saying this. Well our Team-bhp review should be able to clarify this

Ecosport indeed has an EPS unit similar to the fiesta. Though they are not as good as HPS units in the classic and figo as far as feed back is considered, don't forget they are one of the best EPS units available right now. As much you like the HPS units, EPS is the future with all manufacturers going that way and the fiesta EPS (inturn Ecosport) is one of the best EPS units. We better get used to it.

[xuv2390]

A ford dealer in Mumbai confirmed that launch will take place on May 27, 2013 and bookings will start in June 2013. The display vehicle has already landed in their stock yard!

[Prash]

Originally Posted by xuv2390

A ford dealer in Mumbai confirmed that launch will take place on May 27, 2013 and bookings will start in June 2013. The display vehicle has already landed in their stock yard!

If you could help us out with the name of the dealer please