[bhpfaninblr]

About the dragon engine (123 bhp @ 6.5kRPM and 147Nm @ 4.5k rpm)
http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/fo...001_185756.jpg



Shares with Ecoboost:

• 3 - cylinder engine
• timing belt to be replaced every 2,00,000 km only
• variable displacement oil pump for higher efficiency
• Balancer shaft for smoother running
• integrated exhaust manifold with less belts and less weight and less noise

Different from Ecoboost:

• No turbo
• No Direct Fuel injection
• both inlet and exhaust cams can be burned to vary valve timing for low end torque
• Lower cost
• offset crank to increase power from every power stroke reducing friction

[Vish_Janu]

Guys, some sobering news!

As per my discussion with Hormazd just now on twitter, it seems even the launch event is not happening anytime soon. God knows when deliveries will start!

WHY FORD WHY! :(

[aryayush]

I, for one, have made peace with the realisation that I will be purchasing the updated EcoSport in January, so I have a 2018 model year car. It’s fine, it’s not the end of the world.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by Vish_Janu

WHY FORD WHY! :(

People always want end of year discounts when buying cars after November. Ford cannot give those on a brand new model obviously. Instead they can give those on the outgoing model & make more money due to that surge on current EcoSport. Now that there are plenty images available of the upcoming EcoSport, many people will actually opt for the current one considering the visual changes are quite minimal. Primary change being the upcoming new ICE setup.

Then - the NEXON has just arrived & has created a real hype. Will be an extra challenge for the EcoSport no doubt. Why take that risk? Let Nexon settle. Have a look at how the market is reacting to it. Then decide the final pricing and align for launch properly. Good that they are willing to do the homework rather than just hastily launching.

Also - always best to launch a new model in early part of the calendar year. Makes it easy to relate to year of launch & product shelf life.

[DasJager]

Originally Posted by Vish_Janu

Guys, some sobering news!

As per my discussion with Hormazd just now on twitter, it seems even the launch event is not happening anytime soon. God knows when deliveries will start!

WHY FORD WHY! :(

Thank you for that piece of info Vish. I guess it's not too unexpected. It makes sense for Ford to launch the car by the year end, specially if they are not ready for the festive sale. I believe it is a lost opportunity for Ford, too bad goddess Lakshmi wouldn't be blessing Ford much.

[sdp1975]

Will the dragon engine be better that the current 1.5 petrol which has a flat mid range ? The current 1.5 petrol is nowhere close to the old 1.6 petrol that used to power the fiestas and the 1.6S from what I've read.

Does the torque come at lower rpms like the old 1.6 petrol did ?

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

Will the dragon engine be better that the current 1.5 petrol which has a flat mid range ? The current 1.5 petrol is nowhere close to the old 1.6 petrol that used to power the fiestas and the 1.6S from what I've read.

Does the torque come at lower rpms like the old 1.6 petrol did ?

The million dollar question that everyone has! We only know the peak power output figures so far which are around 120PS for the 1.5 Dragon I think.

What I feel will certainly be there "more" than the current 1.5P is vibrations. If I'm not mistaken, the Dragon will be a 3 Cylinder engine. So it will inherantly have more vibrations and noise compared to the refinement of the current 4 cyl mill. Another car maker picking cost savings versus refinement. And a 1.5 engine! I can somehow digest 1.2 motors being chopped but the audacity is just going on increasing.

Apparently that engine is about 10% lighter than the current one. So not a huge saving on the weight I'd say.

[Vish_Janu]

Sid Patankar just chimed in, and he puts the launch window anytime within the next 2-3 weeks.

[ravib]

Originally Posted by Vish_Janu

Sid Patankar just chimed in, and he puts the launch window anytime within the next 2-3 weeks.

Originally Posted by Vish_Janu

Guys, some sobering news!

As per my discussion with Hormazd just now on twitter, it seems even the launch event is not happening anytime soon. God knows when deliveries will start!

WHY FORD WHY! :(

Mixed information as usual
Its like earlier some auto portal mentioned Sept 15 as launch date with great confidence but later moved to diwali and some reports with late in the year and for new year deliveries.

Hope the wait ends soon

[agbenny]

Originally Posted by ravib

Mixed information as usual
Its like earlier some auto portal mentioned Sept 15 as launch date with great confidence but later moved to diwali and some reports with late in the year and for new year deliveries.

Hope the wait ends soon

Will there be 1L Ecoboost this time? AT versions in Petrol/Diesel?

[damager21]

Maybe I am wrong but my sense as to why Ford is delaying India launch could have to do with 2 things:
1. Current unsold stock with dealers
2. Production constraints to meet global + local demand for new Ecosport

For the month of September, domestic sales were down 2.76 percent to 8,769 units as against 9,018 units in September 2016.

Following quote is interesting:
"New model launch planning along with ongoing constraints in supply chain continued to impact our wholesale in September," Ford India President and Managing Director Anurag Mehrotra said

Surely he is talking about Ecosport. But then he said following which does not reveal any timeline
"We believe these should be addressed by fourth quarter helping us move back into the growth trajectory."

I think November launch looks more likely than October. Wholesale sales of 8,769 clearly indicates that Ford is still shipping old Ecosport model to its dealers. Usually we see a dip in numbers for any vehicle whose face-lift is about to get launched.

[libranof1987]

All this talk of Ford not launching the facelift EcoSport is akin to Ford being penny wise, pound foolish.

It is barely a difficult problem to solve:

1) Give out massive discounts to clear stock; there will definitely be takers as the current EcoSport is a fairly good vehicle
2) Recall the unsold stock; take a small hit on the bottomline

Make up for all this by going all-out in launching and promoting the facelift EcoSport in the festive season.

If unsold inventory is the reason why Ford is delaying the launch, they are such idiots! I'm not even surprised given how they are floundering the Endeavor's business by constant price changes.

Come on, Ford. Get your act together please.

[A M]

If indeed the delay in launch is due to Ford waiting to clear the stocks, they should offer discounts. Ecosport is a fantastic product and there will definitely be takers for the current version.
I, for one, am sitting with my cheque book in hand if I get a good discount on the current gen Ecosport.

[DasJager]

Just came across this on the Autocar website: Ford EcoSport's new 1.5 Dragon engine revealed

Ford has revealed its all-new 1.5-litre, three-cylinder Dragon petrol engine. This motor will make its debut in the EcoSport compact SUV that's set to receive a facelift this month.

The 1.5-litre Ti-VCT (twin independent variable camshaft timing system) motor produces 123hp and 150Nm of peak torque, which is 11hp and 10Nm more than the current four-cylinder engine's output. Ford also claims improved fuel efficiency to the tune of 7 percent over the outgoing 1.5-litre engine.

It has been posted just an hour back and confirms the engine tune of the 1.5 Dragon. Now can we expect a higher state of tune in the 1.5 diesel? Only Ford knows!

[arunramaswamy]

I, for once, feel Ford is doing the right thing by delaying the launch. Lets face it, even if they launch now the deliveries can realistically start by November which happens to be year end. It does not make sense to start delivery of a new product by year end.

Rather they can unveil the product by December and initiate the deliveries by Jan. This means buyers will be getting the MY18 cars and not the MY17 ones.

If my hunch is right, Ford must unveil it by November, formally launch it by December and deliveries to begin by January.