[TusharK]

Ford has introduced a manual transmission option on the EcoSport petrol in the Titanium+ trim. The new variant of the compact SUV is priced at Rs. 10.47 lakh (ex-showroom, India).



In the top-spec Titanium+ trim, the EcoSport gets projector headlights with LED DRLs, 17-inch alloy wheels and features like cruise control, rain sensing wipers, rear view camera and Ford's SYNC 3 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with voice control and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. It also comes with safety features like 6 airbags, ABS with EBD, ISOFIX child safety seat anchors among others.

The new EcoSport Titanium+ MT is powered by the 1.5-litre, 3-cylinder, naturally aspirated petrol engine which produces 122 BHP @ 6,500 rpm and a peak torque of 150 Nm @ 4,500 rpm, which is paired with a 5-speed manual transmission. The EcoSport Titanium+ is also available with a 6-speed automatic gearbox with paddle shifts.

[itsashishsharma]

My friend just got his Titanium petrol manual delivered. He might have gone with this one if it was available.
Very nice addition I would say, though it will attract more road tax etc and will not hurt the vfm Titanium is.

[SYAM]

Is this input authentic? Ford's official website is not showing anything on this. If yes, that is great news. The titanium variant itself is a great package. They could've just improved it by giving 6 airbags and reverse parking camera as options; without much price hike..

[Latheesh]

Few months back they launched Titanium+AT @10.69L Ex-showroom and they increased the price to 11.3L now. Titanium+Manual @10.47 is not value for money comparing to initial launch price which happened just few months back. Looks like variant and pricing strategy at ford is done by some monkeys (Another example is Endeavour variant/pricing over last couple of years).

[GTO]

Originally Posted by SYAM

Is this input authentic? Ford's official website is not showing anything on this.

100% authentic. If we're unsure, we usually add the 'Rumour' tag to the title. Here's the press release as received from Ford:

[Mad Max]

Why a 5-speed? The 1.5 could've been mated with a 6 speed for amazing highway cruising. Either way, glad Ford is not cutting out options for it's customer base.

[arindambasu13]

Great initiative! I find it commendable that Ford is being sensitive to customer demands and acting with haste on market requirements.

Always found it odd that the top end version should be offered only with automatic transmission, and not manual. A manual tranny coupled with this new engine should be a recipe for fun for the enthusiast driver.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by arindambasu13

Great initiative! I find it commendable that Ford is being sensitive to customer demands and acting with haste on market requirements.

Commendable and good for the new customers but what about the existing customers?

There are quite a few people I know who really wanted the Titanium + MT option but settled for the Titanium cause there was no +.

They were all ready to pay the additional price and just wanted the 6 airbags and leather seats. One of them barely got his car 1.5 months ago and was requesting dealer to check on Titanium +.

Getting it so soon after launch of the new car leaves a really sad feeling for those who wanted this trim but had to settle for lower trim.

I don't get the logic behind not giving the customer all the options. You are only expanding your reach and offering more flexibility.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Commendable and good for the new customers but what about the existing customers?

Getting it so soon after launch of the new car leaves a really sad feeling for those who wanted this trim but had to settle for lower trim.

Agreed, but anyone would prefer that a mistake is corrected rather than remain as one permanently.

Still, that was a big guffaw. No logical reason to not offer an MT in the top variant from day 1.

[vineetg84]

Originally Posted by GTO

100% authentic. If we're unsure, we usually add the 'Rumour' tag to the title. Here's the press release as received from Ford:
Attachment 1743221

Did anyone notice?the year mentioned in the letter by Ford is wrong shouldn't it be 2018

[arindambasu13]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Commendable and good for the new customers but what about the existing customers?

Completely agree, I too never got the logic of not offering the manual trim in the top variant.. For sure, this would leave a sour taste in the mouth for those who have recently got delivery and had to settle for a lower variant because they wanted a manual transmission rather than the automatic.

However, I reckon this is better rectified now than later.

[SYAM]

Originally Posted by GTO

100% authentic. If we're unsure, we usually add the 'Rumour' tag to the title. Here's the press release as received from Ford:
Attachment 1743221

My apologies.. I was not aware of that..

[aryayush]

Originally Posted by arindambasu13

Always found it odd that the top end version should be offered only with automatic transmission, and not manual. A manual tranny coupled with this new engine should be a recipe for fun for the enthusiast driver.

Having driven the petrol manual and being the owner of the automatic, I unequivocally reject the notion that the manual is (or could be, given an additional gear ratio) more fun to drive than the automatic. Put the automatic gearbox in Sport mode (but don’t change gears manually) and it is more eager and responsive than most manuals in its price range.

I fully understand that a lot of people prefer manuals for many sound reasons, and it makes total sense for Ford to offer the top spec trim in manual, but the automatic gearbox in the Ford EcoSport is no slouch at all.

[arindambasu13]

Originally Posted by aryayush

Having driven the petrol manual and being the owner of the automatic, I unequivocally reject the notion that the manual is (or could be, given an additional gear ratio) more fun to drive than the automatic. Put the automatic gearbox in Sport mode (but don’t change gears manually) and it is more eager and responsive than most manuals in its price range.

For a lot of people, including me, it has very little to do with how responsive the automatic gearbox vis a vis the manual is. It is the actual physical act of changing gears through a clutch and stick shift that does it for them. For instance, the GT TSI has a lightning quick outbox, as does the Octavia TSI. Widely acknowledged to be some of the best and quickest auto gearboxes available in India within the given price ranges. Give me the same engines with a manual tranny, however, and Ill take that over the auto box in a heartbeat, shift times or responsiveness notwithstanding.

Of course, there are an equal number (probably in the majority) who will veer towards the convenience of an auto box. To each his own, I'd say.

[RaghuVis]

Every couple of months, FORD gives you proof how inconsistent and under-researched they are!

Did they really need customer's feedback/response to understand that both manual and automatic needs a top end version with all the bells and whistles? Spare a thought for so many who went ahead and adjusted to the lower version just because the top end was not available. And mind you there would have been lots of repeat customers and they would just feel so so let down by the flip flop reaction from FORD.