[v12]

Ford better get their acts together before this thread views surpass that of the Official Ford Ecosport review.

I just did a search for the 2018 Ecosport S review - and I can see most of the auto magazines / portals have already covered it - Autocar, Overdrive, Zigwheels etc. How come the media cars are not available to Team-BHP?

[GTO]

The beauty of this community! One hour and we have a car available .

One BHPian (I will let him reveal his identity himself) has graciously offered his EcoSport S to us for a review. He's already booked it and will be getting his car end of August.

We'll see if someone who already has the S variant in hand offers us the car. If not, we'll be driving a brand new EcoSport S end of August.

Think about that Ford! 1 hour and a gracious owner is offering us his brand new EcoSport. Something you couldn't do in 3 months, despite having access to 10,000 cars!

P.S. Will respond to other posts later. Greatly appreciate the love & support.

[fiat_tarun]

Strange behaviour from Ford which comes across as very short term thinking. I thought this was a stunt by the PR company initially but directly from the company is very surprising.

Hey GTO, in line with my PM, I have booked a diesel S which should be delivered by the end of August. If this isn't sorted out by then I can offer my car for the review.

[autohead666]

As someone mentioned,may be Ford India is more interested in a video review rather than a printed one.Reason:It grabs more eyeballs.
May be it is time for Team-BHP to have a dedicated youtube or other channel.Considering the member base Team-BHP has,there is no reason why we cannot get a car.

[am1m]

Haha, what a reaction by a multi-billion corporation to a honest thread put up by a bunch of enthusiasts! Only one word to describe this, 'sulk'.

Really hilarious that a company like Ford could be so defensive about their products. Shows the confidence they really have in their own cars.

I say why bother reviewing their cars at all? Personally, these days I would never buy a car or any other expensive product unless I read some independent reviews of that product online. (oh, and if by chance any auto manufacturer is really reading this, by independent I certainly do not mean any of the auto mags or channels in the country, we all know how much they depend on your advertising money to function!) I'm sure a lot of people do that as well. So let them lose out.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by GTO

3 months up since the car has been launched

My first reaction was - What launch? And this, even after following the industry as much as possible.

Originally Posted by GTO

Doesn't matter. Team-BHP WILL REVIEW an EcoSport S, whatever way we have to.

Why sweat? I mean, I'm absolutely with you in your moral stance. Manufacturers giving the cold shoulder has to be taught a lessson, and I feel Team-Bhp has to take its independent stand against such companies who are acting childish. My full support to you on that - and I would have gladly sent you my Ecosport S if I had one.

My doubt is - Is it worth it on the Ecosport S? Team Bhp has already reviewed the Ecosport facelift, and the more important 1.5 Dragon petrol has also been covered. Ecoboost engine has been covered in the original review and I doubt there has been any other major changes done by Ford in the S variant.

I was interested in the S for a small point of time after the launch - and trust me, reading both these reviews back to back were enough to make a decision.

IMHO - The loss is just theirs, the community hasn't missed out in this particular scenario.

If a member has an S that he can lend, please go ahead. Otherwise, my humble suggestion is not to let emotions cloud the judgement here and not to waste money on purchasing an Ecosport S. I doubt its worth the effort, on this particular variant.

Edit -

Originally Posted by GTO

One BHPian (I will let him reveal his identity himself) has graciously offered his EcoSport S to us for a review.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by GTO

The beauty of this community! One hour and we have a car available .

A SECOND EcoSport S has become available for us in North India . Many thanks to the owner - incredibly grateful. I will let the BHPian post himself.

Originally Posted by fiat_tarun

Hey GTO, in line with my PM, I have booked a diesel S which should be delivered by the end of August. If this isn't sorted out by then I can offer my car for the review.

. A heartfelt thank you.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

My doubt is - Is it worth it on the Ecosport S?

There is some interesting stuff to cover, including the new features, 6-speed MT EcoBoost and more. We already have half the review ready anyway (from the media drive).

[Rahul Rao]

Originally Posted by Engine_Roars

This is how it must have went at one of the Ford's Board Meetings:

1. Director 1 - This Team-Bhp I tell you. They refuse to sell themselves. They call spade a spade, a bad ford, a bad ford in their official reviews. They bash our products left, right & center at times. Obviously they are right but what to do?
2. Director 2 - Let's pressurize them?
3. Director 3 - How?
4. Director 2 - Simple, we don't provide them cars to review. How would they then write anything negative about a car which they don't even have access to?
5. Director 2 & 3 - Awesome, you are a genius man. Let's do it.

Let's hope that there is a director 4 who realises that there will be many people waiting for a Team BHP review to book a car.

Rahul

[Engine_Roars]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

My first reaction was - What launch? And this, even after following the industry as much as possible.

My doubt is - Is it worth it on the Ecosport S? Team Bhp has already reviewed the Ecosport facelift, and the more important 1.5 Dragon petrol has also been covered. Ecoboost engine has been covered in the original review and I doubt there has been any other major changes done by Ford in the S variant.

In line with this thought process, I say create a thread for Ecosport S - Official Review which should have nothing but conversation with FORD & how they refused a car for review.

When people search for Ford reviews they will end up on this thread and they will get to know how the company does not want them see an honest review.

I know this will not meet Team Bhp standards but it will hit them hard!

[locusjag]

Reminds me of that time when Tata Indica was launched in the UK with a different name (the "city rover") and Top Gear BBC-UK wanted to review it. They had turned down their request and did not provide them a car, given the savagery of the trio (Clarkson/Hammond/May).

James May ended up placing a spy-cam on his shirt pocket and he walked into a showroom and test drove it anyway. The inevitable happened regardless of the manufacturer's intentions.

[GTO]

Guys, will respond to other posts later, but a sincere request.

I love some of Ford's cars (the EcoSport, Endeavour, Mustang) and this incident wouldn't stop me from buying any of them. I urge you to think the same way. The same way, I wouldn't let an idiotic salesman stop me from buying a car I really like.

The guys building the cars are entirely different from the people promoting it. Now, if only the latter were as competent as the former.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by v12

I just did a search for the 2018 Ecosport S review - and I can see most of the auto magazines / portals have already covered it - Autocar, Overdrive, Zigwheels etc. How come the media cars are not available to Team-BHP?

Guess you missed this part of the original post -

All other media said what Ford wanted them to say within the limited window that Ford allowed them to say it. Team-Bhp, thankfully, doesn't play along like that!

Originally Posted by GTO

Were we part of the EcoSport media drive that took place earlier in the year? Of course, we were. But as all BHPians (and manufacturers) know by now, the handful of hours that we get with a car at a 1 - 2 day media drive isn't sufficient for a Team-BHP Official Review (link to related thread). Heck, for most cars, our photoshoot alone takes up more time than what we get at media events.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

All other media said what Ford wanted them to say within the limited window that Ford allowed them to say it. Team-Bhp, thankfully, doesn't play along like that!

Importantly, let's not overlook the fact that the Endeavour Chassis thread went live after the media drives that we were invited to. Till then, everything was hunky-dory.

[spectre13]

Frankly speaking, I'm shocked and appalled at this. As an owner of my third Ford vehicle, I find it shameful that they are treating tbhp this way!

I know it is the 'S' variant that you're looking for, but if you do need the T+ AT to review anytime in the future, please feel free to let me know. I will happily volunteer my April '18 Blue EcoSport anytime for the community that has always been the prime determinant of all of my family cars, and provided me with an ocean of knowledge and insight into cars. If there is anybody that I can trust to take care of my car even better than I do, it has to be tbhp!

Keep up the good work!

[penpavan]

Originally Posted by GTO

I wish the people promoting the EcoSport were as competent as the folks building the car.

I can tell you they are not. Just look at the variant specs changes, price adjustments, confused choices of tyres and infotainments, they all show they are not. Their marketing team is totally unfit.