[TusharK]

The Ford EcoSport Thunder edition has been spotted at a dealer yard, which suggests that it could be launched in the near future.



According to the spy images, the EcoSport Thunder is likely to get a black grille, roof and roof rails as well as black ORVMs. It has black trim around the fog lamp clusters, a black spare wheel cover and cladding on the sides as well as a black rear bumper. The car rides on 17-inch 5-spoke alloy wheels that are also painted black.



The TDCi badge on the tail gate indicates that the EcoSport Thunder could be offered with the 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder diesel engine that produces 99 BHP @ 3,750 rpm and 205 Nm of torque @ 1,750 rpm. The engine is likely to be mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox.





Source: Gaadiwaadi

Link to Team-BHP News

[NaXal]

Market competition is much tougher with Venue / Nexon / XUV300 to give this a sticker job to stay relevant.

This model has just got a facelift so way too early & platform wise way too late for another facelift to increase feature list.

As usual, companies fail to add things which actually may work. Like for example, they already make AWD/4WD EcoSport in India & sell overseas so it won't take much effort to launch one in India. It will become one unique car immediately in this segment & can bring EcoSport right up on buyers radar again.

[i74js]

I fail to understand the purpose of such limited editions ! How come people @ Ford management have time for such exercises when there are large opportunities awaiting decisions.

- They have a ready AWD CSUV for exports but they are still toying with the idea of offering it in India - though it is manufactured in India for export markets

- They don't have a proper C2 segment sedan for Indian market; however competitive it may seem Maruti, Honda & Hyundai each selling 3000+ copies every month

- They are giving pink slips to 7000+ employees globally (10% of their work force) in the name of cost cutting to increase productivity but have all the time to do such non-productive activities

And finally, they may find their dealers cheating customers by producing in-house thunder trims (there are examples from Skoda dealership cheating customers !)

MSIL has mastered this art of limited editions in India; what a shame that Ford is only learning such redundant ideas from them instead of learning several other things on how to remain relevant by reinventing themselves.

Kudos to Ford !

[GTO]

If ever there was an award for "maximum variants of the same car" (here's an idea for you, auto mags), VW & Ford would definitely bag it. VW releases a Polo / Vento facelift every other month! And let's not forget this related thread (And the Award for the 'Car with most engines & transmissions' goes to....).

That being said, the EcoSport sells rather well, considering its age. And its also my personal pick in the segment. Frequent updates & improvements surely help its sales. As an example, the facelift looks really good, while that new 1.5L Dragon is swell.

[bled_soul]

This is by far the ugliest special edition of the ecosport that I have come across. Especially the alloys.

[wildsdi5530]

How do these companies maintain an inventory for parts? My Mobilio RS needs to wait for 10 days for a windscreen replacement. And side skirting required 25 days.

[tharian]

Is that black part on the hood a sticker job for this edition or a protective cover during transportation? Looks like Batman's hood.

Nice visual comparison of the Freestyle and Ecosport in one of the photo's.

[kubectl]

Originally Posted by NaXal

Market competition is much tougher with Venue / Nexon / XUV300 to give this a sticker job to stay relevant.

I agree, EcoSport needs some news headlines right now to stay relevant now.

Since Venue's launch 3 days back, I've received calls from almost all Ford dealers in Bangalore about "great offers and discounts" on EcoSport. Ford is taking notice

[SpideyBoy]

Originally Posted by tharian

Is that black part on the hood a sticker job for this edition or a protective cover during transportation?

I wish it was that, but looks like it is a sticker job. I feel it looks very irritating and want to wipe it off immediately to retain the original white color.

Alloys look horrendous . Doing this to a good looking car can only hurt a human eye badly. This makes me wonder if Ford is really serious about their line-up!

[Abhinav_2502]

This is Ford trying to do something like Maruti's RS or Sport( You know what I'm referring to). Why would they do this to a really good looking car? They have decent sales and from what I heard, people who I talked to consider the Venue smaller and not a fit competition for the Ecosport.

Also Ford needs to be given some kind of award or recongnition for the No. Of alloys across variants in the segment. I am not sure even if some sports cars in the country have so many options.

[jailbird_fynix]

Ford EcoSport Thunder launched at Rs 10.18 lakh





The interiors of the new variant are slightly different – the dual-tone cabin sports cognac (brown) accents on the front seats, door panels, central console and instrument panel. Ford’s Sync3 system is not available on this infotainment system.





Under the bonnet, Ford offers either the 123hp, 1.5-litre petrol or the 100hp, 1.5-litre diesel engine option. The Thunder does not get an automatic option or the 125hp, 1.0-litre EcoBoost turbo-petrol motor.

Source

[TusharK]

Ford has launched the updated EcoSport with prices starting at Rs. 7.69 lakh. Ford has also introduced the EcoSport Thunder Edition, which is priced at Rs. 10.18 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).



The 2019 EcoSport gets dual-tone interiors with beige upholstery. It comes with an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with SYNC3 and Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity. Other features include HID headlamps with daytime running lights, rain-sensing wipers, engine start/stop button and tyre pressure monitoring system among others.



The EcoSport Thunder Edition gets dark inserts on the headlamp cluster and black fog lamp bezels. It has a black grille and black ORVMs, dual-tone bonnet and decals on the doors. The SUV rides on 17-inch alloy wheels.



The Thunder Edition comes with dual-tone interiors with cognac coloured accents on the door trims and front seats. It comes equipped with a 9-inch touchscreen infotainment system, electric sunroof and a 3-spoke, multi-function steering wheel.



The 2019 EcoSport is available with the same set of engines as the previous model. These include a 1.5-litre, 3-cylinder, naturally-aspirated petrol engine that produces 121 BHP @ 6,500 rpm and 150 Nm of torque @ 4,500 rpm, a 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder diesel engine with 99 BHP @ 3,750 rpm and 205 Nm of torque @ 1,750-3,250 rpm and a 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder EcoBoost engine that puts out 123 BHP @ 6,000 rpm and 170 Nm of peak torque @ 1,500-4,500 rpm. Transmission options include a 5-speed manual, 6-speed manual and 6-speed automatic.

The EcoSport Thunder Edition is available with the 1.5-litre petrol and diesel engines only.

Link to Team-BHP News

[SaiSW]

The front 3 quarters view is absolutely stunning. Here I was thinking the Nexon had the best road presence in the sub-4m segment. But not anymore, wow just wow. Great job on the exterior design, Ford.

But I'm guessing that 9 inch touchscreen is the slow FlyAudio one? Only if they had launched the thunder edition diesel with 6 gears, the engine tune currently in the Aspire/Figo ( more torque ) and SYNC 3, would've been a perfect package.

Here is a view from slightly higher position ( low res, couldn't find a high res copy )

[Sebring]

Still a looker! With sales flagging, will customers 'taste the thunder'? Should be interesting to watch. I personally feel they have done the barest minimum upgrade/update, and they could have done a lot more. My neighbour has booked the old Ecosport, will share this news with him!

[N33raj]

With the recent news about feature addition deletion deletion addition, which trim plan gets what features? From what I could understand, this new thunder trim does not come with Sync3. But what about the Titanium+ AT model? What features have disappeared and what have appeared? Do I get HID lights? TPMS? Any other feature from the S variant trickling down? What do I lose? Asking since am unable to obtain reliable information from my dealer.