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-   -   Ford EcoSport SE variant dealer dispatches begin; no tailgate-mounted spare (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/233600-ford-ecosport-se-variant-dealer-dispatches-begin-no-tailgate-mounted-spare-3.html)

To be honest, its not just about the looks. A full size spare tyre will weigh around 25-30kg. That kind of weight at the extreme end would affect the characteristics of the rear shock absorbers.

So if they are going to get rid of that weight, would that make the rear seat more bouncy and stiff?

I remember I used to keep a 25 litre water drum in the boot of my maruti 800 to soften the rear ride quality in early 2000's.

Definitely a bold move by Ford India, given the fact that the tailgate mounted spare wheel was one of the most important factor differentiating the EcoSport from it's competitors. This is how you give sort of a minor facelift (tail-lift to be precise lol:) while saving on the cash.

The looks are subjective but I feel without the tailgate mounted spare wheel, the EcoSport makes for the best looking rear profile in the segment. The way EcoSport's rear profile justifies it's compact SUV stance is quite upto the mark.
If they provide an optional tailgate mounted spare wheel at a nominal cost to those customers, they can attract more potential buyers to the showrooms.

Overall, a smart move by Ford India.

Piyush

I personally didn't find much difference and I didn't like the chrome strip at the back. If they are removing the spare wheel, it would be better if they change the boot opening mechanism and make it vertical opening like other cars of the segment, so the boot can be opened easily in tight parallel parking spaces.

My grouse is more with Ford refusing to offer a diesel automatic option at all or even the petrol automatic in the top end. I own one in the trend variant. It's an extraordinary car except for the stiff clutch and it's long travel. If they offered a diesel auto I would buy one tomorrow! That said, taking the wheel off the tail is one, but not offering a spare in the car at all is completely another. What does Ford expect me to do when I get a flat Tyre on the highway in the middle of the night?

Net net - Ecosport is their golden goose and they are slow poisoning it for years now.

Don't like the new look. EcoSport is one of the few cars which had a full size spare tyre with alloys. Why did they have to change it?

This spare wheel also helped in keeping eager bikers, autos and cars a bit away from the tailgate. I have had an incident when a biker crashed into my rear end and only damage was to the biker's headlight and none on my car.

Despite owning an Ecosport (2015 P Titanium MT) with tail-mounted sparewheel, I voted for "Both are OK".

I don't find the new look devoid of spare hideous or anything like that, though ofcourse would've preferred it to be there - it gives the car its character/mini SUV look.

What I will definitely not go for is a car without spare wheel, I'd feel paranoid to think of long'ish rides thru highways/ghats without one!
OTOH, if they shift the wheel under the trunk/beside fuel-tank like other cars in this segment and compromise on the bootspace, I won't go for such option either.

It does look hideous without the wheel at the back but then in the UK also it never came with the tailgate-mounted wheel. I guess over time, we will get accustomed to the new look.

The only advantage that I can think of is that it would be even easier to park it into tight spaces now.

Agree but then a bent spare wheel is one of the most common sights as the bracket is already bearing the weight of the wheel and the slightest rear end hit bends it. I have seen this on multiple Ecopsorts in Delhi and mine went the same way last week when a careless Creta driver rear-ended my Ecopsort in bumper-to-bumper traffic.

So is there a spare wheel somewhere else or not?

Doesn't seem so. They seem to have omitted the spare wheel entirely. Otherwise they wouldn't bother giving the car with a puncture kit.

I am wondering if its a trial balloon to see how the Indian market will react before deciding on future SUV designs for local market.

Also, just thinking out loud here.
Long ago Maruti had launched 2 door version of the original jellybean Zen.
The reason was, they had a few extra kits of export version left which they wanted to dispose off.

Now, we all know India is one of the major/ the major manufacturing hub for the EcoSport. In several international markets, EcoSport does not come with external mounted spare wheel. So this version was always produced in India, but exclusively for export markets.

Recently Ford has withdrawn EcoSport from some markets, mainly Brazil.
Am wondering if Ford is trying to pull off a Maruti and use this to dispose off the remaining tailgates of the export version?

I find three points to mention here:
1. In ES, there is no well in boot area to keep a spare rim/alloy wheel.
2. So Ford should've given a bottom mounting setup as in Innova/Ertiga and give choice to customer to purchase a spare alloy or rim to mount in cases of emergency like tyre burst, alloy bents etc.,
3. However hard we try to repair ourselves tubeless tyre punctures, there may be mild leakages that may cause reduction in tyre recommended tyre pressure to lower levels say 15 in a week's time. (I should also keep soap water spray can for checkup). Such instances if goes unnoticed then tyre shoulder removal will happen which is dangerous. So for such cases TPMS is a must and let us see if SE variant has one in it.

Woman Horlicks marketing team has to make a new advert showing a woman can repair tubeless punctures too using an ecosport SE.

The poll results were very predictable. EcoSport is a popular car and we got used to the good-looking 5th wheel at the back.
I owned one for a good 4 years and to me the pros and cons of the rear wheel at the back are:

Pros:
1. Saves the car on minor accidents happening from cars\bikes hitting from behind
2. The Silver alloy wheel ( without the wheel cover) reflected enough light back during the highway runs to be called an auxiliary reflector lol:

Cons:
1. The tyre itself is exposed to extreme weather conditions which can mean a shorter life ( without the wheel cover)
2. A knock on the tyre would result in the bending of the tyre holder( the metal extension to which the wheel is mounted on the boot lid) and thereby the sides of the boot lid symmetrically.
3. Tinkering and Painting of the boot lid not easy due to the additional wheel mounted.

From what I recollect, all the export models of this vehicle go without the rear wheel mounted setup, so this could be the move to "Make in India sell everywhere"? Just Guessing!

Gives me an opportunity to share a picture of my beautiful 2016 TI TDCi at Sakleshpur ( KA) :)

If they had changed the name of the vehicle, it would have been ok. But Ecosport without the tailgate mounted spare wheel is not acceptable.

“Penny wise, pound foolish.”

I honestly feel that they are just trying to kill off the Ford brand.

What next? No wheels but have to be purchased as addon?:Frustrati

I atleast hope that they have a provision to store the wheel underneath, else the boot will be unusable. ( if nOt our fellow countrymen will come up with juggad kits to add wheel at the back as earlier:Cheering:)

Having owned an EcoSport for over 5 years, I register my strongest protest over this modification! For me it presents a completely character-less image now and presume that most of the customers are not bemused by this innovation by Ford.