[saket77]

I never knew that the length mentioned of Ecosport (3999 mm) is without accounting for the spare wheel. Means that with the spare wheel mounted on the rear, the length surpasses the 4m India rule! What a way to go around the rules, if indeed. I am not sure if taking off the spare wheel from rear is going to be taken very kindly by the petrol heads as the rear wheel adds to the butch looks.

I can only say "Kahin kuch to gadbad hai! Pata karo Daya, Wo spare wheel aakhir gaya to gaya kahan!" LOL!

Any chances you guys feel that this new Ecosport will see the Indian soil anytime soon? Will the Indian Govt. ask Ford to get rid of the spare wheel so as the actual & effective length of Ecosport comes under 4m?

[ajmat]

Feedback from many owners is that they find difficulty opening the side hinged tailgate in tight spaces. It could be that the entire tailgate is re-engineered with a top hinge

[zenren]

Originally Posted by saket77

I never knew that the length mentioned of Ecosport (3999 mm) is without accounting for the spare wheel. Means that with the spare wheel mounted on the rear, the length surpasses the 4m India rule! What a way to go around the rules, if indeed. I am not sure if taking off the spare wheel from rear is going to be taken very kindly by the petrol heads as the rear wheel adds to the butch looks.

I can only say "Kahin kuch to gadbad hai! Pata karo Daya, Wo spare wheel aakhir gaya to gaya kahan!" LOL!

Any chances you guys feel that this new Ecosport will see the Indian soil anytime soon? Will the Indian Govt. ask Ford to get rid of the spare wheel so as the actual & effective length of Ecosport comes under 4m?

Spare wheel can very well be provided standing inside the boot during the delivery from the factory. At least based on the initial reports during the launch period, the provision to mount the spare wheel at the back was technically an accessory which the buyer could opt for.

[hemanth.anand]

I always loved the Ecosport witht he tail mounted tyre. But that was until now.
I am loving this clean looks too. I feel its like de-badging the rear

However, I don't feel many buyers would like that. Its unlikely but maybe they will give customers both options.

Another reason I can think of is that the spare wheel has gone below the boot and has a winch to lift it. It is less tiring to replace a punctured wheel that way than lift the entire wheel.

Originally Posted by ajmat

Feedback from many owners is that they find difficulty opening the side hinged tailgate in tight spaces. It could be that the entire tailgate is re-engineered with a top hinge

Seeing the geometry of Ecosport, Opening it upwards will also require the same space isn't it?
In fact if we only have to remove a small item, then opening it sideways is better because, we can open it just a small bit and take the items out easily. When we open it upwards, we may have to bend/sit down and then take out the items.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by ajmat

Feedback from many owners is that they find difficulty opening the side hinged tailgate in tight spaces. It could be that the entire tailgate is re-engineered with a top hinge

But it looks like there is no change in the boot-release mechanism.

[Nilesh5417]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

I always loved the Ecosport witht he tail mounted tyre. But that was until now.
I am loving this clean looks too. I feel its like de-badging the rear

However, I don't feel many buyers would like that. Its unlikely but maybe they will give customers both options.

Another reason I can think of is that the spare wheel has gone below the boot and has a winch to lift it. It is less tiring to replace a punctured wheel that way than lift the entire wheel.


Seeing the geometry of Ecosport, Opening it upwards will also require the same space isn't it?
In fact if we only have to remove a small item, then opening it sideways is better because, we can open it just a small bit and take the items out easily. When we open it upwards, we may have to bend/sit down and then take out the items.

Opening it sideways on the Ecosport is anyways more functional that opening it upwards. Imagine a tight space and we are trying to lift the tail gate upwards that is getting trapped against our own body. And like you said, its pretty difficult to then bend down and get something out!

But i too always wished the Ecosport came with a clean rear. I might just get the tail gate changed. Just not sure where the spare has now been adjusted. Is the boot deeper? The rear bumper is also camouflaged so wondering if that is to hide a deeper boot and a restyled bumper.

[Reinhard]

I personally never liked the hatch mounted spare on the EcoSport. Somehow didn't look very proportionate to me, especially with it's ultra short rear overhang. Its my opinion only, but I certainly like the looks of this spy pic more than the current model. It will most certainly help in better build & longevity of the rear hatch sans the heavy wheel weight on it's hinges.

But then - the ecoSport loses its primary USP in India if this change does occur. All of a Sudden, the FIAT Aventurra will have no competition for the USP! And Ford India will have 2 hatchbacks that look pretty fresh (assuming the latest KA comes to India as the updated Figo OR as KA in addition to Figo.)

[Sommos]

Originally Posted by saket77

I never knew that the length mentioned of Ecosport (3999 mm) is without accounting for the spare wheel. Means that with the spare wheel mounted on the rear, the length surpasses the 4m India rule! What a way to go around the rules, if indeed.

The rules was like this from the very begining. The length of the car does not include the rear mounted spare wheel.

[ACM]

Would improve driving dynamics even further due to lower centre of gravity. A space saver spare can possibly be mounted below the rear.

This though would be a bad move from sales and accepted looks POV.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by saket77

I never knew that the length mentioned of Ecosport (3999 mm) is without accounting for the spare wheel. Means that with the spare wheel mounted on the rear, the length surpasses the 4m India rule! What a way to go around the rules, if indeed.

Same is the case with other cars like Mahindra Quanto and FIAT Avventura. All of them are sub-4m with the spare wheel removed.

[pgsagar]

I feel Ecosport minus spare at the back will look like a big hatchback. I wouldn't buy a wheelless-back Ecosport. The wheel at the back is the only saving grace for this tiny SUV which looks smaller than even Duster/Terrano. If Ford messes with present set-up, it would cost them dearly.

[fine69]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

TThe CMVR mandates that a spare wheel be carried in 4 wheelers. No clue how the S60 got away with that!

This is interesting, does anybody have an idea why S60 is an exception here?

On the facelift front, I don't think the sales would drop that bad. I mean we already have Duster doing so well without the spare wheel. I know I know its got a whole lot of other things going for it but I personally think that the lifted stance of Ecosport, thanks to craters on roads, is what's helping it more than anything. Of course, add to that the list of umpteen gizmos.

I think Ecosport without the sparewheel would be the best hatch (not compact SUV) for a city/town with broken roads, may be a great car for rural areas with no roads at all.

[RavenAvi]

The EcoSport facelift is scheduled to be launched in May 2015 in Europe, without it's external spare wheel. For those who are interested to have the same, it will be offered to them at no extra cost. The EcoSport's rear door will continue to remain side-hinged.

Ford Motor will offer the EcoSport SUV in Europe without the spare wheel on the outside of the rear tailgate after the SUV's sales got off to a slow start. The EcoSport has failed to make a big impact in the region’s booming subcompact SUV/crossover segment against sleeker-looking rivals such as the Renault Captur, Peugeot 2008 and Opel/Vauxhall Mokka.

When the India-built EcoSport launched in Europe last year, Ford said the vehicle’s rear design could not be changed.

Ford now says the EcoSport will be sold in Europe without the exterior spare wheel starting in May. It will be an option offered at no extra cost, a Ford spokesman said. The EcoSport’s rear door will remain side-hinged.

The SUV’s redesign will also include new interior plastics and changes to the suspension. “We want to give it a bit more Fiesta personality,” the spokesman said. The Fiesta subcompact hatchback is Ford’s No. 1 seller in Europe.

Ford sold only 11,257 EcoSports in Europe through November after launching the model in April.

SOURCE - Automotive News Europe

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

SOURCE - Automotive News Europe

The SUV’s redesign will also include new interior plastics and changes to the suspension. “We want to give it a bit more Fiesta personality,” the spokesman said.

Now that's something I'd like to see offered in India - better interior plastics (at-least on the 2 Titanium trims) and a Fiesta-like suspension.

That said, I thought the handling differences between the EcoSport and Fiesta were due to the higher CG and not suspension dynamics. Does this mean there's actually a suspension set-up difference?

Its a shame they're not applying the Fiesta's EPS calibration on the EcoSport, however.

[theexperthand]

Today morning I saw a TS registered Ecosport without spare wheel on the rear tailgate (Grey color, parked on the left side, between hoodi and prestige santhinikethan,bangalore) and well, it looked different. While I am reasonably sure that it is NOT the face-lift (the rear number plate was on the old place, not on the tail gate as seen in the spy shots), it was indeed a well executed job but sadly no pictures since I was riding.

Or did Ford silently launched the face lift in India?

Edit: It looked like this: (Same color, but with a TS number plate - not sure if it had that spaced out Ecosport emblem though)



Pic Courtesy: IAB (http://indianautosblog.com/2012/12/f...the-rear-58197)

--Anoop