[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by mtnrajdeep

If the airbags are in the seats, why does this variant loose the grab handles? In the review, it was mentioned that the reason for missing grab handles are the airbags.

The side curtain airbags are usually mounted within the sides of the seats. There are also some cars with roof mounted curtain airbags, which may deploy in case of a roll over.The sensors for the EcoSport might be located behind the grab handles but I am not sure.
However, I do not understand the need to 'lose' the grab handles at all because many cars which have side curtain air bags also have grab handles, like my Yeti. It also has a grab handle for the driver seat which many cars do not have.

[deetjohn]

This is brilliant pricing. Thank You Ford India. I guess the wait for the launch will now give way for the wait to get the car delivered. Figo had a separate thread for delivery issues, this is going to rake up even more pages.

And with this pricing, I feel the Duster wouldn't be affected that much. After all, the capacity for Duster is only about 5K. It is the premium hatchbacks and the sedans that are going to feel the heat in the shrinking market.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by thedragula

Dare I say out loud, that the pricing is not really fantastic pricing per se.
…
…
So what are we left with? Only the 1.5 Petrol. But, but..the 1.5 petrol in any event does not have a price advantage because it gets no excise reduction (calculated for the 1.5 petrol vehicle taken as a whole and which is no different from the diesel EcoSport except for the engine). So what? Let's take a hit on the 1.5 petrol and price it really low for a variant that hardly anyone would go for (except maybe someone who is really smitten by the vehicle and doesn't care for other features) to reduce the risk of losing too much money. This serves the singular purpose of proudly stating that the "EcoSport Range BEGINS from Rs. 5.6 lakhs". True, it does. But who will buy it? If you see the comparison chart and the features they have adorned it with, it is clear that no person is likely to have an innate desire to settle for the Ambiente. In fact, the distribution of features is almost as if Ford itself doesn't want you going for the Ambiente considering that they start providing decent equipment levels only from the Trend variant onwards. In fact, all the right nudges for a customer to sub-consciously veer towards the Titanium variant are all present. Ford may be thinking, "Even if a small minority buys the base 1.5 petrol Ambiente for the price alone...never mind, we will absorb the loss and make up our margins in the Diesel segment by retaining the benefits we've got from lower excise."

So, one goes to the showroom salivating at the fact that the cool new Ecosport costs really less, and ends up spending anywhere between 8-10 lakhs......smack in the middle of where Ford wants them to be.

Just for a second, imagine if the Ambiente variant was not a part of the list. The cheapest Ecosport would have started at 6.5 lakhs ex-showroom, a whole lakh more for no ground breaking feature or creature comfort. The existence of the Ambiente variant is only to associate the 'value for money' concept/idea with the Ecosport.

More than fantastic pricing, I would say its intelligent pricing. They tried to be different from the mainstream players by offering the base Fiesta with premium pricing, and features to match the top variant of some of the competition then. End result – deserted showrooms, mass cancellation of existing bookings etc.

By smartly assigning a starting price tag around the top end of Figo, they have successfully managed the first hurdle – get the customers queue up outside their showrooms. The starting price is a bait, and once the customer get hooked, s/he will end up buying the mid/top variant. Smart sales folks can easily do that conversion by a bit of pep-talk (for e.g.; a common tactic: point out the minor EMI variance between the models). This is a tried and tested formula followed by every other mainstream player. For e.g.; I doubt if even 2% of VW Vento buyers will opt for a Trendline petrol variant. But variants like that will continue to exist for market attention.

Originally Posted by thedragula

And I hope that this is not introductory pricing only to be hiked later. That would be disastrous.

I believe the pricing will go up gradually, say in a year’s time. But at now they are quite well protected when compared to the immediate competition.

Originally Posted by damager21

- My monthly running is about 500 kms so I am considering buying petrol Titanium variant

With an expected 500 kms per month, I would suggest the 1.0L Ecoboost Titanium/Titanium+. Consider the 1.5 petrol only if you are interested in the DCT gearbox.

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by mtnrajdeep

If the airbags are in the seats, why does this variant loose the grab handles? In the review, it was mentioned that the reason for missing grab handles are the airbags.

It loses grab handles because of curtain airbags. The side airbags are present in the seat while the curtain airbags are present in the roof lining. That's why

[civic-sense]

Originally Posted by thedragula

Amidst all this hoopla on Ford having pulled off a pricing coup, it appears that a few days have to pass for the dust to settle down and the early adopters to report on their experience encompassing all angles.

Whether it is priced well or not depends on how you view it. Meaning, depending on what ideology you subscribe to. If you feel that all products should be priced at cost price plus a fixed percentage of profit, then well, you are right. That is the communist way of thinking.

On the contrary, in free markets, products are priced according to the value it offers. Since diesel cars offers more value to the customers, Ford is justified in pricing it higher.

[mjumrani]

Does anyone know the On-Road Delhi price for Ecosport 1.5 Petrol and 1.0 Ecoboost, both Titanium variants?

[volkman10]

Tweets Hormazd.

One dealer in Bangalore picks up 40 Ecosports at launch day. Ford targets 6000/month, the least

Cheers!

[TorqueJuice]

Originally Posted by vb-san

More than fantastic pricing, I would say its intelligent pricing. They tried to be different from the mainstream players by offering the base Fiesta with premium pricing, and features to match the top variant of some of the competition then. End result – deserted showrooms, mass cancellation of existing bookings etc.

By smartly assigning a starting price tag around the top end of Figo, they have successfully managed the first hurdle – get the customers queue up outside their showrooms. The starting price is a bait, and once the customer get hooked, s/he will end up buying the mid/top variant. Smart sales folks can easily do that conversion by a bit of pep-talk (for e.g.; a common tactic: point out the minor EMI variance between the models). This is a tried and tested formula followed by every other mainstream player. For e.g.; I doubt if even 2% of VW Vento buyers will opt for a Trendline petrol variant. But variants like that will continue to exist for market attention.

+10 Most people who walk in to Ford dealerships with "5.59L" in mind, will end up shelling out around 8.4L on road for the base Ambiente Diesel variant. And the sales executive will convince the rest to go for the Diesel Trend variant which comes to almost 9.5L on road. And this pricing is HIGH if you consider the sub 4m length into account. You get swifts, dzires, i20's and almost every other Diesel sub 4m car (and few sedans also) well within this pricing even if you compare varinat to variant.

So the "smart" pricing doesnt really seem to be that smart

[blurust]

I congratulate Ford for their act. I mean yesterday i thought they have done themselves and customers a fantastic piece by pricing ecosport so well.
Here's the thing though, I consider myself a prospective buyer for ecosport and has been waiting for this car for a really long time and i just said no to fiat punto diesel (mind you i wanted to save money) yesterday.
what they have done is created a spiders web. I used to be confused among cars from different manufacturers trying to figure which one suits my family best and so I visited ford showroom here yesterday and fell in love with the car, not because of the jazz they provide or the styling but because it really suits my needs. I wanted good GC to tackle water flooding and bad roads and backspace (read headroom) for my dog, small family you see. Infact I wanted to book the car right there, But here's what followed after.

My running is anywhere between 800 to 1000 kms max per month, It might decrease or increase in the coming years or months I am not sure. I do not have a fixed budget for the car but wont stretch to 10 lakhs OTR .
Ecoboost titanium really fits my need and trend Diesel, which fall in my budget per se. Now Ford has given us so many variants and the pricing is so sweet that I don't know what to do ( remember spider web )
Trend diesel offers only ABS as safety and i think after getz If I am spending money I would like the airbags thrown in for a good measure.
Only deciding factor now is fuel efficiency of ecoboost and i think i should be good then. The ARAI ratings are 18.8 kmpl. How much would i get if i generally have a relaxed driving style in the city with 100% AC on. 13 ? 14 ?

Moral of the story Ford has gotten me confused in the variants on their one car.

[prady16]

Originally Posted by Murugan

...since my other options are Volkswagen Polo 1.2L GT TSI (automatic) and Hyundai i20 automatic. Any other car suggestions in this compact, automatic transmission, safe and reliable, preferably petrol (dislike the vibration and noise of the diesels) car bracket? 4 to 6 months may be too long to phase out one of our old cars.

I20 automatic feels extremely underpowered and sluggish to drive. To me that is not worth the money. Try out the new Micra AT with CVT.

[amitpunjani]

Originally Posted by thedragula

Amidst all this hoopla on Ford having pulled off a pricing coup, it appears that a few days have to pass for the dust to settle down and the early adopters to report on their experience encompassing all angles.

Dare I say out loud, that the pricing is not really fantastic pricing per se.

By launching the base model at a price of 5.6 lakhs, Ford has managed to get everyone in a frenzy. Lets take a step back....As we all know, its only the Ecoboost and the Diesel variant that get the benefit of reduced excise duties. Ideally, that means smaller cars with qualifying engines end up being cheaper to buy cars.

But passing on the benefits of the lower excise duty on the Diesel version to the customers would mean that Ford is compromising on the margins of the variant that it expected to drive a vast majority of the business by volume i.e., the Diesel.

So how does Ford convey the impression that they have indeed pulled all stops when it comes to pricing and yet ensure that they laugh their way to the bank? By pricing the non-volume seller low and ensuring that margins on the fast movers are protected.

Since the EcoBoost engine is imported, there isn't much scope for pricing it cheap and moreover, when it the "Engine of the Year" for 2 years, you don't want to price it in such a way that it loses that aspirational value or becomes mainstream. After all, you don't price cutting edge tech at the lower end when 'cutting edge' itself connotes or co-relates to 'premium'. So the EcoBoost cannot be the sacrificial lamb for dropping the pin on lowest pricing or the 'starting value' of the range.

So what are we left with? Only the 1.5 Petrol. But, but..the 1.5 petrol in any event does not have a price advantage because it gets no excise reduction (calculated for the 1.5 petrol vehicle taken as a whole and which is no different from the diesel EcoSport except for the engine). So what? Let's take a hit on the 1.5 petrol and price it really low for a variant that hardly anyone would go for (except maybe someone who is really smitten by the vehicle and doesn't care for other features) to reduce the risk of losing too much money. This serves the singular purpose of proudly stating that the "EcoSport Range BEGINS from Rs. 5.6 lakhs". True, it does. But who will buy it? If you see the comparison chart and the features they have adorned it with, it is clear that no person is likely to have an innate desire to settle for the Ambiente. In fact, the distribution of features is almost as if Ford itself doesn't want you going for the Ambiente considering that they start providing decent equipment levels only from the Trend variant onwards. In fact, all the right nudges for a customer to sub-consciously veer towards the Titanium variant are all present. Ford may be thinking, "Even if a small minority buys the base 1.5 petrol Ambiente for the price alone...never mind, we will absorb the loss and make up our margins in the Diesel segment by retaining the benefits we've got from lower excise."

So, one goes to the showroom salivating at the fact that the cool new Ecosport costs really less, and ends up spending anywhere between 8-10 lakhs......smack in the middle of where Ford wants them to be.

Just for a second, imagine if the Ambiente variant was not a part of the list. The cheapest Ecosport would have started at 6.5 lakhs ex-showroom, a whole lakh more for no ground breaking feature or creature comfort. The existence of the Ambiente variant is only to associate the 'value for money' concept/idea with the Ecosport.

Once that is done, the footfalls will happen naturally.

I don't deny that Ford has priced it well. All am saying is that it has not been priced that well either. Yes, it undercuts the Duster, but isn't that saying a lot about how Duster itself is overpriced for what it offers? Also remember, the Duster is its closest rival. That is not to say that it is a closely matched rival on the basis of function or purpose. The Duster has not been built or intended as a sub-4m pseudo SUV.

And I hope that this is not introductory pricing only to be hiked later. That would be disastrous.

Dear Friend,

I would agree with you to certain extent. But think of various costs involved when a new model is launched product planning,R&D, marketing, new assembly line, tools & dye cost etc. somewhere Ford has to earn money as well. Think of MSIL or Toyota,Hyundai selling overpriced Swift,Innnova, i20 selling age old model looting customers.

Think of it Swift Vdi costs nearly INR 7 lacs on road in Delhi. Does swift has airbag, ABS, EBD? The answer is absolutely no!

Amit

[Nilesh5417]

Originally Posted by thedragula

So, one goes to the showroom salivating at the fact that the cool new Ecosport costs really less, and ends up spending anywhere between 8-10 lakhs......smack in the middle of where Ford wants them to be.

What you probably are ignoring here is that it does seem to be a fair value of the car! For the sake of argument, forget that it starts at 5.6 lacs and pretends to be an SUV. Lets just say that the entire range is bang in between 8-10 lacs OTR. For a car that offers Fords global platform, safety features, decent space, decent mileage figures, a long feature list, tons of aspirational value and a large ego-boost, between 8-10lacs it is still perfectly priced. All the talk of the top end versions of AT, Tdci & Ecoboost being 11.5lacs OTR have been laid to rest by Ford.

They have priced the car for what its worth, the intent was never to be the cheapest or most affordable ever.

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by blurust

The ARAI ratings are 18.8 kmpl. How much would i get if i generally have a relaxed driving style in the city with 100% AC on. 13 ? 14 ?

Moral of the story Ford has gotten me confused in the variants on their one car.

I dont expect the Ecoboost to give more than 12KM/l in city. When i say city it would have heavy traffic,lot of engine on and off scenarios. The diesel should give around 13-14.
I dare not comment FE of petrol cars on highway after seeing some cars like i20 delivering 11KM/l consistently.Just my opinion, with current cars capable of doing 3 digit speeds easily i haven't till date seen a petrol car other than Maruti 800 delivering FE more than 17-18KM/l,The max i saw was 15KM/l on i10.

Again these are my predictions/observations just based on the current diesel cars i drive,the New fiesta FE and based on cars that belongs to my friends relatives.

If your running is less than 900-1000KM per month Ecoboost is still the one to go for.

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

Congrats coolboy007, hope you get it soon! What is the final OTR price? Did you get the Delhi OTR pricelist from the dealer?

Originally Posted by coolboy007

Thanks buddy, 3 months is what i was told so lets see, hope it turns up soon.
Yes i got the price list and am uploading it below. The final otr with their accessory crap and without extended warranty is 1002000, they didnt have the ext warranty price yet.
Attachment 1102866

Originally Posted by mjumrani

Does anyone know the On-Road Delhi price for Ecosport 1.5 Petrol and 1.0 Ecoboost, both Titanium variants?

coolboy007 had posted this pricelist a few pages back.

[StarScream]

Originally Posted by thedragula

Amidst all this hoopla on Ford having pulled off a pricing coup, it appears that a few days have to pass for the dust to settle down and the early adopters to report on their experience encompassing all angles.....

Originally Posted by vb-san

More than fantastic pricing, I would say its intelligent pricing. They tried to be different from the mainstream players by offering the base Fiesta with premium pricing, and features to match the top variant of some of the competition then. End result – deserted showrooms, mass cancellation of existing bookings etc.

I agree with Vb-san, you can't blame Ford for being smart. They've played the game as everybody else does - strip out safety and features and price it attractively for the starting variant. Nobody may eventually buy that version but it serves the purpose of getting the number into the general car-buying public's psyche.

And as per this post earlier - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...ml#post3160792 - I think the best deal is the 1.5l petrol version, on which Ford is probably making really thin margins. This is a rare case where diesel is subsidizing petrol!