[WindRide]

This is smart pricing by Ford.
They have captured public's imagination by offering a stylish wannabe SUV for 5.6 lacs. A variant few will buy. So a customer who pops in with the cheque book will ultimately go for a diesel or ecoboost middle to top end variant - meaning 9lacs+ spend - bang inside the duster range i must say? So what did EcoSport customer actually gain - surely not a lower costing vehicle?!!

VERY clever indeed Ford, hats off to you guys! You have managed to hoodwink the public and hide the fact that EcoSport is definitely not cheap to buy

[jkdas]

Originally Posted by floyd.bell

But my point is who asked for 3 pot/1000cc? OK, Ford may say we did this to achieve a good balance between power and FE. Power, I would say, atleast I am not impressed. FE, from the reviews of Urban Discoveries Campaign, people have claimed 8-9 kmpl when driven with heavy foot.
I mean what is the point buying a turbo-charged petrol and then driving sedately. Polo GT TSI owners have achieved FE of 12-13 kmpl even with heavy driving.

Price factor. They dont want another bomb like the Fiesta. The Punto too (once ?) has sad petrol engine, Figo too has a sad petrol engine ( some even want a powerful diesel for Figo).

We all want more stuff but for less price and with Ecosport, Ford was able to for majority of the community.

And I read that the engine is indeed a fun to drive, not sure about its FE part though. Let's see.

I also want to see the long term ownership review of the VW's since parts cost more with VW.

[nikhil_d1106]

Excellent pricing by Ford especially the 1.5lit petrol considering it will not be eligible for the concessional excise duty available on small cars. The EcoBoost being a fully imported engine was not expected to come cheap.. However, it should look good on the brochure for marketing. The Swift + Dzire should come come under further pressure coming on the back of the Amaze launch. Maruti may have to hasten the launch of XA Alfa to fight competition.

[Vishal.R]

Smart pricing. Variant structure is also sensible. Each variant is targeted to particular set of customers.

This pricing leaves a very good scope for AWD variants. IMHO 1.5 TDCI, 1.5 Petrol AT and 1.0 Ecoboost each has potential for an AWD variant.

6-8 lac INR segments is very interesting. We have almost all types of vehicle available here.

[civic-sense]

Originally Posted by floyd.bell

But my point is who asked for 3 pot/1000cc? OK, Ford may say we did this to achieve a good balance between power and FE. Power, I would say, atleast I am not impressed. FE, from the reviews of Urban Discoveries Campaign, people have claimed 8-9 kmpl when driven with heavy foot.
I mean what is the point buying a turbo-charged petrol and then driving sedately. Polo GT TSI owners have achieved FE of 12-13 kmpl even with heavy driving.

The problem with the above kind of comparisons is that, when you are biased towards one of the cars in comparison, you tend to quote the highest mileage somebody had reported for your favoured car, while you quote the lowest mileage somebody has reported for the other car.

To have a less biased comparison, it is better to compare the ARAI figures.

Volkswagen Polo GT - 17.2 kmpl
Ecosport ecoboost - 18.9 kmpl

[mkpiyengar]

Originally Posted by civic-sense

The problem with the above kind of comparisons is that, when you are biased towards one of the cars in comparison, you tend to quote the highest mileage somebody had reported for your favoured car, while you quote the lowest mileage somebody has reported for the other car.

To have a less biased comparison, it is better to compare the ARAI figures.

Volkswagen Polo GT - 17.2 kmpl
Ecosport ecoboost - 18.9 kmpl

Very true.

I've Personally clocked 13.5kmpl on my Fiat Siena 1.6 on the highways and 10.5 within City with sedate driving.

With Honda City I've achieved 14 kmpl within City and 17+ on Highway.

With Ikon TDCI I've got numbers of 19-21kmpl on Highways.

So my take is with Sedate Driving the way Ecosport-Ecoboost should give in range of 15-17kmpl and Ecosport Diesel should be similar to Ikon 19-21kmpl.

Cheers
MKP

[anachronix]

The EcoBoost was developed to get the best of both, performance and effeciency. The unique thing being a 3-Pot 3-digit CC engine could generate 3-digit BHP figures. With a heavy foot, the effecieny is going to go down anyway, I dont know if the EcoSport is targeted at the enthisiasts but its definitely targeting the mileage conscious customers with an engine that can generate more power than a 1.6L engine.

The T-Jet is a brilliant car, I think you will be happy in the Jet!

Originally Posted by floyd.bell

But my point is who asked for 3 pot/1000cc? OK, Ford may say we did this to achieve a good balance between power and FE. Power, I would say, atleast I am not impressed. FE, from the reviews of Urban Discoveries Campaign, people have claimed 8-9 kmpl when driven with heavy foot.

I am not following any of the Polo GT threads, but its a bit far fetched if someone is quoting a 12-13 kmpl after driving with a heavy foot in a AT car!

I mean what is the point buying a turbo-charged petrol and then driving sedately. Polo GT TSI owners have achieved FE of 12-13 kmpl even with heavy driving.

...and I pressed the Thanks button my mistake

[Nilesh5417]

Originally Posted by sandeep108

Ford would be quite well aware of it. It appears that Ford is not giving any margin to the dealers for the Ecosport, telling them to make up their revenue from accessories / servicing, etc. That is how they have got such low ex-showroom pricing.

Can you quote the source of this? Till that point, this remains another unsubstantiated argument.

[ajay_satpute]

Expert opinion

The much talked about and most marketed Engine, the EcoBoost 999 cc fitted on a car which is less than 4m long, costs between 9-10 lacs. WHY???

Both these factors actually allow Ford to get all the subsidy and lower tax slabs and what not. So how can they still price it so high? Its actually the 1.5 liter petrol engine which should have been priced at the EcoBoost price range, since it does fall into higher tax slab.

I remember some ruling during the last budget that all SUVs and sedan with higher GC will cost more. So is it the higher GC of EcoSport that's making it cross into the 9 lacs+ territory? Is this factor alone making it so expensive?

[thedragula]

Originally Posted by civic-sense

The problem with the above kind of comparisons is that, when you are biased towards one of the cars in comparison, you tend to quote the highest mileage somebody had reported for your favoured car, while you quote the lowest mileage somebody has reported for the other car.

To have a less biased comparison, it is better to compare the ARAI figures.

Volkswagen Polo GT - 17.2 kmpl
Ecosport ecoboost - 18.9 kmpl

The ARAI figures may only be a pointer towards what the vehicle can deliver in standard test conditions. The actual on road mileage need not necessarily tail or be in any way consistent or even proportional with the ARAI figures.

For example, my Palio GTX being a 1.6 litre engine does not give me more than 8-9 kmpl in the city....but on the highway gives me 15 kmpl. Whereas the ARAI certified mileage (from the only link I could find) is quite different.

http://www.vicky.in/car/specificatio...tile/1.6sport/

http://www.indiacar.com/roadtest/pal...lio16/fuel.htm

I think if the Polo TSI delivers better mileage than the Ecosport, it would not be surprising at all.

The Polo TSI is a relatively lighter hatch powered by a 1.2 litre turbocharged engine which is sufficient to fairly power the vehicle even before the turbo kicks in.

The Ecosport on the other hand is a heavier vehicle equipped with a 1 litre engine which, by itself, is incapable of powering the car without assistance from the turbo. Therefore, one would need to constantly keep the engine on the boil to get the Ecoboost anywhere. I imagine the Ecoboost engine to be quite tiring to drive in stop and go traffic because it is likely to be on its own (without the turbo) in such situations.

Case in point:

http://rockyroadblog.com/stupid-tech...t-engines-2244

In fact, couple of reviews from the Goa press event (including the autocar review, I think) have indicated that the onboard MID only showed them 7-8 kmpl. The others said it could deliver more, if driven with a light foot (which translates into saying, if you put up with the lag and not expect instantaneous results).

[soonya]

I used to be a great fan of Ford, especially the handling of the cars. My ownership of an Ikon diesel did it for me. In its 9 years with me I had spent more than the price of the car. That moved me to Toyota.

I was so fed up that I ensured that all the three cars in the family are from Toyota.

But I am tempted with all the buzz and reports of better service costs I might try and replace one from my stable.

[coolboy007]

Originally Posted by ajay_satpute

I remember some ruling during the last budget that all SUVs and sedan with higher GC will cost more. So is it the higher GC of EcoSport that's making it cross into the 9 lacs+ territory? Is this factor alone making it so expensive?

That is not the case, the rule implied that for a car to come under suv category it had to meet 3 criterias - engine bigger than 1.5 L, ground clearance greater than 170mm and length more than 4000mm.

Ecosport doesnt meet the 4000mm requirement so it saved itself, cars need to meet all 3 criterias or even the Punto and Linea would be termed as suv's

It seems the Ecoboost is expensive as its being imported and Ford India is paying a good amount of duty on it while the other 2 engines are being locally made + the cost of production of Ecoboost must be much higher than the 1.5 petrol.

[PatienceWins]

Originally Posted by sandeep108

Ford would be quite well aware of it. It appears that Ford is not giving any margin to the dealers for the Ecosport, telling them to make up their revenue from accessories / servicing, etc. That is how they have got such low ex-showroom pricing.

I could make out this as the service advisor did not show much interest in selling ecoboost compared to diesel.

[KPS]

Originally Posted by ajay_satpute

Expert opinion

The much talked about and most marketed Engine, the EcoBoost 999 cc fitted on a car which is less than 4m long, costs between 9-10 lacs. WHY???

I understand that the EcoBoost is a fully imported engine, there by adding to the cost. I do not think Ford expects economies of scale with the EcoBoost as the diesel should sell in higher numbers

The pricing of the models is just fantastic. Various trip levels enable a pricing point which can address a cross section of car buyers. It remains to be be seem how long they can hold on to these prices

Cheers

KPS

[S_U_N]

I think Ford needs to recover the cost of R&D for the technology with the 1lit engine. So EcoSport customers pay higher. Subsequently the engine will be used in other models/ cars and the premium factor will vanish.
So, early adopters pay high.
Yes, import duty is also another factor.