Team-BHP - Ford EcoSport : Official Review

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Originally Posted by himanshuchadha (Post 3162525)

Hello everyone,

. I do feel bad for Honda specifically as this period was supposed to be their honeymoon. Two of my known people are cancelling their Amaze(s) for Ecosport.

Also the roof grab handles are a necessity for my dad and mom (more so in a tallish car)- so while the Titanium (O) is a VFM, its a no-go as far as I am concerned. I am also surprised to see that the grab handles haven't been given the importance in the discussion here.

Why bother feeling bad for any manufacturer? The Hondas and Suzukis and Toyotas and even VW's of the world have been pretty heavily over-pricing their products in India for absolutely ages. They have been delivering much less here than they do abroad, in terms of safety and other functionalities, focussing instead on stupid gadgets, gizmos and the ubiquitous beige interiors etc and charging premia for these as well as for cheap sticker-led limited edition jobs. And we Indians have been forgivingly and stupidly lapping their products up at pretty much whatever pricing they cared to come in with!

Let them now burn for a good long while with Ford and Renault and Mahindra's and others new entry level pricing strategies. Jai Ho the Indian Consumer - finally!

In ref grab handles I am not able to understand the lack of the same because it is not an automatic conclusion that grab handles have to go to make room for side/ roof curtain airbags. I state this because my Yeti offers side / roof curtain airbags and has four lovely spring loaded grab handles too, one above each of its four passenger doors.

Some helpful views on the EcoBoost engine, but by what fellow members are posting here, it seems to me that the turbocharged 1 ltr engine isn't delivering on either good mileage nor great power. While the bhp figures are impressive on paper, real world performance is not adequate??

Wondering then that this engine doesn't provide much else. This was the engine of choice for me, but initial views are not comforting.. Looking forward to more EcoBoost experiences to be shared here.

I checked out the car yesterday and was not surprised about the size. I'd already estimated how tall or short it was going to be. But that rear bench is not wide enough to comfortably seat even 3 mid-sized adults. This is a honest feedback and not any biased outlook. But I found the leg space and under thigh support to be very good. Somone who is 5"10 can easily sit behind a 6 footer without any worries.

Ideal car (interior space-wise) for anyone with a family of 4 adults and 1 kid.. Hope to drive the car next weekend; just too crowded this week.

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Originally Posted by vasanthn21 (Post 3162489)

Anyone has any idea of the mileage of the AT variant?

And why are "EBA + ESC + TCS" available only in AT? Why not in Titanium (O)?

I do not understand this as well. Why are these features restricted only to Titanium variant of the AT?

Funnily, the EcoSport brochure shows that the 4 speakers are not available on the Titanium option variant (only shows 2 tweeters available). :D

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Originally Posted by rlvl (Post 3162597)

The armrest will fall out of the rear seat and it will have the provision of a cupholder in it..

Wouldn't this need to be factory fitted? Has anyone seen this installed on any Ecosport? Since the ES is anyway a 4 seater, I'd much rather have an armrest on that middle seat than waste that much space.

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Originally Posted by S@ndy (Post 3162154)

One major query I have is that when I went to book the Ambiente variant of the Ecosport, they asked me to plonk in another 30,000 (Excluding the on-road price, Amritsar) for the optional and compulsary accessories. Although I've booked the Ambiente variant but still they said t'was mandatory to buy those accessories (Either before delivery or after delivery)and didn't mentioned what the accessories were saying that they themselves weren't aware of them! Please guide anyone!

Another clear case of a Ford Dealer misusing the interest and high number of bookings generated by the EcoSport. We don't see Maruti and Hyundai Dealers reacting in this manner inspite of longer lead times for their various vehicles at different times over the years.

Ford needs to pull up these dealers and inform them that those who try such treats will be treated with lower priority for delivery. That alone would bring them back to track.

It seems most dealers are adopting such mal practices and we will need to keep point out here and on various sites.

In anycase many of the buyers will opt for a lot of accessories and they are anyway priced high with a fair bit of margin for the dealer. Pushing for it in this manner is their loss.

Believe it or not these are the waiting period propagated to the sales representatives this morning in metro ford Bangalore

Ecoboost 360 Days+
Petrol AT 360 days+
Petrol 180 Days+
Diesel 180 Days+

I wanted to change my pre-booking variant from trend to titanium and was put back by the 6-8 months wait warning, as my change will be treated as a fresh booking.

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Originally Posted by dchax (Post 3162521)

Just wanted to share my experience with the dealer - Planet Ford, Bibvewadi, Pune:
Sales team was warm... not gushingly so, but pleasantly enough. We could sense their own excitement at having this car to sell!
TD took 20 minutes to come to turn, but the dealer person accompanying us guided me on a longer route on one of Pune's many hills, which was greatly welcome, The dealer said he preferred us feeding insurance from them, but that I could get my own if desired. The accessory pack was also optional as was the additional warranty. This was a pleasant, positive surprise compared to the fleecing I read through these blogs. Even the insurance pricing seemed believable, although I so intend to take it separately from my trusted Tata AiG.
Delivery period was vaguely mentioned as 2 months, but the sales manager said that he could probably get it earlier... which he can only confirm after this initial exhuberence period. .. namely, after Monday.
I negotiated on the basic accessory pack and said i wanted that price waived off. He said he'd look into it, but could not promise anything. (I told him I was a TeamBhp-ian, and he was also, so he was aware of how aware I was on dealer margins). I think I'll manage that discount in the end! :)

I do doubt the Discount bit happening. But for sure this Dealer "Planet Ford Pune" needs to be highlighted as he seems to stand out as a rare breed clap:who believes in doing clean business. clap:Would encourage more people to mention dealers who have been clean and professional as far as the booking process and pricing is concerned.

My second post in the thread-of-the-season. My interest in the EcoBoost is waning by the post and in all probability, I'll make that partly-non-refundable booking towards the Titanium Diesel (OTR Cauvery - 10,80,000/-).

The SA I've been in touch from Cauvery Ford admitted that I'd have to wait 3-4 months for delivery as they'd already garnered the first batch of 300 bookings over the last couple of days. A further delay of one or two days may not make a big difference anymore.

I finally dust Renault from my mind, while wishing Honda would bring back a renewed Jazz with a diesel mill plonked - before I change my mind i.e. ;)

Excellent review!
Much like a 1-Room kitchen set came to be known as a “House”, we now have sub 4-metre SUVs these days! The idea of SUVs in early days was Sierra, then came Safari not to forget Endeavor and then came Japs…with their Fortuners and Pajeros…of course Land Rovers were there at the top, wonder how economics changeth the idea of SUV, top trim looks so good, especially the space storage tit bits, loved that small hook next to boot lamp. Finally with so much of activity in the 6-10 Lacs(OTR) segment , I wonder who wins I guess the one who handles its production capacity related issues well!! Unlike Honda which seems to have lost lot of steam (due to its production issues) where it could have made a substantial kill!!

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Originally Posted by shankar.balan (Post 3162543)

Let them now burn for a good long while with Ford and Renault and Mahindra's and others new entry level pricing strategies. Jai Ho the Indian Consumer - finally!

In ref grab handles I am not able to understand the lack of the same because it is not an automatic conclusion that grab handles have to go to make room for side/ roof curtain airbags. I state this because my Yeti offers side / roof curtain airbags and has four lovely spring loaded grab handles too, one above each of its four passenger doors.

Yep The Laura and Aria with side curtain Airbags do have grab handles located on the roof but it is still quite conceivable that the ford design does not permit this (possibly due to their own design reasons and the positioning of the airbags.)

agree:Yes the one good bit from this EcoSport pricing will likely be the relook at pricing and VFM parameters by all the other manufacturers. They need to be applauded for that alone. clap: That said the Duster pricing post revisions is not exactly neat. Even the XUV500 has gone northward in time.

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Originally Posted by sharninder (Post 3162608)

I doubt its going to be a proper rear seat armrest (never mind the cup holder) for the price they're asking for it (rupees 1100), but if it is going to be one, I also subscribe to the thought that it is a useful accessory for this 4 seater.

If someone sees this accessory, please share details and/or a photo. Thanks.

So its now Ford's turn to make the killing is it? The car companies may be Professional but the Dealers are definitely not! I just called up a few Ford dealers in Bangalore and was totally put-off by their Attitude. Ridiculous. I was reminded of the ways the VW dealerships were acting during their early days.

But anyways, I have decided to let the dust settle a bit. I am also not in the habit of waiting for long periods. I am sure a few months down the line (or when there is a new launch) it will be back to the normal ways for the dealers. Discounts would rule then!

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Originally Posted by sunilg33 (Post 3162636)

Yep, thats what I was told. Just ridiculous to say the least. I am now thinking of getting a polo Tsi or wait a bit for the fiat punto t-jet (if there is a plan to launch one).

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Originally Posted by ACM (Post 3162628)

This is because Ford Dealers have never been used to such high demand for there cars and now they are clueless on how to handle this rush. They are using this generate more profit for the dealership, they don't care about customer experience or Ford brand etc...