Team-BHP - Ford EcoSport : Official Review

I am not sure if this long waiting period is a part of a planned strategy. Ford took their own sweet time (to launch the car) in the name of localization, ample production to deal with the demand etc.

Watch this interview with Mr. Joginder Singh, Ford India’s President & Managing Director. He says (around timeline 2:30) the Ecosport is a transformational product for Ford India, and the factory is ready to meet the high demand and they are capable to align the production accordingly. Now if the waiting period quoted is in the lines of 360 days, it could be either that Ford has got all their metrics wrong, or they are actually holding up dealer deliveries to create an initial euphoria – to capitalize on the basic human nature that people always tend to join the longest queue.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vT126dUxXo

There are more than a couple of new EcoSport owners, but no initial reviews on that thread yet? Have been waiting for it for a while.

I saw Nilesh having started a thread but it has been moved to a section not accessible by myself (maybe the assembly line section?).

Could all EcoSport owners please post your intial ownership (and buying experience, if you wish) impressions on the appropriate thread which will help a few members please :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by saisrujan (Post 3173362)

Not true. I personally saw an ecoboost being delivered last weekend at Tolichowki. And if all goes well, I'll take home mine tomorrow.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ecosport rules (Post 3173584)

Dear Anumod

As Saisrujan has rightly said both Fortune ford and Mody ford have delivered ecoboost.I saw atleast three of them around

For Tolichowki, they are not having a test drive EcoBoost car, so they might have given their only one car to Customer. For Mody ford they are using the discovery campaign car for test drive, so the story could be same there as well. (I am just speculating :) )

Quote:

Originally Posted by Srinivas C (Post 3173630)

News from dealers is that in AP state they have got about 600 bookings. Likely 500 in Hyderabad and 100 in Vizag . Assuming there are 15 such big buying states, that would be 9000 units. The big cities like mumbai, bangalore, NCR, may add an extra 5000.
Another 15 smaller states may add 5000.

So about 20000 bookings so far. That would be about 3 months.

Someone working near the factory should be able to get some info from the guys at the gate.

The booking numbers as on last Friday is 21K across india. And every day each dealer is getting 10-15 bookings in Metros.

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I had given an advance cheque of rs 50,000 to SC ford in Mumbai, unluckily i was out of town when car got announced and got back a few days back. Now i went to confirm my booking but SC ford wont let me test drive the car, really high handed behavior from Ford, they are saying its a company directive. I don't want to book the car without a test drive, my running is not that much to really care between a petrol or diesel. I drove the fiesta automatic to get an idea of how the gearbox responds and found it very dim witted and downshifts take forever, i didnt expect that from a dual clutch gearbox. In any case should i just book the diesel since people are saying that the ecoboost has a lot of turbo lag and my main driving will be on the crowded streets of Mumbai

Quote:

Originally Posted by ishaanranderia (Post 3173877)

I think you should first write to Ford and get them to give the Dealership an earfull. How dare they not let you TD a vehicle after paying an advance, at that. Even casual walk-ins are allowed to TD the vehicle, so why not you?

Quote:

Originally Posted by zteg (Post 3173496)

Th roof rail is a part of accessories and it cost 10.5k all inclusive. I will put the pricelist in the evening.

Hi guys,

One word of caution before fixing roof rails

1) would you want some one to make six holes on your new cars roof!! Really:Shockked:

2) IMO it will be a perfect recipe for water leak disasters knowing the expertise of our accessory fitment guys.

3) Roof rails come in black colour from the company.

Quote:

Originally Posted by anumod (Post 3173764)

Quote:

Originally Posted by anumod (Post 3173800)

The booking numbers as on last Friday is 21K across india. And every day each dealer is getting 10-15 bookings in Metros.

Mody ford is getting mars red, white and a silver ecoboost , one each for their 3 month quota
The white titanium optional is already delivered.

The campaign car with Mody Ford cannot be delivered as it is a pre production version what we saw in malls, they will want it back for R&D.Mody has not received their ecoboost test drive vehicle

Where as Fortune ford IMO has received the ecoboost test drive vehicle and has delivered the same.

Quote:

Originally Posted by k_ajay (Post 3173746)

Dear Ajay,

Can you please help me find that thread, I will give my review also as there is lots to write about the vehicle:)

Quote:

Originally Posted by ishaanranderia (Post 3173877)

Three times, I have test driven after booking the car, and never they have shown a hint of displeasure. Always eager. And the dealer which I am talking about does not have the best of reputations. "Company directive"? I am surprised that you didn't laugh at their face.

Downshifts in DSGs are known to be slower than torque converter ATs. Only upshifts are instantaneous. For sure, downshift lag is going to be the fly in the ointment in Ecosport AT. After much deliberation, I took a TD of the diesel yet again. Honestly, I'd better live with the downshift lag than turbo lag. At every turn, every bump, you have to wait for the turbo to spool OR downshift to first gear. If you downshift, there is a jerk. I really don't understand how people drive turbo diesels. So annoying.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Naetik30 (Post 3173515)

I got a call from Lathangi Ford JP Nagar asking me when I plan to book the car. This was a surprise. When I did the test drive 10 days back, I had a feeling the dealer is just going to act aloof and will not be bothered to check back on potential customers.

But I told the lady politely that I am not interested to book if the waiting period is 6 months. She was like - 'Sir if you book now waiting period is 6 months and if u book later it will take even longer'. I said - 'Not a problem. If I need a car I need it now - not 6 months later. And not ready to put down 50k with them for nothing'.

She said will call back once the waiting period comes down and I said definitely. I think by March 2014, the waiting periods will be in weeks rather than months. And by then we will have more info on the Hyundai SUV as well. Let us see, what happens.

I love the Ecosport but this is currently a monopoly enterprise. Let the competition catch up. I will wait.

Well said, there is no need for desperation especially when YOU are paying the money.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Naetik30 (Post 3173515)

I got a call from Lathangi Ford JP Nagar asking me when I plan to book the car. This was a surprise. When I did the test drive 10 days back, I had a feeling the dealer is just going to act aloof and will not be bothered to check back on potential customers.

But I told the lady politely that I am not interested to book if the waiting period is 6 months. She was like - 'Sir if you book now waiting period is 6 months and if u book later it will take even longer'. I said - 'Not a problem. If I need a car I need it now - not 6 months later. And not ready to put down 50k with them for nothing'.

She said will call back once the waiting period comes down and I said definitely. I think by March 2014, the waiting periods will be in weeks rather than months. And by then we will have more info on the Hyundai SUV as well. Let us see, what happens.

I love the Ecosport but this is currently a monopoly enterprise. Let the competition catch up. I will wait.

Thats the right way to go.

In my case, I usually prefer buying a car 3 months post its launch just to ensure that most of the teething problems would have been rectified and there is not long waiting period.

Also by then you have feedback from owners which is more valuable than going through reviews. September is when I am planning to book my EcoSport provided Ford does not increase its price.

Given the space constraints at the rear, I am now also considering waiting till Feb 2014 by when Honda Jazz will be launched in India. It will be more spacious, loaded with features and come at a price point below EcoSport.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ecosport rules (Post 3173916)

Dear Ajay,

Can you please help me find that thread, I will give my review also as there is lots to write about the vehicle:)

Hi EcoSport rules,

If you were referring to the assembly line section, then here it is -> http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/assembly-line/. If it's the first time your visiting the section, then a read through of the rules for the section might be worth before starting an ownership thread.

Nilesh's thread, as I mentioned, is currently not accessible. Probably only he (or any moderator) can share why, but my guess is that he might have started his initial ownership thread directly in that section of the reviews forum without starting it in the assembly line section, which is the current requirement for starting an ownership thread.

Hope this helps.

Congrats on your vehicle. Could I request you to post the photos of some accessories, that aren't clear now, by taking them on a better camera? I saw you mentioned the digital cam's pictures are bigger in size. You can compress/re-size them using a simple tool such as Picasa, etc.. Cheers. :)

I had booked a titanium Diesel Ecosport last week. I got a very good offer on the Rapid and hence I will be heading to Metro Ford tomorrow to cancel my booking. I am actually very happy that I am cancelling the Ecosport (never was in favor of booking it because of the waiting period, booked it because wife wanted it). I will try to get the entire amount refunded. Ford has lost one customer because of the waiting period.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ecosport rules (Post 3173916)

I was saying that Mody ford might have delivered their allotted test drive car to customer as they have the discovery car for test drive.

I just verified with Fortune Ford, they are going to do the first delivery of EcoBoost tomorrow. They got the test drive vehicle as well and they are using it now. They have currently two cars ready for delivery. One is titanium and another is optional. (So seems like initially I got a stale info)