Team-BHP - Ford EcoSport : Official Review

Quote:

Originally Posted by k_ajay (Post 3185370)

Well, not definitely in all cases. From the early adopters of XUV500, a lot of them have been doing everything but enjoy their vehicles.

Mate that is the most desperate comparison ! :Frustrati XUV was a India first, global vehicle and Mahindra, an Indian company was developing their first break out global product.

Ford on the other hand is company who has brought out many brilliant products and brands and is now aligning their portfolio towards 'One Ford Mission' is a company which keeps the basic product untouched and altering it as per the local market requirement. They are in two different stratas

To compare them and say as XUV was like this EcoSport too will be like this, is too narrow minded.

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Originally Posted by CARDEEP (Post 3185492)

It seems that the thread is going :OT just the introductory price.

Let me try change the direction in which the wind is blowing. A business acquaintance of my banker bro bought a EcoSport from the first lot, & coincidentally sold off his old Duster. As per him, who has put up sufficient miles on the EcoSport as well, it is a better handler at higher speeds (read 100+ kmph) as compared to the Duster... despite the lighter steering on a Ford.

Congrats to your brother...

Quote:

Originally Posted by shivasuma (Post 3185456)

Well, even the fabia had problems and major ones. The 1.4 engine which they had to stop. And the 1.4 diesel isn't exactly refined. So yours is also an incorrect statement. And the current one, the less said about the 3 -pot engine, the better. Yes, the quality of interiors might be better but as a whole even the fabia has had its problems.

I'm not aware of any major problems on the Fabia where an owner needs to be concerned, but I'll be happy to learn. In Bangalore, between 7 known Skoda Fabias built between early 2008 to the 1.6 Petrol (also including 1.4 MPI, 1.2 HTP and 1.4 TDI) there have been NO issues (all owners are a part of a small Fabia club and are also members on this forum).

I didn't know we were referring to 'engine capability' under quality but since you've mentioned, I'll take it forward. The 1.4 engine was indeed stopped because of Skoda's concerns of the engine managing fuel quality available here. But I'm not sure why that had to be done, because my unit is running perfectly to date with regular 91 ron unleaded petrol (what was recommended in 95 Ron). I'm also aware of 1.4 petrol owners who had their car exachanged by Skoda (one friend I know did so because of the very poor low end grunt on 1st gear). But did this engine suffer from a 'quality' issue, I don't know so.

Comparatively, everyone knows how 'wheezy' the 1.2 80bhp petrol engine is on the i20. My manager in a previous employment bought one and cried everytime he did a B'lore-Chennai run. He said numerous times that he literally stood on the accelerator but the car wouldn't move. Ultimately he sold it and bought a Honda city. (I know that the 'performance' of an engine is different from the engine's build 'quality' but this point is purely to point that out as as a response to the engine debate)

The 1.4 TDI isn't refined, sure. But does that mean it lacks quality? Ask the 1.4 TDI owners in this forum how their quality experience has been and you'll know. Compare that to any i20 ownership threads plagued with numerous steering issues, bouncy suspension and lifeless steering and anyone can deduce which is a better overall 'quality' product.

So coming back, I maintain my stand that the statement made about i20 being a benchmark quality product (by which other cars could be measured against) is indeed incorrect.

I may be wrong here (so anyone can correct as applicable), but I like the i20 for that fact that they were the first manufacturer to bring 6 airbags into a hatchback.

Quote:

Originally Posted by johannskaria (Post 3185532)

In my post, I never mentioned EcoSport will also be like the XUV 5OO, so you need to read more carefully. No one here is desperate, so no need to blindly defend a product. The reference to the XUV 5OO issues was to counter your comment, 'be an early bird and enjoy life'. It's just not XUV 5OO that has had initial issues but lots of manufacturers have had initial issues in their product(s) (and the data in this forum is available to substantiate that statement). To turn a blind eye to this fact, is your choice. Tomorrow should to Ford's horror the EcoSport start having issues, it won't be me that fell flat on my face, for my comment.

And calling someone's comment narrow minded when you don't know the person, is rude. Especially when you've misunderstood my point. So I'm going to ask you to reconsider such words before you use it again.

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Originally Posted by saisrujan (Post 3185278)

My conclusion is this. The insane 5.6 lac price-tag is just to get eyeballs and footfalls. The bare-bones car is not something you should buy, nor Ford should sell. When you come up the variants worth buying, the pricing isn't insane anymore. And it's too early to make any argument on quality simply because there are not enough customers and not enough incidents to warrant such an argument. I agree there's an "element of trust" one is placing on Ford when one becomes an early adopter, and maybe you cannot allow yourself to do that, and you're right in expressing your concern. But maybe you should have framed the argument around trust, not in terms of expected quality. And please stop looking at the 5.6 lac variant. It's simply not worth buying.

While i am kicking myself that i booked the Ambient version in haste, i still tend to disagree to your statement. Having driven Swift / i20 and now Santro (all without ABS/Airbags) in the City considering the distance/traffic, I have never missed these features in my earlier cars. For highways we of course have cars with all the bells/whistles but we never use the city cars for long distance travel. I would have bought the trend even if they offered the airbag only for the driver. I didn't cos because I felt the 1.2 lakh difference was not justifiable for Trend at that point of time and 2.5 lakhs for the Titanium (I bought a new santro less than 9 months back). Its another matter now that i think I should have booked the Trend.

So depending on the driving style of the person / usage / budget, I still think it might still suit some people. To me the Ford Ambient version is still safer than the Swift/i-20/Santro which I have been driving for the last 7 years & it still gives me a kick of upgrading my ride without a substantial higher investment.

Can we say people who booked Titanium should have booked the Titanium(Option) since the difference is very less (or) why did people buy the top version of Duster instead of the Yeti?

Buying a car is an emotional decision & sometimes depending on their needs/circumstances people decide with the heart & not the head (like a love marriage :D ).

Quote:

Originally Posted by ask4gautam (Post 3182289)

Hi !

I have written a mail to FORD INDIA regarding this and got a call from them today. They said that the dealer should have informed me the OFFICIAL booking number at the least and they will take up the matter with RIDDHI FORD. I Strongly suggest that you send a mail as well about RIDDHI FORD so that the matter is taken up strongly. Email id is : custmail@ford.com (Ford India) and asm@riddhiford.in (Mr.Nitin Kalra - Asst Manager Riddhi Ford)

Thanks. I also booked a Ford Ecosport at Riddhi Ford on 29th June 2013. Talked to the SA so many times but still do not have the booking number. Thanks for your email of the Sales Manager. I will not aggressively follow up with them for a Booking number. Till date they have mentioned that they have a "secret" file number which they cannot disclose. Will now make sure they provide me the booking number. Thanks for sharing this information. Thanks - Harpreet

Quote:

Originally Posted by diksh (Post 3185616)

Hi Saisrujan,

Although ABS is necessary these days but a lot depends on your driving skills also. Bolero is no. 1 in the SUV segment and it does not have ABS. Still you can see lot of these being driven on each type of terrain.

So booking and Ambiant model doesn't make anybody insane.

See I get where you are going with the above statement but know this, No safety is ever required if one was 100% attentive and in the know of every variable in his path. Simply put no human being however intelligent or in tune with the physical mechanics of his car can ever achieve that kind of control.

You say driving skills can negate ABS, let me put this up for you, you are driving at 90 kmph (India's legal Speed limit) on say the GT Road and suddenly a buffalo comes charging from the side. The angle of approach of the animal is such that your reaction time is greatly reduced, you are driving an SUV with a high Center of Gravity, so obviously you can not swerve or you risk toppling, so only recourse is hitting the brakes. Without ABS my friend the above can be very very difficult. I am not considering the net load of your car or if there is any friction reducers on the road or the age of the tires, if I put the above in the equation then :Shockked: , so yeah lack of ABS does not make you insane but it does make life that much more risky.

The Bolero selling is no metric to define any Urban car in India today. That way the Auto rickshaws are selling by the millions and I doubt they have any safety whatsoever.

Importance of Safety is realised when the worst happens, Please do not let you or your family ever see that scenario.

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Originally Posted by aquarian1502 (Post 3185175)

Sorry my earlier post got truncated, my stupidity to hit the submit button too early. I have booked the Ecosport Titanium 1.5 Diesel on 13th July at Lethangi ford, Bangalore and the SA told me a couple days later that my booking No is 502:Shockked: ? He also said already 120 of them have been dispatched and this means that my waiting number now is 382. Should I believe this ? Is there any other waiting list number that I should be getting ? Those who have booked at Lethangi, can you please advice ?

I had prebooked Petrol A/T at Lathangi. Yesterday had some time and visited them to check on the status. They have no clue on the availability of A/T either for test drive or for delivery.

Saw couple of Mars Red vehicles ready for delivery. I think the color does justice to the design cues of ecosport. They would have delivery quite a number on weekend assuming that i was there for 20 min and the delivery was over and done by the time i left.

Regarding the booking number, did not get a complete transparent answer. I am thinking of writing to Ford and confirming the status.

Cheers.

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Originally Posted by eq24 (Post 3185764)

You say driving skills can negate ABS, let me put this up for you, you are driving at 90 kmph (India's legal Speed limit) on say the GT Road and suddenly a buffalo comes charging from the side. The angle of approach of the animal is such that your reaction time is greatly reduced, you are driving an SUV with a high Center of Gravity, so obviously you can not swerve or you risk toppling, so only recourse is hitting the brakes. Without ABS my friend the above can be very very difficult. I am not considering the net load of your car or if there is any friction reducers on the road or the age of the tires, if I put the above in the equation then :Shockked: , so yeah lack of ABS does not make you insane but it does make life that much more risky.

The Bolero selling is no metric to define any Urban car in India today. That way the Auto rickshaws are selling by the millions and I doubt they have any safety whatsoever.

I agree with eq24 may be in one or two cases with our skill we will be able to take control of the situation
just imagine in a city like bangalore when one is traveling at 10PM after the long day of work if we approach similar situation as said above we stick to basics and jump on brakes. Any sedate or experienced driver will face this once or twice in his life, hence spending a few extra bucks is safer for you and your family. With all the skills we posses if we are able to use them in not making others life difficult on road I think we can contribute a lot.
I strongly Urge SIAM to make at least ABS and Driver's side airbag mandatory in the upcoming Emission upgrade BS5 for all cars along with low emissions of co2 content.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ask4gautam (Post 3185881)

In total contrast to the above response, I've got lousy responses from Ford as well. I've been asking Ford & the Dealer only one question:

"What is my sequence / wait list number and what is the expected delivery timeline?"

To this the responses I'm getting are
Ford Response: "Sorry, we have no info, you have to contact the dealer" When I tell them that the Dealer is not responding, Ford pleads helplessness!":Frustrati

Dealer Response: "Sir, the Deliveries have been stopped, we've hardly got any vehicles. We informed you before itself that it will take a MINIMUM of 3 months!"

I had pre-booked on June 17th confirming both colour (sea-grey) and variant (Titanium) even before launch. Yet, right since 17th June to 21st July the delivery timeline is being quoted as '3 more months!":Shockked:

Is there someone from Ford on this forum who can look into the same?

Shall be grateful. Had booked @ a dealership in Hyderabad.