Team-BHP - Ford EcoSport : Official Review

Quote:

Originally Posted by sansvk (Post 3198385)

I wouldn't like to comment on specific topples or numbers until more concrete info is available. But surely people switching cars should show more restraint at high speeds because it does take some time to get used to characteristics of a new car. Based on my 3-4 test drives of the Ecosport I would never throw it into a high speed corner the way I do with the Figo.

We say this about an EcoSport. I do not recall hearing something similar when say for example the Duster was launched. Yes, dynamic & stability characteristics of cars change and new drivers must drive on the side of caution, but that by no means justifies toppling incidents should they be true at all. The responsibility lies with the manufacturer to make their calls relatively 'Fool Proof'. I recall during the journalists drive in Goa, though there was a toppling incident, it was due to the car hitting an island or road side wall. Most of the motoring journo's there were pretty spirited drivers and there was no such complain. So I am very surprised by this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NevGin (Post 3198596)

The Scorpio, the Safari and all those old gen SUV's also have a propensity to topple on account of their high set stance, high GC, high CG etc.
Anyone who tries to drive one of those vehicles at high speeds around corners is asking for trouble.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mac_guy555 (Post 3198545)

I think someone needs to teach these people some manners and ethics after they get uncanny number of bookings they've never seen.
I am totally disgusted with this experience from Cargo Ford and I hope they learn a lesson or two!!!

Hold on till another competitor launches a sub 4 metre SUV (as they call it) in the market.
Anyways these Ford guys never had to work so much with the earlier product launches. They might be even cursing Ecosport for making them work hard at the same salary :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by shankar.balan (Post 3198606)

I agree 100% on the cars you just mentioned. Dynamics of a vehicle with high CG however can be controlled. The science of springing the car with the best setup of struts and coil spring combination becomes very important. I dare say that perhaps in the case of the EcoSport it my be inadequate. Perhaps if Peter Chacko took one and gave it some Eibach and Bilsetins, I wonder if this could all change.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NevGin (Post 3198596)

Agree with you, the topple by journalists was actually caused by hitting a median and then a truck or something like that. I am not sure of the other incident.Apart from these two, all rest are just rumours as no proof is available.

Coming to Duster, i have posted a pic in this thread showing a toppled Demo vehicle(Duster- KA registered).

Also Duster apart the other SUV's like Scorpio,Safari and even Fortuner have reported incidents of topple.

Any Vehicle that is tall,high GC is supposed to be driven like an SUV. Forget the above mentioned cars, i guess even the SUV from the likes of Merc,BMW would topple if driven like a sedan/hatch.

Quote:

Originally Posted by shankar.balan (Post 3198465)

Sorry Thoma I did not understand the question completely. Which vehicles specifically are we talking about here?

What I meant is - new drivers or relatively less experienced drivers who make a sudden shift from one type of vehicle to another, completely different type, do not generally bother to acquaint themselves with the new vehicle's characteristics and design and applications and hence, face trouble.

Since we are on the Ecosport thread, vehicle B is definitely the Ecosport. The other can be any vehicle which are used for similar application, nothing specific in my mind. I do not want to take it as an Ecosport bashing post, but I got a genuine logical doubt I believe.

I completely got your point and partially agree to it. But I do not know how better I can put my question. May be I'll try once more.

Isn't this 'new drivers or relatively less experienced drivers who do not generally bother to acquaint themselves with the new vehicle's characteristics and design and applications' condition common to any new vehicle to which they shift to? I am asking why the Scorpios/Innovas/Dusters did not topple in such numbers, under the same situation (the situation - drivers being 'new drivers or relatively less experienced drivers who do not generally bother to acquaint themselves with the new vehicle's characteristics and design and applications'), compared to Ecosport?

Quote:

Originally Posted by thoma (Post 3198631)

Since we are on the Ecosport thread, vehicle B is definitely the Ecosport. The other can be any vehicle which are used for similar application, nothing specific in my mind. I do not want to take it as an Ecosport bashing post, but I got a genuine logical doubt I believe.

I completely got your point and partially agree to it. But I do not know how better I can put my question. May be I'll try once more.

Isn't this 'new drivers or relatively less experienced drivers who do not generally bother to acquaint themselves with the new vehicle's characteristics and design and applications' condition common to any new vehicle to which they shift to? I am asking why the Scorpios/Innovas/Dusters did not topple in such numbers, under the same situation (the situation - drivers being 'new drivers or relatively less experienced drivers who do not generally bother to acquaint themselves with the new vehicle's characteristics and design and applications'), compared to Ecosport?

My surmise is that the EcoSport is far more car like, smaller and perhaps people just consider it to be a large hatch. And then the said drivers try and drive it like they would, a lower slung vehicle.
The other vehicles that you mention are actually significantly larger than the EcoSport and when they have such a tangibly higher CG, common sense probably takes over and removes some of the over confidence that the said drivers may have, causing them to handle these bigger vehicles with more care.
Of course, one cannot discount the fact that bad driving, higher speeds and other circumstances could also have contributed to the two or three cases of EcoSports toppling.

Interesting video i found on Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEMC1Zi5TCg .
There are some interesting sections which demonstrates off roading(not serious one though) capabilites of Ecosport.
The most interesting part however is at some 2:00 of the video, a 4WD ECOSPORT!! yes its 4WD Ecosport 2.0 version. Not sure if its just stickering job or actual 4WD though. But this ain't Indian version for sure.

Also one more interesting thing is somehwhere at 4:00 which demonstrates the water wading capability of Ecosport. If i can do that i would definitely not call Ecosport a hatch on steroids.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PrideRed (Post 3198695)

Interesting video i found on Youtube -
Also one more interesting thing is somehwhere at 4:00 which demonstrates the water wading capability of Ecosport. If i can do that i would definitely not call Ecosport a hatch on steroids.

That was a nice find. Both the cars in the video look like the 4WD version with a 2.0 L Engine. I dont think we'll ever see the 4WD versions in India though.

As far as I can assume, our Ecosports, though built tough, would not be suitable for so much of water wading or such high speed off-roading, since the engines are completely different and the dynamics would be much different. Even though they would prove as good as this, I would never want to try doing something like that or even close to that. With so many rumors of topples, driving this car as sane as possible would be the best way to avoid any unforeseen circumstances which would be regretful later.

But for once though, I'd like to see our Indian Ecosport perform this good, to fill my heart with pride. lol:
That way, we'll know the capability of our machine. :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by saisrujan (Post 3197974)

This is hilarious. Do we really want the Government to step in and order compensation to consumers for delayed delivery? Considering how the auto-industry is doing now-a-days, will this decision revive this sector to spur economical growth, or ensure safety on the roads, or reduce emissions to ensure a greener tomorrow? Would that help increase exports or drive foreign investments, which are very necessary to stabilize the currency? Where should Government's priorities be?

My argument is simple. When there is local demand, that should be satiated first.This would be a benefit to the indian tax-payer Only when this local demand is saturated, they should be allowed to export.

Who would protect our interest if ford decided that only 10% of production is for india and rest all would be imported.

Quote:

Originally Posted by scopriobharath (Post 3198764)

That's ford's prerogative. What would you say to guys like Nissan who export 80 percent of their total production.

Also, then would the government also compensate for slow sales in India? Not to be rude or to offend but your suggestion harks back to the days when the government decided how many cars would be produced and by whom. We all know how that went.

Quote:

Originally Posted by shankar.balan (Post 3198660)

EcoSport is far more car like, smaller and perhaps people just consider it to be a large hatch. And then the said drivers try and drive it like they would, a lower slung vehicle.

Got your point but really don't agree with it personally. If it was me, I would have handled the Ecosport extra carefully as it does not impart that squatting feeling. If the Ecosport is misleading drivers to drive it as a low slung vehicle, then I see it also as a mistake of the Ecosport than the driver? Not that the driver do not have any mistake.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ecosport rules (Post 3198805)

Hey guys,

Good news to all of you who are worried about engine sump hits.We just finished fabricating a metal engine guard, its easy and can be made in any city.

I found this to be a permanent solution to under engine hits.clap:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...d-india-6.html

Can you tell us what is the weight of the sump guard you fabricated with 1.5 mm sheet?

Quote:

Originally Posted by sridhar-v (Post 3198841)

A couple of days ago there was an incident of a large SUV toppling in Pune. From the photo I could surmise it was a Pajero Sport. Now to topple that on a crowded main road would really require some negative skill!!. In all likelihoods some newbie rich kid going pedal to the floor right after graduating from a pram!

On the toppling issue my personal feeling is it is the driver who is to be blamed. Being in a job I have access to all kind of vehicles from truck to suv to earth movers . Every vehicle is made or rather designed with a purpose and particular role and so the vehicle dynamics vary accordingly, it is the man behind the steering who has to understand it and handle it accordingly.