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Apologies :) I should have quoted 'turbolag'. I am aware the 1.5 petrol does not have a turbo, but @simple_car indicated that there was a lag below 1200 rpm on this engine too.

So I was enquiring if an existing owner of Ecosport 1.5 Petrol could comment on this.

Unfortunately, no Ford dealer in Mumbai seems to have an Ecosport 1.5 petrol for test drive!

No dealer anywhere seems to have a TD EcoSport 1.5P

You didn't feel the lag is perfectly understandable. I speak from my experience of owning the 1.5p and using it. It's very much manageable, more than the ecoboost.
There are no 1.5P ecosport owners on the forum as yet who have posted their reviews. But there are several owners of the 1.5P fiesta. Mine is the A/T one, but I have not put the engine characteristics on my thread. But there is another member in whose thread I had asked about the characteristics of this engine. He did confirm my suspicion. So you can search for those ownership reports and read them. I'll look up and post the members name (I don't remember right now)

Thanks,
Simple_car

From what I heard from an intern who works for Ford, the reason for not providing TD of the 1.5L petrol is to push the people to buy the 1.0L EcoBoost. And the guy told me that the strategy is working pretty well. Lot of people come to buy a regular Petrol variant and when they're not given a TD of the 1.5, they drive the 1.0 Ecoboost instead, like it and book it off listening to the "Imported Engine, Engine of the Year" stories. Since this is an imported engine, Ford wants to see success in selling this engine in the mass market in large numbers.
So for another month or so, I dont think we'll see the 1.5 Petrol for a TD.

However, after a month, when all the rush and hush comes down, they'll want to sell as many units as possible, be it whatever engine under the hood. That's when they'll bring out the 1.5 Petrol for a TD.

Lot of people who think about buying the 1.5 Petrol get :deadhorse

Actually with the EcoBoost too being Turbo Charged the maintenance cost may not really vary between the Petrol and Diesel. Actually today with modern Diesels the maintenance costs match those of Petrol vehicles if they are built well. It is more about quality so within a specific brand maintenance should not vary.

To the Best of my Knowledge: Diesel Vehicle Insurance is more simply because the cost of Diesel Variants is more. For the same priced Petrol and Diesel vehicle from the same brand the cost of Insurance will be the same. Or if a diesel vehicle owner say post the second year is ok with valuing the vehicle IDV lesser than say the normal depreciated IDV of the Petrol vehicle then infact the Insurance value for the Diesel vehicle could even be lower than that of a petrol vehicle. In short it is about the IDV. - If there is something that I am missing out here would sure like to learn.

Irrespective whatever one looses (IF) in maintenance one gains back in resale today, (though one does not know how it will be a few years down the line.

Hi @gsurya

I have driven Ford's 1.5L Diesel mill in the past & can comment that the "Turbolag" is so much manageable as compared to to Fiat's MJD (on Fiats, Marutis & Tatas), that one can easily pull out in higher gears & at lower RPMs, without knocking. The need to downshift arises only when you need to quickly overtake another vehicle, otherwise you can continue being in higher gear.

I had test driven the new Fiesta can say that the noise or vibes were non intrusive on the test drive car & the overall build quality felt good (fit as a glove :)). I have personally seen quite a few high mileage old Fiestas, & am sure this one (1.5L diesel derived from 1.4L diesel mill) will a last long with fewer problems &/ or noise/ vibes.

I suggest go for the diesel & enjoy the savings with the high gound clearance of the EcoSport.

My 2 cents:

I TD'ed both Ecoboost and TDCI as well as Fiesta 1.5 AT before booking Ecosport 1.5 AT since I needed an Automatic for Mumbai bumper-to-bumper crawly drives.

As you have correctly inferred, Ecoboost's low end tourqe is not adequate for hilly drives with 4 Adults + luggage especially if you need to brake and start from stand-still position while going up the hill and the Engine will need to be Revved to 2,000+ RPM to get it moving.

TDCI is much better and should be preferred over Ecoboost. Even as a long termer, you should not face any significant issue till at least 1 Lac km as there are many fiestas that are reaching that number and are doing just fine. As regards the Engine getting noisy, that should still be tolerable even after 5 years as the Ford TDCI Engine is quite refined. Modern diesel engines have come a long way in the last decade as far as NVH and reliability aspects are concerned.

As an Ecosport buyer, I would be more concerned of body rattles 5 years from now than the TDCI Engine chatter.

As regards 1.5P, it is more of an academic discussion at the moment and we do not know when Ford would choose to release them in significant numbers. However, in case you can wait another 2 - 3 months and you expect to drive less than 700 km per month, 1.5 P is certainly a worthwhile option. The only aspect to keep in mind is that it is evident that Ford's marketeers are hell-bent on promoting Diesels / Ecoboosts and they may just keep playing the waiting game and really test our patience.

My dealer tried hard to convert me to Fiesta AT and even offered immediate delivery of Fiesta Style AT 2012 at a cash discount of Rs 1 Lac but I refused as it was still 1 Lac more expensive than the fully loaded Ecosport 1.5AT. If only Ford understood that it needs to do something about the Fiesta pricing..It is not too late even now especially for the Fiesta AT.

Dear ACM sir,

I cannot comment on the insurance aspect, since I am no expert and I have very little understanding of the insurance industry as a whole. So, I am assuming you are right.

Now, I did a comparo of the engine maintainence of the ford 1.5P and 1.5D (only with respect to the engine and as per manual). Your observation is right. Here are my main observations:

1. Fuel filter: replaced every 30k kms in diesel, and every 60k kms for petrol.
2. Spark plugs: replaced every 40k kms in petrol.

Rest, most of the things are the same.

At most, the diesel oil 'may' be more expensive than the petrol. Otherwise, the maintainence shouldn't be more.

Now, as far as resale value is concerned, I wrongly assumed that @gsurya sir would be keeping the car for long term. Yes, with regards to todays scenario, the resale of the diesel will be more. If we keep a car for long, I don't usually see the resale value much.

Thanks,
Simple_car

@simple_car & @acm: indeed I intend to keep my car long term, I still haven't found the heart to sell my 15 yr old fiat uno!

So I guess I will keep the Ecosport for a decade if it holds up well & no major accidents.

Looks like diesel is the popular advise, but will try to do a TD of a 1.5 petrol somehow to make a final decision.

I just sold my Fusion Diesel after driving it for 96k km. During this period except for regular maintenance I didn't have to spend anything on engine, clutch, transmission. Replacement costs included various lamps, brake pads, liners and vipers.

So higher cost of maintenance for diesel is a myth according to me.

I had TD of both Ecoboost and 1.5 D and for inner city driving 1.5D was more comfortable. On open roads power delivery was not exciting but linear and if more exciting drive is needed, remapping is always an option.

After a 2 month plus wait, I am finally getting my Ecosport tomorrow! The car has been registered and I will take delivery tomorrow. Definitely plan to start an initial ownership review. I pre-booked at the end of May, and had to do some intense follow up in the last few weeks. I am getting a Titanium Optional Diesel vehicle in Sea Grey Color. Mars Red and Sea Grey were the only colors I liked and there is going to be a massive wait for Mars Red for this particular variant, according to the dealer.

BTW, I was browsing around a bit and found that we are getting the Ecosport at a very competitive price point compared to other Ford Global Markets

• South Africa --> 1.5 TDCi Titanium = Rand 249,000 = INR 15 Lacs
• Argentina --> SE Doratorq 1.5 TDCi = 157,810 Pesos = INR 17.47 Lacs
• UK --> Fiesta 1.5 TDCi --> 15,345 pounds = INR 14.4 Lacs (Ecosport will not be launched in UK until early 2014, however, Ford prices Ecosport above Fiesta in every country other than India)
• India --> Titanium Optional TDCi = INR 9.16 Lacs (ex-showroom Chennai)

So for once, we in India get a competitive deal on a latest generation vehicle that is not yet launched in many global markets.
:Cheering:

This is not a good thing! Looking at the pictures, looks like it was a bad crash but nothing has happened beyond the front side (looks like the crumple zones have absorbed the impact). Also since the gentleman was complaining (i would have bought the roof down) about it, I presume that no one was hurt and all is well. Can you share more details on what you found out?

While I only have the base variant, issues like these can happen to other features too.

Congratulations man!
I have booked the EXACT same vehicle as yours, the only thing I did was wait for the launch, a personal experience with the vehicle and the reviews to come in. So, I was able to book it only by the 15th of July.
Do make sure you write up a report for us to enjoy and please post some pictures of your car as soon as you get it home. :)

All the best for tomorrow. Godspeed!

And yes, the Ecosport has surely impressed us all with its mouth watering price! That said, the Indian version and the international versions do have differences, but still, I think we Indians have it best. :P

This news is a couple of weeks old. There was some active discussion in this thread and also another dedicated thread on the recall on Team BHP. You can find quite a good amount of info there, including pictures of what was done to the car while carrying out the corrective actions. All in all it appears to be a relatively minor precautionary fix.

I've just had a realization - the Titanium+ variant has the possibility of being the safest for its passengers.

Yes, it has 6 airbags plus other safety kit we've all read about. But more importantly, it doesn't have grab handles above the doors.

I think this is going to be the easiest way of getting everyone - especially back seaters - to buckle up. Buckle up, or keep sliding all over the place.