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-   -   Ford EcoSport : Official Review (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/official-new-car-reviews/136854-ford-ecosport-official-review-41.html)

If the Top End crosses 14lacs, I'll go and buy the Storme that very same day. Urban SUV or whatever, the Storme standing beside an EcoSport will show what I'm talking about. Don't like/afraid of TATA? Then the XUV5OO is waiting available almost off the shelf.

That's the same figure speculated by Ford dealer at Mumbai (Wasan). They are already taking pre-bookings for 1 Lac with cancellation penalty @ 2% of Ex-showroom price (as and when announced).

You are correct there, for most of Indians safety is still an optional feature. He loves it when he gets it for a lower price. If he pays more, he wants more space and comfort, or he needs premium badging.

I drive a ford, I know how good the car feels. But its not the case of majority of the population. They don't care driving feel / safety.

I think its people's attitude thats gonna matter. Hyundai sells around 5-7k i20 every month (i20 being priced around 5.3 - 8.7lk [On-road]). Figo priced around 3.8 to 6.8 sells around 3-5k most of the months. Do you guys think that if Figo was given premium interiors and better engine it would compete with i20 ? Honestly, I don't think so.

IMHO, this is something thats got into peoples sub-conscious mind. Some faint whisper "Maruti / Hyundai is better car" "Maruti / Hyundai is cheaper to maintain"

@ Maruti / Hyundai lovers, No offence. They produce very good cars that most of population loves. I am not trying to imply that they make crap and sell numbers.

I agree, and that is why, the EcoSport should be a lakh cheaper than the duster. Also, the ford has more equipment, 6 airbags and all that ....

Agreed. Anything above 10 Lakhs, I dont think it will sell in good numbers. As far as I am concerned, ecosport is a competitor to premium hatches and entry level sedans not to XUV, Safari and the likes. 14 Lakhs!!! would make it a bigger dud than even the new Fiesta.

Rightly said. We all know ford's future (at least in India) will depend largely on ecosport. May be wishful thinking, but i feel ford will go for the kill by pricing it at levels targeting sheer numbers..

EcoSport must be priced reasonably at a premium hatchback level, and must not make the Duster mistake of pricing it at 12-14lac levels. Duster got away by that pricing because it had a first mover advantage, there was no SUV/SUVish car available that cheap and people lapped it up.
Ford trying the same stunt will flop miserably because the Duster (you like it or not) is marginally bigger, looks more macho, like a SUV and in India people buy it for road presence, not anything else.

A price tag of around 50k to 1lac more than an I20 should be a comfortable benchmark for the EcoSport IMHO

If you move outside big cities, it is only the maruti and hyundai who have setup dealerships and more importantly the service networks. Credit must go to Hyundai who have built a great service network which is letting them retain customers(I feel the Hyundai Santro owners are the ones upgrading to i20,Verna)

What i am trying to say here is, people are not just going by the spanky showroom 100 km away or the brand name(Everyone knows Ford is a big American company) but they are looking at the service network which translates into saving of time and money.

Coming back to Ford Figo, Every time a new car gets launched i look back at Figo and feel this car is a better package overall, and wonder why it does not sell as much as say Swift and i20 sell.

In fact, after seeing the side by side pic of EcoSport and the Figo i feel Figo to be a VFM deal since it has proven record, low maintenance, good space inside and decent boot space too. Only thing that goes against it is noisy engine and low GC.

Ford has set a new record with their ecoboost engine.Here`s the article from motorbeam website
http://www.motorbeam.com/cars/ford-c...n-nurburgring/

I dont think Ford will make that pricing disaster. At the max it looks like a 9-10 lac car (Remember its lesser than 4m) Though I am very excited with the safety features; the interiors look drab and scream of cost cutting to me. I believe it would be priced closer to the Amaze. Had a look at the car at Cauvery Ford last week and it is quite a head turner.

If it is closer to say 12-13 lac :Shockked:, it would be a disaster for Ford, a disaster which they cannot afford with the current sales numbers.

If I had to shell out 14 lakhs for Ecosport I would go for Tata Aria or extend budget by a couple of lakhs to have 4 x 2 Yeti which is a far superior vehicle.
Anything over 10.5 lakhs for Titanium Diesel and Ford would have a dud on the hands :Frustrati

Congrats! Sea Grey looks nice on the EcoSport. I think the sales guy is playing it safe with a very generous buffer, so that you wouldn't have to cancel the booking owing to a higher price.

I somehow have a feeling that Ford will price the Ecosport alongside the Duster, maybe 50k less to get the price advantage.
I am saying this because of all the hype that Ford has created among the masses by displaying the vehicle at various malls, arranging the global media drive event and running the Urban Discoveries campaign. To the masses, this car has already created an image of an Urban chic car different from any of the premium hatches and entry-level sedans or for that matter even C segment sedans. Its just we Team-Bhpians who are thinking so much and discussing regarding the price-to-space ratio. For the rest of India, this car has already been deeply burrowed in their minds and eagerly waiting for it, thanks to the brilliant marketing from Ford clap:
The number of un-official bookings only confirms this fact. I am sure there will still be lot of takers (hopefully not Team-Bhpians :D) even if the top end comes at 13-14L. Fiesta was just another sedan and hence didn't do well. Don't see the same fate for Ecosport.
Also, Ford might not be projecting this to be a volume seller like Figo. Even if they can manage to sell decent numbers at 14L, they would still be making profits.

Don't jump on me when i say but that is precisely why Duster manages to sell 5k in spite of being a so-so offering is my opinion. We form opinions so quickly so unilaterally. While i agree to the fact that 14lacs OTR is way too much for a small SUV no matter how loaded with features, i'm sure you will not plonk that kind of money on Tata or Mahindra just cause Ford is charging you a premium. The question is if you wanted one of these, why bother about the Ecosport pricing at all? :)

Not to you but generally speaking.
We really buy cars much like clothes, buy what "we think" looks good on us without really giving much thought to any one elses opinion or reason. We go for shopping with some idea of what we want but come back with something not even remotely close (in looks or price). Why? Cause it makes us happy!

Similarly, I feel we buy cars on impulse! I don't want to spend 10lacs on a car so safe, so good to drive but so ugly and be stuck with it for the next 5yrs. Or a car so good looking, so affordable, so fuel efficient but cramped. We research a million web pages but go buy what we "feel" we want rather than what we "think" we need. We start with a budget of x lacs and end up spending x+ cause we want what we like. It is also why people are buying Polo 1.2TSI when the entire trend seems so against petrol cars!

Personally, my booking for Ecosport is driven by the above. I'm sure i want a car that is modern, looks good, suv'ish, fuel efficient and loaded with features. Space is something i can live without cause we are a tiny family! So what if its 12lacs OTR? Its a one time cost i pay. Its not something i will think of each time i see the car. Rather its the great looks and everything else its got going for that i will look at and smile each day for the next 5yrs!

So is 12lacs vs. 11lacs a deal breaker? Nopes! Not for me at least. Its a stretch but i'll probably still be way happier than having bought a Duster! So i went ahead and booked the Ecosport Titanium Sea Grey in diesel. :D

Bangalore being a costly city to buy a car, dont be surprised with a price tag of 13-14 lakhs for the top end titanium(option pack to cost further since it offers 6 airbags etc) XUV W6 sells for 15+ lakhs here.

Also why do you think Ford is not projecting this to be a volume seller ? Agreed they cant sell 10K of these but a healthy 3-5K is a big volume in this segment.

Duster, Ertiga, Verna,Scorpio they all are selling pretty good numbers. So I am sure Ford is looking at a 5K figures very easily. That will also bring them much more margin than selling 5K Figo every month.

We should also not forget that unlike Duster, Ford seem to be pushing the petrol engine as well. Since they will be priced south of 10L expect more sales in that as well.