[nik hill]

While your comparison is not totally out of place, there may be different sets of people looking for different things and each of these vehicles is catering to a particular desire.
Duster is excellent in terms of its ride quality but the design and interiors looks outdated right from launch.
Xuv is for people who need a big car may not be the most refined and are able to spend that kind of money.
Ecosport is for those who are looking for a good car easy to drive in city especially on bad roads ,is modern and gives a premium feel once inside.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

Hope you weren't referring to this thread:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...-practice.html

The was a separate thread on the price hike by Ford on the EcoSport.

Yes, I expect it was that one: thanks

Originally Posted by PrideRed

The Duster actually has seen steady price decline. The Duster range now starts at 7.99lacs ex showroom. Moreover Duster comes with freebies and discounts where as none is offered with Ecosport. One the positive side, Ecosport owners(predominantly who bought during 2013) will see lesser depreciation.

The name doesn't seem to bother anyone here, but it kills it for me. I could not drive a cleaning rag --- a duster--- unless it was twice as nice as a yeti and a quarter the price. And then I'd take all the logos off.

How could they do that?

[Samfromindia]

Originally Posted by naveen.raju

I wouldnt completely agree to that. One tire was damaged while it went over a pothole (normal speed and not so big pothole). The car was just 10 days old.

Sorry to hear that. Did this happen to your Swift or Ecosport ? I havent found any reported durability issues with ZV2Ks coming with Ecosport so far.

Originally Posted by M5_fan

So if you get your ecosport with factory fit MRF ZV2Ks. My advice would be to switch to another brand at the very start.

This is what the whole forum advises. However all may not have vitamin M to start with after spending so much on car. After 8k KM last 8 months, the road noise is sure a bother, but never faced any grip issues. Have done multiple highway runs and the car felt very stable and made me confident to push. Maybe i am not that picky.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Had posted this in the Ecosport facelift thread-

Hyundai Elite i20 Asta CRDI - 7.99
Duster RXL 90ps - 9.63

Ford Ecosport D Titanium - 9.6
Ford Ecosport D Titanium(o) - 10.2

Mahindra XUV 5OO W4 - 11.2
Duster Rxl 110ps AWD - 12.39

Except for the ground clearance, the top end Elite i20 makes much more sense now, compared to the Ecosport. Even the 90ps top end version of the Duster is cheaper than the Ecosport and is a much more capable (More ground clearance, much better ride, more space) vehicle. And on the other end- XUV 5OO w4 which comes with 3 row seating, a 2.2L engine an all basic features including ABS and airbags costs just a lakh more than the sub-4m Ecosport.

If SUV'ish looks and ground clearance is taken out of the equation- Ecosport feels too overpriced IMO. And Ford might do just that with the facelift - 1.Mess with the looks by removing the spare wheel 2. Drop the GC to 190mm as revealed in the international variant.

Ford will never remove the spare wheel, nor drop GC for Indian market. In India people like these, on the contrary Europeans found the tailgate mounted spare wheel old school and not in line with modern SUV looks. They also dont like so much chrome and if you notice international variants, they dont have a chrome grill, rather a silverish insert you get in trend version. Similarly alloys are darkened to go with European likings. So ford now knows what else they need to change for that market.

Coming to the pricing, if Ecosport titanium costs same as duster RXL, duster is much more value for money, no questions on that. And XUV with 1.5L price difference is a even better proposal. Titanium option shouldn't be compared with duster and xuv as both dont have 6 airbags, leather seat covers or keyless feature which the optional model comes with. In the end this car will appeal to those who like the looks, and those who want a mini cross which better driving dynamics and maybe quality. Do people even care that Ecosport is having a 4 star crash rating and Duster having a 3 ? Damn this is India. People only care for VFM and space to carry their extended families.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

The name doesn't seem to bother anyone here, but it kills it for me. I could not drive a cleaning rag --- a duster--- unless it was twice as nice as a yeti and a quarter the price. And then I'd take all the logos off.

How could they do that?

I always carry Duster on back of my Ecosport


Mod Note: Team-BHP strongly discourages unsafe driving practices that put yourself and other road users at risk. Please do NOT post about illegally high speeds on public roads.

[hemant.kamat]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

The ECU isn't effected if the battery is disconnected and reconnected. Battery disconnection doesn't have any link to Turbo functionality/behaviour.

What the ECU does is stores and "Learns" how the driver is driving it and does adjust itself and learns every 2-3K kms. What happens is the Tripmeter, DTE, Average FE and any kind of settings that were made to stereo, ACC all get Reset - same happens to the ECU. Hence you feel there is some kind of change in the driving behaviour.

Nothing to worry, just keep driving the way you do and your car will be back the way you want.

Thanks for the info. According to Ford, the ECU cache is cleared if the battery is disconnected. Among other things, the cache contains a 'map' of your recent driving style. I'm told it will take some driving around before it gets rebuilt again. Till then, turbo lag :(

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by Samfromindia

Sorry to hear that. Did this happen to your Swift or Ecosport ? I havent found any reported durability issues with ZV2Ks coming with Ecosport so far.

This happened to my ecosport. For swift, I used S drives twice. Now that I have Michelin as a spare, I will be upgrading it when the tyre wears out. But from my personal thoughts, MRF is crap. No offence

[wilful]

Did a trip to Chengannur the day before yesterday along with the better half. Route taken was Cochin-Alleppy-Chenganassery-Thiruvella-Chengannur (via Kuttanaad which is beautiful - but sadly less so as I look back 17/18 years when I did the trip in my Sumo). Clocked a total of 207 kms.
Decent roads upto Chenganassery but heavy traffic - and a political rally/seminar at Alleppy to boot which got us stuck for around 20/25 minutes both up and down. The MC Road from the Perunna turn off was pretty rough; also a couple of bridges/culverts were under repair.
Ran into a brutal thunderstorm at Chengannur. I was quite happy with the way the Ecosport behaved esp on those bad roads - with swirling (fairly deep) waters on the bad spots - I could take the "very rough" stretches on the extreme left and get ahead of the queued up traffic without any anxiety. And the best part was the lady's wholehearted approval of the car and its capabilities.
We didn't feel tired at all on our return around 11 pm. Maybe a stiff suspension is ok for long trips.
My only beef with the car was the not so good headlamps. I now completely understand what the other users have been complaining about, since this was my first night highway drive (the rain adding to the woes).
A couple of pics of the trip.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by wilful

My only beef with the car was the not so good headlamps. I now completely understand what the other users have been complaining about, since this was my first night highway drive (the rain adding to the woes).
A couple of pics of the trip.

Hey wilful,

Just saw your post and remembered your PM on the Ecosport headlights. The headlights on the Ecosport are poor for sure. There are a couple of options available both with their pros and cons.

1. Replace the stock bulbs with better bulbs of same wattage. You can get either the Osram nightbreaker unlimited or the Philips extreme vision. These are of same wattage as stock bulbs but have better light outputs. They will not void any warranty and don't need any other changes. The lights feel better for sure but the difference is not huge. Noticeable difference but not enough to make things comfortable.

2. Change to 90/100W bulbs Philips Rallye. This requires new relay and beefed up holders. Will involve wiring modifications due to extra load. This will make a huge difference to visibility. Disadvantage is warranty will be avoid for electricals and this headlight generates more heat which could blacken the headlight over time.

I went for the Osram night breakers in my Ecosport. Didn't want to risk the warranty. Overall it's good but there are times when I do find inadequate.

[wilful]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Hey wilful,

Just saw your post and remembered your PM on the Ecosport headlights. The headlights on the Ecosport are poor for sure. There are a couple of options available both with their pros and cons.

1. Replace the stock bulbs with better bulbs of same wattage. You can get either the Osram nightbreaker unlimited or the Philips extreme vision. These are of same wattage as stock bulbs but have better light outputs. They will not void any warranty and don't need any other changes. The lights feel better for sure but the difference is not huge. Noticeable difference but not enough to make things comfortable.

2. Change to 90/100W bulbs Philips Rallye. This requires new relay and beefed up holders. Will involve wiring modifications due to extra load. This will make a huge difference to visibility. Disadvantage is warranty will be avoid for electricals and this headlight generates more heat which could blacken the headlight over time.

I went for the Osram night breakers in my Ecosport. Didn't want to risk the warranty. Overall it's good but there are times when I do find inadequate.

Thank you very much for the inputs!
Both Arun Philip and Naveen Raju recommended Osram NB and I've ordered the same. Like you said - it is not worth risking the warranty. (If only company fitted HIDs were an option...)

[bhp]

I recently got the Ecosport AT. Was looking to install seat covers on the same, ford has only two design of seat covers.

Was looking at the aftermarket route since designs and colours available in the market are plenty, But just concerned about the safety issue of the airbag in the front seats.

Has anyone with 6 airbags on the Ecosport installed aftermarket seat covers ?? is it safe to do so ??

Have spoken to couple of seat cover specialist who say it is not a problem since they have installed such covers in the past for various cars having seat airbags.

Need opinions on this..

[balajisv]

Highest rating for Ford EcoSport in quality study


The highly appreciated Ford EcoSport SUV has won J.D. Power Asia Pacific's 2014 India Initial Quality Study (IQS) award.*

http://<br /> http://wap.business-st...8_1.html<br />

[pixantz]

Originally Posted by balajisv

Highest rating for Ford EcoSport in quality study


The highly appreciated Ford EcoSport SUV has won J.D. Power Asia Pacific's 2014 India Initial Quality Study (IQS) award.*

http://<br /> http://wap.business-st...8_1.html<br />

Awesome. That totally justifies the premium pricing it demands. Plus all the awesomeness which comes along as a bonus!

But unfortunately this is lost on most Indian buyers who only run after VFM VFM VFM VFM! Value for money!!! Nothing else is of much value.... :(

[wilful]

Originally Posted by balajisv

Highest rating for Ford EcoSport in quality study


The highly appreciated Ford EcoSport SUV has won J.D. Power Asia Pacific's 2014 India Initial Quality Study (IQS) award.*

http://<br /> http://wap.business-s...8_1.html<br />

Good for the Ecosport!
Somehow that link didn't work for me. Am putting a JD Power press release link of the news.

http://india.jdpower.com/press-relea...tudy-iqs-study

OT - It is significant to note that Skoda Rapid is the top vehicle in the mid size sedan segment beating a hot seller like Honda City.

[wilful]

Would anyone be having an idea what the OEM system is? Is it one of the Jap systems or something else? Whatever is is, it sounds good.

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by wilful

Would anyone be having an idea what the OEM system is? Is it one of the Jap systems or something else? Whatever is is, it sounds good.

AFAIK, it's either Sony (most likely) or Pioneer. Yes, it's one of the best OE audio system for a 10L car.

[wilful]

Originally Posted by naveen.raju

AFAIK, it's either Sony (most likely) or Pioneer. Yes, it's one of the best OE audio system for a 10L car.

I guessed it would be one of the better Jap systems.
Thanks! The Osram NBs are awaited.