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ooh, thats a problem. What say you guys, is it still advisable to change? I think its due to the layout of the reflectors in the headlight.

Anything is better than the stock lamps. But don't expect these bulbs to give you complete satisfaction. I had the NBU for about a year. The light scatters all around when in high beam. So I got the Philips. It scatters less and is a lot more bright, but still a long away from satisfaction.

If you are not worried about warranty you can get infinitely better headlights. Just search this thread.

People in Chennai. I got an email from my dealer (MPL Ford) this morning talking of upto 85K off on 2014 Ecosport's that are in stock. I think this is a good deal, one just needs to do a proper inspection.

EDIT - my 1000'th post . YAY ! :D

I think i will be satisfied with the bulb swap at the moment. Dont care about the warranty but doesn't want to get into the hassle of swapping the headlights.

Am posting some pics of the headlight beams with the new Osram Nbs. These are at a distance of 4 to 10 feet against the cream/yellow wall of my porch.
High beam focus appears rather scattered. Will put night highway drive pics when I do it next.

That's too close to make out anything. It needs to be much further away to see how the beam pattern is.

Noted. Will try out a more effective (longer distance) test this evening. I guess one needs a not very well lit road to get a proper perspective.

This is a bit :OT so I hope the mods will allow it.

2 weeks back, some idiot on a motorcycle rear-ended me while trying to dodge the traffic cops - left a 1cm gash in the paint on the spare wheel cover. The paint had been cut all the way down to the base, so polishing would not hide it. Ford ASS quoted Rs. 3,000/- to repaint the whole cover; full repaint just for a 1cm scratch???

Here's the damage:





Although I've got zero depreciation insurance cover, I didn't really want to utilize it for something so small; neither did I want to shell out Rs. 3,000/- for repainting, so I decided to take the DIY way out.

For the better part of the week, I searched the net for touch-up paint repair kits, both videos & reviews. I found that Langka http://www.langka.com sells such a kit in the USA with good reviews from verified amazon buyers. Although the product is not available in India, the videos proved very useful in helping me decide the course of my action.

First, I 'borrowed' some matching touch-up paint from the ASS ;) Then I thoroughly cleaned out the scratch with some alcohol using a q-tip and let it dry. Next, I mixed a miniscule amount of white M-seal into the scratch (car putty would have worked better, but I would have had to buy the whole pouch.) I used white M-seal as my color is chill metallic. For darker shades, I would have used regular black/grey M-seal. I let the M-seal harden for a day.

The following day, I used a fine tip brush to paint over the scratch. Since the touch-up paint was a little too thick and quick drying, I used a little automotive thinner to dilute it down a bit. Here's the result after 3 coats, 30 min drying time in between:



Although the paint matched, the area had become a little rough from the brush strokes. To make matters worse, the entire thing stuck out like a sore thumb when viewed from a distance.

Now I needed a paint leveler to level the painted portion with the surrounding factory paint. In the USA, Langka sells the 'blob-eliminator' which is simply paint thinner, as my research showed. My first attempt gently wiping the area with thinner resulted in the entire touch-up paint getting dissolved. I was back to where I started.

I used a 1000 grit sandpaper to wet sand the M-seal down and smoothen the surface. To my relief, it did not cut the surrounding factory paint. The surrounding area does become a little hazy, but this can be quickly glossed again using a silicone based car polish.

This time around, I decided to use a toothpick instead of a paint brush. A commenter on Amazon had suggested using the rounded tip of a matchstick, and I found that it worked far better than the toothpick. I was able to carefully cover the leveled scratch without crossing the edges:



I let the paint dry again for 72 hours. Since on my last attempt using a cloth dipped in thinner, the paint had dissolved entirely, I tried wrapping the cloth around the edge of an old credit card. Only 2 drops of thinner were put on the cloth edge and I carefully ran the card across the scratch in a straight back and forth manner until the paint was leveled to my satisfaction.

Here's the result:



Total cost: Rs. 18/- (Rs. 5/- for M-seal, Rs. 13/- for 1000 grit sandpaper)

BTW, I'm yet to polish the area with silicone based car polish. That will conceal the repair even further and restore the gloss.

Happened to drive/travel on EcoSport AT on Kochi to Bangalore. I am listing my impressions below. Hope this benefits the members.

Before you read- I drive Baleno and Verna 1.5 CRDI automatic. My perspective is definitely influenced by these cars I drive.

Quick impressions on the exterior- I like the look !!!

Interior- Overall bad/cheap

• Cheap, hard plastic all around.
• Fit and finish is bad.
• Hard edges all around. If you are sitting in the rear seat, watch out for those edges, else you'd hurt your foot.
• No central arm rest. There is enough width to have one, though
• Leg room was good for the size of the card. I am impressed with it.

Handling- Handles like a car:)

Ride-

• Okay at the front. Bad at rear. There is a constant sharp pitching movement at experienced at the back seat. Very annoying. Also sitting in the rear induced back and neck pain to me. I attribute that to the hard seat and the head rest.
• Cannot handle undulations well. Not expected either.
• Suspension cries when going over cuttings/edges on the road surface, such as flyover joints. I typically go flat out on my cars. I was expecting an SUV to handle these well.

Steering- Much is said about it. I found it precise. Good one here

Brakes- Good. Did a sudden braking maneuver (not intentional), with a bit of tire squeal. No issues. ABS did not kick in, which I liked. I assume the calibration is very well done.

Engine- One word. Disappointing!!!!
Our brand new car was running above 3000 rpm most of the time. To put its performance into perspective, do this test. Close your eyes and listen to the car. You'll hear a racy engine note, which only Ford can produce. You'd hear gearshifts as rpm drops and quickly winds up. Now open your eyes. What you'd see is that the car is moving at a lazy pace where everything else on the road is moving faster.

I drove the car the way I drive my automatic. I managed to extract more from the engine and the box by doing very light acceleration. However, there is no usable power band on this engine. Or you could market this engine by saying it has a flat power delivery!!!
Conclusion- This is not a car you'd use to go fast from point A to B

Gearbox- Much is written about its technical wizardry. Listing what I found

In D mode-
Box is slow in downshifting. It is another matter that the downshift won't reward you with much either.
One too many gearshifts- I attribute it to the engine's incapability to deliver anything useful.
On a sedate pedal, 6th gear is engaged around 120 KpH. It corresponds to 3000 rpm. Not useful. Attributed to engine's incapacity.
In S mode
Box downshifts when slowing down, so that there is no delay/gearshift when you accelerate again. Very useful.
Overall, it is a good box on a bad engine.

Other observations

• I couldn't find the feeling of "fitting in" to the car while driving. It feel a bit alien, with blind spots and off positioning on dash and rear view mirrors. Nothing wrong as you might find that sweet position after sometime. Just wanted to note that this is not a car you'd gel in the moment you sit, say, like a Mitsubishi.
  
• No Disk brakes at rear. Is it so for AT versions?
• No engine cover. Is is a miss?

Feel free to comment. As there are not too many AT review available , I hope this helps. Thank you

[QUOTE I let the paint dry again for 72 hours. Since on my last attempt using a cloth dipped in thinner, the paint had dissolved entirely, I tried wrapping the cloth around the edge of an old credit card. Only 2 drops of thinner were put on the cloth edge and I carefully ran the card across the scratch in a straight back and forth manner until the paint was leveled to my satisfaction[/quote]

What thinner did you use. Modern paints use 2K Thinner which I find quite strong and may remove the adjoining paint. I have been doing this touch up for many years but have not been able to level the touch up successfully.

A nice and honest review ! Few things i will like to add:

• 1.5L NA petrol engine feels the least sporty of the 3 options in real world situations. Too bad ecoboost doesnt come with auto box.
• Its unfair to compare a 1.3 Tonne crossover with lighter sedans having better aerodynamics.
• Suprised that you found fit and finish bad. Are you used to driving german cars? Just wait till you see amaze.
• Engine guard and cover are there in international variants. In india you can buy them as optional accessory. A central arm rest accessory is there, but it doesnt fold up in rear seats like normal OEM arms rest does.
• So far the reviews go, this car is better than Amaze or Xcent AT, which it mainly competes with. Verna AT is a good 2.5L more expensive.
• If you want a fast AT at comparable price point, look no other than VW GT TSI.

@whiteknight:

The only reason I didn't buy the Ecosport is because of its wimpish petrol engine.

Next, I would have liked a manual VW Polo TSi but that wasn't available.

So I bought the Tata Zest, loving its zingy petrol engine.

Tata Bolt is the best hot hatch on the market right now, with a manual transmission. Until Punto TJet arrives?

Read your detailed observations on your long trip in an AT Ecosport.
Just a couple of points struck me and I am putting them down.
The Ecosport has a hard suspension - and the ride, sitting at the back, can be distinctly uncomfortable if not driven with care over poor roads. But... I've had pretty extensive driving & 'sitting at the rear' experience with a couple of SUVs the other side of 30 lacs - the Fortuner and the Santa Fe (my senior colleague has both these) and believe me - the back seat can be a very uncomfortable place in both these (esp the Fortuner) when driven not very carefully over bad roads.:)
The Duster I am told has a better ride compared to the Ecosport but I have no first hand experience.
I think, in general, a sedan like ride is out with a capital O if one is looking for ride comfort in this vehicle.

The fit and finish didn't seem too bad to me, but then I guess that is subjective.

Good points but they don't seem to match with majority so just putting some points from my side.

Yes plastics are hard all round. but the fit and finish is quite acceptable. If you're comparing with the C2 segment sedans like Verna and Vento, yes then it below them but when you compare with the Mobilio and Duster in this segment it's much better. Again, this depends on what you compare with and in your case you have the Verna which is the benchmark in interiors.

The Ecosport is actually very good when it comes to undulating roads. Due to the stiff suspension, the ride is absolutely flat with no pitching. This is provided the road is good and not over pot holed roads.

If you are talking about pot holed roads then there's no doubt the suspension is too stiff and will make you feel everything.

Undulations on well laid out roads are where the Ecosport shines with it's stability. My folks actually said they feel less bobbing vs the Altis and prefer the Ecosport for highway drives. Ofcourse this was Banaglore Pune with brilliant roads and not much of potholed bad roads.

Suspension over sharp edges is bone jarring. Feels like something inside is getting damaged with the sounds. Needs a change of driving style and you cant fly over them like other cars.

The biggest issue with the Ecosport is the lack of power; and the autobox trying to keep the car at a higher gear.

I could live with the hard suspension, light steering and mediocre headlights. But the engine is an absolute disappointment, and I can't seem to find a solution for that. If anybody is able to find ways to improve the power, even by 10%, please let me know.

BTW, I read in some other thread that Ford has already mated the Ecoboost engine to the Powershift gearbox. Does anybody have any idea whether Ford plans to put that in the Ecosport - perhaps in a face-lift version?

If it comes, I would not pause a moment to sell this one and book the new one. I pray it comes, cos I can't find a worthy alternative to the Ecosport at the moment.