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-   -   Ford EcoSport : Official Review (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/official-new-car-reviews/136854-ford-ecosport-official-review-9.html)

Excellent details Vid and GTO. Rated 5-stars. Maybe I might have skipped some reading, but, were we not allowed to take the car a bit off-road? As, that would have been the real test for terming the EcoSport a mini 'SUV'. Eagerly waiting for the pricing and the 1.5 diesel review.

May be out of my lack of knowledge, what is the real difference between a tallboy hatch and a mini SUV? How do the govt. distinguish a hatch from an SUV? Going by the pictures, externally, I could see more of a tall-boy than a butch SUV; the ever sloping windshield and the less flared wheel arches adding to the visual effect. This leads to another question in my mind : what is the 4 seater EcoSport's real USP in the market, considering either of the 'S'ports or the 'U'tility aspects? The VFM tag strictly hovers around how Ford prices it.

When the 1L engine churns out 120+ bhp, why did Ford want to give the extra option for the 1.5L petrol engine? Was it the 1L's turbo lag or is it that Ford's is not that confident to play the EcoBoost alone in the market?

Vid & GTO, thank you both for sharing such a wonderful review. There isn't an iota of doubt to find any shortcomings in this brilliant review, but we BHPians' "dil, always mangey more" & I am no different. If you ever again get a chance to do a second photo shoot of the Ecosport, would you mind taking the below mentioned pictures (especially at night):

• The dashboard at night, the blue backlight, the instrument cluster etc
• The front view of the car at night from a distance with the headlamps & fog lamps "ON"
• Road view from the cabin with the headlamps & fog lamps "ON", showing the throw of light (high & low beam positions)
• Rear view of the car with 1) Just the taillamps "ON" & then 2) the tail lamps & brake lamps "ON"
• Picture with blinkers (ORVM indicators) "ON"

Mod team note: Please use Preview before Submitting posts. Fixed the Quotes. Thanks

Outstanding review! Really got to know lurid details on the Ecosport.
For e.g. after watching numerous pics and tv reviews, had never noticed that the lamps on the tailgate are dummies! It also ticked off a question mark, as to how does one open the tailgate. Nice work sir! :thumbs up
I've never really been a fan of smallish SUVs. For me its ought to be HUGE to make a real statement. I think that line of thought might just change now. ES is going to be a real head-tuner, albeit in the initial days.
PS: This blind spot on the A pillar is a shocker :Shockked: Its almost gobbling up an entire sedan! Always thought the one on my SX4 was the worst out there. The driver will surely need some assistance from co-driver in the ghats as roads are mostly narrow and an oncoming dimwit may not necessarily be following his lane around the corner.

That's bcoz there is no AT for thr ecoboost yet.

On a side note, Eco sport will just kill whatever's left of the Yeti now.

Now, how I wish that Renault launches a new Duster Variant with all the modern safety stuff-EPS, Curtain/side airbags and an Auto Tranny with Hill Hold etc. Even if its in Petrol, I wouldn't mind

Awesome, fantastic, mind-blowing - running out of adjectives to describe this review.

Stand up and take a bow, Vidyut & GTO, you both have outdone yourselves as far as official Team-BHP reviews are concerned. The 2013 Indian Car of the Year (I dare say) has just got THE review of the year!

The Ecosport is a superb little package, no doubt about it. Ford is targetting the urban working professional who has just entered the 3rd-4th year of his career, and is either single or recently married with a small family. The mass appeal of this car is undoubtedly huge. It caters to a particular audience which is in the market for a compact, no-nonsense car, loaded with features to make one salivate, and with looks which can stand out in a sea of cars. And THIS is the section where the money rolls. Despite the recent slump in the auto industry, I am sure the Ecosport will grab a fair chunk of the monthly sales in no time. The price might make it a runaway success!

Full marks to Ford for adding features galore to the Ecosport, and I am sure the missing features will be added at a later date (facelift) once it grabs it's chunk of market share. Right now, all the cost-cutting points to one thing - Ford is desperate to price the Ecosport as aggressively as possible. They will try to undercut the Duster AND the Amaze, which is also a serious contender now with it's very competitive price.

Making space in my garage for my 3rd car as we speak. :)

I read through the review yesterday evening when it was posted for the first time. You guys should seriously think about adding a 6th star to the ratings. This is one review which is worthy of a full 6-star rating!

Kudos and hats off to all your efforts, attention to the minutest details, and for all your hard work. Excellent! :thumbs up

Excellent review. Gives a feeling of almost i have done a test drive of the car.

Ecosport seems like a natural upgrade for me from my Figo. Need to consider the below after the launch...

1. To decide between Diesel vs Petrol. The Diesel advantage is diminishing, will the price different reflect this or diesel is continue to hold the very high price? Also, will there be significant difference in the performance between Diesel Vs Petrol?

2. Hyundai like steering. Will it be a big let down after driving my Figo for almost 40K now. I am sure i will not go back to Maruti and Hyundai for this one reason. Now if Ecosport steering experience is not going to be good, then Duster could be a better option for me

3. I hope there won't be any rattling similar to Figo, the one point which i hate in my Figo

Vid & GTO, thanks for the superb review. Have been waiting for this review for the past full week and now, have read it twice already.

The amount of detail that you guys process/give us is simply amazing. Though I have read reviews in other sites before this, nothing can be compared to this one and as GTO rightly said "God is in the details..".

Importantly, it becomes so easy to visualize your point when you are presenting the same with a photograph of that part (in the car) - You mention that there is a parking slot for your smart phone and up comes a photo of a iPhone neatly tucked in its slot making the readers easily visualize it. This has made it so easy for those non-car-buffs like my wife/dad to read through the review and understand the pros and cons of the product.

Hats off to you guys! And, thanks again for all the efforts that's behind such a superlative review!

Cheers! :thumbs up

For some months now we have been hearing about slump in car sales across all segments. Could it be that people are waiting for Ecosport?

Vidyut, I liked that part where you spoke of Japanese complacency. You are 100% right. Japanese seem to have lost all the aggressiveness of 80s and 90s. Their cars today are neither good to look at nor do they seem to offer superior technology. Not just cars. Sony today is not what it used to be. Samsung and LG with their aggressiveness and innovations and strong marketing skills have edged Sony out. Ditto, Panasonic. Panasonic takes India as seriously as Mitsubishi does. Panasonic dealers are clueless as to what TV models they have on offer. And we all know about Mitsubishi. Toyota makes boring looking cars. Only Innova sells in decent numbers. But the again it is more of a taxi than a car. Honda? Brio and Amaze? In my oninion, you have to be a die-hard Honda fans to buy these. They look completely bland and boring. And Hyundai has trounced Honda long ago in number game. As you have rightly said, European and American cars seem to be resurgent.

@vid: read somewhere that you did an elaborate test with the duster after the ecosport shootout. Would be great to see more detailed comparisons of the two from an India angle/average joe perspective. The positives given for Duster in the comparison section makes me sway towards Duster compared to Ecosport. Also, performance & FE of other engine variants will really help :)

Also, posted my views on Ecosport's shortcomings in my earlier post. Would be helpful to hear back from you on these.

Great review Vidyut. Thanks for the most comprehensive and balanced review on the Ecosport.

Sad that the Steering is not as good as the Fiesta's. The Fiesta's steering is simply amazing.

Vidyut, Have a question with regard to the handling of the Ecosport. Is the handling as good as Figo?

Highly doubt that. I too was waiting for the ecosport, but with no clear communication from Ford bought the XUV. The slump is across segments. However let's look at June and July figures before ruling out your hypothesis! !

Vid and GTO, that review in itself makes me want to beg my dad to plonk 10 big ones on the EcoSport. That's one very well detailed interview, kudos.

Looks like Ford have made sure they've left no stones unturned in their quest to dominate the compact SUV market. The level of detail that has gone into the EcoSport is just incredible. I think the delay in bringing in here has been fully justified. This is sure to be a market changer and the Japs, along with Renault I feel, are really gonna run for cover!

I have a couple of questions though -
1. What exactly is the impact of having grab handles as well as curtain airbags?
2. Viddy, since you drive a Figo, how does the EcoSport's handling and gearbox match up to the Figo? I ask this since we have a Fiesta in the family garage and if we buy the EcoSport, the Fiesta will be the one to go. I'm quite fond of the Fiesta's handling and I wouldn't want it replaced by anything that doesn't handle as well.

Great review. Loved the small details that were pointed out e.g. the cladding on the telescopic arm of the steering wheel, the integration of the rear windshield washer etc.

Great to see that Ford has the DCT in the EcoSport with a manual +/- mode. However loosing the steering feel was retrograde. Might not be a big issue for an SUV. Liked the seats in the EcoSport that are similar to those of the Fiesta - great finish and stitching. Personally I love dark interiors and Ford has scored on that. The thought and attention to detail in the design and the various features are superb. However it remains to be seen whether the market is going to reward Ford for that.

I think that when it comes to a compact SUV people would not mind that fact that the diesel is not the fastest in the current crop. It seems to be more of a factor in premium hatches and sedans. Priced right Ford has a potential win.

Drive on,
Shibu.

Perfectly detailed review, great job Vid & GTO!

I am worried to read about the Hyundai'esque steering feedback, cant blame Ford, but the aam junta like the steering that way. I hope the EcoSport does really well for Ford and they dont bring this shoddy steering in their future products!

I have a doubt. As far as what I had comprehended from the service person of Ford at the Lulu Mall display campaign at Kochi, there is no GPS system or Navigation system in Ecosport.

If they have already incorporated a GPS receiver in the vehicle to track the position and send lat longs to the emergency assistance services, Why doesn't Ford provide the Navigation system?

Or is there some other way to locate the co-ordinates of the vehicle without a GPS receiver?