[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by sahil624

Hello all. I am looking to buy a diesel vehicle and my heart and mind was set on Ford Ecosport S variant (13.60 lac OTR). However, with these tempting discounts on Nissan Kicks BS4 Diesel I am confused big time. It is a great value for money proposition (getting XV Diesel for 11 lac On road).

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

Hi, as an Ecosport owner who has also test driven the Kicks, I can confidently say that the Kicks looks and feels to be from one car class above the Ecosport. Major pluses I observed:

• Kicks has a sixth gear, which is a boon for highway cruising
• The K9K is superior to the DV5 in both power and torque and is able to cruise at a higher speed than the Ecosport without breaking a sweat - the comfortable cruising speed for the Ecosport is about 110 kph and then it starts to feel strained, where Kicks can comfortably cruise at 130 kph. I think both cars do about the same rpm (around 2500) at these distinct speeds. The main difference is the sixth gear and the increased oomph of the K9K.

Originally Posted by spr1ngleo

At 11L on road, it is a steal, period.

Do note though, that the K9K is not going to be manufactured anymore. It is already out of production in fact since it won't be upgraded to BSVI. Only leftover BSIV stocks can be purchased. Sure with a lot of Renault-Nissan-Mahindra cars on the road using this engine, it may get spares and support in future also. But its no Maruti-Suzuki either. Just reminding you that you'll be picking a car who's engine will be historic on the day you take delivery.

Be mindful of the known injector failure issue of this K9K engine in Duster avatar that is reported often even by BHPians.

With all points in mind, pick the one that you connect with the most. Fine if its the Kicks then. As long as one connects & loves the car - no other problems are even noticed. One just doesn't care!

[sahil624]

Originally Posted by fiat_tarun

The only reason I would not buy one is Nissan. They are literally non existent now and >50% of their dealers have shut down. Post the Covid-19 phase, this will only get worse.

I have talked to some who own Nissan cars and they say the service station is good, most of them had a pleasant experience.

[arindambasu13]

Originally Posted by fiat_tarun

The only reason I would not buy one is Nissan. They are literally non existent now and >50% of their dealers have shut down. Post the Covid-19 phase, this will only get worse.

Globally too they are in trouble with the whole Carlos Ghosn episode and I don't see them prioritizing India right now.

Not sure I would agree since both Renault and Nissan are coming out with their compact SUV in the coming months. They have certainly not abandoned or looking to abandon India and are in fact trying to get into a hotly contested segment. Not an action of someone who is looking to exit a market.If anything, quite the opposite. Nissan has always had a smaller network of dealers and after sales in India, and will continue in the same way. I hope their compact SUV is successful because some of their products are pretty solid.

[fiat_tarun]

Originally Posted by arindambasu13

Not sure I would agree since both Renault and Nissan are coming out with their compact SUV in the coming months. They have certainly not abandoned or looking to abandon India ...

Well, this is a topic that we should take to this thread - https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/213113-nissan-india-deathwatch-will-nissan-exit-india-8.html. (Nissan India Deathwatch - Will Nissan exit India?)

Nissan has never managed their dealers properly and this needs to be priority no 1. Their products have been good and have failed due to poor support. The new compact SUV could also end up going down the same road. Potential buyers will end up buying Renault's version of this SUV.

The point is, choosing the Kicks now over an Ecosport as is the OP's case, has it's own share of risks which depending on each individual can mean different things. The key point I would say is the presence of a good dealer for support during the warranty period.

[spr1ngleo]

My rear left alloy wheel has a slight damage as shown in the picture. Don't really remember how it got a hit. Hope this does not end up in rusting during monsoons? Please advise, thanks in advance.

[84.monsoon]

Technically speaking, alloy wheels don't actually rust. They do have the ability to corrode, but it is not quite like rusting. Instead of the brownish orange rust color, you get white stains. Most stock alloy wheels are polished and have a protective finish that is designed to prevent corrosion.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by spr1ngleo

My rear left alloy wheel has a slight damage as shown in the picture. Don't really remember how it got a hit. Hope this does not end up in rusting during monsoons? Please advise, thanks in advance.

Since the wheel is not steel but aluminium-magnesium based alloys, the common orange-red rust that we have become used to and scared of in cars - will not happen here .

Of course these metals also react with elements, but at a lower magnitude. For simple safety if you want - you can get a can of clear coat lacquer spray from a paint/hardware store once lock-down is over and spray it over the injured area of the wheel. As such - I don't think the damage in the image is much to worry about.

[jithin23]

Originally Posted by spr1ngleo

My rear left alloy wheel has a slight damage as shown in the picture. Don't really remember how it got a hit. Hope this does not end up in rusting during monsoons? Please advise, thanks in advance.

I've had a similar damage in my rim as well but more denser than yours. I've left it as it is because I was planning to paint the wheels soon. I asked FASS abo1 it and they were like " you can claim insurance if you want a fresh alloy but it's not much of a damage either to claim for insurance".

Zoom the pic to see the damage (circled in red)


Another thing I wanted to share is that Sync v3.4 update is available for EcoSport/Freestyle and Enddeavor owners.



I've made a post in this link on how to update sync 3 to v3.4(refer to post #50):
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-...ml#post4798935

[spr1ngleo]

Dear All,

I was fiddling with my ES TDCi over the weekend. Suddenly I ran a finger over the inner side of the tailpipe. I was aghast by seeing the level of soot got accumulated over time. This car ran only around 7.5K KMs so far. I then immediately ran over to my Dad's decade old i10 (gasoline) car and checked its tailpipe. No soot at all ! Some cursory research over internet tells me that my ES is "running rich" and some say it's because of adulterated fuel. Anyway, car's 10K KMs service is due in coming months, let me check with them too.

BTW, anticipating fuel price rise after the lockdown in almost all states, easy way for them to cash in on the pent-up demand.

stay safe !

[jithin23]

Ford's TDCi is known to smoke a lot of black smoke and it's normal for diesel cars to have some soot in the exhaust. One way to clear the soot is to do an Italian tune-up (in-gear acceleration) to remove the soot to an extent. Do it for every 4-5k kms.

[fiat_tarun]

Originally Posted by jithin23

...

Another thing I wanted to share is that Sync v3.4 update is available for EcoSport/Freestyle and Enddeavor owners.

...

Thanks for this. I know with the lockdown you probably haven't played around with it much, but do you see any major / noticeable improvements ?

There was a phase when I always wanted to update to the latest software even if it was a beta release, but now it somehow doesn't matter much unless there's some new features or if I'm having problems with my current setup (getting old I guess ) .

Sync 3 has been working fine, so not so sure if I should go ahead and update to 3.4.

[jithin23]

Originally Posted by fiat_tarun

Thanks for this. I know with the lockdown you probably haven't played around with it much, but do you see any major / noticeable improvements ?

Sync 3 has been working fine, so not so sure if I should go ahead and update to 3.4.

Sync 3 v3.4 has a better UI and fonts and the functionality is same. I read in some international forum that Android auto/Carplay map directions will be shown on the MID as well. I tried in my car and it does not work since my car has the smaller MID. Maybe S owners or MY19 owners with the new MID +Sync 3 can try and find out!

One point is that APIM updates should not be updated from FASS after this update as Indian versions do not get the latest updates from Ford India.

[Sahilrai166]

I own an Ecosport Titanium Diesel 2019 and the car is up for its insurance renewal. The car is insured by Royal Sundaram insurance (zero dep 1+3). I recently got a call from Ford regarding the renewal and the quote is almost 7k more than what I've seen in policybazar and coverfox. Now that my 3rd party insurance is valid for 2 more years from Royal Sundaram can I purchase own damage insurance from icici or SBI through their website and can I get cashless claim facility in all the Ford showrooms.

[Funny]

Originally Posted by Sahilrai166

I recently got a call from Ford regarding the renewal and the quote is almost 7k more than what I've seen in policybazar and coverfox. Now that my 3rd party insurance is valid for 2 more years from Royal Sundaram can I purchase own damage insurance from icici or SBI through their website and can I get cashless claim facility in all the Ford showrooms.

You can try to negotiate with the Ford Insurance provider. Ask them to match the quote that you see for a similar policy online. Most of the times they will quote higher initially and will reduce once you try to negotiate. The insurance provided by Ford dealer should be the Ford Assurance one which has cashless claim across Ford dealers among other benefits. I would suggest you to stick to Ford Assurance for initial few years for the hassle-free claims.
Of-course you can switch to other Insurance and even get similar benefits but you will have to confirm the same with the Insurance provider, whether they provide cashless claims at FASS or not. Your 3rd party benefit will remain intact. You will have to keep a copy of the Royal Sundaram insurance policy having the 3rd party cover along with your other OD policy whichever you choose.

[Sahilrai166]

Originally Posted by Funny

You can try to negotiate with the Ford Insurance provider. Ask them to match the quote that you see for a similar policy online. Most of the times they will quote higher initially and will reduce once you try to negotiate. The insurance provided by Ford dealer should be the Ford Assurance one which has cashless claim across Ford dealers among other benefits. I would suggest you to stick to Ford Assurance for initial few years for the hassle-free claims.

Thank you sir for the suggestion and did the same thing yesterday while renewing my insurance. Negotiated a bit and got 1.5K off on the quote.
Here are some attachments which was sent to me regarding the advantages of renewing the insurance by Ford preferred insurance vs other insurance.