Team-BHP - Ford EcoSport S (1.0L EcoBoost) : Official Review

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedStallion (Post 4527118)

Hello Dhanush DP,

I have EcoSport S TDCi version, manufactured in September, 2018. I do not have a cooled glove box in my car. Please let me know if anything new comes up.

O.T. I have read in the forum, older car's cooled glove box wasn't that effective.

I hope it helps.

Congratulations on your new acquisition mate, happy and safe motoring!

Thanks a lot dude. Here's a pic of the booster now that i have it, guess its the first smoker being posted on here. I was also wondering about getting one of these ceramic or opti-coat things to keep the car scratch free for a while, but damn they have a hefty price tag, are they worth the 30+ K premium they demand and how long do these coats last, any insight? Thanks in advance.

Dear folks,

I am planning to buy an EcoSport but I'm a bit skeptical about the ecoboost engine.
I really likes the looks and features of the 'S' variant but doesn't need a diesel, hence the dilemma. Should i go for the 1.5L titanium plus or the feature rich 'S' variant?

I have a few questions that the ecoboost owners could answer.

How is the lag? Especially when loaded.
With 4-5 people + some luggage, will the engine show its lack of displacement? I will be driving around in mixed conditions(city+highways).

Have you at any point till now in your ownership period felt that you could have gone for the larger engine? If so why and when?

How is the maintenance rate compared to the 1.5L engine?

I am currently driving a 1L 3cyl maruti WagonR. Although the engines can't be compared per se, my family especially my father is not convinced in buying another 1L engine for 13+ lakhs. He has in his mind the shortcomings of the Maruti engine. It really struggles with load on steep inclines. With AC its just dead!

So I kindly request all my fellow bhpians who own an ecoboost EcoSport to give in their valuable inputs on the above mentioned points.

Thanks in advance.
Blueeeyed.

Hello blueeyed...I own and drive the pre facelift ecoboost. A 2017 vintage Mars Red Titanium Plus. The pros and cons according to me in a nutshell :
Pros :
1. Super engine if you love to drive hard. Really FTD. Bought it after test driving the Punto Abarth.
2. Solid build. The car it replaced was a VW Vento. I would say as tough if not tougher
3. Decent package in terms of space, utility.
4. For me, ride and handling balance is close to perfect and almost car like
Cons :
1. Gearing. But from various reports, this appears to have been sorted out in the 6 speed gearbox of the facelift
2. FE is abysmal if the car is driven hard. This happens with most small capacity turbo engines. But cruising between 60-90 km/h will give you decent FE. I get around 9kmpl in Mumbai city b2b traffic or when driven hard. and 16 kmpl highway @ an average speed of 50 km/h which I have achived on certain sections of the Mumbai Goa NH17 route with some climbing.
3. Tight on space if you carry sizers often.

My advice is if the dealer is good, take a proper test drive with the persons likely to travel with you. Go in for an extended warranty.

Trust this helps.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dhanush DP (Post 4536272)

I was also wondering about getting one of these ceramic or opti-coat things to keep the car scratch free for a while, but damn they have a hefty price tag, are they worth the 30+ K premium they demand and how long do these coats last, any insight? Thanks in advance.

@Dhanush DP,

Your ride looks great in the smoked grey!

For ceramic coating, I had gone through discussions in the Team-BHP forum itself. I found many BHPians vouch for it. They provide 2-5 years warranty depending on the vendor based on a number of coatings and maintenance schedule.
However, I believe that ceramic paint protection is too pricey. Is it really worth it? Do you still want to go with it? I guess that depends on the deal, you get from a bargain.

Please go through below link:
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modif...ly-useful.html

I would like to adhere with the user manual advice. It advises to get the waxing done once or twice a year.

Quote:

Originally Posted by blueeyed (Post 4536465)

As a TDCi owner, I could tell you regarding the feature difference only. First, you will miss out on classy exteriors. (No chrome, my personal favourite) In addition, you will miss TPMS, fun roof, beautiful alloys, 4.2" MID screen and dual tone interiors. You will get 16 inch alloys in Titanium+ now which will help to improve ride quality marginally. (IMO, ride quality should not be the only point to go for Titanium+)

IMO, the engine should be punchy. The drivability of engine has been improved with the new 6-speed manual gearbox but there should be some lag. (Not significant as with the older 5-speed manual gearbox) I have not come across people complaining regarding its power and torque.

You could still go for the diesel as there is narrow price gap between the two engine options. (It was only 40 k in September,2018 at the time of my purchase)

Thanks.

Thanks for the replies guys. Still waiting for the other owners to comment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Floyd de Souza (Post 4536501)

Quite a valuable feedback. Thank you very much. I agree with you on all the above points. I really liked its build and dynamics. My only gripe with Ecosport is the lack of rear space. The legroom is limited and the black interiors aren't doing any justice to it either, feels cramped. But for me this can be overlooked. The thing that really concerns me is the Ecoboosts' drivability.

Your words on the engine is confidence boosting. The comparison you made just adds to that.:D

If i may ask, how many kilometers have you covered? How does the engine feel when loaded?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Floyd de Souza (Post 4536501)

Cons :
1. Gearing. But from various reports, this appears to have been sorted out in the 6 speed gearbox of the facelift

This is the point that I am actually concerned with. Need to know how well have the new transmission helped the engine in its drivability. Facelift owners, please comment on it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Floyd de Souza (Post 4536501)

My advice is if the dealer is good, take a proper test drive with the persons likely to travel with you. Go in for an extended warranty.
Trust this helps.

The ford dealer I went to(the only one near me) had only display vehicles of the Ecoboost variant. According to them, they have only one ecoboost testdrive car for the whole of Kerala and they do not take it for long distance for customer TD's. So I would have to make time and go all the way to their main branch for a testdrive. So I thought I would gather some real life experience from other owners before I plan for a 'testdrive journey'.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedStallion (Post 4536508)

IMO, the engine should be punchy. The drivability of engine has been improved with the new 6-speed manual gearbox but there should be some lag. (Not significant as with the older 5-speed manual gearbox) I have not come across people complaining regarding its power and torque.

You could still go for the diesel as there is narrow price gap between the two engine options. (It was only 40 k in September,2018 at the time of my purchase)

Thanks.

Thanks for the reply RedStallion. I haven't considered the diesel engine till now. I am more of a 'petrolhead' and also my yearly running(around 5K) doesn't warrant a diesel car.
But with the above said feature-list of 'S' variants and the small price difference between the engines, I could consider the Tdci, but only after getting a proper TD of the ecoboost.

Hope other ecoboost owners would also help me by giving in their valuable feedbacks.

Thanks.
Blueeyed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by blueeyed (Post 4537193)

Thanks for the replies guys. Still waiting for the other owners to comment.

Thanks.
Blueeyed.

I own a 2016 Trend Plus Ecoboost and if I were in your place considering a new vehicle, I'd put my money on the 1.5 Dragon or 1.5 Diesel. Sure, Ecoboost is one heck of an engine but after using a mix of naturally aspirated and turbocharged engines, I'd happily return back to naturally aspirated ones because of their straight forward functioning.

EcoBoost is a complex engine and GDI (Gasoline Direct Injection) engines aren't that famous worldwide. Plus, all GDI engines suffer from valve deposits and the only cure is to manually clean them or install a catch-can. Even the spares would cost a lot since Ford still imports the engine (price difference between oil filter of Dragon and Ecoboost is huge). Considering the big difference between the low end torque of Dragon and Ecoboost, I'd happily trade off my Ecoboost with Dragon any given day. TeamBHP review states that the low end has improved but the difference isn't day and night. Small displacement engines like EcoBoost are constantly under high pressure to deliver max out of their puny capacities and GDI with Turbo only increases the overall pressure. If you're someone who is not religious with the maintenance schedule, Ecoboost can throw up a nasty surprise. Enough of bashing, and lets get to the fun part of owning an Ecoboost :)

The mid range is punchy and on open roads, you'll be like :D Go past 2000 RPM and the torque is addictive. Overtaking maneuvers, while in the right RPM range; are super easy. Ford has worked on the low end torque and the new gear ratios will make it easy for someone to adapt to the new driving style. You'll rarely realize that you're driving a puny 1 liter 3 cylinder engine and the overall feel of driving an Ecoboost is that of a 1.6 or 1.8 NA petrol engine. That is all I could come up with at this time and in case you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to answer those. To understand more on how the engine functions, refer to the YouTube link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep-CEKzEhMU

blueeyed....this is in reply to the questions you put forward in response to my earlier post :

1. My ecoboost has just completed 10k kms

2. I normally do not load/overload the car for the first 2.5k kms but occasionally it does happen and I noticed that the engine would strain when the car was loaded. I adapted my driving style by keeping the revs higher and staying in 1st longer. Post 4k kms, I noticed that even this was not needed and the car would manage the load well. The key is to drive it in a style that suits the engine characteristics.

3. I would also like to add that I test drove the Punto Abarth, Linea TJet, Honda City, Maruti Ciaz, Brezza & S Cross, and the earlier 1.5 petrol ES before settling for the ecoboost which I test drove in Goa as no dealer in Mumbai had a test drive ecoboost at the time. I can tell you that though the rear seat is tight for 3 L sized adults, the leg room is decent. I am 5 10 and I sat in an ES diesel driven by a 6 8 gentleman in front of me and though it was tight, it was not uncomfortable. The half hour journey experience trumped a similar drive in an S Cross with a much shorter driver. My mother in law who is 90 and pretty short and uses a walker has no problems entering and getting down from the back seat of the car. She prefers this car in comparison to the Baleno CVT which I own and which has loads more space behind.

As k.sumit says, if you are a petrolhead, take a comprehensive drive of the dragon. If you like it buy it but if you definitely need more excitement buy the S ecoboost. It will take a little getting used to but you'll enjoy the car. Use Shell V Power petrol for best results.