[saurabhdadhichi]

For me choice is Ecosport on following grounds:

- Exterior Looks (definitely looks much more stylish)
- Interiors Looks (Most of the time a person spends with his car is inside it and has to be definitely safe with a clear focus on ergonomics)
- At a price more than 7 lakhs is expected to be loaded with features in today's competitive Indian auto market (basic feature list of Duster is not enticing)
- Side & Curtain Air bags with Optional package at a price less than 9 lakhs is first in a segment to my understanding (correct me if i am wrong)
- With the pricing point, Ford has targeted not just the entry level SUV segment but I am sure even the hatch and sedans at that price point will feel the heat. (Duster has also done it partially but with aggressive pricing of Ecosport this will be even more evident)
- Space is just about adequate for a nuclear family & just about adequate boot space ( How many times do we travel with boot space full and more than 4-5 people during a trip)

Not all is positive, some negatives of Ecosport (which is positive for Duster):

- Power could have been better.
- Space for three passengers in rear seat is much better in Duster.
- Duster from outside looks more of SUV while Ecosport is purely a pumped up hatch!

lets wait for the Sales figures to tell us the real story!!! Though both will survive in this market, expect Renault to bring much more features at a competitive pricing. (4WD will surely be a plus point)

[turboverbo]

The EcoSport is a 'neither here nor there' vehicle. As a 'sports utility vehicle' the EcoSport falls short of the expectations because of lack of space. The duster has more space, for people and for their belongings. The EcoSport is a hatchback with more ground clearance, and nothing more. If you want a feature laden car, the Hyundai i20 is ummatched. Even the Asta(O) variant, with its sunroof and six zirbags, is much cheaper by Rs. 80k than the 1.5 l petrol Titanium EcoSport. Would you like to pay that much more for what is essentially a hatchback on stilts?

If the 1.0 l EcoBoost engine is the USP of the EcoSport, the Polo GT TSI has a nice 1.2 l TSI engine for almost the same price, plus the DSG transmission and a lot of features.

The ground clearance of the EcoSport will be an advantage only over sedans, as almost every premium hatchback has adequate ground clearance, barring the erstwhile Honda Jazz.

The Duster's size makes it more of an SUV than the EcoSport. Of course, it's a softroader only as of now. The AWD version will change that. My only grouse against the Duster is that the petrol versions are not packed with all the features, especially safety.

[Drivethru]

Hi My vote for the Ecosport.

Reasons

# This provides a credible alternative to many dated and slightly expensive hatchbacks and Sedans like i20, Polo, Vento, Verna, City, SX4. Also cheaper than Duster by a decent margin.

# Could also give tough time to Amaze, Enjoy. I took test drive from a showroom where most customers were also trying to compare this with Amaze / Enjoy. Lot of potential buyers waited for Ecosport pricing to decide between these three new launches from completely different segments in similar price segment (for the base petrol and diesel variants)

# Good ground clearance which helps in bad roads and feels like a car to drive

# Aesthetics better than Quanto, Xylo, Ertiga.

# My personal bias is towards manufacturers who give the buyers an automatic option and Ecosport has an auto option which is not there in quanto, xylo, innova, duster, ertiga and safari (within the MUV/SUV segment)

# No AT option in 1.0 Ecoboost is a big miss. As per feedback I gathered 1.0 Ecoboost AT would have been available at an on road mumbai price of INR 11.5 lakhs plus. The company felt it may not bring in sizeable volumes. Hence the lack of an AT option in the 1.0 lite ecoboost engine.

#The buyer segment where the third row seats is a necessity may give this car a miss.

# I saw many first time MUV buyers checking out the Ecosport. This model is likely to also attract attention from women (as buyers or purchase influencers)as Ecosport doesnt look too masculine and has an AT option.

Some negatives I observed

# Gear shifts are not precise and have a little rubbery feel in the manual tranmission model.

# Some buyers may not like engine noise levels in the diesel model

My comments are mainly based on the pricing and features of the petrol offering of Ecosport as the AT option was available only in the petrol model. The diesel petrol arbitrage is not significant if you are looking at owning the car for 3-4 years.

Some comments are purely based on my personal point of view. Hence dont consider them as generalisation.

The on road price (mumbai individual) for the base petrol variant is 6.7-6.8 lakhs. You could save some money by buying insurance on your own rather than going through the dealer.

The on road price (mumbai individual) for the base petrol AT model is 10.3-10.5 lakhs.
The company is also offering a 4 year extended warranty.

[mavrikm5]

Ecosport for me. would have bought this car for looks alone but the way Ford has undercut renault on price and features is commendable. even if this is introductory pricing an increase in price at a later stage would still be lot lower (can't expect the price increase to be 2L to get even with duster) and lot better value than duster.

One thing to watch out would be the acceptance of 1.0L ecoboost engine as it is it's priced nearer to the diesel and somebody opting for petrol might just go for the cheaper 1.5L petrol.
so is the 1.0L ecoboost only for geeks.

[swami.n]

Undoubtedly the EcoSport for me. It will make everyone looking to buy any diesel car upwards of 7.5lacs and upto 12lacs OTR to think again. Its going to compete with a whole lot of cars from various segments.

It has better GC, driving position, funky styling(in & out), Rear mounted spare wheel to give the extra muscle and a whole lot more going for it.

Unless Renault slashes the price heavily or adds more features at the same price to take it beyond the Ecosport segment, it going to be a long road for Duster. Probably now Nissan can learn and price accordingly their Duster based mini SUV.

[aniketi]

Base model Eco Sport on road price is 6.5 Lacs. So ..

So what??

Obviously its Ecosport all the way. What a car at that pricing with so many features. Hats of to Ford for this. Duster is no where near due to Fords pricing. Ford has proved that for good looking, well built cars, you dont always need very high budget. Ford is clear winner here.

[RoadTrippin]

Apart from the fact that both cars have been tagged as SUVs (one mini, the other compact?), I am struggling to see how they are fair comparisons. The EcoSport is little more than an outsized hatch, brilliantly equipped, the turbo charged petrol engine is the one that i find fascinating. An AT option also emphasises Ford's positioning of the EcoSport as an urban vehicle. If one were forced to do a comparison, the Ford will win the hearts and wallets of largely city drivers.

The Duster though is bulkier, has a more imposing presence on the road and despite its tacky interiors provides the better highway experience, in addition to being able to handle bad roads better. I do see the 2 co-existing, however a lot of people who wanted a 'bigger' car for their daily commute and picked the duster due to a lack of choice will now move to the EcoSport no doubt.

Duster's 4x4 will further establish its position as the Rural SUV (?!) as opposed to the EcoSport which will appeal to the city slickers.

[Thunderbird77]

Holy Smokes! Ecosport wins hands down even before the game starts! Duster is a good choice compared to other SUVs, like Endeavour, Fortuner, XUV, Safari/Storme, Pajero that are either over kill or over priced for the Indian SUV Market. I have seen Renaults mostly in France, may be because it is a French brand and due to French people's Anglo/Americo phobic attitude. Otherwise, Renault is unknown in other big auto markets. I have seen some in the UK but I heard horror stories about the reliability of this brand when I was in Britain (subjective opinion).
Ford, on the other hand, priced its Ecosport nicely based on it's grand success of Figo. It has better service networks too.
I think, in the duel between Duster and Ecosport, Duster will bite the dust, surely.
Ecosport may survive till Maruti comes up with a frugal Indianized SUV ("Sidekick", may be?).

[Kartik Kumar]

Duster for (everything based on reviews, yet to test drive it myself)

1. Ride quality
2. Boot space (we like to carry our world with us)
3. Space for 5 adults (when you need it, you need it)
4. Possibility of an AWD version
5. Ride quality (I have a 1.2 Palio Sport version, handling and dynamics are great, ride quality absolutely sucks on Indian roads).

Hate the price - its overpriced by 2.5 lakhs at least. Hate the bare-bones interior of the lower versions.

[vishalchaudhary]

This poll and its most probable result proves that having a great headstart in the beginning helps, but only as long as there is no opponent who is saving energy for making a quick dash just before the finish line. Like everyone knows, Ford took a long time in bringing the Ecosport to the Indian market, however, in that time the company must have surveyed extensively on the price expected by the customer and what all features the market needs.

While I don't expect that Renault would reduce its prices or offer any discounts, the waiting period will certainly come down for the Duster as Ecosport is only the second mini-suv in the Indian market and Ford has been in India for around 15 years now, which helps a lot.

P.S. - I voted for Ecosport for its looks, features and pricing.

[Ren8]

I'll go with the Ecosport ,futuristic styling,better interiors and the Ecoboost which is a gem of an engine outshines the over-priced Duster. The Duster sold really well in numbers as there was no direct competition in this segment.It's going to be tough for the Duster as the compact suv market is getting heated up.

[lancer_maniac]

Eco-sport all the way for me just for its price and design.I was contemplating on upgrading my Mom's Eon to Polo. I guess i may have to rethink now.SUV for a price of a hatchback .Its something to look at definitely.

[kiranknair]

My first post on team-bhp. I voted for EcoSport. The reasons being aggressive pricing, safety( 6 airbags), a more futuristic design. There is a novelty in the vehicle, unlike many manufacturers who just dump their outdated vehicles stripping out certain features when it comes to India.

[SDP]

This thread and the comments are becoming increasingly amusing.

With all due respect, I am not sure if even 10% of the people who expressed their opinion have actually seen both the vehicles, and I don't mean in photographs.

People who have seen both the vehicles would realize that there is no real comparison here. These people would realize that EcoSport is significantly (not marginally) smaller than the Duster and the photos in the first post of this thread are not on the same scale. These are vehicles from 2 different segments. Since both the segments are new to India, there is a confusion and that's why apples-to-oranges comparisons are happening.

engrohit or any other Duster owners, if it is not too much trouble, can you take a picture of your Duster standing next to the EcoSport, something like the following image from the official review:


If you can capture a few more angles (e.g. a single snap from the front of both vehicles), that would be really appreciated.

In my opinion, most people who would actually buy the EcoSport would be people who were looking for a good hatch. I doubt, people who are looking for space and size of a proper sedan or a SUV would pick up the EcoSport.

People who are excited about 'SUV in the price of a premium hatch or small sedan', I don't really want to open a can of worms by saying 'SUV?'. What is a SUV is a matter open to each one of us. Even the government did not have a definition for a SUV till about 3 months back (and then they came up with a ridiculous one). Is the SUV only about butch looks and high ground clearance? Are size, space and road-presence also parameters that define the 'SUV'? I really don't know and don't want to get into that debate as well (at least not on this thread).

All I am saying is that, people should actually go to the dealer, see and feel the vehicles being compared and then form an opinion.

[TheARUN]

The Duster is a very competent vehicle, no doubt about that, the bottom line is, how much do you have to pay for it? Renault have over priced the Duster, maybe the launch of the Ecosport would force them to rationalise their prices, at the moment, looking from a purely pricing point of view, the Ecosport gives you more bang for the buck

Also, though GMC created the SUV with its Suburban, its Ford who is currently riding the wave with its F150. So lets not take away the point that Ford knows a thing or two about SUVs and also with the Figo, they have proved that they can make budget cars. Wish Ford all the best, them getting aggressive is in the end good for us the Customers