[SDP]

Sorry for the OT on this thread.

Originally Posted by stormerider

....Ecosport is like xuv, has more gadgets, But less space. ...

XUV has less space? Compared to what? A train-compartment may be.

[nilanjanray]

Voted for the Duster. I am actually surprised to see the EcoSport trouncing the Duster. Are pricing and refinement the main reasons?

A SUV should have some SUV traits - and the Renault - relatively speaking - comes closer than the Ford.

Apart from the looks and positioning, how different is EcoSport - from the old Fusion which was a very practical vehicle? That flopped, while it seems the EcoSport is gonna be a big success, going by the interest.

Zeitgeist

[ampere]

Originally Posted by nilanjanray

Apart from the looks and positioning, how different is EcoSport - from the old Fusion which was a very practical vehicle? That flopped, while it seems the EcoSport is gonna be a big success, going by the interest.

I got my Duster last year. And ironically I changed from a Fusion! My assessment was Fusion had more space than Ecosport. Hence did not wait for it to come out and went with Duster. Now nearing nearing 10 months of driving and 15k+ on the odo. No repentance on the decision.

Fords drive well, but space was a priority.

[engrohit]

Originally Posted by SDP

Sorry for the OT on this thread.

XUV has less space? Compared to what? A train-compartment may be.

SDP, I think he meant "Ecosport has more gadgets like XUV, but less space".
I believe the punctuation marks were misleading, otherwise there is no space comparison with XUV and ecosport.

[narayan]

Voted for the Ecosport
Why ?
Exteriors - Though looks can be subjective I would believe most would like the Ecosport. Its a more equisite design as well with multiple surfaces/creases compared to the bland Duster ( some might see beauty in the blandness as well )

Interiors - hands down win to Ford in both quality of materials, fit and finish. Am guessing here but ES interiors will age much better than the Duster. In the space dept Duster has an edge especially in the boot space but I feel when you factor in the probability of boot usage + option of a roof rack, again ES wins.

Drive train - this should be an even battle all though for petrol alone Ford has an edge.

Features - again ES wins

Price - no brainer. Even if you factor the excise duty benefit Ford got, I think they priced it really well.

[stormerider]

Originally Posted by SDP

Sorry for the OT on this thread.

XUV has less space? Compared to what? A train-compartment may be.

Was referring to ecosport having less space in comparison. Would love to have a new thread comparing xuv and train!

[suhaas307]

I agree with the general opinion on the two cars here. The EcoSport and Duster are different. While the difference in exterior dimensions isn't day and night (yup, I checked) but the interior room is vastly different. This is because the EcoSport is modeled on the Fiesta and that automatically classifies it as a four seater at best.

The Duster on the other hand is actually a heavily reskinned and reworked Logan chassis. And we all know how spacious the Logan is. The knee room may be okay, but the rear bench and shoulder room is definitely more in comparison to the EcoSport and Fiesta.

In essence though, these cars are simply bloated up hatchbacks that are designed to tackle bad roads and this versatility helps classify them as urban SUVs.

The comparison is still skewed thanks to the huge difference in pricing. In Bangalore, the 1.5 tdi Titanium (o) costs 11.2 lakhs. For that sort of money, you wouldn't get a similarly spec'd Duster. In fact I'm not sure if you would get even the base diesel Duster. A similarly (and I have to say, modestly - in comparison) spec'd Duster would set you back 13.7 today. And that would be the 85 RxL(o), not the 110. The 110 is hitting 15 lakhs now and then some.

So the difference between the top-end EcoSport and top-end Duster is a mammoth 2.5 - 4 lakhs for the 85 and 110 respectively. This substantial price difference alone makes this comparison a little silly.

Perhaps when Ford begins to increase the price of the EcoSport and when Renault decides to wake the hell up and correct the Duster's hysterical asking price, we could have a better comparison on our hands.

But for the sake of comparison, I still believe the EcoSport is the better city car while the Duster is the better highway car, if price isn't considered as a criteria.

[TheARUN]

Looks like the Duster is not going to be hit as badly as I would have thought with the Ecosport coming in. The waiting periods quoted are too long and that would make customers who are serious about the Duster stay with the Duster and not jump fences. Ford is losing an opportunity here, but maybe they have their reasons, the Ecosport has drummed up demand overseas too, so net-net the Company is making the desired profit on the vehicle, whether or not the Indian customers are rightfully catered to

[NPV]

EcoSport - hatch on stilts, Duster - sedan on stilts.
Sorry for the very crude analogy, just my personal view point.

Ecosport pricing range being wide, it can potentially eat into the territories dominated by other manufacturers so that's the advantage it has. Ford's production being able to scale up to meet the increased demand is another thing, they have to get that right in order to tap the market.
At this point, it may be too premature to write off the Duster, never know if they'll bounce back with a price cut (yes, i'm hoping they will!)

[McLaren Roxx]

Found a few side-by-side snaps of the EcoSport & Duster online.

note: images are copyright of their respective owners

[gitartha]

Sorry, none cuts out for me. Without 4WD & Hi-Lo ratios, a vehicle doesn't qualify as an SUV , even with 200mm+ ground clearance.

If this was so, why not include the Premier Rio in the comparison. It is too a "Mini SUV" by these standards, with a 1.5 litre engine option to boot.

[k_ajay]

Originally Posted by engrohit

I voted for Duster ( not only because I own one) but because at 6' 2" I care about space. I want a car which has butch SUV feel seated inside.
Today while returning with colleagues from office we passed by a test drive Ecosport on GB Road and both my friends said in tandem "Itni chotti hai" (it's so tiny), and that my fellow friends is the road presence that Ecosport offers.

So one buys a 4 wheeler tagged as SUV mainly for road presence? The Tata Safari guys would be saying the same thing when they pass by the Duster. Kitni chotti hai.

Just a high stance doesn't make a vehicle SUV. The Duster currently sold is no SUV either.

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Most people haven't even TD the Ecosport and if have then for extremely short distances.

Unless a car is really not selling, which dealership offers really long TDs? People are lining up to td the EcoSport and obviously they'll only be able to do a regular/short td.

Originally Posted by 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?

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.

Actually you may be wrong. It's not the EcoSport that the 'in between' vehicle but it is the duster, that is. The Safari's, Jeeps and Pajeros are the real SUVs. Everyone knows the EcoSport is just a taller hatchback. The Urban SUV is a tag given by Ford and that doesn't make the vehicle an SUV. So which is the neither here nor there vehicle now?

Also, space or vehicle size doesn't permit a vehicle to be called SUV. It's based on what the vehicle is capable on. Currently neither the duster nor the EcoSport are SUVs and that's the reality, no matter how much anyone wants to debate.

Originally Posted by nilanjanray

Voted for the Duster. I am actually surprised to see the EcoSport trouncing the Duster. Are pricing and refinement the main reasons?

A SUV should have some SUV traits - and the Renault - relatively speaking - comes closer than the Ford.

Apart from the looks and positioning, how different is EcoSport - from the old Fusion which was a very practical vehicle? That flopped, while it seems the EcoSport is gonna be a big success, going by the interest.

Just 1 point based on the SUV traits. By the claim and the statement above, duster is more of an SUV than EcoSport then? But in reality it isn't and that's a shame. At 200mm GC, the EcoSport has 550mm water wading capability (useful for cities where rains cause flood havoc). Pity the so called larger 'suv' duster is only capable of 350mm, having 205mm GC.. Some trait.


Point is both vehicles are not SUVs and just be claiming to be bigger, the current Duster doesn't become an SUV. Get that right. People are lining up to buy the EcoSport simply because it's more vfm and practical than any other mini-suv. Not everyday do 4 wheeler owners seat 5 adults in the rear bench and carry in excess of 450 litres of cargo. Still, the duster probably has a wider rear bench seat and a large 475 litre boot.

And with respect to size, the attached photos below should stop all irrelevant and silly comparisons on size.. The Duster is just larger than the EcoSport. Not 'waay' larger.

Funny after claiming the comparison is apples to oranges, the duster is still being claimed to be the better 'suv'; don't know what is more childish.

P.S: I own neither vehicle nor a fanboy of either.


Photo credits: Motorbeam.com

[ahmad.007]

For me, the Ford is the winner on pricing alone.
Even with reasoning, the Ecosport comes out ahead.
I will try to keep it short and to the point.

Exterior- This should be on personal prefence, but Ford looks much more bulky and massiv-ier than the Renault. After ecosport's launch, Duster has started looking outdated.

Interior- Ecosport wins hands down. The ford is much more modern from the inside. Duster has a decent dash, but not modern enough. Also the lack of ACC in Duster puts it to disadvantage.
On asking a SA from Renault's showroom about the exclusion of ACC from duster's list, I was told-"The duster misses out on such features because it has been kept a little manly". Strange explanation for cost cutting I think.

Engine- In terms of pure performance duster 110 D leaps ahead but loses out on driveability. While the Ecosport's mill is kind of a jack of all trades. Im not comparing petrol because we all know who the winner is there.

Features- Ford, miles ahead.

Compromises-
Boot space- I would gladly compromise on 100 lts of boot space if that saves me 2-3 lakh rupees.

Rear legroom- It is not as bad as depicted. Top model duster gets a rear air blower (as in vento) which fouls with the legroom of the fifth passenger.

I feel like I have missed many points. But these are enough for me to choose Ford over the Renault, not to forget the better refinement/NVH levels in the ford.

[drkritik]

Voted for Duster..
Thinking of Upgrading from Ritz, so a comfortable 5 seater is more than welcome,
My doubt was Ertiga Vs Duster, (on Rural roads Monthly) No doubt ES will affect sales of Ertiga too.
Only thing of Concern is A.S.S. in Hyderabad & Expected makeover for Duster .

Excellent Thread, Made me take a second look at Ford ES , will definitely take a Test Drive of ES, esp the Automatic Variant.

The trend is clear for :" Its neither Here nor there Vehicles" MS LUV was a big success (Sedan> Ertiga < MUV) so will be Ford ES (Urban SUV: Hatch /Sedan >ES < SUV) !

Auto Manufactures should take note : You should come up with out of the box solutions, This is India ! No guarantee that what worked internationally will work here.. (Mc. D Started selling Aloo Tikki & Pizza Hut Tandoori Pizzas !)
It Just depends how Practical, Economical & How Contemporary your mix is.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by drkritik

Voted for Duster..
Thinking of Upgrading from Ritz, so a comfortable 5 seater is more than welcome,
My doubt was Ertiga Vs Duster, (on Rural roads Monthly) No doubt ES will affect sales of Ertiga too.

+10. Very valid point that most of us haven't considered yet in the hoopla going on around Duster vs the Ecosport. What is the role of the Ertiga in all this since its basically targeting the same segment. Infact I would not be too far from the truth in saying that the Ertiga might be more closely fighting with the Ecosport than the Duster since it also offers more of a multipurpose utility and aims at people planning to buy both the premium hatches and C segment sedans. The Duster on the other hand looks and feels more SUVish and would probably suit someone better who is looking for a comfortable 5 seater SUV kind of vehicle at around 10-12L.