[saisrujan]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

Of course, the gearbox also plays a vital roll in drive-ability and hence FE. How are the ratios on the EcoBoost? The 6 speed GB that comes with the Laura has very well spaced ratios...

Thanks for bringing the gearbox up. I should have written about one peculiar aspect of gearing.

When under load and I slow down to a crawl to negotiate a sky-scraping speed-bump, I'm sometimes forced to downshift to the 1st. Now this could be because of turbo-lag, or this could be because of a tall second gear. So, I end up spend a little longer on the first gear, and maybe this impacts mileage in the city.

The rest of the gears are spaced well, and allow a good transition within the power band. I can drive comfortably between 1500-2500 RPM, and maybe go to 3000 RPM for a peppy take-off once in a while.

[DeKay]

Saisrujan,
Have you tried out the SYNC? Does it work well with Android?

[saisrujan]

Originally Posted by DeKay

Saisrujan,
Have you tried out the SYNC? Does it work well with Android?

I have tried it with my Galaxy S3. Here are my observations:

• Works well to play music - quality of playback over bluetooth doesn't bring out the best of the speakers.
• Voice commands to play a specific track / album / artist don't work. I can use voice to can play / pause / go to next track (and we don't a voice command to do that - we have steering mounted controls to do that). If I ask Sync to play a track, it clearly says "this operation is not supported". Quite disappointed. Now I need to get a USB drive, copy music into that and use it.
• Making / receiving calls works well. Your voice is well-heard by the other person, and the other person's voice can be nicely heard inside the car. Every one in the car can speak up - like a speaker phone.
• Dialing numbers by name is a hit-and-miss affair. Sync does surprisingly well sometimes, but it can accidentally call the wrong person sometimes - you gotta press 'hang-up' button to stop placing the call - can lead to awkward moments if you're not fast enough.
• Phone gets paired automatically any time you get into the car, and starts playing back the song where you left off. If you were listening to a song at home using your phone, and then get into the car, it sometimes starts where you paused, and sometimes starts from the beginning of the song (depending on whether you paused the song or closed the app).
• Bluetooth pairing has issues if the phone is restarted (typically happens when you battery goes dead, and then you charge it and re-start the phone). The next time you get into the car, sync can't pair. I have to toggle the bluetooth on the phone to get it going. Not sure if the problem is with sync or with the phone.

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by saisrujan

Alright, here are the FE figures for the ecoboost - using a full-tank to full-tank averaging method. I drove a total of 507km since my last full-tank and the tank took in 44.25 liters of unleaded at Shell.

So, the mileage I got is 11.45 kmpl.

Give the engine some time to run in and the FE should improve. Also I assume this is your first turbo charged car. You will also need some time to understand the engine's characteristics and dynamics. With turbo charged cars its best to stay in the turbo band for best results. Upshifting to higher gears quickly will not yield the same efficiency results that you would get with NA engines.

It would be interesting to see some pure highway mileage figures as that's where one can really evaluate the engine's efficiency. City traffic conditions are highly varying and generally I find most modern petrol cars capable of returning anywhere between 8 and 12 kpl depending on traffic conditions , amount of idling at signals, etc... TSI engines really shine on the highway as far as efficiency is concerned. The 1.0L ecoboost too sounds very promising in that respect. I am sure if you drive it for efficiency you can get some amazing figures. I have seen my Laura TSI delivering upto 20 kmpl on stretches of highway if kept between 80 ~ 100 kmph

[Nikz]

I saw and test drived Ecosport last week.
The car looks really cool and Titanium version seems to have done justice for the pricing.
But I was a bit doubtfull about the stability of the drive during cornering at speeds above 80 km/hr.

[DeKay]

saisrujan,
How much have you driven till date? Any rattles/ other niggles?

[saisrujan]

Originally Posted by Nikz

But I was a bit doubtfull about the stability of the drive during cornering at speeds above 80 km/hr.

The higher ground clearance will lead to higher center-of-gravity than regular sedans. So, if you're used to driving sedans, there could be some element of discomfort. Also, it could be that the relatively lighter steering might not give you the confidence you're looking for. But it definitely handles well.

You shouldn't take tight corners at 80kmph. This is no sports car.

Originally Posted by DeKay

saisrujan,
How much have you driven till date? Any rattles/ other niggles?

I've done about 750 km so far.

I've observed one problem, but you won't encounter it unless you are 5'1". I sit with the seat pulled quite forward (closer to the steering and foot controls). The leather seat (the thigh-support area) rubs against the gear lever console and makes a rubbing noise every time I depress the clutch. Not sure what can I do to prevent it. Maybe I should have a more relaxed seating position, needs more trials.

The other problem is that the doors are a little hard. Half the time, the doors don't close well. I have to re-open the door and close it with a bigger "thud". Not sure why this is happening, maybe it will get better over time.

No other niggles / rattles to report.

[amitdan]

Hey....interestingly I think I saw you when you were taking photos of your vehicle...

Looks like Hyderabad outer ring road. I was driving my Duster on a Saturday evening couple of weeks back towards the airport and saw this white EcoSport being photographed. Actually would have had stopped and talked but was cruising down the highway and did not want to interrupt my ride.

Hope you enjoy your ride

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by saisrujan

I've observed one problem, but you won't encounter it unless you are 5'1". I sit with the seat pulled quite forward (closer to the steering and foot controls). The leather seat (the thigh-support area) rubs against the gear lever console and makes a rubbing noise every time I depress the clutch. Not sure what can I do to prevent it. Maybe I should have a more relaxed seating position, needs more trials.

Interesting. Not sure I understood correctly. If possible, can you take a picture of this and post here? That will give a better idea. Thanks.

[niks_devil666]

Originally Posted by saisrujan

Alright, here are the FE figures for the ecoboost - using a full-tank to full-tank averaging method. I drove a total of 507km since my last full-tank and the tank took in 44.25 liters of unleaded at Shell.

So, the mileage I got is 11.45 kmpl.

Out of the 507 km, I believe I've driven about 200 km on the highway.

This figure is for generally enthusiastic driving (I have not consciously been light footed and I have tried not to cross 3000 rpm).

I don't have a split for highway / city driving - I just figured out how to use the real-time mileage meter. Yet, nothing like a full-tank to full-tank test in real-world conditions.

Good or bad? well, I'm sure I'll be happy if the mileage matches that of 1.6l NA cars. Any good bench-marks to compare with, folks? If any of you have real-time mileages for comparable petrol cars (1.5 / 1.6 liter NA engines), it would be great if you can share them here.

After a 45 litres refuel at shell , my baleno easily touches 600 km mark. Most of the time I get 13kmpl+ , and yes a/c on all the time at 24-25* C
Ecoboost doesnt make sense if the mileage is so low :(

[penpavan]

Originally Posted by niks_devil666

After a 45 litres refuel at shell , my baleno easily touches 600 km mark. Most of the time I get 13kmpl+ , and yes a/c on all the time at 24-25* C
Ecoboost doesnt make sense if the mileage is so low :(

What is Baleno's weight?

[niks_devil666]

Originally Posted by penpavan

What is Baleno's weight?

Its very light at 960-970 KGS

[saisrujan]

Originally Posted by amitdan

Hey....interestingly I think I saw you when you were taking photos of your vehicle...

Aah well, interesting. Let's see if we bump into each other again (not literally).

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

Interesting. Not sure I understood correctly. If possible, can you take a picture of this and post here? That will give a better idea. Thanks.

The seat is in contact with the gear-lever housing, and when I press down on the clutch (this pressing down on the thigh-support area of the seat), the leather (or leatherette) rubs against the housing. But it's happening lesser and lesser, and I'm constantly working on my seating position.

Originally Posted by niks_devil666

Its very light at 960-970 KGS

The ecosport is 21% heavier, and has 28% more frontal surface area causing drag (Baleno: 1690W X 1390H = 2.35 Sq.m vs Ecosport: 1765W x 1708H = 3.01 Sq.m). Ecoboost engine offers 34% more power (125 bhp of ecoboost vs 93 bhp on Baleno petrol) and 30% more torque (170Nm 130 Nm). I'm not even going into tyre profile and such.

Now, is it fair to expect better FE on the ecoboost when compared to the Baleno?

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by saisrujan

The seat is in contact with the gear-lever housing, and when I press down on the clutch (this pressing down on the thigh-support area of the seat), the leather (or leatherette) rubs against the housing. But it's happening lesser and lesser, and I'm constantly working on my seating position.

I have to point out one more thing. See that Piano black housing that the seat is rubbing against? Be very careful with that. This develops scratches easily. The TD vehicle had a lot of scratches on it.

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by saisrujan

The seat is in contact with the gear-lever housing, and when I press down on the clutch (this pressing down on the thigh-support area of the seat), the leather (or leatherette) rubs against the housing. But it's happening lesser and lesser, and I'm constantly working on my seating position.

Thanks for the picture, now I understand.
I am sorry to say this is a poor design by Ford. Looks like they are going Mahindra way :-( I think you should register a complain with Ford. Even though it won't help directly in your case, they should use it to improve the things in the next facelift/update. BTW, did you notice this at all during your test drive?

And thanks for the candid feedback on specific things that you have been seeing/experiencing with this vehicle. It should help everyone.

Cheers!