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-   -   My Chill Pill – Ford EcoSport 1.5L Diesel (Ambient Variant). UPDATE - Now Sold! (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/139730-my-chill-pill-ford-ecosport-1-5l-diesel-ambient-variant-update-now-sold-5.html)

Hey Sharninder: Thank you so much for your kind feedback!
I have driven close to 1100 Km and hers is my feedback so far! I will post this in the thread for benefit of others too if you don't mind!

Good
1) I bought this thinking it is a small car and would help me park easily in office. Not true at all. It is neither small nor big. Hence it has resulted in people congratulations me on getting a "Big Car" and hence certainly gives a bang for every rupee i have spent
2) I can go on about the looks but in short! A attention grabber in every sense! The build quality, paint quality, cladding etc is excellent.
3) No rattles or any other part not working so far! Build quality is top notch! The guy who installed my camera mentioned " solid body parts and materials used!" I am now used to closing the door hard, else it does not close
4) Music system, AC etc are functioning quite well! No need to add anything more!
5) Rear camera is very useful now after i changed its angle (to avoid sunlight falling on it). If people are getting it, ensure that the rear camera screen fits into the slot for the bigger MID (Trend & Ambient versions) well so that sunlight does not fall on it.
6) Boot quite adequate. Boot light and front dimming light are quite useful. The car does not switch off the parking light and dimming light if door is not closed (or) you forgot the switch off the head lights. Quite a useful feature.
7) The blue tooth is most useful feature and people don't know most of the times that i am speaking over the car mic. However i use it only when i am driving a fair distance since i cant keep my blue tooth on in my iphone which has bad battery back up. Also dialing out is an issue and I have to use the phone. Hence I have purchased a phone holder which i have clamped on to the right side AC vent. Mostly using it to receive calls so that i don't distract myself searching for the contact. The phone directory is not that easy to use (again may be steering mounted controls could have helped but the information is still displayed in central MID and hence difficult to read)
8) Suspension and ride is quite nice & plaint. The big potholes however thud through inside. Wish it could absorb them little bit more.


Bad
1) Seat comfort not very good! May be because i am tall & broad but wish the seats were more comfortable! I am not sure how to fix this issue but for now too broke to think of spending any more money on it
2) The MID (Trend & ambient only) console for music system & bluetooth is not visible during sunlight reflection. Hence usable only during night! I have been planning to get a handmade shade but yet to be done for lack of time. The USB stick too hindered the view but a USB replacement has taken care of the issue (already updated in my thread)
3) Doors shape/line and lack of door stop levels means it opens completely to maximum level & could dent itself or nearby cars. Same applies on rear hatchback (wish the rear hatch door opened upwards). If only it opened with 3 stop levels, it would have been easier. Due to door shape, the rubber guards didn't stick to the doors and popped out. Now need to cut the door guard into smaller bits and re-stick them with 3M double side tape. Door guards are absolutely needed to avoid scratches to the car (neighboring car as well since this is now parked next to the E-series at home which is my big worry)
4) While I have ridden very less & yet to calculate FE correctly, so far I feel it is not giving me more than 12 KM/L in the city. :Shockked: I will calculate it on my next 2 refills and report the correct figures. This could also be because of my petrol to diesel transition which i am getting used to. I am not able to coast on 2nd gear like i used to in my petrol car & constantly keep moving to 1st gear in start stop traffic. Also in second gear without pressing the accelerator and just managing the clutch the car propels forward quite fast. Not sure it is how diesel engine works or is it a problem! Will get it checked in first service
5) Steering is quite light which is a boon in the city. However in highway when i was new to the car, i saw a dog suddenly dart-in and had to swerve suddently to avoid it. The sudden move made the car juggle & dance quite a bit which scared me and my wife about its stability. However after getting used to the vehicle high GC, I now understand the car better and feel it is stable enough (not as much as a sedan but quite ok) even while taking the turnings on good speeds. Just need to be careful on handling the steering which will automatically come once you start driving the car
6) Thick A-pillar is a problem but after you drive it for some time, you get used to it and adjust your style. I don't feel it now but felt it initially.

Add-on's so far
1) Blue LED round ashbox for keeping coins etc - 200 Rs (ebay)
2) Sandisk USB to avoid hinder view - 499 Rs (Suggested by teambhpian vasuki)
3) Phone holder - Good useful option which has multiple options (glass holder, dahsboard holder, Ac vent holder) - using it on Ac vent holder since thats most convinient. Hardly any place left in dashboard - 250 Rs
4) Perfume (with 2 refills) - average quality - 200 Rs
5) Car vacuum - Quite a lot of dust collects inside and its difficult to clean it. Bought one off ebay which can be plugged into the 12v socket in the car. Yet to use it however - 850 Rs (ebay)
6) Dood guards (set of 8) - Rubber guards to protect doors from scratches (yours and neibhours too). Need to get 3M tape too stick it agian. - 400 Rs

Pending upgrades
1) MID shade to block out sunlight
2) Some kind of decal / air vent design just over the front tyre to improve the look. The area over the front Tyre is quite large. I am not getting those anywhere.
3) Door guards to be stuck again
4) Front bumper guard / nudge guard with nice lights (or) lights on top of car windscreen. Will only look at it once vitamin M improves & market has more such accessories for the Ecosport. For now the market does not have many options.
5) Change stock lights with Philips extreme vision 90/100 at a later point if required.
6) Front bumper applique once Ford gets enough stock of it

To sum up, it has been a VFM product :thumbs up so far & I am loving the attention it gets. The drive is good and enough features for my usage. My only misgiving is the missing steering mounted audio controls and I would recommend people to get Trend (budget permitting) at least.

Will update more pictures soon!

Hi UrajKumar,

That write up is quite useful for prospective owners of the Ecosport like me. However, if you don't mind, it'd be a favor if you could upload a couple of pics of each of the Blue LED coin box, Phone holder on the AC vent and the Door guards. Just want to see how it looks on the car, take your advice and buy the right product for mine. Ill be needing these too.

Thanks. :)

Hi Urajkumar,

Thanks for a lovely detailed review of this new monster in the market. Just a question on the base model; Is'nt there anyway to cover the stepny tyre like the other models? If the cover is available individually from Ford or out of market dealers it would make a big difference to the overall looks of the car I feel.

Another note to all members who prefer a custom perfume in their cars and are bored of the usual ones available like Ambipur or Shangdong etc. A very good way to destress and relax would be to keep the original perfume bottle and refill it with a number of aroma oils available in lifestyle stores. It ranges from about Rs 150-200 for 10 ml, lemongrass, tea tree oil may be good options. This one below is for Rs 71.

http://purplle.com/product/aroma-tre...FYwF4god3E0AaA

Fabulous looking odometer and dashboard, the blue looks very snazzy.

Thanks mate, some really fine user points that you have mentioned here.

Thank you Nitish! The photos will be uploaded by this weekend! Not able to find time & the mobile camera does not do justice to team BHP users!

Thank you! The stepney cover is available for all models as a ford accessory but it costs 10000 INR. Also i feel hiding the alloys does not do justice to the alloy and prefer keeping it open for now!

Thanks bro! Its the least i can do considering how much knowledge & help i have gained from team bhp users while making my choice! Time to payback to all the helpful team bhpians out there by sharing my experience constantly!

That's correct about the look of stepny as open alloy wheels, however it may depend on every individual. my thinking was that since all platinum models have stepny covered, this is the only way to make it NOT look like the base model. :-)

Even the Titanium (Option) Model which is top end does not have Stephny cover as default! Its available only as a ford accessory.

Let me congratulate you once again. I felt Ecosport was a perfect car for small families and for a little more price over a premium hatch, one can afford a proper SUV which can take on weekend long drives without worrying about the road conditions.

I notice you are not happy with FE. But looks like you have not driven more and also it looks like city only FE. Same engine running on Fiesta is returning good mileage, so Ecosport cant be too behind the sedan if not same.

How is the backseat comfort ? I would like to know the back seat comfort while going on bumpy roads.

I did manage to test an Ecosport. Re backseat; found this to be a bit too compact for three adults, less legroom. It was no different than backseat comfort of a small sedan. I guess that will be one drawback of this car which has scored well in other areas. Re fuel economy; Does it not increase after first 1000 Kms as per dealers of other cars quote?

Thanks Bro! I am hoping the FE improves after first service (the calculation actually showed 9.5 and not 12) and also attributing it to my style of driving which after years of driving petrol needs more diesel practice.

In the 1000 km only once did people sit behind the car (95% it is used only by me) & they found the rear just like swift(read: average) in terms of space and almost the same in terms of suspension. I too felt the thud even in medium sized craters but i recently checked my tire pressure and reset it to 30. After which i see a considerable improvement in the suspension. The fuel pump executive after seeing the vehicle suggested 33 PS but on reading the manual I asked him to fill 30ps which seems to be helping.

Yup the rear seat is good only for 2.5 people but like Raj has pointed out its an urban car used for a small family of 2+1 (like mine)! For 8 lakhs OTR, I still think its gives tremendous bang for your rupee (which unfortunately now seems to be bungee jumping)

Fingers crossed on the fuel economy!please: I will update it after the first service!

Ecosport - 1800 KM (My usage continues to be very less) update

I have driven the car primarily in the City with one drive to Pondy with friends & here is my brief update

Good
1) Continues to garner looks & appreciation
2) The light steering is perfect! After driving the ES, i drove the Santro & Innova & felt that it didnt have power steering!:Shockked: Trust me, Even the innova which i always found as perfect, now feels very hard! After getting used to ES, i guess the only alternative for the next car is Hyundai / Honda! In highways it didn't feel as light as it did in city!
3) Music system & AC are fantastic
4) Build quality is rock solid - no niggles or rattles till date
5) In spite of high GC, no body roll in highways & felt stable at high speeds!
6) Perfect for City since its small & easy to park in office!

Bad
1) Lack of pulling power in 2nd gear! Whenever i slow down, i have to push the accelerator to make the car come back to normal speed! I don't know if something is wrong here or it is my driving style (or) the Petrol Diesel transition but i don't like the shudder on low speeds in 2nd gear! Almost as if it begs to go back to 1st gear
2) This is an Urban SUV period! I didn't feel comfortable in my highway ride to Pondy since it runs out of breath soon & needs constant gear changing to keep up! May be it is an unfair comment because I am used to the Skoda Superb Or Innova but that is what i feel. I will avoid using this on highways going forward
3) From Petrol to Diesel, I feel clutch is slightly hard & I do get leg pain on long drives which I didn't feel as much earlier.
4) FE is still showing as 12Kmpl but I hope it improves after first service. Also my drive to office till date is very short with lots of gear changing and painful reversing! Need to check the same during first service.

No additional modifications or Accessories planned as of now mainly because nothing exciting has come and lack of vitamin M!

Still whenever someone asks me cost & I say its 7.9 lakhs OTR (Plus 60K for accessories), people don't believe me! Then i say its Diesel and their eyes pop-out! :D I am glad that i took delivery of the car instead of waiting since i have saved at least 50000 due to the price hike!

Yet to take more pictures since I have been busy at work! Will try to take some this weekend and post.

Hi Uraj,

Something I may have missed here (my apologies for that) and what has baffled me since last few weeks is one single question. This car had all the qualities to fulfill a car lovers fantasy; looks, power, good FE, string body etc. but how on earth can this new star of a car NOT have a sunroof..or even an option for one? I understand that there are off market ones like Webasto etc however the whole time effort of getting it done from outside, finding, sourcing etc would be quite a task especially in non metros. Add to it the risk of getting a new car under the knife and quality issues which only the company fit can do best. I feel it may just be there in the EcoSport's next update. Ah, give me the sunroof and this car goes no.1 in my list, a dream would be a panoramic sunroof in a base model maybe? Can you imagine how would it look? Especially when there is compact space in the cabin, opening roof will give it that much needed space :-)

I agree that the sunroof will make it look hot but there are other basic features missed which I think they should consider.

1) Auto folding ORVM (a must)
2) Seat belt height adjustment (a must)
3) DRL's (possible in the facelift)
4) Rain sensing wipers and lights (might push the price further so dont think it will happen)
5) Modern MID display with navigation
6) Rear AC vents not required as the cabin is small and the main AC unit works really well.