[ecosport]

Originally Posted by urajkumar

The only think i would disagree is your impression of Ambient grill being cartoonish since I have an ambient & I think the black theme (ORVM, Grill, Cladding, roof rails etc in my Chill Mettalic) makes the ecosport look very cool. In fact one of the few things i liked in the Ambient version was the black grill since my personal opinion was that the chrome grill was too much bling (no offence again).

I sort of agree with you here. The all black grill minus the chrome looks extremely beautiful, in light colors like the white and chill metallic. But in dark colours like the black and sea grey, without the chrome, the black grill looks odd.

[Anoop_SG]

Originally Posted by ecosport

I sort of agree with you here. The all black grill minus the chrome looks extremely beautiful, in light colors like the white and chill metallic. But in dark colours like the black and sea grey, without the chrome, the black grill looks odd.

I personally feel that the silver trim in Trend variant is the best looking of the lot. Its sort of like a matte finish silver which really compliments the front fascia. It's neither too dull (like the all black) or too loud (like the chrome one) - just my two cents.

[84.monsoon]

Well, after a year of ownership, it is time to write about my long time ownership experience. Overall, I would say I am very satisfied. The vehicle gave me no major problems, has been very flexible for use in the city (mostly) and the occasional highway trip, which is the main reason I bought the car.

Highlights:
1. A responsive engine, good frontal visibility from an elevated driving position, very minimal turbo lag, an easy clutch and gearbox combination - these make driving in the city an effortless affair.
2. Ease of parking in the city - the short nature of the vehicle makes it easy to fit on parallel parking spaces.
2. Good street presence, although it is not a very big vehicle overall, the height and width give it some solid presence, autos and hatchback cars seem to make way for me more easily.
3. The fuel efficiency is reasonable for a 1300 KG vehicle, though very sensitive to driving style. I was able to get over 17 kmpl in sedate highway driving and about 10 kmpl in bumper-to-bumper city traffic on average.
4. A punchy 4th gear make overtaking vehicles in highways (especially slow moving trucks) relatively easy.
5. The uni body is quite stiff and a pleasure to handle on ghat sections with hairpin bends. The Salem - Yercaud route has 20 of them and I was able to use 3rd gear most of the time, occasionally dropping down to the 2nd. Body roll is quite controlled, mainly due to the stiffness of the chassis and the fact that the vehicle is really short lengthwise, with the wheels pushed closer to the edges.
6. Engine noise is quite subdued after the first few minutes once the engine is warmed up. It is not at all intrusive inside the cabin.
6. Low cost of first service. I did receive a coupon that covers a free first service, however, forgot about this and sent in the vehicle for service. The cost was pretty low, less than Rs. 5000. This, combined with the fact that service is due only once in 12 months or 10,000 KMs, means that the routine maintenance is not expensive or time consuming.
7. Tons of electronics makes life easy and enjoyable in this car - Bluetooth streaming (which is still not available in a 40 lakh plus BMW 320 D Prestige), visual rear parking sensors, key-less entry, stop-start button, and go, etc. have all become so much a part of the daily drive, I find myself annoyed when I have to drive other cars in the family without these features !
8. Nice paint quality - with good day to day maintenance, my car still shines as bright as it did on day 1.
9. Heavy, thick doors and safety features like the 6 airbags make the cabin a re-assuring place to be in. I do not know of any other car in the 10-12 lakh segment with the kind of safety features that the Ecosport Titanium Optional has.
10. Once off the dealer-provided (dealer-forced!) insurance, insuring the car is not very expensive if you shop around. I paid over 35K for dealer-forced insurance the first year and got equivalent coverage for half that price for the second year.
11. The ground clearance is very confidence inspiring. I have driven over huge potholes and also large protrusions on road and never scraped the vehicle anytime. Also drove over a foot of water a couple of times without any problems.

Low-lights
1. Very low fuel economy on bumper to bumper driving in city - I have got as less as 9.5 KMPL consistently in my daily 5 km runs through thick Chennai traffic with lots of starts and stops and very few sections allowing the vehicle to cruise.
2. Massive blind spots made by the A-pillars. Still not used to these a 100%, although I have not had any accidents so far due to these (touch-wood!)
3. Front end of the vehicle is not visible even for a 6 footer like me. Takes some getting used to, in terms of parking.
4. Deceptively wide vehicle, so easing into narrow parking spaces is not easy. Short spaces are OK but narrow ones are not!
5. Small squeaks and rattles seem to come and go all the time. I noticed some squeaks recently while turning the steering wheel, earlier had rattles coming in from the dash, which got fixed by the dealer.
6. Never managed to get the SYNC voice controls to work routinely. The menu options are not intuitive for me - maybe I did not try hard enough!
7. The bluetooth call quality does not seem to be the best. Although I can hear callers quite well, but they seem to be not a 100% pleased with the call quality, sometimes I have had people complain of echoes and lack of clarity overall.

Road-trip Experience:

Recently did an 800 km highway trip and got 15kmpl average fuel economy. I was doing 115-125 KMPH most of the time and wherever traffic and road conditions allowed, cruised at 140 KMPH. The vehicle is very composed up to 130 KMPH. It can do 140 KMPH steadily with a higher engine noise level, at around 3050 RPM. Going over 140 KMPH seems strained and you really have to floor the accelerator. I hit 160 KMPh on one stretch but it was quite some slow progress beyond about 150 KMPH. For all practical purposes, 120 KMPH is the ideal balance for me between speed and safety and at this speed, the vehicle handles very well and is not at all strained, and there is enough juice left for overtaking maneuvers. The steering weighs up very well at high speeds and is very direct and predictable.

I was driving 3 hour stretches without getting out of the car and the seats were surprisingly supportive and felt fresh even after long drives. Initially I had thought the seats were rather small, but it turns out they are perfectly shaped to be supportive on long distance runs. Overall, the trip smoothed out the car quite well, the engine feels a lot more smooth, calm and responsive now than before the trip.

[84.monsoon]

Got my Ecosport serviced for the recent recall regarding side airbag harness wiring. The service experience was quite smooth, took around 3 hours, including an update to the ECU and SYNC softwares. I must say Ford service is a long way ahead of VW, my previous car was a VW Polo.

After the ECU update, the vehicle seems to run a lot smoother, I noticed some reduction in the lag in low gears/low speeds.

I had been facing the issue of slightly jerky ride after a cold start in the mornings, even after idling for 30 seconds or so. The engine seemed to run in a "bursty" mode causing jerks in movement of the vehicle. This goes away after the first few minutes, but I am not sure why this should happen in the first place even after some idling. By the time the car reached the workshop, these jerks were not there anymore and so it could bot be reproduced at the service center. The technician assures me everything is fine. He thinks it may be because my running is so low that often a tank of Diesel lasts 30-35 days and leaving the Diesel that long in the vehicle may be causing it. He is asking me to leave the car overnight if I continue to face this problem, since the ECU update may have taken care of it.

Anyone else with the TDCI engine facing this problem?

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

Anyone else with the TDCI engine facing this problem?

Yes!! I face the exact same issue. About 10mins into the drive it smoothens out but till then throttle is quite jumpy. A small tickle and it jerks in gears. You need to adapt to it. I didn't bring it up cause I'm thinking it's only during warm up so might be a minor issue.

[rajathv8]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

I had been facing the issue of slightly jerky ride after a cold start in the mornings, even after idling for 30 seconds or so. The engine seemed to run in a "bursty" mode causing jerks in movement of the vehicle.

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Yes!! I face the exact same issue.

Were you guys able to solve this issue? Does it still exist?

[84.monsoon]

Eventually resolved itself after crossing 10K kms. My vehicle is now close to 20K.kms and it is butter smooth now, very linear, almost non existent turbo lag. Engine is extremely responsive to throttle inputs and acceleration seems to have improved too. It seems as though it gets better as your running increases.

[84.monsoon]

Update: In a few more months, my Ecosport will celebrate its 6th birthday. Have not taken it for a long drive in years, I have a different car for that!

The car has only done 22K since my office commute for which I use the vehicle literally every day, is only 5 kms round trip! In the city rides, you do not notice many of the car's high points. The relatively stiff suspension makes for good driving dynamics but the rear seat passengers are not the greatest fans of the car! The fuel efficiency hovers around 10.5 KPL on such short rides with multiple traffic lights.

Today, I took the car for a long 6 hour drive to interior TN. I fell in love with the car again, literally. I had forgotten how good the car is on the highway. The ride is extremely flat and high speed stability and control is top-notch. The acceleration is so totally linear and predictable. There is not an iota of engine strain till 3000 rpm when the car is well into the triple digits. The car can manage an 120 KPH speed limit all day without breaking a sweat

In a typical cycle where you are at triple digit speeds, have to slow down to 60-70 KPH and pick up again, there is no need to change gears. The 5th gear is good from around 60 KPH, you are in the beginning of the torque band at 60 and the car picks up speed neatly. How I wish it had a 6th gear and cruise control. That would have nmade the drive even more relaxing and economical! The steering could have been more weighty, but it is still quite precise.

I have a BMW for my out of town trips and I was anticipating a boring and slow drive today on my Ecosport. I was completely and pleasantly surprised. The car was a pleasure to drive, almost as good as I remember the Skoda Laura was on the highways. It is leaps and bounds ahead of the likes of Breeza and Duster. The Breeza was peaky and skittish over at triple digit speeds and the Duster had a massive turbo lag and a heavy clutch - although the Duster could accelerate more effortlessly at higher speeds. The fuel efficiency was around 16KPH with lots of high speed driving. High speed handling is a peach! Above 3000 RPM/130KPH, the engine starts to sounds strained and fuel economy drops rapidly. All in all, an enjoyable trip on a 5.5 year "young" Ecosport that rides and handles every bit like a new car.

Certainly, a very satisfied and happy Ecosport owner, I have been! I have not had a single problem with the car in all these years, except a few rattles. The car is still on its original tyres and all I had to replace is the battery once at the 4 year mark. Despite the multiple price increases since the car was was launched, I think overall, the Ecosport is the still the best value CUV out there even today - with an honest upfront price even todayof 9.99 Lacs for the Titanium TDCI version, rock solid reliability, a compact city slicker which you will enjoy even more on the highway, a design that is still fresh and ridiculously low maintenance costs.

[84.monsoon]

Finally for the first time in 6.2 years after the car was purchased, I sent the car for a bit of an overhaul. So far, it has done 24,000 KMs only and the only visits to the service centre has been the routine annual service, which have been incredibly cheap. The cost of ownership has been ridiculously low! The car is even riding on its OE tires and there is still a lot of thread left!

I wanted the clutch to be replaced, the brake pads and front disks to be changed as well as recommnded on my last regular service. The clutch was getting a bit hard and started to bother me. The technician also recommended replacing the rear coil spring pad and link rod, sicne the rear suspension was not in the best shape. I agreed to this work as well. Once I got the car back, the clutch has got super soft like a new car and braking was noticably better. However, the ride has become very very bouncy, esopecially going over big humps. There is a rebound effect, as the rear wheels leave the bump, there is a thud and then one more thud as the car bounces and settles again.

Any advice on what this could be due to? Do I need to send the car in again for inspection or is this notmal when the rear coil spring pad and link rod are replaced?


Again the big surprise was that after all this overhaul work, the bill came to only Rs.22.5K! The Ecosport has got Total Cost of Ownership nailed!

[84.monsoon]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

However, the ride has become very very bouncy, esopecially going over big humps. There is a rebound effect, as the rear wheels leave the bump, there is a thud and then one more thud as the car bounces and settles again.

Any advice on what this could be due to? Do I need to send the car in again for inspection or is this notmal when the rear coil spring pad and link rod are replaced?

All fixed now, happy to report. The car needed a new rear shock absorber and this was put in at a cost of around 5K. The ride has smoothed out now and the car feels like new in all aspects. Looking forward to a long highway trip again in the next month or so! So just Rs. 29K spent on a complete overhaul after 6 years, to get the car back to almost new! A very happy and satisfied customer!

[Abhi_Automobile]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

All fixed now, happy to report. The car needed a new rear shock absorber and this was put in at a cost of around 5K. The ride has smoothed out now and the car feels like new in all aspects. Looking forward to a long highway trip again in the next month or so! So just Rs. 29K spent on a complete overhaul after 6 years, to get the car back to almost new! A very happy and satisfied customer!

So, the Ecosport stays after your Seltos comes in? I thought it is a 1:1 replacement. I have a 4 yr old Ecosport, and it's running just fine, just like tour car (is). I've just got bored of it so thinking of changing...but, I don't have a reason!

[84.monsoon]

Originally Posted by Abhi_Automobile

So, the Ecosport stays after your Seltos comes in? I thought it is a 1:1 replacement. I have a 4 yr old Ecosport, and it's running just fine, just like tour car (is). I've just got bored of it so thinking of changing...but, I don't have a reason!

Hi, Really in two minds now about the Seltos. The problem is, to feel like I am getting an upgrade, the new car has to have some new capabilities or features not on my Ecosport. I would really like to stay with diesel for driving punch and fuel economy, so if I want to upgrade to an auto, the base level I would have to go for on the Seltos is at least HTK+ AT. This costs 16 Lakhs on the road. Even after I spend that much, I will miss 6 airbags, leather upholstery, lumbar support, reclining back seat etc., all of which are present on my Ecosport Titanium (O). Besides, the seat comfort on long journeys just feels better on the Ecosport, the Seltos' seat feels too soft and spongy with hard plastic arm rests instead of the padded surfaces on the Ecosport.

If I want to spend less and get an HTE manual, it feels like a downgrade, with even basic features missing 😧. The only attraction is the more powerful and quieter BS6 engine and six speed transmission and slightly more space.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

If I want to spend less and get an HTE manual, it feels like a downgrade, with even basic features missing 😧. The only attraction is the more powerful and quieter BS6 engine and six speed transmission and slightly more space.

Other than a change of scene, I don’t think the Seltos is a right upgrade from an Ecosport, especially if going for a mid-level trim. I would suggest to keep going with the Ecosport, and do a change when more compelling options get into the market in a year or so.

[84.monsoon]

Probably the final update on the Ecosport. I took the car on a long trip to Yelagiri from Chennai earlier this month, and it handled the duties brilliantly. After the overhaul about a year back, I have not used the car for long distance trips due to COVID. The car drove like new, with the soft clutch, clean gearshift and an eager engine, it was a pleasure to drive her on the switchbacks going uphill. The 600 km trip to-and-fro reminded me of how difficult it is going to be to let go of this trusted and fun friend that looks and feels like new even after all these years with only 30K total kilometres on the Odo!

But after 7 long years, the time has come for a change. After dilly-dallying with various possibilities, I was finally sold on the new Thar and booked it shortly after launch. The Thar Diesel AT HT arrives next week and it is time to say goodbye to my long term favourite car, the Ecosport!

Despite paying a lot more money than what I paid for the Ecosport, I will miss many features even in my top end Thar, like smart key entry, push-button start, 6 airbags, leather seats, and even 4 doors! But the Thar had a special appeal - as a unique vehicle type I have not owned despite 20 long years of car ownership covering 9 different cars.

I will now be listing my Ecosport on the team-bhp classifieds and hope to find a new owner for this once-worshipped beauty.