[agambhandari]

The Ford EcoSport EcoBoost
What I Like
-Contemporary SUV styling
-Powerful and high-tech award winning engine
-Interior color scheme and leather
-Feature packed cabin
-Ford's SYNC system
-Compact size
-Good pricing(at least when I bought it)

What I dislike
-Looks disproportionate when viewed from rear, at some angles
-Narrow back seat, 3rd person a squeeze
-Small boot
-Poor rear visibility
-Long waiting times
What I wanted and why?
The story starts one not-so-fine morning in the monsoon of 2011. Not-so-fine in this case would be an understatement, it was POURING from the heavens and the streets were.....um..water logged to say the least. Unusual for my city, even the main roads were filled with water upto a level high enough to make you think a lot, before trodding the path in your swanky sedan.

The weather was so bad, that we had to pickup a cousin who was passing by the city and was stuck near it(thanks to heavy rains and the traffic jams). We had two choices of cars : a Honda City(LQ or the dolphin) and a Chevy Spark. Needless to say, I wasn’t happy with these 2 choices.

Anyways, we took the Spark, since it does have better ground clearance and would be substantially easy on the pocket, if any repair would be required subsequently. It tackled the task reasonably well, considering what it is, a tiny budget hatchback. But do note, we were forced to think twice at every fork, to make out which path had a lower water level, and then carefully rev our way through there.At one such fork, a Toyota Fortuner crossed paths, and as expected it was strutting around unfazed not giving a damn about the water logged roads and just going about its business. That was the moment when me and my dad decided, OUR NEXT CAR HAS TO BE AN SUV.

Okay, it wasn’t just that moment alone, the Indian roads are in less than perfect conditions. This was taught to us many times by our trusty old Honda city. Everybody knows about its low ground clearance and not many sedans are better(SX4 is way better, I agree and that’s the only one substantially better). Scraping the bottom on bad roads and the fear of getting jammed on the water logged streets pushed us towards selecting an SUV.

The city was nearing its 7th B’day(both manufacturing and buying). Although it was still as reliable as ever, the spares were giving us quite the itch, they were only available at the dealer now and required a good amount of time to arrive from the factory. This problem was only gonna worsen as the years went by, so we decided to look for a new car, as explained an SUV. The requirements for us were, quite unique:
Under 4.3m
The parking space inside our house just about squeezed in the city, anything more and the gate wouldn’t close. Now this specification did seem a little questionable since we wanted an upgrade and an SUV at that(which are humongous)
Petrol
The City ran 67K in the 7 and a half years we had it. And Now the running had even dwindled down to less than 600 Kms a month. A diesel was not needed at all.
Easy to drive
Spoilt by the city, of course we couldn’t think of going towards the brutes like the Scorpio and Safari. They just lack the finesse and ease of driving which the more modern counterparts give.
Soft-roading ability
Of course, we’re not gonna climb mountains in it, but the car should tackle bad roads and watter logged roads with ease.
Safety
My family has had a bad luck with roads, and since the dream of getting better drivers on the roads is far from realisation in this country, we wanted at least the basic safety kit. ABS+ Airbags

And that’s about it. Note that I haven’t really mentioned any budget, because if you read my post further, you’ll agree to the fact that we weren’t exactly bound by our budget, but the fact that we just wanted to fulfil the above written requirements, in a reasonable amount of money(On this side of 25 lacs, you know)

[agambhandari]

My options
Consider the year 2011 and the closest you’d get to those requirements is the Skoda Yeti. And that car was seriously considered. By that I mean we were bargaining with them for quite some time for a good deal, and frankly we were getting one. Although it was still expensive, it did have some really good features. But those features were something, we didn’t need at all. For one, it was a Diesel 4x4.(The 2WD cut down too many features, and a very little price difference). We didn’t need the 4x4 and we would have been more excited if they had given us the excellent TSI option. But the final nail in the coffin was the Skoda service, the horror stories that are quite commonly associated with them. It would have touched about 19 lacs on road, and all that put together with it’s boring looks didn’t quite add up for us.

Auto Expo 2012 showed the Duster and the EcoSport,both of which excited us very much.I had been following both of them from the start. The Duster was released in June and to put it midly, it was a bummer(for us at least). The variants with safety kit were diesel only and pretty expensive too(crossing 11 lacs for the RXL(O) ) And the interiors were a serious step down from the city, just about level with our much-cheaper Spark. Needless to say, we passed at it.

The City was sold in June and Spark was the primary car till the next purchase. The EcoSport was expected to launch later that year, first in October, then delayed month after month.(*Tareekh pe taareekh joke here*)It was very frustrating we must admit. The spyshots of the car on Team-Bhp kept me hooked, and the fact that there was a company who wanted to bring a world class, award-winning petrol engine to a Compact-SUV in India, was a major attraction too.

In the meantime, we test drove some other cars close to our criteria. A really ,really good deal was available on the BMW X1 20d. Boy, that car has power.....but sadly not what we were looking for, dad found the car to be too hard in most aspects, sheer driving pleasure was not the requirement...rather a roomy car was, which the X1 clearly wasn’t.

And then much nearer to the EcoSport launch, we were dragged to the Mercedes showroom by the looks of the A-class. But we were brought back to our senses the minute we crouched into the car, we needed good ground clearance.

And when EcoSport was finally Displayed at a mall, unveiled, prices announced, and bookings began(So many stages, Seriously Ford??). We couldn’t sight a dealbreaker at the first of those steps.

Finally when we went down to take a test drive, (with a full intention of booking it)...we were asked to wait 2 hours for a turn(questionable,since the showroom called us there). After clearing up the fact, that we in fact wanted to drive the EcoBoost, we were told the EcoBoost Test car was unavailable, they just didn’t have it.

After quite literally waving the cheque book in their faces, we were escorted to their stock yard, which was brimming with EcoSports. A closer look revealed they had no less than 10 Mars Red EcoBoost in the top most trim. We were allowed to have a go on one. After a test drive, still no dealbreaker, we were quite happy in all respects. The only thing it was lacking in, was backseat and the bootspace(in comparison to the closest rival, the Duster). But both those things were irrelevant to us, so we booked it right there.

We were told that we were 19th in the EcoBoost line in the city(I found it fishy, since almost every car sold in the city is a Diesel), and that it would take at least 3 months(extend upto 6 months possible).So in a measure to get the car ASAP, we gave no less than 4 colour options.

[agambhandari]

Buying Experience & Review



And thus our wait began. The deliveries started just a couple of days after we booked, and clearly Ludhiana loved the car!! It wasn't difficult to spot one on the roads and the task only got easier day by day. The cool muscular design and the tried and tested diesel formula meant the TDCi was a hit. But I couldn't see a single EcoBoost in the city. Not a big surprise, I had expected the EcoBoost numbers to be tiny in my city or even whole Punjab for that matter. Those 2-3 months weren't easy, especially when fellow Bhpians start putting reviews of their EcoBoost almost as if they're rubbing it in my face.

We didn’t get any positive news for the next 2 months, and finally in the last week of September, we got a call saying a booking had been cancelled, and if we confirmed, we would get a Moondust Silver EcoBoost Titanium(o). This being the exact trim we wanted, we of course confirmed, and finally in October we took the delivery. Also, the dealer confirmed exactly what I was afraid of....Ours was the VERY FIRST EcoBoost in the whole city!! Dad was really skeptical at hearing this because this could lead to complications later in servicing and ready availability of some spares. Anyways, guess that makes me the city's first "Petrol"head with an EcoSport.



The Review
Now, I don’t need to give a proper review of the car, the Team-Bhp’s official review does a much better job than I could ever imagine. But I will mention the points, why we selected it and was the best option for us. I will post a lot of pics(I just bought a DSLR )

Design and Engineering
The Looks are flooring, to say the least.The car looks very muscular, especially from the front thanks to that ginormous Octagonal Grille in the front. The Black plastic cladding helps to lend it the SUVish look. The Sub 4m length makes it more affordable, but it doesn’t look it from most angles except the rear 3 quarters, which just plain sucks in my opinion.

But Move on, and you'll notice that the The wheel on the rear door, is a real masterstroke. It'd look pretty boring without that, and I doubt people would even agree to it being an SUV .We bought the spare wheel cover as a genuine accessory , and I believe it does a great job of enhancing the looks and more importantly protecting the wheel from elements.

The Size is perfect for our use, which primarily involves city driving, and it is easy to cram into tight spots. I have a bone to pick with the ford engineers on that Thick A pillar though. It ends up hampering the otherwise brilliant view of the road. It may seem like a small thing now, but once you land up in a situation like me, I missed a whole man who was in the exact spot that was obstructed by this pillar. Note to Ford....Work on it, please!!

The body is quite crashworthy(from what I see on the NCAP tests of other markets) and our variant comes with 6 Airbags, making it pretty safe.But lacks ESP(only on Automatic), I believe this will lower the Indian variant’s NCAP rating. Given an option, I would certainly want it on my car.

The "kicker" as ford calls it, improves on the aerodynamics of the car.


The view from behind


The other side(you can see the major dent it has picked up)


The wheelcover with the badging


The other badging


I'm trying for a brawny look here :P


The front with the huge grill


The Drivetrain & other Mechanicals


The 1.0L EcoBoost with 125Hp is very powerful for the job. It is now the 3 time consecutive World Engine of the Year. Thanks to it, this city SUV has no problems on the city or highways for that matter. The pickup is more than adequate and the low end torque gives a great pull, I find it surprising because there doesn't seem any turbo lag in this tiny motor. Another area where it shines, is the NVH levels. Except for the sound on starting up the car, I was actually unable to tell if the car was running or not(especially the first few times) and this is from the driver's seat. Even while driving the car is very silent and also does a good job of insulating from the outside world.

If I have a problem, it'd be that it's just too silent. You see, we're all used to upshifting when we hear as much as a whine from the engine, usually at about 2000-2500 RPM in most cars. But this one stays really silent well over the 3000 mark. While I don't have any problems redlining(OMG! Its so fun), the wallet doesn't really agree with it. and to add to it, there isn't anything like a gear shift indicator. So I have to keep an eye on the (beautiful)Tacho for driving sensibly.


Fuel efficiency is good too, almost on par with our 1.0L NA Spark. I'd say about 10-12 Kpl in pure city conditions. I can't say much about the Highway figures because we've only really made short highway trips (1.5 hrs mostly), so the tank to tank method proves pretty useless.


The Gearbox is smooth, with slotting pretty sure in all cases(Though, not as much as the “Honda Slick” City that we had earlier). Personally , I believe the clutch is on the heavier side. But then again, I only have my Chevy Spark for comparison.\

The Steering is REALLY light, and that's big boon in the city. I can twirl it with my little finger, showing how light it really is. Parking speeds are a breeze thanks to it. I haven't driven on highways, so can't say much. But from what I can imagine (and reading other's reviews) it won't be this pretty at highway speeds.

The Handling is safe(actually pretty good if you see it is hanging 200mm above the ground).The Ride is pliant and quite flat on most surfaces, with the exception of seriously bad roads. Also to be noted here, the suspension is quite silent, doing its job with minimum fuss.

It has a very good water wading ability of upto 550mm (keep in mind, only at speeds upto 7 Kmph). So just in case you want to take on a flooded city, you know your (reasonably priced)weapon of choice :P

There is full insulation under the bonnet(as seen here) and it makes for a very silent cabin

[agambhandari]

Interiors
When we bought the Honda city back in 2005, I was really disappointed to see grey interiors. Why? well, because beige was the "in" thing, it was something new, something premium. Then we got the Spark with beige interiors and my excitement towards that color wore off just as quickly as those colors got soiled(Thank you, dust everywhere).So, when I found out that The Titanium (O) is the only one that comes with Black seats and upholstery, I was a relieved man. (Especially, because the airbags in the seat also make it tricky to get seat covers)

The Black interiors on our Titanium (O) look very classy and the Leather feels good too. And they look light years ahead of the sub-standard upholstery shown in the EcoSport cars when they were fist showcased in the malls. Ford seems to have acted on the feedback, and acted well.The texture used on the front dash is very interesting, and is made especially for the Ecosport,Ford says

The space on offer is very good for 4 adults, 5th one would be a squeeze, no doubt. I'm 5' 11" and I'd have no problem at all sitting behind me. The head room is very generous. The knee room is more than adequate. The underthigh support is really very good, even at the rear. The front armrest is good but can hamper the gearshifts at times. The Seats are adjustable in all aspects(even lumbar support in my variant) and that combined with a rake and reach adjustable steering wheel makes finding a comfortable driving position, a cakewalk.

The rear seats 60:40 split , can recline in 3 steps and can even tumble twice to expand the boot upto 560L. The most reclined postion is the best in my opinion, but it's no LaZy Boy mind you, its a comfotable angle nonetheless. A rear centre armrest would have been useful and added to the comfort levels. Well, if they were gonna put a makeshift one like the Fiesta....I think its better they've left it altogether.

The seats in extreme incline positions


One rear seat folded


The seats also tumble forward and and are retained by these neat bands which hold them in place


-The Driver gets adjustable Lumbar support and an Armrest too
-The SYNC is simply amazing, and Voice command also works, if you learn the commands and speak the correct moment.



Pressing the voice command button throws up this screen


I said "Call Hospital"


In case you forget to swiych on Bluetooth in your phone when you step in, just do it anytime later and press the "Phone" button on SYNC to initiate this.


-The sound system is superb with punchy bass, and Bluetooth streaming only adds to the convenience.
The Speaker


The Visibility is exceptional except for the obtrusive A pillar. Ride height is midway between a traditional SUV and a sedan, thus the good visibility
-The push button start is very handy indeed, no need to fumble for the keys in the pocket. Depress the clutch and press the button to put the car in ignition. Leave the clutch alone, and just the button? It'll start all the electronics.


-Parking sensors are accurate and the display is easy to read.
-The Climate control is very effective in the scorching heat of Punjab. And the heater is pretty good too. The winters are well taken care off with just a single button to defog the windows and warm the cabin.

The climate control sensor


The interior is packed with Airbags



The funky instrument cluster


The interiors(note the absence of a key slot)


The Lighting controls


The Tray under the front passenger seat(I find it best to store my Tablet)


Surprisingly there is nice and big gap between the parcel tray and the rear seats(even in the most reclined position)

[agambhandari]

Ownership Happenings
The car is at 6800 Kms now(Dec 2014)
The car was also used for some roadtrips on Highways. Dad did the driving on those routes, and was mighty impressed with the car. It picks up and maintains speed effortlessly, and was very comfortable for all occupants(we were 4).

We haven’t faced any problem at all(touchwood) till now. The car went for its usual One month checkup and it was a no problem-checkup.

As expected, it has picked up a few scratched, but it also has picked up a major ding on the Rear Door on the passenger side, and its a big one. Will try to get it fixed, if possible,outside the authorised dealership(they’re quoting over double the amount the local garage will charge).

I went in the first week of November to get its first service done, and no prizes for guessing ours was also the first ecoboost they've ever serviced. Didn't have much problems because of that though, the owners manual is handy when it comes to specs on oil change and everything else.The whole thing took 3-4 hrs and I'm not complaining since their customer lounge was stacked with the latest Auto magazines and even previous editions of the past 6 months.

It was the only real free service, so the labor costs were waived off. Actually the service manager had a bit of problem with that, since he complained that I was late (by 15 days) in getting the car serviced, so technically the labor costs can't be waived off. I found this to be ridiculous especially when you consider that my mileage was only 1/3rd of the service interval. Thankfully, it was sorted out soon. I ended up paying 2K which included an oil change, washing, and wheel alignment and balancing(since the labor was free, I was like Why not?).

We've also gotten High Security Number plates now, and something that would be of some importance to other Bhpians is the fact that you can't simply pick up an HSRP and install it on the ecosport. The holes on the bumpers are too small for the rivets to fit. You need to put a drill in those holes to make them larger. A small thing, just FYI.

Also, one year down the car started flashing an error message saying the key was running low on battery. I have replaced the battery with a new CR2025, and the error has gone away.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing!

[ToyotaFan]

Congrats on your purchase. Great ownership review with great pictures. The EOS is being put to good use. 7k kms in 1 year is pretty low running and justifies going in for the Ecoboost. I have contrasting reports on the mileage of this engine and in city conditions it seems to be pretty low (maybe even half of the ARAI 18.6kmpl) quite contrary to ford's claims. IVTEC Honda City seems to be giving better figures. Can you confirm the same? I had booked a TDCI back in June 2013 but ford's callous attitude made them loose a sale. Now eagerly waiting for the Jazz. Lets hope honda does not disapoint.

[Hemant_Joshi]

Congratulations Agambhandari, and Wish you miles of happy ownership,,
Ecosports was top in my list, when, I was in market for an upgrade from a Hatch, as high Ground Clearance was one of my primary requirments..
The Exterior look and presence of this car is really good, but, not matched by the Interior Dash..I was looking for a Diesel, However - it was a kind of let down for me, specifically the Initial Torque/Pickup,, I went with a Sedan,,
Nice pics too, and enjoy your new possession !!

What is a city SUV? Are we going into pits and dug up places that we need SUV capability? It's just marketing. The city SUV is just a stationwagon with another name. In fact car manufacturers should not be allowed to market any 2x4 as an SUV I feel :-) Bit radical but then to put the real baaps like the Pajero in the same category as 2x4 scorpios is not right :-)

[miharbe]

Congratulations Mate! Love the Silver shade it really looks classy and understated.

This is one car which despite being around for a while doesn't fail to make me give it a look everytime I see one. I am surprised to not see many ones on the roads with the Ecoboost engine option.

What I also fail to understand is why Ford won't give us this engine option with the 6 Speed DCT. Everything remaining the same that should be an awesome upgrade for me personally.

BTW Kitna Deti Hai?

Enjoy the car to the fullest. Drive Safe!

[vittalnrv]

I've just picked up a Titanium(O) TCDi, and I would like to mention one major flaw Ford made on this vehicle for chauffeured lads, the absence of a centre armrest or grab bars. Even the swift hatchback has em, but can understand on airbag placement. Still it's a bad omission.

[agambhandari]

Originally Posted by ToyotaFan

Congrats on your purchase. Great ownership review with great pictures. The EOS is being put to good use. 7k kms in 1 year is pretty low running and justifies going in for the Ecoboost. I have contrasting reports on the mileage of this engine and in city conditions it seems to be pretty low (maybe even half of the ARAI 18.6kmpl) quite contrary to ford's claims. IVTEC Honda City seems to be giving better figures. Can you confirm the same? I had booked a TDCI back in June 2013 but ford's callous attitude made them loose a sale. Now eagerly waiting for the Jazz. Lets hope honda does not disapoint.

Thanks man, EOS was another excuse to put up this review The mileage is pretty good I think, and on par with an i-VTEC Honda(which in itself is pretty fuel efficient for a petrol sedan). I was appalled everytime you told me that you were still waiting for your copy. Good luck on the jazz!

Originally Posted by Hemant_Joshi

Congratulations Agambhandari, and Wish you miles of happy ownership,,
Ecosports was top in my list, , However - it was a kind of let down for me, specifically the Initial Torque/Pickup,, I went with a Sedan,,
Nice pics too, and enjoy your new possession !!

Thanks Hemant! The power figures on the diesel seem like a letdown in comparison with the EcoBoost, so I can understand your problem. It's adequate but not as powerful or the pulling power of the sedans such as the one you have.

Originally Posted by Taffy

What is a city SUV? Are we going into pits and dug up places that we need SUV capability? Bit radical but then to put the real baaps like the Pajero in the same category as 2x4 scorpios is not right :-)

We think of an SUV to be a macho looking vehicle with a good ground clearance for tackling difficult terrains. The feeling of dominance over the road is another thing commonly associated with it. But the old-skool heavy 4x4s like the Pajero you suggested are quite impractical for us city slickers and frankly unnecessary when I won't be scaling mountains in it. Use the Soft-roader term if you want to be specific for my car

Originally Posted by miharbe

Congratulations Mate! Love the Silver shade it really looks classy and understated.

What I also fail to understand is why Ford won't give us this engine option with the 6 Speed DCT. Everything remaining the same that should be an awesome upgrade for me personally.

Enjoy the car to the fullest. Drive Safe!

Thanks Man! Seems like you've got an EcoSport lover in yourself, seeing it closely everytime on the road. Silver was the most practical choice.

Agree with the opinion on DCT. In fact, this is something I forgot to mention....When the EcoSport was first announced for Indian Market, I assumed the PowerShift to be available with the EcoBoost(Just see how high tech that combination is ). and Trust me, I would have totally gone for that option.

Originally Posted by vittalnrv

Ford made on this vehicle for chauffeured lads, the absence of a centre armrest or grab bars. Even the swift hatchback has em, but can understand on airbag placement. Still it's a bad omission.

Congrats on your TDCi! That omission has been widely criticised, but the grab bars omission is due to the side airbags and those are present on the lower variants.

[HappyRoadie]

Excellent ownership review. Congrats on your purchase. Silver is looking very good. Even I have purchased a diesel Ecosport on 18th of this month. I have one question to all Ecosport owners. There is no lever to open the fuel lid. So please tell how the fuel lid is opened?

[agambhandari]

Originally Posted by HappyRoadie

Excellent ownership review. Congrats on your purchase. Silver is looking very good. Even I have purchased a diesel Ecosport on 18th of this month. I have one question to all Ecosport owners. There is no lever to open the fuel lid. So please tell how the fuel lid is opened?

Congrats on your purchase too!!

The fuel lid is very easy to open. Just have the car unlocked(using the central locking) and just open the fuel lid from outside.
If the car is locked, the fuel lid is secured. You can lock/unlock the central locking from the button on the Central console, just below the hazard lights switch.

[Chitta Pradhan]

Hi!

Congrats on your new car & thanks for posting a nice review. While I took a TD of this car at the time of it's launch, the suspension felt too stiff to be comfortable. Has there been any change to the setup after that? You have mentioned that the ride is mostly pliant, thus this question. Also I felt the body roll way too more in comparison to my Verna. In Verna, in spite of a poor handler, I could maintain higher speed than EcoSport round the corners on the same stretch of road. What's your take on it? Of course with 200 mm GC, it should not be compared to a sedan in this particular department. But before the TD, I did not have an idea that the difference could be so conspicuous.

Enjoy your wonderful car for years.

Cheers