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-   -   Preview: Ford Endeavour (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/167920-preview-ford-endeavour-41.html)

High insurance happens everywhere especially if the car is a success. If they do not allow you to take insurance from outside, just simply ask them to write down in a paper stating that in house insurance is mandatory along with the price. Let's see how many will write it. I had experience when I bought two cars that were a run away success - Ecosport and Creta

Had a good look at the vehicle at Chennai Ford yesterday. My observations are below. I own an Ecosport right now, so some observations are with reference to this car.

The good:

• The vehicle is really imposing, while not being physically as large. The high bonnet and the solid flat front fascia is probably responsible for this.
• The paint quality seems quite good, the sunset red color really suits the vehicle well.
• The doors shut firmly and feel solid, though they do not feel as heavy as you expect in a vehicle of this size and height
• Interior fit and finish is quite good, the leather trim on the dashboard adds an elegant touch.
• The touchscreen looks big and bright, audio quality is a very good.
• The front seat adjustments are very flexible, with a lot of range of adjustments possible.
• The steering wheel is larger than the one on the Ecosport, feels spot on, light to hold and with a wide range of tilt adjustments.
• Legroom at the rear (2nd row) is quite good and the range of seat back recline adjustment as well as the fore and aft slide adjustments are very generous.
• The feature list is incredibly long for the top end variant and rivals the mid-end models of the the Land Rover Discovery Sport, which costs Rs. 63 Lacs on-road.

The not so good part:

• The exterior fit and finish does not seem all that great. There are panel gaps in various areas at the rear, some a bit inconsistent.
• The sheet metal used seems to be slightly lower gauge than the Ecosport, maybe due to weight saving measures.
• The front headroom in the sunroof model is low, especially when the seat is raised to the highest level. I have much more room in the Ecosport.
• The rear seats are pretty low with respect to the floor, around 1.5 inches lower than in the Ecosport, probably due to the high floor level. Rear headroom is not a major issue though.
• The third row is strictly for small children and gymnasts only:). Getting in is that hard. Once you are in there, it is not too bad for short journeys.

In the end, I was 75% convinced I should go for this car. The imposing looks, sheer breadth of off-road capabilities, low maintenance cost of Ford that I have experienced through my Ecosport ownership and superb feature list is what got me charged up. I used to own a 4.7 Litre V8 4X4 petrol Toyota Four Runner (equivalent of the Prado) in the US and the torque and off-road capabilities of this machine rival that one.

The variant choice is very clear. The price differences are too small in comparison to the number and value of features added as you go up the range. The only variant that made sense to me was the 3.2 Titanium 4X4 AT.

In the end, I paid and advance of Rs. 50K and booked the car in Sunset Red, while I think about this hard and try to get over the last 25% to be fully convinced.

What was the on road price quoted in Chennai and what insurance did you go for? How much time did the dealer say will take for delivery?

On-road price is 34.7 Lakhs. Includes 1.13 Lakhs worth of dealer provided insurance, which I am hoping to by-pass and use my current insurance provider. Delivery in March only.

I have the following queries and hope this forum can help me (as usual):

1. I have a 1.6S Fiesta (7 yrs old). Do dealers entertain exchange and loyalty bonus for an in-demand vehicle like Endeavour?
2. Does the new Endeavour have wiper and light control similar to the Fiesta (reversed)
3. Most of my driving will be in the City (BLR) so I need an AT. Long drives mostly will be on good surfaces. May 3-4 trips in the entire life time will be to places like Leh/Kinnaur etc. Do I need a 4x4? I need space for 3-4 passengers and a Labrador (+luggage).
4. If I do go for 2.2 4x2 model isn't Trend more value than Titanium. Unline the 3.2L the 2.2 Titanium misses some features
5. I do not see the new Endeavour in the online insurance websites. How can one get it without the dealer?

Thanks in advance for the guidance.

Looks they have some issues already on deliveries of 3,2 top end model . Dealership is non-committal on deliveries before 3-4 month , this despite that mine was 3rd advance booking in December , I escalated complaint with FORD yesterday and was given a mail promptly with a reference number , sometime back a lady called from FORD Chennai informing delay in allocations of this variant and they don't have a confirmed delivery date yet - looks they have messed up on supply front :Frustrate

The SUV is on display at Tanish Ford Gurgaon, incase NCR folks are interested in having a look..

On Exchange with the dealer - My advice would be to try to sell directly to an end customer. More often than not the dealer prices are less than what you would get directly.

Wiper & Light Controls - From S2's superb preview "They're even positioned on the 'correct' side i.e. light controls on the right and wiper controls on the left"

4X4 Vs 4X2 - If you don't plan to go offroading, you can safely choose the 4X2 variant.

Trend Vs Titanium - IMHO the big difference is more safety, I would go for more safety for my family provided by Side & Curtain airbags.

Insurance websites - Yes, looks like most of them do not have the new model updated. Give them a few days.

Hope this is helpful.

This vehicle was designed for APAC by Aussies, who use right-hand drive.

This is why.

Checked the 2.2 AT Trend in white colour today. The White color looks elegant. If you dont like the chrome and skid plates, White manges to hide them quite well.
The rear looks much better in white(may be with silver as well).

The 2.2 is a silent unit compared to 3.2. Once all the doors are shut, you would confuse this unit for a petrol. Superb noise insulation.

What the trend loses in comparison to Titanium:
Exterior:
1. Chrome door handles and mirrors.
2. Gets black footsteps instead of silver.
3. Misses front sensors.
4.HID lamps with jet washers(Also the DRL).

Interior:
1.Gets only 2 airbags instead of 6/7.
2. Gets matte silver finish instead of Glossy piano finish. Makes it look quite dull.
3.No Leather on top of dash.
These are the one's I could notice, but side by side I am sure there are more differences.

Other Observations:
1.There is a wire dangling near front suspension. Looks ugly and not sure if it can be of any issues.
2.The alloy wheels are actually Hyper Silver in colour.
3. The space is actually more than Innova. There is lot more leg room in middle row as well as in third row. The headroom is almost the same as Innova in both rows. The boot is deeper in Endeavour but narrower than Innova.
4. The Trend variant doesnot come with Sat Nav. Looks like you need to download the app/content and it would work on the same system. Without the app, system does identify your co-ordinates. Not good move by Ford, given that even Kwid gets navigation.
5. The body panels are as solid as Ecosport.
6. There are nice little hooks made of steel in the rear to hold/tie those small things.
7.There is not much space in the engine bay with 2.2 as well. Technicians would definitely need a ladded to work on this bay.

The deliveries would begin pretty soon I believe. There were rumours that 2.2 would not be made available immediately,this is false news. Looks like 2.2 AT Trend and Titanium are the hot sellers followed by 3.2 Titanium.

Pictures:
Alongside Ecosport



white looks better from rear



2.2 Auto Engine Bay


Interior shot of Trend variant


Valet mode? not sure how it works and what all it does.


Endeavour in white

Drove the 3.2L AT. (Thanks to Ganges Ford Kolkata for the test drive)

My observations-

The first impression-
The car is a head turner. The road presence is massive.
Build quality feels premium.
Its loaded with features.
Ground clearance is really good. It should take bad roads with ease.

The drive-
The starting sound is well sorted out. Its not loud like many diesel SUV's with a clattering sound. May be it was less because when i sat in, the engine was already at its optimum temperature. The NVH level is excellent. Its an AT so pressed the brake and slotted it to D mode and released the brake. The vehicle moves ahead with out pressing the accelerator. Pressed the accelerator and the response was strictly okay in drive mode. In D mode one needs to plan a quick maneuver like other automatics. Its no DSG! When you press it hard the gear shifts to its next! Ah i love manuals! :D For in city driving its hassle free and okay.

On the return drive i drove it in the sports mode. Engaged the gear lever to S and the gear lever had to be shifted up and down for up-shifting and down shifting. For spirited driving this is the obvious choice. In 3rd i pushed it a bit and the response was okay. Its not a scorcher! The performance is just good. The dashboard was showing on which gear am driving. So in the beginning if the driver gets a bit confused on the manual gear it can help him. On an open stretch i pushed it till 120km/hr and the Suv reached that with out any fuss. A 3.2L manual is sorely missed!

On a sharp corner the body roll was evident. Am used to driving sedans and hatch backs, so it was more prominent for me. On a comparison to the new generation Scorpio i may say the Scorpio is a bit more accomplished around the corners!

Regarding comfort, its a comfortable SUV. The suspension is tuned more towards comfort than handling. In the space and comfort aspect it will beat the Fortuner hands down. But the Fortuner 3.0L manual should be more responsive to drive!

The brakes were excellent. All the four discs did there job perfectly.

Its January so couldn't test the AC.

I mas more inclined to test the NVH of the SUV so the music system was turned off. No comments on its performance either.

Few pics-

The exterior







The DRL



The instrument console and the infotainment system.





The reverse camera do its job really well, even in less lighted conditions!



The head light throw is good and powerful.

Low beam.


High beam.


The 3.2L unit



Bonnet gets a thick insulation pad and there is no rod to hold the bonnet, its on hydraulic struts.



The underbelly! Its neat and the only thing protruding, that can be seen is the rear differential but it has got an excellent clearance from the ground.

Nice update Samba and thanks for inviting me for the TD as well. As you have mentioned, the body roll is evident and felt much more than the previous generation Endeavour. The sluggish autobox killed the excitement of driving a 3.2 litre engine and that too from Ford who are known for their driver oriented vehicles. I was seriously disappointed. This, along with the sales adviser who was hyper sensitive to speed, turned me off.

For a new / in demand car, the dealerships quote insane low prices as they don't have to negotiate. I had this problem when I got my Swift evaluated against the Ecosport; the quote was easily less than a lakh I would have got in the market.

For a car as niche as the Acquarius Blue 1.6S, I request you pass it to someone who deserves and treats it like it should be. And you may be benefited with some extra cash too. If I was in Bangy, I may have lined up. :D

How much has your car run so far?

Guys anyone considering the 3.2, please be aware that there are some reliability issues with the engine, not serious but issues none the less and they will amplify given the conditions we have in India. Do your research. The 2.2 on the other hand is fairly reliable but a little underpowered considering the size and weight of the car.

What sort of reliability issues?