Team-BHP - Blue Baby comes home - Ford EcoSport Facelift Titanium TDCi
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-   -   Blue Baby comes home - Ford EcoSport Facelift Titanium TDCi (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-term-ownership-reviews/208242-blue-baby-comes-home-ford-ecosport-facelift-titanium-tdci.html)

It's been a long time without a car in the house. All our trips would be done with our relative's XUV500 W6. That was a great car for the 2000km long trips we would undertake in short notice. We had previously owned a Ford Ikon 1.3 and sold it in 2013. It was high time that I felt that we need a car of our own. As years passed by, we built a bigger house, so the need for a car was evident by the end of February 2018.

Our budget was limited to 7-8 Lakh Rupees but later increased it to 10L +/- 1L Rupees.

No offence to the owners of other brand cars when I mention the negatives.

The review consists of five parts:
1.Shortlisting
2.Booking
3.Delivery
4.What I love and what I loathe about the car
5.Personal experience with the car (including routine service)


Part 1: Shortlisting

These days, choosing a car is as difficult as choosing a house or land. With the help of Team-BHP, choosing a car becomes easier and the ownership reports are a true testament to any car.

A few cars I had considered were (I considered only Diesel options of all these cars):

We did not consider Nexon because of TATA's after sales and TUV300 was not considered due to its boxy design and underpowered engine. Although our Family does not prefer buying a Maruti, for the sake of clarity, we wanted to see the Swift, Brezza and S-cross (did not consider since mom hated the looks of this car).

1. Maruti Swift Zxi+/Zdi+

What I like:

-Exterior design is too good (Headlamp Design is similar to BMW's Convertible)
-Instrument Cluster and Steering were a delight
-Easy for city driving

What I loathe:
-Too pricey for a hatchback (Zdi+ was 10.1L OTR Bangalore/Zxi+ was 9.2L).
-The steering felt lifeless at highway speeds.
-Highway stability was bad.

2. Maruti’s Vitara Brezza Zdi/Zdi+

What I like:
-Well priced
-Acceptable Build quality
-Decent level of Equipment on offer

What I loathe:
-The 1.3DDiS has a lot of lag under 2000rpm and I feel it is underpowered for this car.
-Interior quality is meh (especially the window switches).

3. Renault Duster

What I Like:
-Good Mechanicals
-Ample comfort for 5 adults and luggage
-Suspension and Ride Quality of this car can make one travel as long as you wish to.
-Discounts worth a lakh were being offered

What I Loathe:
-Interiors are as outdated as my erstwhile Ikon. Not worth for 2018
-After Sales and Spares of Renault are expensive after the free services
-Renault's Double standards in Airbag Size was a major Deterrent.
-Mid and base variants were poorly equipped and not worth the price

4. Hyundai Creta/i20

What I like:
-Exterior and Interior design
-Quality of materials are top notch
-Feature loaded
-Comfortable for the city

What I loathe:
-Both the cars are overpriced (i20 Asta(0) was 11.xL OTR and Creta SX was 17L OTR)
-Brakes are not good for the highway at all.
-Steering feel and Handling are less than satisfactory.
-Base modes are poorly equipped.

We rejected all these options because these cars did not really connect with us at all.

Last choice turned out to be the best choice: Since Ford Showroom was nearby, we wanted to check out the EcoSport/Figo Twins as our last option and if this was not up to our liking, we thought of postponing our purchase.

Mom said NO to Figo twins since our cousin already owns a Figo TDCi and it won't be suitable for long journeys. The only option to consider seriously was the EcoSport and we decided to see this car. Everyone in the house was convinced with the exterior design and the interior of the EcoSport) The facelift feels like Ford has remade the EcoSport inside out (I'll summarize about the EcoSport in the 4th part of the review). So, we booked the EcoSport Trend TDCi at Elite Ford on March 18, 2018.

Part 2: Booking Experience


The entire booking process till delivery was a roller coaster experience due to Ford's constant feature revisions and unavailability of the colour choice - Lightning Blue. More so due to the attitude of Ford dealers in Bangalore.

The Booking Booklet! First booked in Elite Ford
Blue Baby comes home - Ford EcoSport Facelift Titanium TDCi-img_20180318_183418.jpg

Since Elite Ford was not offering discounts at all, I wanted to enquire with other dealers as well to get the best discount possible. I would not recommend Elite Ford for buying or servicing due to the horrible attitude towards their customers.

The next booking was done in JSP Ford Kudlu Gate because they offered a good discount of 30k plus price match of insurance and after comparing features with respect to price, we decided to book Titanium itself. We cancelled the booking at Elite after a week. The sales representative told us that there is a waiting of 1 month and we were ready to wait till Apr 18, 2018, because we wanted the delivery of the car on my Dad's birthday which falls on Apr 19. After a couple of weeks, I started following up with the SA and the SA says that the car has not yet been allotted and we will have to wait for the next batch which would arrive by the end of April. Then Ford gave a twist by downgrading Titanium variant by replacing Sync 3 and MyKey with 9"Fly-Audio. I was in a dilemma for two days and after a lot of deliberation, I chose to go for the one with Sync 3.

Again, I started enquiring with all dealers (Cauvery, Metro and PPS Ford) in Bangalore and to my luck, none of them had Lightning Blue with Sync 3 available nor they had any blue Titanium diesel in transit. Still, I was not willing to give up because the colour had to be blue with the Sync 3 system if we're getting the EcoSport home.

Finally, I had contacted Akashs Ford in Hosur and enquired for the availability of colour choice and Sync 3 availability I had wanted. He readily said Yes and I immediately rushed to check the car out in person by sunset. Liked the car in person and booked the car on the night of April 10. The entire dealership was open for us since we were coming all the way from Bangalore. Full marks for their customer-centric attitude.
I had asked the sales representative Manjunath S for another PDI during daylight and loan arrangements and he had arranged it for us the following day itself.

First Sight and I had a feeling that He's coming home.
Blue Baby comes home - Ford EcoSport Facelift Titanium TDCi-img_20180410_194828.jpg

The butch rear
Blue Baby comes home - Ford EcoSport Facelift Titanium TDCi-img_20180410_194918.jpg

A thorough PDI with the Team-BHP Checklist during daylight and cleared with just 6km on the ODO
Blue Baby comes home - Ford EcoSport Facelift Titanium TDCi-img_20180414_113416.jpg

We had told the dealership that we'll take the delivery of the car on Apr 18 since it was Akshaya Tritiya. I had an additional request that I want KA03 registration but the dealer was hesitant to do it since he was familiar with KA51 and KA59 RTO. Then I told the SA that I'll do the registration in Kasturi Nagar RTO(KA03 RTO) myself and help me in getting the temporary registration from Hosur RTO.

Part 3: Delivery Experience

The D-Day has finally arrived. Excitement is high to get the newest member of our family home. We took a train till Hosur and the dealer had arranged a vehicle(another EcoSport) from Hosur railway station to the dealership. I had bought a gift for the SA as well because he was patient through all my questions, doubts and requests. I got the underbody coating done at the dealership itself for 3k and all accessories were given free including car cover and ownership folder. Highly recommended dealership for those who live in south Bangalore especially after Electronic city or Chandapura.

Total cost break-up:

Ex-Showroom: 999,000
Road Tax (registered on my own in Bangalore) for no proper road at all:Frustrati :155,385
Insurance: 23,000
3M Underbody Coating: 3,000
Total On-Road Price: 11,80,385

Before the delivery ceremony, I had done a PDI again and the chime sound was not working. I had told the SA to get this issue sorted and the technicians were new to diagnosing errors on the new EcoSport and after two hours of diagnosis, the chime sound was back along with the auto lock feature.

Happy faces after welcoming our newest family member.

Blue Baby comes home - Ford EcoSport Facelift Titanium TDCi-img_20180418_114436.jpg

Blue Baby comes home - Ford EcoSport Facelift Titanium TDCi-img_20180418_115030.jpg

I went for the registration on Apr 25, 2018, once I received the temp. registration from the dealer.
Special thanks to the SA again for sending a person all the way from Hosur to give me all the documents needed for vehicle registration including the bank related documents and Fastag fitment proof without which, the car will not be considered for permanent registration.
The registration process was a breeze at the Kasturi Nagar RTO as it hardly took an hour to complete the formalities and for the inspector to sign the papers after seeing the vehicle in person and got my number the next day. The RC card reached my house in 7 days.


Blue Baby comes home - Ford EcoSport Facelift Titanium TDCi-img_20180420_103746.jpg

Part 4: The Like and Loathe about the EcoSport

What I like:
-Strong and Tough Build Quality
-The TDCi's versatile nature. Feels at home in the city as well as the highway
-Focused more on Safety
-Handling and Driving Dynamics are spot-on for a baby SUV
-Well-loaded(Sync 3 variants)

What I loathe:
- Thick A-pillar causes a huge obstruction for city driving
- Firm Suspension (not bone jarring though)
- Titanium+ and above variants are a bit overpriced
- Strictly for 4 adults only. 5th Adult is a squeeze
- Fuel Economy is sensitive to throttle and city fuel economy is average.

Part 5: Personal Experience with the Car

At the time of writing this review, my car has clocked 16400 KM and completed 2 services in 13 months. I use this car more on the highways and occasionally in the city. I think twice to take the car out in the city these days due to the notorious and ever-increasing Bangalore traffic.

Since a comprehensive review of petrol and diesel is already present on Team-BHP, I will be focusing more on my personal view of the car.

Engine:

The TDCi engine is no scorcher and if you think you want to rev the nuts out of this car, this is not the car for you. It is an efficient and reasonably powerful old-school engine which has an adequate grunt to keep one satisfied behind the wheel. The car pulls slowly in a linear fashion till 1300-1400 and post 1500 rpm, the car thrusts ahead linearly and has good grunt till 3500-4000 rpm post which the power delivery is dull. This car is all about the driver being connected to the car as well as the road surface while driving. Overall, an engine which will not disappoint you. If you need to extract more miles from this engine, you need to be within 2000rpm to get the best fuel efficiency. I usually fill diesel only from Shell when I'm in town and when on the Highways I fill from a COCO pump.

In terms of fuel efficiency (all figures with AC on):

In peak Bangalore Traffic: 13-14 km/l
On Weekend mornings: 15-16 km/l
Highway ( if you are driving within the turbo zone and 2000 rpm): 18-20kmpl
Pedal to the metal driving on the highway with full load: 17 km/l ( gives almost the same mileage on ghats as well).


First Long Trip with the Blue Baby to Maravanthe Beach and Kollur

Blue Baby comes home - Ford EcoSport Facelift Titanium TDCi-img_20180527_110446.jpg


Transmission and Clutch:

The gearbox used is the old IB5 gearbox which has a nothcy throw in the first two gears. The clutch is lighter than the previous EcoSport and the pre-facelift Figo Twins but the clutch has a high resting point. Not a deal breaker though. Clutch action is smooth and not springy. The gearbox is neither good nor bad, but it just gets the job done.

Ride and Handling

Though the suspension is firm, you don't feel most of the undulations in the cabin. Rough road driving is manageable. As the speed of the car increases the bumps are hardly felt, in fact, it's much better with a full load of 4 passengers and luggage. However, bridge expansion joints can be felt with a bit of nosedive. Due to the stiff suspension, driving this car on curves or ghat roads are a delight. The steering is very communicative and you can feel the tyres and the road surface on your palms while driving. Changing lanes or emergency manoeuvres in this car are quick and agile by compact SUV standards.

Tyres

I have the stock MRF ZV2K tyres on my car. The grip levels from these tyres are good and the tyres are hard compound. Have faced only one puncture during the course of my 16,000km ownership. However, these tyres do make a lot of road noise adn a solution for that is to increase the audio volume.

Comfort and Convenience:

The car feels very comfortable for four people and the interior feels premium though there are hard plastics. There is sufficient rear seat space for 2 people with usable leg space. The seats were so comfortable that I have travelled with my family from Bangalore to Bhutan in 11 days with an average driving distance of 700-800km per day. The armrest is partially plastic. AC is a chiller and very effective. I heard that Ford cars use a double compressor AC. The AC chills quite fast if you set the temperature between 19-21 degrees Celsius. The ergonomics are well within the reach of the driver and co-driver.
The projector headlights are powerful enough for night driving and I feel that there is no need to change the bulbs or projectors.
Parking sensors have varying levels of chime with respect to the colour on the screen (such as green, amber and red on the sensor lines) as you approach closer to an object and music is not interrupted as well. A neat touch indeed.
Android Auto/ Apple Car Play can be used simultaneously with radio or USB songs in the background.

Safety:

ABS with EBD and 2 Airbags are standard on all variants. Signature edition gets hill hold and ESP/TC along with the standard safety kit. Brakes are sharp and confidence inspiring. Emergency braking is also quite good though there's a nosedive in such situations. The ABC pedals are spaced well and the brake pedal inspires confidence. Tyres have a good grip though I have MRF ZV2K on my car. The only gripe is that all doors can be unlocked at any speed by using the door lever. If there are kids behind, the child lock must be used.

The doors and boot don't get self-locked if the key fob is in the car.

Another nice touch is that the doors and fuel flap can't be opened from outside unless you press the lock/unlock button on the door. Neat!

Let some pictures do the talking. (Apologies for not adding interior pictures because I've hardly taken interior pics of my car):

Blue Baby comes home - Ford EcoSport Facelift Titanium TDCi-img_20180427_16535001.jpeg

The LED DRL's always in action. Dims when you turn on the headlights.
Blue Baby comes home - Ford EcoSport Facelift Titanium TDCi-img_20180418_201118_hht.jpg

Side View. The wheel arches enhance the personality of the EcoSport and help in avoiding scratches as well. These are additional accessories and cost Rs.6000 to install
Blue Baby comes home - Ford EcoSport Facelift Titanium TDCi-img_20190203_173150.jpg

Still, I can travel a lot of distance with a 3/4th tank. A capable inter-city cruiser
Blue Baby comes home - Ford EcoSport Facelift Titanium TDCi-img_20190210_231042.jpg

Average Highway FE:
Blue Baby comes home - Ford EcoSport Facelift Titanium TDCi-img_20190210_231058.jpg

Service Costs:

My erstwhile Ikon would give us shivers if we gave it for service, but it is not the case with the EcoSport or any present day Ford car. Service costs including labour are very cheap and are within 6k(including labour cost and alignment) for regular service once a year or 10k kilometres. Spare parts are pretty cheap in terms of cost without compromising on quality and are arguably the cheapest car to maintain in the market in the compact SUV space.

The first service is free and I had done it in Metro Ford. Metro Ford is closing down soon.

Second Service onwards I started giving my car in PPS Ford, Domlur as their customer service and response in addressing complaints is very good. The second service cost was Rs.1600 with oil change and AC filter change. I get the Wheel alignment done at Classic wheel alignment Kalyan Nagar, Bangalore. This wheel alignment centre has been here for 15 years and they do a good job. They charge Rs.900 with alignment, rotation and balancing.


Some interesting bits about the car

Doors get locked automatically after 45 seconds if you do not open the door within 45 seconds after unlocking the car. The puddle lamps are always on when the doors are unlocked.

Fuel warning comes in at 80km before empty on the MID

MyKey is more like a nanny which controls most of the functions of the car. Speed restrictions can be set from 75km/h to 130km/h. If speed restriction is set, the car will go only up to the set speed limits beyond which the car won't go faster.
Another good thing about MyKey is that music will not be played unless you buckle up and no shortcut method will work to get the music playing. The maximum volume is restricted to 13 if MyKey is activated. The distance to empty warning comes up twice at 120km and 80km with a chime warning before empty if MyKey is activated.

One weird thing about the EcoSport is that the ideal driving position is tough to find although there's seat height adjust and tilt/telescopic steering adjustment. Once the ideal driving position is found, this car is truly fun to drive.


A few additional points:
1. If you drive above 5km/h with the handbrake engaged, a warning chime and a message "Park brake applied" appears on the MID. Useful for beginners and a great thought by Ford.
2. You can access the MID by pressing the OK button on the steering wheel when ignition is on and engine is off to bypass the message "Full power accessory active".
3. To know more information about the car, press the forward button below the sync 3 screen and on the steering wheel simultaneously. A sound check test will happen and after that all the technical details of the car is displayed on the screen.

For those of you who have sync 3 but no reverse camera, please refer to post #861 in the link below.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offic...review-58.html

Another suggestion from my side is that Ford needs to launch a diesel AT EcoSport too.


Bottom line is that the EcoSport will make you crave to drive it more and more often to explore the vast stretches of our country. It's a modern package with old-school mechanicals which I like.
The shortcomings of this car as per my view are visibility while driving/reversing and rear seat space.

Before concluding my first review, I would like to say something.

"No car is ever perfect, one needs to prioritize on what he or she expects the best from their car and live with its shortcomings if it's not a deal breaker."

Parting Shots:

Blue Baby comes home - Ford EcoSport Facelift Titanium TDCi-img_20180427_17054301.jpeg

Blue Baby resting in Bhutan

Blue Baby comes home - Ford EcoSport Facelift Titanium TDCi-img_20190416_155327.jpg

Drive safe folks,

Cheers!

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

Nice writeup Jithin! Awaiting the Bhutan travelogue! :D

Congrats Jithin! It is a lovely machine, I drive a 2016 EcoSport TDCi that has clocked close to 47k Kms, no fuss at all. Switch to Michelin Primacy 3ST on your first change, you will see a significant difference in performance and road noise.

This is a nice write up :)
I liked the line
Quote:

"No car is ever perfect, one needs to prioritize on what he or she expects the best from their car and live with its shortcomings if it's not a deal breaker."

Congrats Jithin! :)
Nice write up.. the pics are smashing!

Cheers!

Quote:

Originally Posted by FrodoOfTheShire (Post 4588175)
Nice writeup Jithin! Awaiting the Bhutan travelogue! :D

Thank you Rahul! I'm a bit busy with my project work and exams and I will write the Bhutan travelogue soon :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by aabhimanyu04 (Post 4588182)
Congrats Jithin! It is a lovely machine, I drive a 2016 EcoSport TDCi that has clocked close to 47k Kms, no fuss at all. Switch to Michelin Primacy 3ST on your first change, you will see a significant difference in performance and road noise.

Thanks Abhimanyu, it's good that EcoSport is quite reliable. As of now MRF does the job well no matter what the terrain is. I'll switch to Michelin once the stock tyres wear out. I wish Ford releases the 1.5 EcoBlue diesel with 4WD and I'd happily go for it.



Quote:

Originally Posted by ValarMorghulis (Post 4588194)
This is a nice write up :)
I liked the line

Thank you ValarMorghulis. At the end of the day it's about what one expects the most from something.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shekhar2509 (Post 4588205)
Congrats Jithin! :)
Nice write up.. the pics are smashing!


Cheers!


Thanks Shekar, all these pics are taken from my phone.

Nice detailed review :thumbs up

Quote:

Originally Posted by jithin23 (Post 4570939)
... I usually fill diesel only from Shell when I'm in town and when on the Highways I fill from a COCO pump.

How do you manage to do that?

I always find it hard to find COCO pumps on highways.
Do you have a resource where all the COCO pumps are listed at one place?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ank.nsit (Post 4588284)
...How do you manage to do that?

I always find it hard to find COCO pumps on highways.
Do you have a resource where all the COCO pumps are listed at one place?

I use Google maps and search for COCO pumps whichever route I use. COCO pumps can be most commonly found on the Golden Quadrilateral highway(Mumbai-Bangalore-Chennai-Kolkata-Delhi-Mumbai) and major NH roads

Great choice, Abhimanyu, and an interesting write up as well. I drive a November 2018 silver titanium plus petrol automatic, and looking at that beautiful blue on your ride, I feel just a tiny bit envious. :)
Congratulations and do keep us updated!

Quote:

Originally Posted by sainyamk95 (Post 4588553)
Great choice, Abhimanyu, and an interesting write up as well. I drive a November 2018 silver titanium plus petrol automatic, and looking at that beautiful blue on your ride, I feel just a tiny bit envious. :)
Congratulations and do keep us updated!

Thanks sainyamk95! I will update as much as I can whenever time permits.


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