[Sahilrai166]

TAKE CARE OF YOUR CAR IN THE GARAGE AND THE CAR WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU IN THE ROAD.



This is my first thread in the Team-BHP. All the views expressed in this ownership review are my own. I apologize for any of the mistakes made by me while writing this review.
I thank Moderators for approving my membership.
This is my 11 months of ownership review and have clocked 13800kms so far in my Ecosport titanium 1.5D.

LIKES

•SUV like appearance
•Punchy 1.5 Diesel
•Feature loaded- Touchscreen HU,ACC,Projector headlamps with DRL,Push button start etc
•Feel and feedback from the steering is excellent compared to my Ciaz
•Superb ground clearance

DISLIKES

•Stiff ride quality makes occupants in the rear seat uncomfortable
•Rear seat space is limited to 2 adults only
•Finishing could have been better especially in the lower half of the dashboard
•Clutch feels hard compared to my ciaz

BACKGROUND

I was a car enthusiast since I was a child. As I started growing up my interest upon cars also grew up. I started reading Autocar India magazine and was following up the magazine monthly. I started reading the on road pricing of all the cars sold in the Indian market and the car bug hit me hard ever since then. I never liked riding bikes nor Im fond of bikes even now. I consider car to be much safer than a 2 wheeler if driven responsibly. Two wheeler was never given to me nor anyone of my close relatives had one.
Back in 2005 we used to own a Premier Padmini and a Suzuki Alto LX. Padmini was sold soon after we bought the Alto.


The boy standing next to the car is me.
Alto served us really well. We used the car for 5 years and the car had just 40k in the odometer. We felt that Alto was a bit small for us and we wanted to upgrade to something bigger which had better boot space compared to our Alto as there was a pioneer subwoofer in the boot which made the already small boot space of Alto non existent.We started looking for options like the Indica Vista,Swift, Zen Estilo and the newly arrived Ritz. It was a tuff call as we were all set to book the Swift but during 2010 the swift was already a 5 year old car and the Ritz was a fresh car. Ritz costed us almost 90k cheaper from the Swift which sweetened the deal much further. My dad and his colleague both booked the same car same variant and same color too. We booked the Ritz vxi BS4 in glistening grey and the car was something else for me. It was a tall car with loads of headroom in the back. We installed accessories worth 55k as the Vxi did not have much of equipment. We enjoyed the car for good 6 years and the hitch started again to buy a new car,but this time Dad was sure that he will be buying a sedan only.

CIAZ

Ciaz posing in an underconstructed flyover


This time we wanted more rear seat space and boot as the Ritz was cramped in both these areas. We started searching for sub 4 metres sedans like the Dzire,Aspire and the Amaze. But soon these weren't taken into consideration as the top end variants of these sedans in its diesel form were touching 10lacs on road. So we decided to extend the budget and started looking at C segments sedans like the Honda City,VW Vento and the Ciaz. The Honda City in its diesel avatar is not the best in class. We found the car to be noisy and the car did not meet ourexpectations. We had considered its SV variant was a cool 1.3lacs more compared to the Vdi plus variant of the Ciaz. The vento was also a noisy car but then the lack of dealership in Hospet made us drop the car which we liked the most. Verna was not considered as it was due for a generation change in the next year. This made us buy the Ciaz VDI plus Shvs in the year 2016. The so called hybrid tech is just useless according to me as the battery costs a whopping 9k for replacement and the battery does not last longer too.
But did we sell the Ritz? No,we did not sell this car and I started driving this car. The car was now almost 9 years old with 82k on the odo. The Ritz was barely used since the day we bought our Ciaz home. Ritz was due for a suspension and clutch replacement which costed a bomb considering the resale value of the car. The tyres were replaced by the Yokohama earth tyres too.


Baleno Alpha in the house

A shot of the feature loaded cabin

Meanwhile we bought a Baleno Alpha 1.3D in our family. It was the last car remaining in the stockyard and we got the car within 2 days of booking and it was the first 2019 car delivered by Nexa Mangalore. I will write the buying experience and ownership review of this car in a separate thread.

A random Instagram story

But now we decided to sell our beloved Ritz and buy something better. I posted an advertisement and as usual many low bouncers started pitching low offers to which I denied as there was no urgency to sell the car. True value guys gave me a quote of 1.9lacs and other used cars dealers offered me 2lacs. So randomly we went to the Kanchana Hyundai and they offered us 2.25lacs and we made a deal. With a very heavy heart and tears in my eyes I sold my beloved Ritz. I was very emotional that day. Now the search for the new car began but this time Dad wanted a car with good ground clearance.

REQUIREMENTS

•It should have atleast 2 airbags and ABS, this was the main reason why we actually wanted to upgrade to a safer car.
•Features-ACC,Touchscreen HU,Reverse parking camera and Push button start.
•Ground clearence of more than 175mm
•A car with double digit FE in city traffic conditions

OPTIONS CONSIDERED

The cars considered while buying the Ecosport are from different categories and body styles with an budget of 6-6.5lacs initially which was extended to 12.5lacs.

USED ECOSPORT

This was considered mainly because this was the ony sub 4 meter suv in the used market for sale as the Brezza was a fairly new car in the market.
None of the used Ecosport was considered seriously as most of the cars for sale in Mangalore had more than 85k on the odo and the ones with less than 50k on the odo were literally costing a north of 7.5lac. Plus I had heard about the hard clutch issues in the old Ecosport.

Figo/FREESTYLE

Me and my dad went to Cauvery Ford to check out used Ecosports and found none in their stock. I saw the Figo and soon the SA guided me all the features it had. Now the price of the titanium variant was 7.4lacs and was feature loaded too. This car made us think of buying a new car. There wasn't a test drive car available and after some days I went to the other showroom in Kottara to check out the Freestyle as dad did not like the figo much and felt that the car lacks character. I checked out the Freestyle and wanted a test drive but the car was not available so my SA advised me to take the test drive of the Aspire and made sure that he will get the Freestyle home for a testdrive. I drove the Aspire and boy the 1.2 dragon engine was excellent to drive the car was fast and the braking was also good. Now that I liked the engine it was an yes from my side but still we decided not to book the car and walked out of the showroom.

Polo 1.0MPI

I liked the timeless design of the Polo and one of my friend had bought a GT TSI a few weeks ago so he suggested me to check out the car. Now with a limited budget of 9lacs we had only 1 option that was the Polo Highline Plus 1.0MPI. My friend drove the car and it handled well but the car was begging for more power and I was sure that I would not buy this car as the engine did not even match my Ritz's 1.2 in terms of straight line performance. If it had the 1.0TSI with 109hp this car would have been in my parking lot.

NEXON

This is the car which felt like an real upgrade from the Ritz. The car was good but the design was too radical for my taste(Pre facelift). But still I went to the showroom with my friend and as usual the response from the sales team was very poor. They acted as if they were doing a favour for me. But if I was really interested in this car I would have gone to some other dealership and booked the car. However this was the car which made us think of getting a new sub 4 meter SUV.

ECOSPORT

This car was actually my Dad's favorite C suv and we always liked the way the car looked especially with that spare wheel mounted on the rear. My SA was very enthusiastic and was keeping me updated with the current offers going on the Freestyle. So one fine day me and my dad went to the Cauvery Ford and instantly booked the Ecosport even before test driving the car. We chose the 1.5 petrol initially and started comparing other cars with the Ecosport Titanium.

VENUE

This car was actually launched 1 day ahead of my Ecosport's delivery day,but I had seen this car in the stockyard of the Kanchana Hyundai. The car was tall but the rear looks of the car was a bit downer for me and the small air con vents made me feel like I was sitting in a much smaller car. Ecosport felt better compared to this car. According to me this car was neither a grown up i20 or was it a smaller version of the Creta.

Xuv300

We did not consider it seriously as this car was costing 1.3lacs in its w8 variant more when compared to the Ecosport Titanium. The car was handsome and looked aggressive from the front but sadly the rear looked like its be chopped off to make it a sub 4 meter. White interiors and the small boot space did not help its case either. I guess Mahindra completely messed up with pricing. Lower variants looks dull and higher variants are completely overpriced.

WRV

This car was considered initially but then the V-tec did not kicked in yo. The car was close to 12 lacs so we dropped this car too. The only think I liked about this car is the space and the sunroof.

BREZZA/SCROSS

We were sure that we would not be buying a Suzuki again but still these were the cars in the Suzuki stable which suited our requirements. But both the cars carried same Engine and interior bits compared to Ciaz. The maintenance cost was also higher compared to the Ecosport so both the cars were ruled out.

BOOKING EXPERIENCE

So the Ecosport was finally booked after many permutations and calculations of the budget. Me and my Dad went to Cauvery Ford. Dad wanted White and mom wanted Grey but then I forced him to get the Canyon Ridge color to which he agreed and we booked the car by paying 10k as the booking amount. Then Dad test drove the Ecosport Diesel as the petrol was not available but still to get the feel of the car and he felt good. Same day afternoon my SA came to my home with the Petrol car which was Canyon Ridge so that I could show my mom the car and the color. I drove the petrol and the car was just superb to drive at any point I did not feel that I was driving a 3 cylinder car. The motor was very peppy and there was a big smile on my face but as soon as I came back I saw that the MID was showing an average of 7.7Km/ltr.

VARIANT

Budget decides most of the things and the variant section is one among them. As mentioned earlier the initial budget only allowed us to choose the base Ambiente variant. Honestly It it all the essentials but later on we chose to go for the Trend variant which had inbuilt HU and came with lots of feel good features as well like the automatic climate control,navigation, reverse camera as well. But I wanted alloys and roof rails which meant we had to spend a minimum of 50k to get these features and the Titanium variant had all those with other fancy features like the keyless entry,push button start,DRL,alloys, fog lamps and commanded 1.2lacs more compared to Trend which felt like a great value for money package and getting factory fitted features is always better than getting it done aftermarket. Hence this was the final decision as the Titanium plus variant was way beyond our reach at that time. Plus icing on the cake was that the Canyon Ridge Titanium variant was in transit which meant we will be getting this car soon which did not happen.

TIME FOR THE TWIST

My SA had promised me that he will deliver the car in 10 days. I called him up on the 8th day to know the status of my car and his reply was shocking. He said that Ford India is not accepting bookings as there would be small changes made in the car. I knew that Ford would not add anything but cut some of the existing features and the same thing happened too. My SA said me that he has a Silver Ecosport Titanium petrol in his stockyard and a Canyon Ridge Titanium diesel which was the display car(It had come just before 2 days to the showroom). Now it was a tuff call for us as none of us liked silver color and opting for Diesel would mean extension of the already stretched budget. I immediately calculated the EMI difference between the Petrol and the Diesel variants and it was a just 950rs per month. I again called him for a Test drive of the Diesel and he came immediately with the car. I loved the way the car pulled and drove the car in the similar way I had driven the Petrol car in the same road to check the difference in average and this one returned me 14.8km/ltr which was almost double than the petrol. I came back home quickly compared the prices of the Nexon XZ diesel and Xuv3OO Diesel. Nexon was ruled out again due to lack of discounts and Xuv was 1.5lacs expensive. I called back my SA immediately and informed him to book the Diesel. So now the car was locked in the showroom so that no one could get inside the car. We choose the Ford Credit for the loan. This was a simple process on paper but they made it very complicated in the end as they wanted almost everything related to salary and ID proofs and were calling us many times to verify or to tell some or the other documents is missing though my Dad is a Government employee. The loan was passed after 4 days and the discounts were given as promised to us. The insurance cost was 59k for the 1+3year to which I denied and said I'll do it by myself but they gave me a similar quote of 36k without much negotiations. Everything was set and done. Now the only thing remaining was the delivery of the car and choice of the number. I wanted a good registration number for the car but dad was not interested in it as it costs 25k in Karnataka for the choice number. We went ahead with the random number and to our surprise we got the number which was something matching with our Ciaz's registration number. We got lucky in this matter. I asked him to arrange the delivery as soon as possible because now I was very much excited for the car.

D Day




Dad mom and me taking delivery of our beloved Ecosport

This is a very special occasion for us and my SA came to my place to take us to the showroom which was a very good gesture of giving attention to the customers. The billing part was already ready and the only thing required were some signatures on the document. I could not control my excitement and my legs started shivering.
The car was covered in the satin blue cloth and was ready for the delivery.
We took delivery of the car and chocolate's were given to us with a photo frame for us from their side.The car had 100kms of range left in it. We refulled the car and took it to Bappanadu temple in Mulki which is approximately 35kms from our home.

INITIAL EXPERIENCE



The car felt a bit different while driving as we were used to Suzuki cars since 15 years. The doors felt heavy and so was the boot. We took our brand new car to Hampi which was 500kms far from Mangalore and the car performed really well. We clocked the first 1000kms in less than 5 days. Though Ford considers its 1st service at 2500kms/3 months. 2500kms were clocked within 25days. Soon the poor Ciaz was out of its parking space and the Ecosport was parked in its space. The color made this car really stand out and suits the car well but some of them had mixed reactions including my Dad as well. I got a freedom to drive fast even in some of the broken patches of road and small speed bumps where I had to take my Ciaz with atmost care.
Soon I got used to the car. The big centre Touchscreen was good with inbuilt navigation and a big display for reverse parking camera which made the parking effortless for me. My mom is 5.1ft tall and the space at the back is more than adequate for her,as she is the only one who will be sitting at the back.

EXTERIOR









The car from the outside looks menacing when compared to all of its rivals.The car comes with projector headlamps with DRL's which looks cool and makes the car look fresher compared to the pre facelift model.The front is imposing with the large chrome grill(which I do not like the most). Front skid plates finished in Silver makes the car look agressive. The exterior build in one word could be described as solid. Everything on this car looks like its built to last and dosen't feel flimsy like our other cars from the Suzuki. Doors are heavy and so is the boot. But then there's a big issue the tailgate opens sideways. It's very impractical especially in tight parking spots to access the boot. For instance i cannot open the boot in my flats parking lot. In order to access the boot first I have to get the car all the way front or out of my parking lot and then put the load or unload the luggage.
The car looks like an expensive car even though it costs a little extra compared to Elite i20 Asta(O)D. The side profile of the car is very well done and the roof rails add a bit of a character to the already SUV'ish style. Titanium variants get silver coloured roof rails compared to the S variant which gets black roof rails. Canyon ridge highlights the black cladding as well.The rear of the car looks attractive too especially with that spare wheel mounted on the rear gate. It gives it a very distinct look and even today the car looks fresh even though its actually 7 years old. But then Ford could have added LED taillamps to differentiate the car from the pre facelifted models.This along with Brezza are the only cars in the segment which looks like an SUV.



INTERIOR


A random interior shot from the passenger seat


Engine start/stop button


Illuminated power window and ORVM controls

Just pull the door handle with the key in your pocket and the car unlocks itself. Mirrors open and you are greeted with puddle lamps and the DRL's also starts glowing. This function is called as the accessory function which can be switched on or off according to one's needs. The interiors of the car looks compact and a good place to be in. The center screen is the big attractive point of the interior. Children in my society ask me if it's a TV. The cabin quality is good but not excellent when compared to the Venue and the Xuv3OO but is better than the Brezza and the Nexon. There's is no use of soft touch material in any of the interior parts like the S cross but the textured dash looks okaish compared to other cars in the segment.The car has ACC,though not a useful feature for me but still it appeals the overall look of the cabin and works well too. The start/stop button is surrounded by chrome and has a green light which glows when you press the clutch in off position and stays on when the engine is running. The ABC pedals look sporty with rubber finishing on the brake and clutch pedal. Titanium does not get auto dimming IRVM but it can be manually adjusted. The lock/unlock buttons on the doors looks cool and expensive. The only other color in the dashboard except Black is a silver lining around the gear lever and above the passenger side storage area. Two USB slots are available which are not illuminated as Ford deleted this feature some time ago. All the power window switches are illuminated with the tips finished in chrome. The Seats are high quality fabric. These are very soft and comfortable too. Armrest is narrow and deep which can accomodate a Wallet. There are plenty of bottle holders in the car and with all the bottles placed in the bottle holder no one in the car would be thirsty atleast for a day.
The rear seat space is one such thing that leaves a lot to be desired. The seats are comfortable but with the front seats all the way back there is no chance that a 6 footer can be seated at the back. For me it's not a big issue but this is one such area where Ford could have done some improvements. There is an armrest in the rear as well. The seats fold in 60:40ratio this is a very useful feature for me as the vertical objects can be easily loaded onto the boot.

The car comes with 352ltr boot space which feels adequate for a family of 3. But then the loading lip is very high and you have to struggle a bit to load heavy objects.
The interiors of the car do not rattle maybe because it's a new car but I haven't come across Ecosport owners saying that there's rattling issues in their car. My Ciaz has rattling from many parts of the cabin and I have to play some music to distract myself from the irritating rattling sound.

MID




Multi information display offers loads of Information as you go to the higher variants. The MID on the Titanium variant looks good with the chrome rings and the use of a big screen which displays a digital speedometer, trip computer,real time average, fuel efficiency and also has options to on/off Chimes,DRl,Puddle lamps(known as welcome function). If you do not any of these you can have the picture of the car in the MID or can keep it blank as well. The MID on the lower variants is the most ugliest MID I've seen in this segment so far. Titanium Plus offers Tyre pressure monitoring system as well.

FIT AND FINISH,PAINT QUALITY

First of all I'm not the one who is very keen on looking at the panel gaps and do not mind either if its inconsistent at some places. I haven't looked closely for one yet. As a layman it looks good to me but where I do look for is the fit and finish especially in the dashboard region. Fit is okay but finishing leaves a lot to be desired from the Ford especially in the lower half of the dashboard above the passenger seats. Paint quality is good with the shiny grains visible in the sunlight. But I'm a bit worried about the color mainly because the car hasn't given Ceramic coating and it costs a bomb to get it done. Please do guide me on if its required or not.

VISIBILITY

I have seen most of the Ecosport owners complaining about the thick A pillar but now I'm used to it as the A pillar is Ciaz is also thick. The ORVM's offer decent visibility of the back too. The size of the IRVM is decent and does offer good visibility. The rear windshield comes with a wiper and washer which makes visibility from the IRVM great. The car is easy to park thanks to the resevse parking camera and big screen. Adaptive guidelines would have been a nice touch and the reverse camera is placed very low and attracts dust and mud easily thereby blocking the rear view.

STEERING WHEEL

The new steering wheel in the facelifted Ecosport is thinner than the previous one. Its leather wrapped in the Titanium variant and is nice to hold. The steering is big and the design looks cool. However you do notice the absence of cruise control in the steering wheel. There are buttons placed on both the sides of the steering wheel. On the RHS you have controls related to infotainment systems and on the LHS you get controls for the MID. The steering is light in the city by Ford standard and becomes heavy as the speeds go up. I've heard from many reviews that the steering feedback is not as good as the previous Ecosport but personally I feel even the new steering is better than most of its rivals.

HEAD UNIT









Ecosport Titanium comes equipped with a 9 inch infotainment system sourced by Fly audio.
Advantages of fly audio instead of sync 3 are as follows:
•Layout looks better than sync
•Fly audio gets reverse parking camera in the Titanium variant
•Inbuilt navigation works well
•Physical buttons are available for almost all the functions compared to Sync's limited buttons.
Disadvantages
•No apple car play and Android auto
•Touch response in the Sync is better than Flyaudio
•No option of ambient lighting as well

I like the Flyaudio infotainment system and the touch works well too by no way it's in the league of the SYNC system but still it's good in it's own way. It's better compared to the one's on the Nexon and the Brezza. Bluetooth connectivity is very good and I haven't faced any issue with this infotainment system as complained by most of the bhpians.
The car comes equipped with 4 speaker and 2 tweeters. The HU gives the option of built in EQ as well and car be adjusted according to one's taste. Even in the loudest of its settings the door pads don't vibrate nor does the IRVM.
The sound quality is good but the one's on the Nexon is still the best in the segment. In future I may add a good mono amplifier with a good subwoofer. Damping is not required too because of the heavy doors. Overall I'm quite satisfied by the current set up as well.

USAGE PATTERN

The car is used my me and my dad. Usually I use this car more than him for my daily commutes which is from home to college and then to gym and home which is a 25kms round trip altogether. Dad used this car only when he has to go to places where there are no roads. He has scrapped the Ciaz's belly many times so now he takes Ecosport for those kinds of commutes. The car being new is now taken on long highway trips which we were usually doing in our Ciaz. So the car does almost 1500kms a month which includes weekend trips,daily commutes and long holiday trips.

DRIVING EXPERIENCE

The car at idle is silent compared to our Ciaz and the cabin insulation is also very good. It comes with a 1.5TDCI diesel mill and the turbo lag is well contained. In gear acceleration is also very good and the car the car picks up pace easily. The power delivery is very linear and the motor revvs freely. The car maintains its balance well and the body roll is well contained. Press the accelerator hard and there is some amount of torque steer on offer. The steering becomes heavy as the car picks up pace and the feedback from the steering is excellent. The dimensions of the car is compact and it's easy to maneuver albeit the clutch is hard and the gearbox isn't as slick shifting like my Ciaz. I have addressed this issue with the service center and they tell its the same in the Ecosport. I even drove a TD car for my satisfaction and the clutch was hard in that car as well. This makes me feel that the next car will definitely be an automatic. In comparison the clutch in our Ciaz and Baleno is just butter smooth to operate.Gearbox is also not the best. The gearbox is a bit harsh again when compared to the other cars in our garage but then it's not a big issue for me. Braking is decent and the car stops without much of a nosedive. The car is known for its handling and is very fun to drive. Out on an open highway is where I enjoy this car the most the engine has enough juice on offer pulls hard and fast catches triple digits speeds in no time and feels great to drive. We have taken this car to many ghat sections and has performed really well but sadly the ride quality is stiff. Rear passengers feel uncomfortable and pitch around and to my surprise I've experiened the same thing in the Venue and Brezza as well. Maybe is this is because I'm used to the soft suspension of the Ciaz.

TYRES AND ALLOY WHEELS


According to my SA the Titanium variants come with either Goodyear or MRF tyres. The one I've got is the MRF 205/60 R16. The tyres are wide enough and provide decent grip as well. But MRF's are known to have less tyre life compared to other reputed tyre manufacturers and lasts only till 40-50k kms. Ford has been constantly making changes in their alloy wheel design. The one in my car is the simple looking alloys finished in silver. The newer cars gets gunmetal finished alloys albeit the design is the same. I really like the looks of the alloys on the pre facelifted models. This is the only car in the segment to get a full size spare wheel and alloy as well. Titanium variant loses out on the spare wheel cover and Ford sells it as an accessory for a whopping 14k.

A/C

Ford always boasts about their cooling in the Figo but sadly I dont think so. Our Baleno and the Ciaz have better cooling compared to the Ecosport. Now dont get me wrong the A/C in the Ecosport is good but the placement of the vents are bullshit. The vents in the center are too low and the absence of rear blower is a big omission. The A/C takes it's own sweet time to cool in a bright sunny day this might be only in my case because the park the car in sunlight due to the absence of a dedicated parking slot in my college and because of the dark interiors the cabin becomes just too hot. My mom always complains about the cooling in the rear. The A/C vent on the driver side is just useless all the air is blocked behind the steering wheel and the air comes only to your hands and not the face. But once the A/C cools up then it's a bone chiller.

ERGONOMICS

The car offers commanding view from the driver seat and is ergonomically sorted too. Finding a good driving position is easy and all the controls are easy to use. The ergonomic issue I've faced is that one should take his eyes off the road to switch on the headlights but now I'm used to that as well. There is no dedicated slot for a mobile phone and should place it in the cub holders. The armrest is quite usable too and it's easy getting used to the Ecosport.

MAINTENANCE AND EXTENDED WARRANTY

Ecosport commands the lowest service charge on paper and its really true. Ford has done a fabulous job of cutting their service costs to this extent. I have taken the optional 4th year warranty which costs roughly around 14k with RSA. I wasn't interested much on the extended warranty but still my SA gave me a hefty discount on that as well and I could not refuse the offer.
A quick glance in the Ford offical website gave me a rough idea regarding the pricing of service packages. The one which I like was the 4year/60,000kms package which costed rs25,000. This was value for money but did not opt for that because the servicing costs were anyways lower.
1st service was done at 3000kms in the Metro Ford Hospet for free .
During 5000kms I took the car to Cauvery Ford Mangalore for its wheel alignment and balancing which coated me rs1200
3rd service for the 10000kms costed me around rs2,850 and the labour charge was free.
Cauvery Ford Mangalore is by far the best Ford showrooms I've visited and the service quality is very good.

HSRP AND RC

This was the only time I was very angry with the dealership. I actually dont no to whom should I blame the Dealership or the government. The car was registered 6 hours before I took the delivery of the car. The car came with registered stickers which was ok for me and the dealership said that they will get the HSRP plates by 15 days and then I will get the RC in 1 month. As days passed I was running with registered sticker for almost a month and then finally I got them. Even the Fastag was not available with them. I asked them to put the bracket while installing the plate but they did not do it. First of all I hate the entire layout and numbers in the HSRP plates. They look very odd plus no black brackets meant they look ugly. I always liked the German fonts in the registration plates. Now comes the shock I wait for another 1 month and I did not get the RC. On enquiring they said that first I have to install the HSRP and only after that the RC will be dispatched from the RTO. I was in a shock because I had the plates on my car since a month. I said them that and they apologized me telling that they have not entered it and sent it to the RTO. Apparently after fitting the HSRP the dealership has to take the photograph of the car with the plates and send it to the RTO which they forgot to do in my case. I got the RC after 3 months of getting the car.

LIGHTING

As I've mentioned earlier this variant comes with projector headlamps with DRL'S and fog lamps. DRL'S are bright and it's more than adequate in the evenings. Car comes with yellow bulbs which does light up the road very well and is far better compared to our Ciaz but nowhere close to the Baleno which comes with HID's. Overall the throw from the headlamps and the fog lamps are decent. Ford could have added a LED tail lamp to make it look different from the outgoing car.

Kitna deti hai??

Ecosport is not the best in segment as far as fuel efficiency numbers go. I drive the car to college which is in the heart of the city and get somewhere around 14-15kmpl depending on the traffic. These figures can be achieved only by a light foot but a slight dab on the throttle gets the fuel efficiency down to 13kmpl. Out on the highway I have got fuel efficiency ranging from 18-21 kmpl. These are the results I've got from the MID and have not done a tank to tank test so far.

TRIPS DONE

A random pic taken in Agumbe ghat with registration sticker.

We haven take this car to Hampi for 4-5 times and the car has preformed really well. The car was fun on the Agumbe ghats and was quite impressed by its highway behavior.


The second trip was to Coimbatore which is roughly around 550kms from Mangalore. The car was again
quite good to drive in all the 5 ghats we had encountered in our route. The ground clearence was a blessing as we came across a very bad patch of road in the Madhumalai forest area.

ACCESSORIES/FUTURE MODIFICATIONS

I haven't opted for any of the Ford accessory during my purchase. The only thing which I've added aftermarket are the seat covers by a manufacturer called as Dolphin from Car Decor.

The design of the simple looking seat covers from Dolphin.

Other modifications planned are chrome delete, Spare wheel cover in black,rubber coat the alloys to dark shade, roof wrap and legal tints.

I'm I HAPPY WITH MY PURCHASE
Yes, this is the 1st SUV in our home. Its nimble, frugal,compact and serves our needs well and dosen't cost much to maintain as well.

Ecosport posing with my friends Ciaz



Thank you bhpians for reading my ownership review.

Sahil RAI

[GTO]

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

Your car is shortly going to our homepage

[PrasannaDhana]

Nice review mate!

As a ciaz owner, I agree with most of your observations. The ford is a hoot to drive and quieter. But you miss out the comfort, ease of driving (the smooth soft clutch of my ciaz is such a boon in b2b traffic) and outright space that you get in the ciaz. But the Ford is much safer, built like a tank and accomodates smaller parking space. Moreover the service costs of EcoSport will be lesser than the ciaz. But both cars have the A pillar that can obstruct vision, the ford has a thicker one.

Old people will find the EcoSport better for ingress and egress. Ciaz is a pain (specially at the back) for old people to get out of.

[born.4thnov]

Nice review of the Eco sport. Kudos. It was a car I loved but I dropped it from my probables list only because of the rear seat and boot space. I own a Ciaz now. It is 4 months old and has clocked around 5700 kms. The petrol engine is super quiet and does it's job seamlessly. On the highways I get a mileage which only makes me smile - 20.4 kmpl. I have a problem though. Wanted to put it across to fellow BHPians to understand the problem and a solution in case any of you have faced it. The hands free door opening is not working for the last 15 days. I have not been able to take the car to the service centres as all of them are closed. What could be the possible issue? Someone suggested a battery change in the key would do the trick, but No. Also, it is a pain to take the key out of the remote every time you need to lock / unlock the car. I am putting this query on this thread as there was a mention of the Ciaz and it's performance here..

[arindambasu13]

Originally Posted by born.4thnov

Nice review of the Eco sport. Kudos. It was a car I loved but I dropped it from my probables list only because of the rear seat and boot space. I own a Ciaz now. It is 4 months old and has clocked around 5700 kms. The petrol engine is super quiet and does it's job seamlessly. On the highways I get a mileage which only makes me smile - 20.4 kmpl. I have a problem though. Wanted to put it across to fellow BHPians to understand the problem and a solution in case any of you have faced it. The hands free door opening is not working for the last 15 days. I have not been able to take the car to the service centres as all of them are closed. What could be the possible issue? Someone suggested a battery change in the key would do the trick, but No. Also, it is a pain to take the key out of the remote every time you need to lock / unlock the car. I am putting this query on this thread as there was a mention of the Ciaz and it's performance here..

Does the Ciaz not come with the push button on the door handle using which you can lock and unlock the door? For instance my City has this, so one can lock the door simply by pressing that button, as long as the key fob is there on your person . This method is in addition to and separate from locking and unlocking using the remote key fob directly.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by Sahilrai166

This is my first thread in the Team-BHP. All the views expressed in this ownership review are my own. I apologize for any of the mistakes made by me while writing this review.
This is my 11 months of ownership review and have clocked 13800kms so far in my Ecosport titanium 1.5D.

Welcome to TBHP Sahil. See you around. Stay safe in current situation.

A wonderful write-up. Enjoyable to read & very detailed. No wonder it adorns the main page on forum. Wish you unlimited safe & happy miles with the EcoSport. A lovely car. I like it exactly as much as I like the Nexon. (I have mentioned that already in my own ownership thread). Would have been very tough for me to decide had I not been a bit biased towards Tata due to my excellent previous ownership experience.

Originally Posted by Sahilrai166

LIGHTING
As I've mentioned earlier this variant comes with projector headlamps with DRL'S and fog lamps. DRL'S are bright and it's more than adequate in the evenings. Car comes with yellow bulbs which does light up the road very well and is far better compared to our Ciaz but nowhere close to the Baleno which comes with HID's. Overall the throw from the headlamps and the fog lamps are decent. Ford could have added a LED tail lamp to make it look different from the outgoing car.

Are you liking how the DRLs light up the road during the evenings and there is no need for turning ON the lamps? Please do not make it a habit. At dusk, come what may - turn on the lamps. In modern cars - the instrument cluster is always illuminated. The DRLs light-up the road ahead as well & many have become habituated to driving without manually switching on the headlights. Remember - when you drive with just DRLs, you see whats ahead. But the guy/gal behind you - may see your car much later than when he/she should. Maybe too late!

Always turn on the lights at dusk. Tail-lamps are as important for safety as headlamps.

[Sahilrai166]

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

Nice review mate!

As a ciaz owner, I agree with most of your observations. The ford is a hoot to drive and quieter. But you miss out the comfort, ease of driving (the smooth soft clutch of my ciaz is such a boon in b2b traffic) and outright space that you get in the ciaz. But the Ford is much safer, built like a tank and accomodates smaller parking space. Moreover the service costs of EcoSport will be lesser than the ciaz. But both cars have the A pillar that can obstruct vision, the ford has a thicker one.

Thank you sir for your appreciation. Your ciaz ownership review is very helpful to me everytime I take the car out for its regular maintenance.

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

Old people will find the EcoSport better for ingress and egress. Ciaz is a pain (specially at the back) for old people to get out of.

Exactly,my grandma said me the same thing when I asked her about the ingress and egress as she has severe knee pain.

Originally Posted by born.4thnov

Nice review of the Eco sport. Kudos.

Thank you born.4thnov.

Originally Posted by born.4thnov

The hands free door opening is not working for the last 15 days. I have not been able to take the car to the service centres as all of them are closed. What could be the possible issue? Someone suggested a battery change in the key would do the trick, but No. Also, it is a pain to take the key out of the remote every time you need to lock / unlock the car. I am putting this query on this thread as there was a mention of the Ciaz and it's performance here..

I guess it's due to a faulty battery or the request sensors and will be replaced under warranty. It's been 1.5 years I'm using the same smart key in the Baleno but haven't come across such issue.

Originally Posted by arindambasu13

Does the Ciaz not come with the push button on the door handle using which you can lock and unlock the door? For instance my City has this, so one can lock the door simply by pressing that button, as long as the key fob is there on your person . This method is in addition to and separate from locking and unlocking using the remote key fob directly.

Yes ciaz does come with request sensors on both the front doors on Zeta and Alpha variants.

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Welcome to TBHP Sahil. See you around. Stay safe in current situation.
A wonderful write-up. Enjoyable to read & very detailed. No wonder it adorns the main page on forum. Wish you unlimited safe & happy miles with the EcoSport. A lovely car. I like it exactly as much as I like the Nexon. (I have mentioned that already in my own ownership thread). Would have been very tough for me to decide had I not been a bit biased towards Tata due to my excellent previous ownership experience.

Thank you sir for your good wishes.

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Are you liking how the DRLs light up the road during the evenings and there is no need for turning ON the lamps? Please do not make it a habit. At dusk, come what may - turn on the lamps. In modern cars - the instrument cluster is always illuminated. The DRLs light-up the road ahead as well & many have become habituated to driving without manually switching on the headlights. Remember - when you drive with just DRLs, you see whats ahead. But the guy/gal behind you - may see your car much later than when he/she should. Maybe too late!

Always turn on the lights at dusk. Tail-lamps are as important for safety as headlamps.

I do always switch on my headlights or atleast park lamps everytime i drive be it morning or night as I want the fog lamps always switched on as it appeals the overall look of the car from the outside.

[sahil624]

I enjoy reading the Ford Ecosport ownership reviews and this one was no different
Ford Ecosport has always been a car I wished to own. It is really fun to drive and build quality is tank like. However, the rear seat comfort, which you mentioned in your review, proved to be a deal breaker plus I was getting a pretty good deal on another car. Also, about the AC, I too felt it needed rear AC vents while taking a long Test Drive.

[Sahilrai166]

Originally Posted by sahil624

I enjoy reading the Ford Ecosport ownership reviews and this one was no different
Ford Ecosport has always been a car I wished to own. It is really fun to drive and build quality is tank like. However, the rear seat comfort, which you mentioned in your review, proved to be a deal breaker plus I was getting a pretty good deal on another car. Also, about the AC, I too felt it needed rear AC vents while taking a long Test Drive.

The rear space is adequate for 2 but seating 3 healthy adults at the back in comfort is an issue.
May I know which car did you finalize

[sahil624]

Originally Posted by Sahilrai166

The rear space is adequate for 2 but seating 3 healthy adults at the back in comfort is an issue.

Yes, seating three adults is a bit of an issue. Also, the ride quality too is a bit on stiffer side, like you mentioned.

Originally Posted by Sahilrai166

May I know which car did you finalize

I have booked Nissan Kicks Diesel.

[Fury]

Nice write up!

I own a 2016 Ecosport Titanium plus (Diesel) and i completely agree with your observations regarding the car. Its a rock-solid highway machine and one of the best handlers in the segment.

A small suggestion- once the car is properly run-in, consider an ECU remap. Mine is Code6 tuned, and it really brought in an enitrely new character to the car, especially in the mid range and top end. Its totally worth the money spent. Best part is, as long as you don't drive like a hoonigan, the FE figures will remain pretty much the same too!

By the way, 45-50k for the MRF is a pretty high expectation in my opinion. Ours came with Goodyears and they were wasted by around 50k, so I think the MRF should ideally last till about 40k. Of course, this can vary with the kind of usage. On the good side however, once you use up the current sets, you can shift to Michelins or Yokohamas, which would go a long way towards improving the driving dynamics and NVH levels of the car. With such minor improvements, you can turn the Ecosport into a truly driver's love, while still being a practical family haul as well!

[Sahilrai166]

Originally Posted by Fury

Nice write up!

Thanks mate

Originally Posted by Fury

A small suggestion- once the car is properly run-in, consider an ECU remap. Mine is Code6 tuned, and it really brought in an enitrely new character to the car, especially in the mid range and top end. Its totally worth the money spent. Best part is, as long as you don't drive like a hoonigan, the FE figures will remain pretty much the same too!

I will surely look into that maybe after 20k kms

Originally Posted by Fury

By the way, 45-50k for the MRF is a pretty high expectation in my opinion. Ours came with Goodyears and they were wasted by around 50k, so I think the MRF should ideally last till about 40k. Of course, this can vary with the kind of usage. On the good side however, once you use up the current sets, you can shift to Michelins or Yokohamas, which would go a long way towards improving the driving dynamics and NVH levels of the car. With such minor improvements, you can turn the Ecosport into a truly driver's love, while still being a practical family haul as well!

I've been using the MRF(stock tyres) in my Ciaz(41k kms done)and they still have some decent life left in them. I'll surely be upgrading the tyres to Yokohama once the current set is worn out.

[ron82x3]

Originally Posted by born.4thnov

The hands free door opening is not working for the last 15 days. I have not been able to take the car to the service centres as all of them are closed. What could be the possible issue? Someone suggested a battery change in the key would do the trick, but No. Also, it is a pain to take the key out of the remote every time you need to lock / unlock the car. I am putting this query on this thread as there was a mention of the Ciaz and it's performance here..

This is a common issue in Maruti Cars with the request sensors. They seem to go bad after a few years, or months in some cases, especially during the monsoons. Try pressing the request sensor harder, might work.
You need replacement of the request sensor.
Your key should be okay because maruti has warning display in MID when the battery level is low on the smart key.

[tanmoy1245]

Excellent detail write up, while reading sometime i was feeling how can it be so similar. Initially i have booked the similar colour Ecosport and end up with a white one during Nov 2019.

[Sahilrai166]

Originally Posted by tanmoy1245

Excellent detail write up, while reading sometime i was feeling how can it be so similar. Initially i have booked the similar colour Ecosport and end up with a white one during Nov 2019.

Thanks buddy. Even White looks good on the Ecosport